Rado on Daffodil Row 

We have become very popular people all of sudden. We can't go anywhere in public without everyone coming up and talking to us. He's a real conversation piece. And its easy to see why....he is pretty darn handsome! 

A very cool pic of the small eruption of Mount St. Helens on March 8th. It also shows our incredibly weak snowpack. 

The watering hole at puppy kindergarten. A very fun time where 10 puppies gather for lots of play and a little bit of learning....just like real kindergarten. Rado is the biggest guy in the class....but not the toughest.  

Spring has arrived. It actually arrived shortly after fall as we have had the driest and warmest record. But with all the daffodils and cherry blossom out, its now official. This picture is John St. on Capitol Hill looking west at the Space needle with the Olympic Pennisula in the Background.  

Rado's Mom 

Rado's Dad 

Rado and Porter 

He didn't take long to make himself comfy in his new home. Rado has been described as mellow more than once. 

Rado and his brothers and sisters.  

PUPPY!!!

The topic of getting puppy came up a couple months ago, and recently we began researching more seriously and even looking into local breeders and their litters. Well on Feb. 16th we picked up our new puppy. Very exciting and I already know that this is one of the biggest decisions I have made in my life. School, house, moving, jobs...they all feel small compared to being responsible for such a dependent being. I can't imagine what having a kid must feel like. Anyways, after a difficult period of coming up with a name, we chose Rado Falls. (Rado most of the time) Name after Jen and I's favorite part of Squaw Valley (where we met) to ski. Silverado is the proper name and we always looked forward to days off when we knew the conditions would be good. We would often spend the entire day riding this one lift. Well, I will once again let the pictures do the talking. I am sure there will be an abundance of photos to come as we are pretty proud parents....and of course, our puppy is the cutest puppy to ever walk the face of the earth. what do you think? Oh, by the way, Rado is a Bernese Mountain Dog.

Time for me to pipe in....

Ok, so if bush is going to go around spewing off about how Social Security is in crisis and throw around all sorts of false numbers, its time for all us little people to start fighting back in hopes that a hundred quiet voices even out one loud annoying one.

Lets start with this question. If SS is already going to come up short due to less workers than baby boomers retiring, and we (the workers) all decide to pull out some money and put it in "private" accounts, then HOW are we going to overcome the shortfall?

can somebody say tax increase.

Also, did you know, that you only pay SS tax on your income up to $90,000. So if you make $150,000 you pay the same into SS as someone making $90,000. Hello! Why not make everyone pay SS on all their income! Lets try some common sense.

More to come on this issue I am sure.

Another beautiful and unseasonably warm for this winter.  

An article posted in Canoe and Kayak Magazine about our trip down the Clendenning River in British Columbia this fall (see below for details) 

"Faces of the Fallen" An Impressionistic view of unaccountable leader. 

I'm In!

Just returned from a trip to Mt. Baker. When we arrived at home there was a letter in the mail from Seattle University Law School.....and they offered me a spot in their fall class. Very excited after a long road to get here. Still applying to the University of Washington, but it feels very good to have this offer.

Dave Gregory visits the NW and brings SNOW!

Dave Gregory (friend from school, Ecuador, The Grand Canyon and Squaw Valley) came up for a visit during his christmas break of graduate school. He flew in the day before our first "real" storm hit. The first day we spent touring around Seattle seeing some of the many sights that this future Landscape Architect would enjoy, going through the arboretum, UW, downtown to Pike's Place Market and the new Library, Lake Washington, Madrona woods, and our general neighborhood. That night we reviewed the storm details and set our plans for Mt. Baker. Friday morning we woke early and drove up to the mountain, and was greeted with over two feet of new snow. Needless to say the skiing was great and the visibility, very good as well. The skiing was so good we stayed up there two more days exploring the backcountry more each day. I'll let the pictures do the rest of the speaking. A short and certainly sweet visit, hopefully soon to be repeated.

To see lots of pictures of Seattle Sights and Mt. Baker skiing go to:
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=909310332203&page=1&sort_order=0

Table Mountain

Mt. Shuksan

On the Mt. Herman Saddle.

Some notes about Mt. Baker: There are not many accomodations, and if you find a place to stay you can rest assured if you happen to forget tampons, toothpaste and brush or coffee, you are covered....everything else and you are on your own.

Merry Christmas

To help save in the number of trees that must get cut down just for Christmas Cards, this will be my version of a christmas card.

Jen and I enjoyed the past year in a number of ways. We rung in the year in style back in Tahoe during a huge storm cycle, and with a few hours of sleep, rose to several feet of more powder skiing at Squaw Valley. Our winter continued to be good with a trip to Colorado for me to celebrate my Grandmother's 90th birthday. I enjoyed a hut trip outside of Aspen with many great friends while I was out there. For Jen's birthday, we traveled up to the great town of Nelson, British Columbia and the ski area of Whitewater. A great little area with tons of backcountry terrain. We spoiled ourselves here our first ever day of snowcat skiing. A recommended adventure for everyone! As I got laid off from work in the Spring, I pushed the kitchen remodel into full swing with anticipations of starting law school in the fall. Check out www.2814eastolive.blogspot.com for more details on this ongoing project. As Jen finished her second year, she didn't get too much of a break as she had to study all summer her board exams. This included study sesssions on the weekends. This allowed me to do a good deal of kayaking on the weekends with all my friends. Several trips to BC and a trip to Wyoming made it another memorable season of boating. See below for a more detailed account of some of these trips. As fall approached I learned that I would not gain acceptance to law school. While disappointing at first, it has seemingly been a blessing in disguise. Allowing me more time to work on the house (finish the kitchen), find work for myself doing small carpentery projects, and continue kayaking and skiing on my own schedule....can't really ask for much more. The fall was memorable for some friends coming out for a week long kayak, birthday celebration and then a trip back to Colorado for my brothers wedding. Currently, the NW is suffering through a drought for snow, but we are anxiously waiting to get back on the boards, and building a desk until then. Hope the holidays treat you all well. Merry Christmas!

Happy New Year, 2004

Grandma and Grandpa. Happy Birthday Grandma!

McNamara Hut outside of Aspen. February, 2004

A tour of our christmas tree by Graham 

Check it Out!

I just heard a great conversation on the radio with David Suzuki. His Foundation and website can be viewed here: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/

That radio program can be heard here: http://www.kuow.org/m3u/wk1_20041202.m3u

check it out!

Blaahhhh!

This is the time of year when Seattle becomes a little challenging. Sun basically comes up about 8 am and then you have 8 hours of gray before it sets again at 4 pm. Its cold, but not cold enough to snow. Luckily I don't work in an office, and the sun does usually pop out for a couple hours, so I am lucky enough to be one of those people who notices. And if we can just make it to Dec. 21st, then our daylight will start to grow again. And finally, it its supposed to dump in the mountains this weekend, so I'll soon be schushing down the mountains. I don't know how non-skiers/boarders survive the NW. So I guess its not all that bad.

Oh yeah, we Seattlites also, love our coffee this time of the year. Jen and I add Cupcakes to that love at our local coffee shop/cupcake bakery: http://veritecoffee.com/

Thanksgiving - Bastyr Style

An awesome Thanksgiving dinner last night hosted by Chrissy Amicone and April Ferris and Graham Blake. If you have never been to a Bastyr potluck, I'll give you a little idea of what its like by the menu:

Turkey (suprisingly, a Real Bird); Vegan Sweet Potatoes; Wheat Free, Sugar Free, Vegan Cornbread; Mashed Potatoes; Vegan Raw Spinach Soup; "Real" Sweet Potatoes with Jack Daniels; Vegan Mashed Potatoes; Green Pea Casserole with Faken Bacon; Really Good Cranberry sauce; Gluten Free Pumpkin Pie; Tiramasu; Wheat Free, Sugar, Vegan Pumpkin Pie, and so on.

Nevertheless, Everything was amazing, and I don't think I will have to eat for a couple days...but if I do I have leftovers for a week :)

LVM #14

I hosted the newest LVM video tonight at Red Hook--#14. This one featured Tatlow Creek, which I filmed this august. An awesome creek, and awesome to see the crew on the big screen.

Check out LVM here: www.lunchmag.tv

Check out Tatlow Creek: www.bodyboatblade.com/video/Tatlow.wmv

Saving the Ashlu

After returning from Colorado last night I woke up early and headed north to meet Bryan Smith for a mission to save the Ashlu. It was the final meeting, and the last chance to comment on the proposed Micro Hydro Project on the Ashlu River. Before the meeting, however, we met Jonaven for a celebration of the Ashlu by running the Box canyon. It turned out to be quite high and pumpy, especially for Bryan's first run. But we all made it through, and feeling charged, we headed to town to voice our opinion about this special river. There was a big crowd with several people for and against the project. We can only wait and hope now.

The Husband and Wife

The Robinson Family

The Best MEN! Check out my dad looking good in a suit :)

Little Brother's Big Wedding

I recently got back from a great trip to Colorado for my Brother's wedding. He and Ashley got married on Nov. 13th in Ft. Collins, CO. They had several friends and family come up and join them for both the ceremony and the reception. It was a great opportunity for me to see much of my large family, as well as many friends. I also enjoyed spending a few days in the old college stomping grounds with two nights out in Old Town Ft. Collins. Then we spent a night at Dave and Tami's in Longmont before heading up to Buena Vista for a couple days to say hello to CKS and the new kids, as well as a quick stop in Summit County. A quick but productive trip as always to Colorado.

Check out more of the pictures here:
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=276716990203&page=1&sort_order=0
and
http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?&collid=493546990203&page=1&sort_order=0

Shades of Purple. While I am not excited about the outcome of the election. This may gives a better perspective on our "not-so" divided nation.

Happy Halloween

A fairly low key celebration this year (no party at our house). We went to a documentary film presentation/speaker/dj dance party presented by Woody Harrelson, who was on tour promoting his organization, Voice Yourself www.voiceyourself.org I got to meet him afterwards because Jen knows him fairly well after dating one of his friends back in her Hollywood days. While he was preaching to the choir somewhat, it was a good reminder to keep buying organic and remembering that small actions make a big difference, and everytime you pull your wallet out, you are supporting something.....organic or genetically modified, small farmers or factory farms, bulk foods or mass-marketed, heavily packaged products.

Sorry got a little off topic there. I guess the political season is overriding the Halloween season.
Cheers.