Corner of Bluff and Proctor where teams are waiting for their runners for the relay exchange. 

Runners coming down towards the exchange 7. 

No kidding! 

The ditch where the runner fell. 

...I worry, I throw my fear around, But this morning, there's a calm I can't explain, The rock candy's melted, only diamonds now remain...

What a face paced mixed with relaxing weekend. The funeral service was very pleasant. A beautiful day, the service made me cry when they were folding the flag, and the gun salute scared to bajeebuzz out of me. There wer tons of people there. The smallest group was family. On Don's parents came, sisters all absent. Patty's family all there even neighbors Grettle and Jay. Lots of friends from the water bureau and drinking and golfing buddies. The eulogy mentions his love of Mustangs (cars) and golf. The fact that two days before Amy's wedding, he got hit in the eye by a golfball, and how he was cantankerous and saw life as a party. Lots of family headed over to Patty's afterwards and had pizza and a screwdriver in honor of Don. At 4:25 I left Frank and Lexie at Patty's and headed out to Sandy. I didn't get there until 5:40pm. Traffice was horrible. I was ten minutes late for my shift, but there were a lot of late arrivals. My first job was traffic control, for about 15 minutes to give another person a break. Then I moved on to being a 'yeller', which I did for the rest of the night. Fun job, easy during light hours. The teams all hoover about on one side of the intersection at the exchange point, waiting for their runner to arrive to be relieved. My job entailed standing on the side of the road about 200 feet from the exchange point, and calling out runner's numbers as they approached me. Then the next 'yeller' down the line would yell the number down to the yeller at the exchange who called it out on a megaphone. Besides proving that runners don't travel the speed of sound, this announcement was meant to prepare the next runner for the exchange. This was all too easy and sometimes not even necessary from 6:00pm until 7:30, because it was still light enough for the teams to see and recognize their runners coming down the road. When it started getting dusky it became more imortant, and a lot harder! Many runner's team number were not at all visible, and they were mucho focused on running or listening to their headsets, and unable/unwilling to answer my call, "Number please?". I was very concerned about shining my light to far up their torso and blinding them. In fact, moments before I was supposed to leave, a runner took a dive into the ditch ten feet from me. My stomach did flips. He cursed and struggled, then ran along. I also saw one runner show up and no team... Also saw a team van being towed away, sure hope that team had backup transportation.. All in all, it was a great experience, and if I don't actually participate in the Portland to Coast walk next year, I will definitely try to volunteer again. It only took about a half hour to get back to Betty's to pick up Frank and Lexie. HOme by 11:00pm, bed by midnight. -- Saturday we drove up to the Thicket. We spotted a piiated woodpecker along with the normal nuthatches, chickadees, stellars, chipmunks, red squirrel, and one angry, loud grey. Too much gunfire from a neighbor target practive. The sound just riochettes all over the hillsides. We watched 'Hitch', a cute film. I burnt some garlic bread in the oven, and we had frankfurter hotdogs. We tried to watch 'Aviator', but I could never get into it and went to bed. The next day we got ready to leave early, but a call from Mom telling us they were only two hours from home prompted us to stay. We showered, vacuumed, wandered the trails, had tea, and sat up on the steps in my mostest favorite spot and waited for them to arrive. It was great to see them, we went home, took a nap, and well, now here I am.

Word(s) of the day: ATYPICAL ABNORMALITY

Lexie log: She had a blast at aunt Patty's with Marisa and Gavin, then had a good time with Daddy and Gramma Betty, who gave her a bath. -- Saturday night she started having the sniffles and sneezes. By Sunday it was really clear she had a cold. She was super excited to see Grammy and Grampa Dad again. She almost didn't want to leave. As soon as we pulled away, her cold hit her full force. She started to nod off, then woke up crying, not to sleep again until home, and then fitfully. Every time she fell asleep, she woke up shortly after crying. She got croupy, feverish and upset tummy too. The one thing that seemed to relieve her was a tepid bath. She didn't eat dinner and won't swallow any medicine we give her that might make her feel better. I hated leaving this morning and loathe calling to check on her because all it does is make want to go home and comfort her. I must admit that, for me at least, this is easier than the first two since I know a little better what to expect and how to handle things. Not something I wish I could become proficient in. My sweet little angel is such a trooper, it almost make me crumble to see her so uncomfortable. I can feel my tear ducts getting heavy even as I type it.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, Mom and Dad, healthy moments, weekends, activities, coffee, cats, potatoes, and happiness.

All the kids in the marketplace say , Ay oh whey oh, ay oh whey oh, Walk like and Egyptian...

Really really short blog today. Leaving in18 minutes to go get Lex and Frank and then to Willamette cemetary for the 12:00pm funeral for Don, then later to Sandy for the Hood to Coast thingy. -- Just got off the phone with Mom, and all is well.

Word(s) of the day: GRATITUDE ATTITUDE

Lexie log: Still keeping up with the bedtime routine. -- She slept an excessive amount yesterday. She's either having another growth spurt, or shes avoiding the heat.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, public transportation, energy conservation, fingernails, yawning, trees, and bushes.

Meow meow meow meow, Meow meow meow meow, Meow meow meow meow meow meow meow meow...

This is the song that is running through my head today... The Meow Mix commercial. Now that's a catchy tune. -- Talked to Mom for a while this morning. They are bumping back and forth between Alaska and Canada and saw a few brown bears yesterday. Rich and Sue are having some RV issues, which is to be expected when you travel as much as they have. I mean really, I put a scratch/dent in the top of a UHaul truck on a gas station overhang just on the short trip from Oregon to Kentucky. Mom and Dad should be home next Monday, then back to work for Mom. -- Work talk is 'All Vegas, all day' lately. Jan, Lana, Baiba, Sandy, and Lois are all going out to Vegas from Sunday to Tuesday next week. Justin just got back. The gals are all excited about it and talking about what they are going to do. Also getting stories from the others who have already been there. By the end of next week, I will be the only one in the office who has never been. However...I am probably also the only one who has ever climbed to the top of Mt. St. Helens.

Word(s) of the day: GREEN GLITTER BALLOON

Lexie log: We are starting a new bedtime routine. When it's time for bed we do the toilet, wash hands, brush teeth, crawl into to bed. It's working really well, I think. -- I can't wait to get the pictures from her two disposable cameras developed. Money is too tight right now. I haven't had a full paycheck for months. I thought this next one would be the first one, and now there is the funeral tomorrow at noon. Lexie's first funeral. I wonder how she will pick up on the atmosphere. -- I think I found the trick to getting her to try new meats. I just decided last night that even though Daddy picked her up a frozen kids meal, in case she didn't touch the pork loin, I would just ignore it, and it worked, sort of... She still won't try new food in the pressence of any other human. I put her dinner in front of her and let her eat alone watching Sponge Bob. She ate half before she wanted down, but instead of throwing the rest away, I left it in the living room on the coffee table. Slowly but surely by the end of the evening she ate every last bite. Eventually we will all eat back at the

And I said, "What about 'Breakfast at Tiffany's?'" She said, "I think I remember that film, And as I recall I think we both kind of liked it,"

Happy Birthday Jan. Now that the third desk in our cube is vacant, some decision has been made to use it as a buffet table for all the goodies people brought in for Jan's birthday. Absolutely nothing healthy except for the Strawberry, Feta, Cranberry, Almond, Leaf luttuce salad with Newman's raspberry vinegrette dressing. The rest is chips, dips, cake, muffins, brownies, and other assorted sweets. -- Frank is 100% better.

Word(s) of the day: SOLILOQUY

Lexie log: Writers block. Lexie fell in love a with a colorful leather cow that the gals at the office sent home with me. She cried when I took it away from her to wash it off. -- I'm at a loss for words. An abundance of sugary foods at work has caused a dramatic sugar high followed by a guaranteed sugar crash marked by blank stares, overheating, and generalized lethargy.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, soda pop, Jan's birthday, laughter, super funny E-card with Hoops and YoYo, and fun with family.

Grammy and Lexie walking out to the RV from the Fred Myers. 

Lexie Grammy and Barbara on the trampolene. Fred and Barbara's house in the background. 

Lexie's first Alaskan bear encounter. She is actually trying to get away in this picture. This is in a store in Anchorage that actually had a chocolate waterfall. 

Lexie's only other bear experience. At the Portage glacier visitor center.. The nickname she aquired on this trip was "Bear Bait" 

You make me feel like dancin, Wanna dance the night away...

Frank is sicker than I have ever seen him. I hope he is OK at home today. He sound miserable on the phone. Poor baby. I was rude to him last night because I was so frustrated that I couldn't help him in anyway, then I was worried with nothing to do, and when I went to lay down on the couch to try and rest, I felt bad about abandoning him. Wow, now how does that work? I get to feel like crap even though I'm not sick? Now I'm spending 30% of my brain worrying all day about him. -- Yeah for me! The mosquito bite behind my right ear that bugged me the last three days of the Alaska trip has become a fungal infection. Wow, doesn't that make me feel super! The only spot on me that I didn't put DEET on the morning of the fishing trip was parts unseen, including behind my ears. Within ten minutes of arriving in Hope, some huge'ol mosquito latched on behind my ear. My hand flew up to my ear, ending his life, and within the hour a huge bite took form. I applied "After Bite", but it continued to irritate me for another week. Then, as it disappeared my new issue appeared. Fun, fun, fun. -- Don's funeral is this Friday at noon. I'll leave work at 10:00 to go home and pick up Frank and Lexie. Then afterwards, take them home and go to the Hood to Coast race where I'm volunteering...In Sandy! What a long day...-- Thank you Carrie, for the contributing to my word of the day. -- Last night at some point the wind really picked up and I had to shut some windows. Creepy.

Word(s) of the day: SUPER SECRETOR

Lexie log: Daddy didn't feel well, so he went to bed before us and we stayed up and watched the end of her latest Sponge Bob tape. Bedtime can be so nice sometimes. After the show, I took her into the bathroom, she tried her hardest to use the big toilet, then she washed her hands and brushed her teeth. Now for one of the most wonderful things in the world....We crawled into bed and about five minutes later, she reaches over and touches my forehead. She says, "Momma?" I answer yes and she says, "I love you." And she drifts off to sleep. Then I fall asleep listening to her gently snore.


Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, Swet Pea anti-bacterial moisturzing hand gel, peanut butter bread, slippers, cooler weather, and happiness.

Fred and Barbara as we wait for the Whittier tunnel to open for us to go through. 

Here we are at the start of our Glacier tour in Prince William sound. Beautiful trip. 

Restaraunt we went to. Awesome hamburger joint. This little gravel beach is dinning area right on Campbell Creek. We are standing on a deck that looks over the creek watching Salmon. 

Hatcher and Lexie. Hatcher is much larger than Lex. Part shepard/Huskie, part Great Dane. 

Oh yeah life goes on, Long after the thrill of livin is gone...

Well, Don passed away last night. Betty called a little after 10:00 to let us know. Yesterday was PattyAnn and Don's 23rd wedding anniversary. PattyAnn, Amy, and Johnny were all there. Karen is being a great shoulder for PattyAnn. -- Light and fluffy, light and fluffy, down amygdala, down boy! All right then... I've changed my mind about the silicone ear plugs. Besides not liking the lack of sound, water got in anyway. So, back to the right legged hop after swimming. -- Back to work. Since TT has gone it was decided to rotate the responsibility of mail, so off to sorting, stamping, highlighting, stapleing, adding, copying, sorting again. -- This weekend we stayed up at the Thicket. Frank watched and listened Sunday morning as a deer snorted and made it's way past the house.

Word(s) of the day: RUBY THROATED FINCH

Lexie log: I miss her. Weekends rock! Daddy is teaching her to say, "You Rock!". -- This week we are going to try to get over to Inidan Hills and let her practice on her trike. -- Grammy has her work cut out for her when she returns. Lexie had a total fit when we started heading down their driveway this weekend. She only calmed down after she realized they wern't there. -- She spent the better part of Saturday evening transferring millet from a bowl in the back to a bird feeder. A little project we devised for her. Earlier Saturday we hiked up to the top of the drive to cut back blackberry branches, got all the way up there only to find that I had brought up the dull clippers. Back down the hill, then clippity clip clip clip. All the leaves and branches were covered with a layer of dirt/dust from the road. The temperature was in the eighties, and by the time we were through, we were covered in dirt. Lexie had fun splashing around in the tub later. She also enjoyed watching chipmunks and squirrels.

Today I'm grateful for Frank and Lexie, Patty, Rapsberry mocha, Carrie, and fun stuff.

First day in Alaska. Fred takes us on a five minute drive to a trailhead and viewpoint in the Chugach Mountains. 

Chugach. 

Moose poop. 

Where's Waldo, the moose? Actually there are two, mama and youngster. Not a very good moose picture, but we could see them well enough. 

Campbell Creek. 

Lexie and Fred get a little ahead of Frank and I. They are almost to the bridge over Campbell Creek. 

Lexie and Fred and Chugach 

Almost the end of the walk, Almost Lexie asleep. 

End of the walk, Lexie asleep as Fred carries her back to the truck. 

Yes sleeping on the hood of the car. Why, you ask???? 

Lexie Sleeping on the hood of Fred's truck as we wait for Barbara to arrive to rescue us. Keys in ignition, door locked. 

Pretty in Pink. 

Fish face. Alaska Sea Life Center, Seward.