Summer Swimming Pictures

I am still amazed when I see my kids at the pool. They are so adept and so brave to jump right in there and to compete. I came across this pictures of Taylor today - great action shots taken by our neighbor:

Mary & Baby

Carson and Stella

The Cats rule the roost!

MAC loves to climb on the garden fence. I'm not sure whether he does this to view his world, or just get away from the dogs. Elvis stays firmly on the ground. The cats play outside all day, but we put them in the barn at night.

Who's the hot Kayak Chick?

That would be Tracy. Yes we were finally able to find time to get out on the Occoquan Resevoir to do some kayaking. This is Tracy's "home court" for mountain biking, so it was good to get her to "clip out" of her bike and explore the park outside of the trails, and as Tracy admits...for the first time she paddled the water without a pack of other adventure racers chasing her lead. We thoroughly enjoyed the relaxing paddle and even saw a few bald eagles flying around. We topped it off with a swing by Starbucks where we met a 10 month old who says "coffee"...okay it was more like "copy", but you get the point...her parents have not successfully hidden their serious caffeine addiction from her. Long story short....kayaking is relaxing...coffee is good for all ages.

Maya Starts Soccer

Maya started her first "formal" soccer team this year. She is enjoying the non-stop running and energy of U-6 Soccer. She's had an excellent role model in Taylor who is now playing in the U-10 league and has a really fun team. I still can't believe either of them are getting so old, but all my attempts to slow them down don't seem to work! Here are some pics of Maya and her teammates. Pics of Taylor and her VERY animated teamates (hilarious entertainment at all costs) coming at a later installment...7 more games this season should lead to plenty of opportunity!

First Day of School - 4 Sep 2007

So the girls went back to school on the 4th. Taylor into 5th grade(!) and Maya into kindergarten(!) We had a great summer with just the right onslaught of activities. I think everyone is excited for the Fall and the coming activities with friends, school, soccer, etc. Here is Taylor in her new role on bus patrol; Tracy and Maya before Maya headed to Kindergarten (same Montesorri school, but now as one of the "upperclass[wo]men"); and Taylor and Maya on the first day of school; All is right as the structure of school activities hit us like a welcome school bus ;-)

Where did Summer go?

Having completed the long summer of work travel, I decided to get my kayak out on Burke Lake to enjoy unusually pleasant weather for this time of year (L60s-H~80). It had been over a month since my last outing and I couldn't let the summer end without one more go. It seems like this summer was a blur and it took the isolation of the middle of a lake to reflect upon all the activities.

I'm thinking of naming the Blue Heron in the pictures I took while kayaking. We've developed quite a friendship, as I see it everytime I get on the lake.

I hope everyone is doing well and that you are eagerly anticipating what I term the ROCKINEST season of the year...Fall. Here come school, soccer, pants weather, and rainy day storms. Ahhhhhhhhhwsum.

Max and Elvis are doing great. They even get along with the Dogs.

Gramma Jane takes a tumble, but the shoes are cute!

Jane took a tumble down some stairs, notice the bruised arm. But, she was wearing some really cute shoes. Could that have been the cause of her mishap?

We now know how to post!!!!

This is the first of many posts from us. The kids had a blast playing in Astoria.

Maya is a HamBone

A Tribute to Charles Shultz

After a very competitive auditioning process, Taylor was selected to be Sally in the Summer production. This is a peice of her solo (our camera battery was low despite me charging it the night before!)..and another peice...
She did a fantastic job!

Riding the Rockies

The last two weeks of June I took my motorcycle for a little ride. I went 4300 miles through 8 states and 4 national parks. The pictures above are from the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone park. I then spent 4 days in Colorado. I had a great time.

Here is Tim and his new car. He purchased it in Portland, so I delivered it to him in Lake Tahoe. It is a 2005 Volkswagon Passat GLX. It is all wheel drive, and fully loaded. It has under 10,000 miles on it and He got a great deal.

Our new office

After much gnashing of teeth we have our new flooring and paint in the new office. We are wired and ready to roll come monday morning! It's still small, but nice to have more space. Here's a quick peek at our new environment.

Update from Carson

Maya Gymnastics

Hello to Carson - Love Maya

Carsons Third Birthday

Maya Soccer!

My last marathon...?

After the my marathon two years ago in Greenbelt Maryland I swore I was never going to punish myself like that again. But there I was last Sunday. My fifth marathon and the least prepared I had ever been (I thought I was going to die after running 18 miles a few weeks ago - serious!). It was painful. It was slow. But it was the most beautiful run I have had yet. Great weather and nothing but trees and the sound of the stream for miles. It was an offroad marathon which means hills and roots and rocks. This translates into at least an hour slower finish times. I finished in 5 hours. Second place female across the finish line. Check out the photos - I'm white as a ghost I was so wiped out!


Photos Here

First Piano Recital

Maya's first piano recital and Taylor's first duet! They were very calm and very confident and we were very proud. Maya had fun and says she was not even nervous.

Pretty Quiet in Cyberspace

It's pretty quiet out here. Is there nothing going on in our lives, or are we all so busy that we don't have time to communicate. Just Checking.

Improve Your Argument

"Don't raise your voice; improve your argument"
- Archbishop Desmond Tutu quoting his father

Wow, what a fantastic quote this is! This comes more naturally to some people. Not so naturally for those of us with hot blood (is it the italian?) but I'm trying to learn.

Carson's Bed & Pets

I am building a bed for Carson. Here is the work in progress. Baxter is helping me. And when he isn't able to help, the Elk join us in the neighborhood to help.

Beware owls!

Hi family; So, Dave and I rode our bikes into town today since the temperature was in the mid-50's and there was no rain. On the way back toward Svenson, I was just coming out of a corner and headed up to the John Day River bridge when a beautiful (thankfully small) owl came flying across the road. I could tell that it was going to hit me, so I ducked my head while still trying to watch the road. Sure enough, it smacked right into my helmet! I really thought I'd go down, but managed to maintain the bike. At first, I felt a little stunned but was able to ride. Then, I was fine. However, the poor owl might not have faired as well. It then flew at Dave but didn't crash into him. (it did poop on his bike:)) Dave saw it land on the side of the road. It was too stunned to fly. I was going about 50 miles an hour when we collided! Now that was a motorcycle moment.
I have to say that the owl was really gorgeous. I even noticed it's eyes as it flew toward me. It had blond and white feathers and was probably about 16-20 inches long. I hope it's fine. And, I really don't want many motorcycle moments like that.

yes I had a tooth that fell out and now I had a loose tooth

Climbing the Walls

We are having so much fun at the rock gym! Here is a picture of Maya climbing last week. Taylor climbed so high so quickly that we didn't get a picture - maybe next time!

Peace in Oregon

OK, there may not be peace in the world. But, we are going to try for Peace in Astoria. This was my gift to Jane.

Sunshine,Diapers, and Teeth

It is another beautiful day here. Carson and I have been playing a lot outside, hammering, digging, running, going on bike rides occassionally. Carson has been announcing that his "diaper is not better" and wants it changed. But, our conversation today leads me to believe he will be wearing diapers until Kindergarten. He said "I don't yike sitting on the potty. I'm going to wear a diaper". hmmm. . . . I am patiently waiting the magical moment when he is done with that.

I also fear he is almost done with napping. Today we had lunch downtown with Scott, went to the post-office (mailed the Betts package finally!), deposited some money at the bank, and came home to nap. He swears he isn't tired (although he is sound asleep right now). I'm holding out on the nap for a while. I"m just not ready to give them up myself!

Tomorrow we're off to the dentist. Carson still has all his teeth, fortunately! Maya, how is your tooth hole?

Snow Days and Growing Up

So it snowed yesterday. It is pretty. Schools were delayed 2 hours and the girls had their first Doctor appointment since 2004 when Mike left the Air Force. Everyone is healthy: Maya is smart as a whip and Taylor is, dare I say this publicly, hitting puberty (officially). I have to say that I have felt a bit out of sorts about this all day. Why is it such a hard transition when your daughters (kids?) hit this stage? Dad - I love the pictures - you look really fit - been working out lately?

Snow Pictures

Snow in Astoria. It was really great.

My First Tooth That is Lost

first,i,need.to,tl.you.hou.mini.teeth.i.hav.lost.1.o.,i,.frgot.to.tl.you.goodbye
.goodbyi.o.that.is,.wutiwontid,to-tlyou/love.maya

Greetings from Snowtown, USA

Hi guys! Just wanted to send a quick hello and see your cool new blog. Here's a picture from the great blizzard of 2007! Carson and his two buddies. He liked them because they were such great listeners. At least until their heads melted away.

Love you all,

Scott

From Papa Dave

Hi Guys,
The snow is finally melted at our house. It was one of the prettiest snowfalls we have had in ages. I hated to see it go. Jane & I went out with friends last night. (This was the second night in a row for us!) Had a good time and listened to some good music. Other then that I have just been working on the barn. I am putting sheetrock on the inside. I have a stack of about 30 sheets of sheetrock, but that won't go far.
When we come to see you in Feb. can we go to the rock gym & watch you climb. It sounds like a lot of fun. Did you see the pictures of frozen silos in Iowa? They are climbing the sides of frozen silos instead of rock walls. Very odd.
Congrats to Mike on the corner office. Even with windows. I'm impressed.

I am finally catching up!

I am enjoying some quiet time while both my boys sleep, so I'm catching up with the blog and thought I'd post.
Our snowmen no longer have heads, as everything is melting, but we enjoyed several snow days and everything that comes with them (hot chocolate, walking in the snow, Carson learning how to throw snowballs at me). Scott's been up in Seattle a lot for work and we are all tired of it. I'm working a couple of days and enjoying it. This time of year we tend to have really interesting patients. Tonight Scott and I head to a dinner club we have with some friends. The menu for this one: Sushi. I can't wait. I'll try to keep up with all of you. I can't wait to hear more about rock climbing, and wonder if Maya likes it, too? How many teeth are you missing Maya? All of you should expect a package in the mail this week . . .

Dijida-grammy

Hi family Betts! I finally logged on so I can write to you guys. I see none of you has written anything lately, so pick up the pace! Our snow finally melted yesterday, January 18. I was looking on this and trying to figure out how to attach current photos for you guys. I'll have to experiment, huh?
This week, among other things, I printed out many, many photos from our Christmas in Tahoe. Mike, you took some amazing photos and the Art Deco ones looks amazing framed and hung along our stairway wall. I also put together some cool black and white collages. I'm making one for Ed and Sylvia of you all because the photos are so good.
So, it's Friday night and Dave and I are actually going "out." We're sharing a meal (we're both trying to lose weight) at the Columbian and then enjoying some local bands at the Voodoo Room. What are you guys doing?
Taylor: The rock climbing club is very impressive sounding and must be a lot of fun. I NEED photos of all four of you climbing. Okay?
I'll see you all at the end of February for Maya's FIFTH!!! birthday. I hope Maya can eat cake with all her teeth coming out:). Love you guys lots. Dijida-grammy.

I want to see pictures of SNOW!

This is such an easy tool to use to communicate! I hope you all can use it and upload photos every once in a while. I want some pictures of all the snow you are stealing from us!

What's new with us?

• Mike and I made the local news for, uh, pretty much doing nothing. The scoop here!



• Mike now has a corner office. What does this mean? While not a promotion his proximity to the "action" is significant. I can only image how difficult it is to achieve corner office with a window status working in the secure environment he works in.



• Maya lost her first tooth and her second is loose! Can you believe it? She's not even 5 so I am a bit worried. We're going to the Dr. and the Dentist this week. She is very excited about her new "grown up" status though.



• Taylor is now on the Junior team at the rock gym. Its not a competitive team but an environment for her to learn and practice climbing every week. We spent about 6 hours at the gym last weekend and had great fun because all of us - even maya - can participate.

OK - that's all for now. I hope to see some posts from you all here. Let me know if anyone else in our families want to participate and I can add them.