A Big Dog

We ran into a full-grown version of Tug at Golden Gardens. His name was Otto and he weighed 175 pounds. Tug looked amazingly small next to him. Otto was a very friendly dog with a gentle disposition, which is where we're hoping Tug is headed in the next year or so.

Thanksgving in Ashland

We did a quick trip to Ashland for Thanksgiving this year. Aaron and Noah played some chess with Grandpa Cozza, and Aunt Monica got to see the kiddies.

Aaron Does Some Pumpkin Carving

Noah Starts Karate, and Aaron Gets Another Belt

Noah got special dispensation to start karate classes at age five instead of the normal six, and Aaron earned his orange belt this month!

A Day at the Pool

We discovered one of the local city pools has a Sunday afternoon swimming session that is remarkably uncrowded for the Seattle area. Aaron likes the high dive and Noah even likes to go off the low board.

High Pass Challenge

A couple of friends talked me into riding the High Pass Challenge with the Cascade Bike Club. It was 114 miles with 7500 ft of vertical and goes through the Mount St. Helens blast zone with the highest point at a St. Helens overlook. This was the first my 100+ mi ride ever, and my first trip to the mountain since watching the big May 18 eruption in awe from the roof of our house not far away in Vancouver, WA, many years ago. Finished the ride surprisingly intact in 6:59 including stops for lunch & snacks, pictures, and down riders. The last photo here is of the first rider back down the hill who somehow lost control and went through the side of the bridge. He fell about 30-40 feet onto big rocks and logs. He's getting loaded into a basket here on the way to getting airlifted out. The list of injuries was long including fractures and lacerations, but, amazingly, was expected to make a full recovery.

Back to School

Apple Capital Triathlon

The family did a late summer trip to the Wenatchee area for the Apple Capital Triathlon. The transition area was at Daroga State Park on the Columbia River. Steve ended up first out overall of the water, and was still first off the bike, but faded a bit on the run with some stomach cramps (quite possibly due to dehydration) to finish in third place overall. The water picture below shows part of the swim course. The splashing that is barely visible along the shoreline is from racers in the water. We also brought our double kayak and did a bit of paddling after the race along the shore.

Steve did a few other triathlons this summer. Best finish overall was probably first in age group and 10th overall in the Mid-Summer Triathlon in Portland, Oregon, which was the TriNW Sprint Distance Championship race for the Pacific Northwest region.

Sailing on the Sound

A friend invited the family out on his big sailboat in August. Noah takes the helm while Aaron picks out a fishing lure.

Small Grandparents Visit

G&G Small came up to visit this summer. We decided to go up to Leavenworth for the night. We had some good German food, visited the Stevens Pass ski area, and did a couple of quick hikes in the area.

Cama Beach Trip

A large group rented a bunch of cabins at Cama Beach State Park on Camano Island. Camano Island is on Saratoga Passage between Whidbey Island and the mainland. We brought our kayak and did some paddling, and otherwise hung out on the beach. There were lots of crafts and other activities to keep the kids busy.

Steve took Tug out in the kayak (not going too far from shore) and Tug decided that he apparently wasn't comfortable with Steve's driving. He jumped out of the boat and swam to shore. It was his first attempt at swimming but he did it like a pro. Tug is definitely a Newfie.

Tug's Favorite Spot on a Hot Summer Day

Fishing Trip

A friend invited me and Aaron to go out on his fishing boat which he had at Westport on the Washington coast. We caught our limit of eight healthy salmon in a couple of hours. The highlight was a 19 pound king salmon caught by Aaron. He reeled in the fish by himself, with just a little help from Dad hanging on to him to make sure he didn't get pulled off the boat. We ended up with enough salmon in the freezer to last a while.

The Boys turn 5 & 8!

We had a low-key birthday for the boys this year--we don't really have room in the house for that many more birthday presents. The Cozza grandparents came up for the weekend, and we did the usual trip to a local park for a photo op.

Lemonade Stand

Aaron and a couple of neighborhood kids set up a lemonade stand on the corner of our block. The weather was hot and they got a fair amount of traffic. They made a nice little profit, getting a good early lesson in free enterprise. Planned for next summer: a drive-through window.

Noah Graduates From Preschool

The New Puppy

Cub Scout Campout

We did a Cub Scout campout at a state park on the sound on Chuckanut Drive just south of Bellingham. We were fortunate enough to be there during an exceptionally low tide, and the boys were able to find lots of cool creatures. Everybody was pretty tired out by the end of the trip.

He's Out!

An Addition to the Family

Well, we did it. After much thought, we came home with a black and white Newfoundland puppy (that coloring is typically called the Landseer color variation). We decided to name him Tug, since it's likely that he's going to like the water, being a newfie, and, he may share certain characteristics with a tugboat when he gets a little bigger.

Trip to California

Sheryl & Doug were going to be in CA with the family so we managed to get in a trip for a quick family reunion. We hung out at the grandparents place for a bit and explored some of the sights around the Sacramento area.