Made it to Portland

Lora and the Girls made it to Portland after more than an hour delay in take-off from Fresno. Thankfully, their lay-over in Portland was to be nearly four hours, so they didn't miss their connection. Other passengers were not so lucky.

So far, the best part of the trip for the Girls has been the kids play area at the Portland International Airport. Rebecca told her Dad, "Yeah, the airplane ride was ok. But they've got Legos here and SpongeBob on a TV!"

North to Alaska...

Lora and the Girls are headed to Alaska for a few weeks to spend time with Family. After three days of packing, re-packing, nerves and anticipation, they're off the ground.

Happy Birthday!!!

Today is Rebecca's birthday. She had a few friends over on Saturday for a 'My Little Pony' party. There was pink everywhere. They got to get their faces painted, decorate their own cake, and watch a movie. Becca also got a few more ponies to add to her collection.

Tonight, she has requested a special birthday dinner: Denny's.

Bike Ride

After a long time of watching (her whole life really) Katrina decided she wanted to ride a bike just like her sisters do. With a few adjustments, and a little help from Daddy, she was off. When asked if she wanted her own bike, the reply was an ear-to-ear grin.

See all the pics here.

Safety First!

It has been brought to our attention, by more than one person, that the previous May 27th entry titled Sleepwalker contained disturbing images of a two-year old cuddled up to a hunting rifle. Well, no kidding. That's part of what was funny about the whole incident. So, in order to curtail any more emails pointing at our camo-wearing, 'redneck' parenting, an overdue disclaimer: No firearms were harmed in the capturing of this photo. The child's diapers were empty and the firing mechanism (including firing pin & trigger) were removed from the rifle. The biggest danger was the possibility of rust from a possible puddle of drool.

Neither the Child & Winchester were in any harm. Relax.

Caching & Cops

We had been caching on our way from Mesquite to Kerman. After visiting six caches that are out along the Old Salt Lake Highway, and as we were headed to another, we noticed a Highway Patrol plane flying overhead. As we drove south, the plane circled and passed over us four times, once flying VERY low.

It was no surprise to us then, that when we reached the road that leads back to the freeway underpass, that there was a Nevada State Trooper waiting for us. Amanda and Rebecca were worried that we were going to be arrested. The trooper was very nice and asked if we were lost. We told him we were just looking at the old road, and then he followed us out (as you can see in the rear-view mirror of the van) as we got back on the freeway. So, we missed out on one cache, but we appreciated all the others that were in this area, and we appreciated the NHP watching out for the travelers in Nevada. Caching is always an adventure!

Sleepwalker?

Katrina completely freaked us out Saturday night!

Kevin went in to check on her around 10:30pm, but she wasn't in her bed. Sometimes she will climb on to the couch in our room and sleep there, but she was not there either. Kevin said he had already checked the bathroom and closet and she wasn't there. We checked under the bed and in the girl's room, but no luck. We even checked the garage, knowing there was no way she could get that door open by herself. I checked the rest of the house, saying a little prayer as I went. She wasn't in any of the other rooms.

Kevin came out to say that he had found her, but that I would never believe where he found her. He was right - I didn't. She was in the closet, under Kevin's shirts, way back in the corner of the wall. All we could see were her toes poking out from under the shirts.

Whew! Prayer answered!

When we asked her the next morning why she had climbed under daddy's shirts, she said, "...Sleep". There's two-year-old logic for you!

Next time we will look there first!

See all the pics here.

Our own episode of COPS

We were on our way up to Mom and Dad's in Auberry this Sunday, and as we were nearing the town of Prather, we came up behind a Sheriff's SUV that was traveling behind an RV that was driving very slowly. As we came up behind them, we could see that the right side of the RV was completely torn up, as though it had hit a guard rail and scraped along it for quite a ways.

Just then, two other Sheriff SUVs came from the opposite direction and did a u-turn in front of us and began to follow the RV as well. Suddenly the SUVs swerved and we soon saw that a glass beer bottle had come out of the RV and had smashed on the road. Now we knew for sure that the driver of the RV had to be VERY drunk! As the RV drove slowly up the mountain, it bounced up onto the berm on the edge of the road and wobbled as it made it's way up the road.

A few minutes later the drunk RV driver pulled off the side of the road (or perhaps accidently drove off the side of the road) and the Sheriff's SUVs fanned out, blocking the road. The deputies got out, guns drawn, and approached the vehicle. A short time later it appeared that the driver literally fell out of the RV, and the deputies helped him up, cuffed him and took him to one of the SUVs. Then, the deputies cleared the road and off we went.

It was very lucky that the RV driver seems to have only damaged his own vehicle, as he could have easily crossed the center line on the winding mountain roads and hit another car, or gone off the side of the road and down the mountain.

See all the pics here.

Public Service & Waffles

This morning, the Girls were told that their Dad was appointed to the Planning Commission by the City Council last night. As important as that seemed to be, it paled in comparison to the fact that Mom had just told them we'd be having waffles for supper tonight.

Public Service & Musical Chairs

The City of Kerman recently created (re-created) the position in the Public Works Department of Director. Ken Moore, a member of the Kerman City Council, the immediate past Mayor, resigned from the Council to take up the position. Mr. Moore was replaced on the Council by Charlie Jones, an acting member of the Planning Commission. By being appointed to the Council, Mr. Jones left a vacancy on the Planning Commission.

Tonight, Kevin was appointed by the City Council to fill the vacancy on the City of Kerman Planning Commission. The appointment is for the remaining of Mr. Jones two-year term, which ends in December.