Jumping and swimming!

There's nothing like vacationing and NOT having to try to make it to EVERY ride at EVERY theme park! Hangin' at mom and dad's is mostly about reconnecting with friends and spending ALOT of time by the pool. The tampoline also gets a big workout!

Vacation Food!

Going home to mom and dad's includes the treat of mom's good 'ol home cookin'!

Yup... it's a good week to be ME!

VACATION ROCKS!

As we said good-bye to Oregon...

We said good-bye to rediculous speed limits!

And as we said hello to Idaho...

We said, "Gas pedal, meet floor... floor, meet gas pedal!"

Don't Forget Your Helmet!

I was involved in car vs. bicycle accident this week... had it not been for the fact that the man on the bike was wearing his helmet, the result may have been much worse. He was able to walk away from the accident. He was riding in a bike lane when he suddenly and without warning turned to the left into my lane leaving me nowhere to go and no time to react. I can't put into words the horror of hitting someone and watching them fly up your hood and on to your windshield. The sight and the sound is still so fresh in my mind. We thank God he is alright. My beloved little Subaru is just a hunk of metal that is replaceable... a human life is not. So if you ride... wear your helmet, and always look for cars, and then look again.

Here she is prior to the accident...

And here's what she looks like after broadsiding a bicyclist at 40 MPH

This is the ROOF of the car just above the windshield...

The Dave Arthur Phenomenon

Another Perfect Oregon Weekend!

It's not often we get as many house guests as we've had in the past few weeks, and we're lovin' it! Right now my brother and sister-in-law (Rich and Sally) are here with the kiddo's (Rachel, Rebecca, and William).

The weather this weekend couldn't be better... not a single cloud in site!

So we spent the day at the beach on the banks of the Columbia River

The Many Faces of William...

Okay, so my nephew only has one face...

A really, really HAPPY ONE!

PAYBACK!

For all those times the big brother picked on his little brother...

For all the times he gave him the smaller piece of cake...

For all the times he tattled on his little brother...

He posts this lovely picture of you, his older brother, on his blog

Trying to catch up!

Has it already been a week? 4th of July has come and gone and I'm trying to catch up on the blog with the latest shots of what we've been up too. We live in a small community of 6,000 people and that can bring a fun small town atmosphere. 4th of July is always fun as the children get to have a parade. It reminds me a little of the 4th of July's we'd have in Glen Ellyn, Illinois when all the kids got to ride their bikes in the parade. This parade is 95% kids... just riding their bikes, along with some of the towns emergency vehicles.

Ecclesiastes 4:9

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work

Life's A Beach...

We recently hit the beach with our Boise friends, the Stevensons

Trust me... these may LOOK fun, but they'll kick your rear!

Shauna keeps an eye on the fire for the SMORES that were to come!

The Story of "IBDAVE"

Way back when in 1985, I was up late watching my favorite late night show, "Late Night With David Letterman"

He was doing his show from California and was talking about how many people in Cali had personalized license plates. So he assembled a bunch of Californians with their cars and their licenese plates for an interview. The only one I can remember was a "not-so-sexy" old woman who drove a 1975 Mercury with the plate that said "IBSEXY" !!! I laughed out loud because she really was a far cry from what her plate described. But at that moment, I thought "IBDAVE" would be a fun plate to have on my car when I had my own wheels. That dream came true when dad gifted me the old 1966 Datsun Pick-Up I'd been driving as a graduation gift. I went right out to the Idaho DMV and got the plate I wanted!

Funny thing, the guy at the Idaho DMV was named Dave, and he thought my plate was unique enough to photocopy and display at DMV as the first "IB" plate. Now, some 23 years later, "IBDAVE" is still on my car and I just can't let it go. I don't know why... I probably need a 12-step program to be able to go back to a generic plate.