Westmoreland Asays

A week after Meg returned from her long road trip, we took an extended weekend in Waldport, staying at my former (now retired) co-worker's house. This was our third trip to stay with Shirley but the first time we've dragged the kids with us. They behaved okay, I suppose, although they had their moments. We left Portland mid-morning, just missing the heat wave that took over while we were gone. Ian and Eddie fell asleep shortly after departing, but Ian woke up about an hour later and wasn't thrilled with being in the car for two more hours (and dutifully voiced his opinion, as only he can). After stopping by the house to say hello and dump our luggage, we drove the mile or so to downtown Waldport and played on Alsea Bay. Even though it is no more than a mile from the ocean, it was sunny and only mildy windy; at the actual coastline, it was cloudy/misty and extremely windy--to the point where it was uncomfortable. On Saturday Meg and Aaron walked back down to Waldport/Al...

1999 symbolizes my "freedom" time: I was a college graduate, gainfully-employed, virtually debt-free, and single/childless. I pretty much did what I wanted and didn't have to report to anyone or commit to any thing. This past week felt like I had stepped backwards in time, as Meg decided, on a whim, to drive to Salt Lake City--with kids in tow--and stay with my parents for a week. Since I wasn't part of the road trip, you'll have to encourage her to share any stories , although she has confessed to me that she's done with blogging. Here are the highlights of the back-in-time party that was this week: Exercise : Besides my daily 11-mile round trip commute by bike to the office, I went on three other bike rides around Clackanomah County, swam at the pool twice, and ran once. Cleaning : Organized some of our outdoor living space, cleaned the house from top-to-bottom, washed the G20, cleaned my bike, and manicured the outside landscape. Sleep : Every night wa...

You might label this entry as extreme navel gazing, but I listen to a local, online radio show that broadcasts every Friday at 11:00 a.m. Pacific: Movie BS with Bayer and Snider . Eric and Jeff's show is centered around movies--what's new, what's coming, and other various happenings. In Episode 10, they called out to their audience to submit answers to their question of the week; I couldn't think of a good answer for their first question, but I've faithfully replied to every question thereafter. You can listen below to the parts of the show where they discuss my submission. I will upload clips from future shows in this post, so if you like examining my navel as much as I do, come back every week to see what color the lints is. I must credit Meg for introducing me to Eric D. Snider . She remembers reading his newspaper column when they were both students at a certain university, and she suggested that I would like and appreciate his work, since he seems to critique...

While Edward, Aaron, and I were camping east of the mountains , Meg woke up early on a Saturday and stood in line for a few hours to sign up all three boys for free swimming lessons at the historical Sellwood Bath House (I guess the whippersnappers call it Sellwood Pool these days). Ian's lessons were pretty simple: dance and play in the water with mom; Edward's class focused on teaching actual skills, but apparently he wasn't too interested in following along and learning these skills; Aaron enthusiastically embraced the opportunity and passed his week-long class with ease, so Meg signed him up for two more weeks of paid lessons at the next level. While Aaron kept his enthusiasm alive, it wasn't enough to help him master the skills necessary to graduate to the next class (not that we would have signed him up for more lessons). You would not believe the look of despondency when Aaron tore his participation certificate from his instructor's still wet hands and l...

Continuing a tradition that dates back to 1999, I went on a hike for the 4th of July. See here for a history (1999 is previously unrecorded, but I took someone not named Meg that year to Cape Lookout). Meg invited some friends from church to come with us; they have two boys, one of which is a peer of Aaron (the other is 12). Aaron was pushing to hike Silver Falls again, but I like to explore new places (and frankly, I'm a little sick of Silver Falls). A co-worker had mentioned that Latourell Falls is pretty close to town and a nice, easy hike for kids. Fortunately we arrived early enough to avoid seeing too many people, but the parking lot was full when we returned to the van. Also, later that night, Aaron, his friend from above, his dad, and myself all went to a Portland Timbers game at PGE Park. The game itself wasn't all that great (are 0-0 ties every much fun?), but it was fun to watch the crazed fans across the stadium singing and chanting and jumping around for the g...

It's the beginning of summer vacation here in Oregon--nearly three months before Aaron starts second grade and Eddie enters kindergarten. We interviewed each other on our goals, plans, and desires and compiled them into the video below. And now it's nearly a month later. I'd hoped to catch Meg on camera, but things never worked out.