Westmoreland Asays

Halloween in Western Eden usually produces cold and rain, but our streak of rain-free trick-or-treating sessions in Portland continued to three in a row. It rained much of the day, but the clouds broke for a few hours in the late afternoon and made life much more pleasant for our boys, who dressed up as follows: Edward : Luke Skywalker Bespin Aaron : Some kind of clone trooper from the Star Wars expanded universe Ian : Maverick from Top Gun, although he got mad when you called him that and insisted he was a "fighter pilot." I had taken the afternoon off of work so I could photograph the older boys' class parties at school, and afterwards we drove them to a couple of friends from church who lived not near enough for the boys to trick-or-treat, and both of whom are Ian's teachers in his nursery class. The first woman had just seen her son off on a two-year mission (meaning, she won't see or talk with him during that time, even though he will be a close d...

Aaron and I enjoyed complimentary tickets to the Blazers game Friday night (thanks to the grand opening of the Sellwood Les Schwab). We rode the bus into NE Portland and ate at the nearby Applebee's using a giftcard that I had hoarded since Christmas. The restaraunt was packed, but we got seats within a few minutes of arriving, and we packed our food in just as quickly.   The arena was as empty as I've ever seen it. Our seats were pretty poor, so when we saw the cheer squad prancing up the stairs a few sections over to lead the silly game of having the crowd pass the game ball down to the court. I asked Aaron if he wanted to get in on the game and he quickly grabbed his jacket and ran over to the area where the ball was surely to pass. And pass it did. Since nobody was there, we just planted our butts in our adopted seats and enjoyed the game from a much better view. The Blazers lost to a similarly-mediocre team AND failed to push the score past 100 so we didn't even ...

Meg called me at work one day and asked if I wanted to be her teammate for the Portland Urban Dare race. It sounded very hipster-ish to me, and I avoid such things like spoiled meat. I probably said I would do it, but that it wasn't something I would normally choose to do. She signed us up, regardless. Here's how the race worked: all teams were given one piece of paper with 12 clues. The clues, which were so obscure and unsolvable without the Internet, identified a specific place around the central city. We had to reach of the 12 places and either take a picture of us at the site or we interacted with a race official who oversaw a "dare." I'm not sure why they called it a dare: completing a three-legged walk around a city block, figuring out a simple math problem, and making a balloon animal don't exactly tickle the meter-o'-dare. It took us about an hour and 50 minutes to complete the race, good for 18th overall out of about 60 teams. I think we both a...

When my mom called first thing Saturday morning, I figured it was to share the news that my grandmother had died. I was right. The writing was on the wall, and I took the news with no emotional reaction. I would later learn that her funeral would be six days later and, thanks to my employer's policy, and the great understanding of my wife, I was able to take a few days off to make the trip to Medford (abut a five-hour drive from Portland). I began my travels on Thursday morning, after walking my boys to school and having Meg shave my head (she tried to rid me of my burns, but my pulling the plug of the clippers stopped that quickly. This didn't really happen, except in her mind). I stopped first in Salem and visited with Grandpa Hanna for an hour. He looked much better than the last time I saw him, back in June. I often struggle to think of things to discuss while I'm there, but we easily spent an hour talking about every-this-and-that. Eventually the lunch bell rang,...

Aaron and Edward advanced to their next grade levels today (4th and 2nd grades, respectively). I think everyone welcomed this routine back in our lives. Aaron's class this year boasts 33 students, while Ed has only 24 in his class, although he is out in a portable again (what, are they afraid of what havoc he might wreak inside the century-old building?). Edward's teacher is named Mrs. Frisby, and I gave him a bunch of good jokes to try out (we read the book together earlier in the year), but he reported that he failed to use any of them. I escorted Edward to his class, but he was fine without me--such a contrast to his first day of school two years ago . He really has made huge strides in being willing to jump through societal hoops. Aaron's almost the big man on campus, but I don't think it has gotten to his head. Lest Ian be lost in the shuffle, he will purportedly be home-schooled this year with some of his peers from the neighborhood/church. He has two more...

Nice socks (I have a pair) For the first time in five years of photographing Hood-to-Coast, everything went smoothly: no panic attacks at thinking I had lost my car keys, no equipment malfunctions, no getting lost on the course, and no scorching heat or pesky rain showers. The sun still burned my summer-dark skin, my thighs hurt like I had run 26 miles while powerlifting my weight, and the little sleep I scavenged failed to ward off my drowsiness late Saturday. But 2012 was easily the best experience to date. But I also have some myths that I wish to debunk: I am NOT a volunteer , so quit elevating me to such a holy state. Just because I wear a reflective vest all day doesn't automatically grant me my angelic wings that the true volunteers have. I say this because most runners I encounter say the magic words, "Thanks for coming out here today." I'm getting paid, people--this is not a form of charity. My job is NOT easy . Every year a handful of runners throw...

The Booren clan--40 strong--all gathered at grandma an grandpa's house for a short reunion on their new homestead in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Meg's parents moved here last fall, leaving behind their home of nearly 20 years in Oregon--a move not exactly welcomed by us . Of the eight Booren siblings, four now live on the east coast, one just moved to Utah from Oregon, and three (including Meg) are still strongly rooted in Oregon (right, guys?). We divided up the families between two houses, which made for getting to know each other very easy. Wednesday We started Wednesday morning driving 20-30 miles north to the US Marine Corps museum (Meg's dad and youngest brother are Marines). Edward and I had a good time looking at the exhibits, including a re-enactment of the landing at Iwo Jima. Meg got stuck with Ian and reported that he was a pain and a half. We got stuck in traffic on the way back. Rant: I can't believe how bad traffic was in Virginia. It was the middle of th...