Westmoreland Asays

I'm probably jinxing myself for writing this, but here goes. Beginning last Sunday evening, everyone in my family became sick. Aaron volunteered first with coughing and a fever; he recovered quickly and passed the baton to Edward, who then gave it to Ian, and finally Meg succumbed to the inevitable. The boys are feeling good now and appear to have mostly recovered, while Meg's battle continues. I, however, have avoided the family illness. Why have I been so fortunate? Was it . . . A . My family contracted a version of the flu that my innoculation a few weeks ago is protecting me from getting. B . I am like that guy Bruce Willis portrays in Unbreakable . C . I consistently lead such a healthy life that nothing can attack my immune system. D . Like Mr. Burns , I have "Three Stooges Syndrome"--I have a little bit of everything, which causes everything to cancel one another out, and which provides me with a blissful homeostasis. E . I just wasn't home enough ...

Several people came up to me today and commented on how much they enjoyed Edward in our ward's primary program (where the kids ages 4-11 take over and present for the entire sacrament meeting, which includes each child delivering a small speaking part). Eddie had memorized his short, one-liner, and said he would deliver it by himself--Meg had prepped him well over the last few weeks. But this isn't why people were impressed with Eddie. Let's back up to see how we came to this situation. Eddie was on the floor at church when Ian puked on him--it wasn't normal spit-up, unfortunately, and probably caused by the grilled salmon sushi from Vista Market that Meg ate with me the night before to celebrate my 15-year anniversary of arriving in Japan for the first time. Eddie was understandably upset at having to wear a nasty shirt, so Meg raced home to bring him a new, clean one. She made it back just as the kids were moving forward to take their seats at the front of the cha...

We had a whole week of gorgeous weather (for October), so Meg organized a weekend yurt-camping trip with our friends the Watkins . Our destination was Tugman State Park , a few miles south of Reedsport (about two hours north of where I took the boys in August ). I took Friday afternoon off so we left right after eating lunch. The boys behaved quietly in the back seat while I entertained Meg the driver with all of my witty and insightful conversation. We had a few hours to burn before the Watkins arrived, so I took the older boys hiking around Eel Lake , which of course included a compulsory stop along the shore to throw rocks into the water. After the Watkins arrived, we fixed dinner/dessert, hung out around the campfire, and talked until about midnight (the kids went to bed several hours earlier. Brent W. took the kids fishing late Saturday morning and actually reeled in a 12" trout--a fish he really didn't want to catch, and which he tried to release (but the poor fish...

Ian has reached six months old. Here are a few observations about the boy: Weighs 19.2 pounds (with diaper) Sits on his own for long periods Prefers to lie on his stomach Likes to spin around on his belly Can roll and spin to move to where he wants Sticks everything nearby into his mouth Eats baby food twice a day Has 1.5 teeth and isn't afraid to bite Doesn't like it when Eddie smothers him (happens multiple times every day) Doesn't like long rides in the car

Over the last two months since retiring from daily running , I've tried working out on an elliptical, riding a stationary bike, running barefoot, and walking. My office has a small workout room with the former two machines, and while I tolerate (and sweat like a pig) riding the bike, I didn't like "riding" the elliptical at all--it even made my knees hurt. As for running barefoot, maybe I didn't give it enough time, but my feet never got used to the punishment, and I really didn't look forward to those once-a-week workouts. So the experiment is over. I think I'll ride the stationary bike once a week while racewalking the streets of SW/SE/NW Portland the other days (I was able to reach NE when running, but it's just too far for a walk). What I missed most about running was experiencing the city--the buildings, the cars, the people, the smells. So I'm able to retain the best part while still getting in a brisk workout. I admit that racewalking felt q...

Instead of writing something that I think appropriate, I'm going to give you what you want for once: I'll ask the questions that you are too scared or embarrassed to ask. Then I'll provide the answers. If I somehow failed to ask/answer YOUR question, please write a comment and I'll provide a prompt answer. Oh, I should say that this is about my experience taking pictures during Hood to Coast 2009 on Legs 5 and 34. 6. How many times were you the butt of a joke from an HTC competitor? Quite a few times, but it was always for the same thing: it STANK at my location on Saturday , because a farmer was spraying liquid cow manure all over his field. Do I need to explain what the joke was? 5. Hood to Coast, from the perspective of a spectator, is pretty dang boring. With runners passing by on average every 45 seconds, how on earth do you pass the time? I have nearly 9,000 songs on my Zune120 and brought the two latest issues of The New Yorker with me. And thanks to Meg'...

I took Aaron and Eddie car-camping to Humbug Mountain State Park for three days and two nights. We came home a day early because the boys both wanted to (and partially because I thought I was going to get the third night free, but I didn't read the fine print: the free day can't be Friday or Saturday). My goal is to ease them into outdoor adventures so when they are older they will want to go on long trips in the middle of nowhere (my preference over car-camping). Meg took Ian up to Seattle to stay with her friend Susan; maybe she'll write about her adventures here sometime. We left around 12:30 on Wednesday afternoon, a few hours before the 100-degrees settled in. It took about 4.25 hours to drive to the state park on the southern Oregon coast (the farthest south on the coast I've been). The boys behaved for most of the drive down--Aaron read from some books and played his GameBoy, while Eddie slept and was otherwise quiet--even though they had to sit together in the...