Google's Artificial Intelligence put together an automated movie of our family's "Christmas Traditions", including photos from ~2005 Christmas and ~2017 Christmas.
Click here to view the movie!
Monday, December 16, 2019
Monday, December 2, 2019
First Skiing of the Winter
On Sunday, December 1, John and Henry went down to Crystal Mountain for our first ski day of the winter. There wasn't much snow, so they just had one run open, which made it a bit crowded. It snowed for much of the day, though, which kept the snow coverage in decent shape.
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Cutting Our Tree Down
On the day after Thanksgiving, shortly after a rousing UVA victory over Virginia Tech, we went out to Carnation to cut down our tree. The same farm we've been going to since 2010 (though we skipped last year), the selection of trees in our usual area was much slimmer; we'll need to explore other parts of the farm next year. However, we were able to find a nice tree which Henry cut down and then Jack and Henry carried over to the car.
Friday, November 29, 2019
Thanksgiving 2019
With Joseph home for a few days (before heading back to Ann Arbor for the Michigan-OSU game), we had our usual traditions on Thanksgiving, including Rodgers Bowl XII and a Thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat.
Jack and Dad prevailed in an overtime thriller over Henry and Joseph, 42-35, with Dad catching a TD pass on the first play of OT followed by Henry and Joseph unable to score on their possession.
Dinner followed, with Turkey and the usual trimmings!
Jack and Dad prevailed in an overtime thriller over Henry and Joseph, 42-35, with Dad catching a TD pass on the first play of OT followed by Henry and Joseph unable to score on their possession.
Dinner followed, with Turkey and the usual trimmings!
Sunday, November 24, 2019
Jack's New Car
In November, Jack got his third car - hopefully one that will last him for a while!
After he had an accident with his Jeep, he got MJ's Dad's car, a nice Honda Accord, and now decided to sell that so he could have a 4WD.
Here he is with his used 2007 Toyota Highlander.
After he had an accident with his Jeep, he got MJ's Dad's car, a nice Honda Accord, and now decided to sell that so he could have a 4WD.
Here he is with his used 2007 Toyota Highlander.
John Trip to Charlottesville
In November, John took a recruiting trip back to Charlottesville, which "coincidentally" overlapped with a UVA basketball game. He got to see the defending National Champs take on the Vermont Catamounts, an up-and-coming Mid-Major who was expected to give the Cavaliers a tough test. Which they did, though UVA prevailed 61-55.
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Cool Mornings as Fall Arrives in Seattle
Early morning fog has become part of the routine as late, though at least we have sunny skies once it burns off!
Nationals are 2019 World Series Champions!
On Wednesday, October 30, the Nationals defeated the Houston Astros in a thrilling Game 7 of the World Series to be crowned World Series Champions. Winning all four games on the road, they came from behind to win 6-2 in the final game, led by homeruns from Anthony Rendon and Howie Kendrick and five gutty innings from Max Scherzer. Steven Strasburg won the Series MVP thanks to his victories in Games 2 and 6.
John and Joseph had a chance to attend Game 3 of the National League Championship Series in DC, an 8-1 Nationals victory at Nats Park to give the Nats a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Cardinals, on their way to a series sweep.
Maybe next year the Mets can make it!
John and Joseph had a chance to attend Game 3 of the National League Championship Series in DC, an 8-1 Nationals victory at Nats Park to give the Nats a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Cardinals, on their way to a series sweep.
Maybe next year the Mets can make it!
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Trip to New York
Over Columbus Day weekend, all five of us travelled to New York to see family. We had hoped to get there for Lauren & Dave's wedding in August but weren't able to, however, it worked out that everyone had breaks over the same weekend.
We flew to New York late on Thursday, landing at JFK around midnight. We stayed in Midtown Thursday night and toured the UN and walked around Roosevelt Island on Friday, before heading out to Riverhead and going to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse (and watching Game 1 of the Nats-Cardinals series + UVA-Miami football: Nats win, Hoos lose). On Saturday we gathered at Janet and John's house with nearly all of the clan, before heading in to JFK for MJ, Henry, and Jack to fly out on Sunday morning. A quick but great visit!
We flew to New York late on Thursday, landing at JFK around midnight. We stayed in Midtown Thursday night and toured the UN and walked around Roosevelt Island on Friday, before heading out to Riverhead and going to dinner at a Japanese steakhouse (and watching Game 1 of the Nats-Cardinals series + UVA-Miami football: Nats win, Hoos lose). On Saturday we gathered at Janet and John's house with nearly all of the clan, before heading in to JFK for MJ, Henry, and Jack to fly out on Sunday morning. A quick but great visit!
Henry meets Jay Inslee
Governor Inslee of Washington ran a climate-change focused campaign for President, dropping out of the race in August when he wasn't able to gather enough support to continue in the debates, despite fervent support from Henry. In early October, Gov. Inslee held a fundraiser in Seattle and Henry, MJ, and John all attended. Henry had a chance to shake hands with the governor and talk with him for a few minutes. Gov. Inslee said Henry was "the smartest 15-year old in Seattle" (perhaps because he was wearing an "Inslee for President" tee shirt.
Tuesday, October 8, 2019
Mountain Biking Near Leavenworth
The first Sunday in October, Henry and Dad enjoyed a sunny autumn day by driving up to Leavenworth and doing the Freund Canyon trail. It was an intense 1.5 hour climb up about 2,000 feet. After a short lunch we rode down - the downhill was designed to get down the mountain, with lots of banked turns and not too steep of a decline. As a result, it took only 25 minutes to go down!
Monday, September 23, 2019
Kayaking (Partly!) Across Lake Washington
On one of the last Saturdays in September, John and Mary Jo took advantage of a few-hour window of sunny weather to take the kayaks out one last time, and kayak from Bellevue across part of Lake Washington to Mercer Island, where we enjoyed a picnic lunch before kayaking back!
Lightning Storm
On Saturday, September 7, a large lightning storm rolled into Seattle. There were over 100 flashes in the space of an hour - here's a video from our deck with three flashes in the space of 20 seconds!
Sunday, September 1, 2019
Iceland !
For the last week in August, we all went to Iceland for our big summer vacation. We spent a week exploring the southern coast of Iceland, doing lots of outdoor activities and seeing a beautiful country. Here's some of the top activities from our trip:
1. Exploring Reykajvik
Our first stop was the northernmost capital city in the world, the small city of Reykjavik. We landed at 9:30 in the morning and spent somewhat of a jet-lagged day there, but were able to see some of the main sites, including the view from the tallest church in town and a stop at the house where the Reagan-Gorbachev summit was held in 1986.
2. Snorkeling on the Rift Between the Continental Plates
The European tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate meet in Iceland, and you can see where each ends; there is a valley of what has been filled in with lava between them. There is a lake at one point between them as well, and you can snorkel or dive in that lake. The water is incredibly clear, as it comes from the fissure having been filtered by the rocks for decades. We spent 30 minutes snorkeling through, well suited up in wet suits so as not to get too cold!
3. Lots of Waterfalls
We saw well over a hundred waterfalls over the course of the week - many streams cascading down mountainsides while we drove. We stopped at a few of the major waterfalls to hike or take photos.
4. Long and Windy Hike in Klaustar
The weather was a bit cold, dreary, and windy. We took one hike up along a waterfall and then along a ridge that was very windy and wet, and a bit longer than we had thought.
5. Beautiful Canyon
We took a hike in a beautiful canyon, though it started pouring while we were there and we all got pretty wet!
6. Boating among Icebergs
In the south-eastern corner of Iceland you are able to take boat rides in lagoons fed by glaciers that stretch down the mountains, with icebergs calving off before melting or heading out to sea. It was dreary weather but it cleared up and the sun shined for our outing!
7. Enjoying the Black Sandy Beach of Vik
We stayed two nights in an Air BnB in the town of Vik on the south coast. It's a beautiful town with a nice black sandy beach.
8. Hunting for Puffins
Vik is one of the prime spots to see puffins. While the end of August is late in the season, we were able to see many of them flying around and roosting in the cliffs near our house.
9. Lava Tunnel
Several of our activities were canceled due to weather - we weren't able to do our two main hikes, in Thorsmork or the summit of Snaefellsjokul. We decided to do another tour spur of the moment, which was a tour of a lava tube from an old volcano (now extinct!).
10. Beautiful Hike from Hellnar to Aranstarpi
Our final stop, Hellnar, is right on the coast, and there's a beautiful hour-long hike along the water to the neighboring town.
11. Long Hike On Snaefellsjokul
Our final hike was to a mountain ridge under the glacier Snaefellsjokul, in a national park on a peninsula in western Iceland.
1. Exploring Reykajvik
Our first stop was the northernmost capital city in the world, the small city of Reykjavik. We landed at 9:30 in the morning and spent somewhat of a jet-lagged day there, but were able to see some of the main sites, including the view from the tallest church in town and a stop at the house where the Reagan-Gorbachev summit was held in 1986.
2. Snorkeling on the Rift Between the Continental Plates
The European tectonic plate and the North American tectonic plate meet in Iceland, and you can see where each ends; there is a valley of what has been filled in with lava between them. There is a lake at one point between them as well, and you can snorkel or dive in that lake. The water is incredibly clear, as it comes from the fissure having been filtered by the rocks for decades. We spent 30 minutes snorkeling through, well suited up in wet suits so as not to get too cold!
3. Lots of Waterfalls
We saw well over a hundred waterfalls over the course of the week - many streams cascading down mountainsides while we drove. We stopped at a few of the major waterfalls to hike or take photos.
4. Long and Windy Hike in Klaustar
The weather was a bit cold, dreary, and windy. We took one hike up along a waterfall and then along a ridge that was very windy and wet, and a bit longer than we had thought.
5. Beautiful Canyon
We took a hike in a beautiful canyon, though it started pouring while we were there and we all got pretty wet!
6. Boating among Icebergs
In the south-eastern corner of Iceland you are able to take boat rides in lagoons fed by glaciers that stretch down the mountains, with icebergs calving off before melting or heading out to sea. It was dreary weather but it cleared up and the sun shined for our outing!
7. Enjoying the Black Sandy Beach of Vik
We stayed two nights in an Air BnB in the town of Vik on the south coast. It's a beautiful town with a nice black sandy beach.
8. Hunting for Puffins
Vik is one of the prime spots to see puffins. While the end of August is late in the season, we were able to see many of them flying around and roosting in the cliffs near our house.
9. Lava Tunnel
Several of our activities were canceled due to weather - we weren't able to do our two main hikes, in Thorsmork or the summit of Snaefellsjokul. We decided to do another tour spur of the moment, which was a tour of a lava tube from an old volcano (now extinct!).
10. Beautiful Hike from Hellnar to Aranstarpi
Our final stop, Hellnar, is right on the coast, and there's a beautiful hour-long hike along the water to the neighboring town.
11. Long Hike On Snaefellsjokul
Our final hike was to a mountain ridge under the glacier Snaefellsjokul, in a national park on a peninsula in western Iceland.
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