Slippery street
Snow fight field
Back to school
Building a snow man
Monday, January 22, 2007
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
Who needs to really go to Mount Hood!
Well, we awoke at our normal time this morning, I was going to get ready for a dentist appointment, and get the kids off to school before I went. I looked out the back and saw the "white stuff" all over the yard, then looked out the front, same again.
We checked on the TV and online, apparently the schools were still open, and work does not close - you generally should attend regardless - unless it is unsafe to do so.
I dropped the kids off, and headed to my appointment. It took me about 5 minutes to realize that it was going to be a long drive. There was already an accident between a bus and three cars (not serious, but blocking most of the road.) There were other issues with drivers who really had NO IDEA how to drive with snow, and what happens when you drive in this weather.
When I got to the dentist, they were closed. I was stuck, bucause I was NOT going to head back out with all of the other people on the road. Let's just say that Starbucks was doing a roaring trade. (There were A LOT of people in the same boat.)
I waited for around 45 minutes, when I found out that I needed to go back to the school as it had been closed, and we needed to pick up the kids. It was the slowest drive on normal roads I have ever taken. It was like driving in a precession. I did not go faster than around 15 miles per hour.
I made it home without incident, and the kids made it back. We are snug in the house, the kids tried making a snowman, but that failed. (Too cold on their hands they said.) I look out the window at other kids who are currently having a snow fight.
Work has closed as of 2pm today, and we are not sure what tomorrow will bring. Let's just say - we wished we had weather like this at Christmas, it is amazing, and asides from what it does to the roads - it is great fun! Check out what it really looked like!
We checked on the TV and online, apparently the schools were still open, and work does not close - you generally should attend regardless - unless it is unsafe to do so.
I dropped the kids off, and headed to my appointment. It took me about 5 minutes to realize that it was going to be a long drive. There was already an accident between a bus and three cars (not serious, but blocking most of the road.) There were other issues with drivers who really had NO IDEA how to drive with snow, and what happens when you drive in this weather.
When I got to the dentist, they were closed. I was stuck, bucause I was NOT going to head back out with all of the other people on the road. Let's just say that Starbucks was doing a roaring trade. (There were A LOT of people in the same boat.)
I waited for around 45 minutes, when I found out that I needed to go back to the school as it had been closed, and we needed to pick up the kids. It was the slowest drive on normal roads I have ever taken. It was like driving in a precession. I did not go faster than around 15 miles per hour.
I made it home without incident, and the kids made it back. We are snug in the house, the kids tried making a snowman, but that failed. (Too cold on their hands they said.) I look out the window at other kids who are currently having a snow fight.
Work has closed as of 2pm today, and we are not sure what tomorrow will bring. Let's just say - we wished we had weather like this at Christmas, it is amazing, and asides from what it does to the roads - it is great fun! Check out what it really looked like!
Monday, January 15, 2007
Finally - Jessie gets to Ski
The weekend of January 12th, 2007 is the long weekend for Martin Luther King Jr. memorial day. Although the memorial day is actually a Monday.
We decided earlier in the week that we would head back up to Mount Hood to go skiing again. Jessie was very keen to learn how to Ski, after hearing and seeing how much fun Cynfor had been having the last time we went.
This time we decided to head to the lower part of Mount Hood, to a place called "Ski Bowl." This is a considerable way below the Mount Hood summit - and when you are part way up the bowl, you can see the summit clearly. It was an amazing day - weather wise. We headed out from home at around 7am, stopping in Sandy (about 30 - 40 minutes away from Mount Hood) for breakfast.
By the time we arrived at the Bowl, there were already a number of people - although our car space was ideal, as we were right out the front of the Ski School! Anyhow, we all registered for lessons - Tara, Jessie and myself went for beginners classes, and Cynfor was put up to a more advanced level - being he had had so much fun the last time.
Our lessons were not due to start until around 2pm, so because we had arrived so early, we figured we would have a play around on the Ski's. I tried my best to give Jessie some pointers on what she needed to understand, after hearing what Tara and Cynfor had learned the last time.
She picked up on the basics very quickly, and was ready go give it a faster effort at 2pm when our lesson started. Again, proved that kids get into skiing pretty quickly and easily - she was off like a duck to water within no time.
The only problem we found was that although Cynfor, Tara and myself were exhausted by around 3.30pm - Jessie wanted to keep on going! We had to call it a day, and headed back down the mountain - as it starts to get dark pretty early, we did not want to be driving down when the ice started to build.
Although the weather was fantastic - which I am sure you can probably gauge from the photographs below - it was still only around 26F (about -3C) - it was pretty cold!
By the time we had gotten home, all of us had some form of ache or pain, but were thinking about the next time we were hoping to get up to the mountain to go again.
We decided earlier in the week that we would head back up to Mount Hood to go skiing again. Jessie was very keen to learn how to Ski, after hearing and seeing how much fun Cynfor had been having the last time we went.
This time we decided to head to the lower part of Mount Hood, to a place called "Ski Bowl." This is a considerable way below the Mount Hood summit - and when you are part way up the bowl, you can see the summit clearly. It was an amazing day - weather wise. We headed out from home at around 7am, stopping in Sandy (about 30 - 40 minutes away from Mount Hood) for breakfast.
By the time we arrived at the Bowl, there were already a number of people - although our car space was ideal, as we were right out the front of the Ski School! Anyhow, we all registered for lessons - Tara, Jessie and myself went for beginners classes, and Cynfor was put up to a more advanced level - being he had had so much fun the last time.
Our lessons were not due to start until around 2pm, so because we had arrived so early, we figured we would have a play around on the Ski's. I tried my best to give Jessie some pointers on what she needed to understand, after hearing what Tara and Cynfor had learned the last time.
She picked up on the basics very quickly, and was ready go give it a faster effort at 2pm when our lesson started. Again, proved that kids get into skiing pretty quickly and easily - she was off like a duck to water within no time.
The only problem we found was that although Cynfor, Tara and myself were exhausted by around 3.30pm - Jessie wanted to keep on going! We had to call it a day, and headed back down the mountain - as it starts to get dark pretty early, we did not want to be driving down when the ice started to build.
Although the weather was fantastic - which I am sure you can probably gauge from the photographs below - it was still only around 26F (about -3C) - it was pretty cold!
By the time we had gotten home, all of us had some form of ache or pain, but were thinking about the next time we were hoping to get up to the mountain to go again.
The following is actually a video - not a very clear one (because of the sun), but you get the idea. You can see Cynfor coming down to a stop, showing his "expert skills!"
Monday, January 01, 2007
Skiing on Mount Hood!
New Year's Eve, and we got up pretty early to head up to Mount Hood to get some skiing in. The kids were excited, and the weather turned out fantastic! Sadly, Jessie was not able to Ski on the day, because we were not able to get her fitted into a class with kids of her age. We plan to get her a chance next time. There were not a lot of areas to really play in the snow, without fear of being hit by a snowboarder or skier! So she and I spent most of the time going back and forth between watching Tara and Cynfor ski, and Timberline lodge, which had a warm fireplace, and a table for us to sit and watch through the windows in heated comfort! It was not really a cold day, and once you stood out for a while, you were quite hot. Tara even took her gloves off because she was so hot!
By the end of the day, Cynfor was skiing downhill like he had always been able to do it, and Tara was saying that her arms and back ached through all the work they had been through.
We were all very tired, so by around 11pm, we were all in bed sleeping - at midnight, we heard fireworks going off, but to be honest, I think we were all so tired, it did not matter. It was a great day had by all - even if we did miss the start of the new year!
By the end of the day, Cynfor was skiing downhill like he had always been able to do it, and Tara was saying that her arms and back ached through all the work they had been through.
We were all very tired, so by around 11pm, we were all in bed sleeping - at midnight, we heard fireworks going off, but to be honest, I think we were all so tired, it did not matter. It was a great day had by all - even if we did miss the start of the new year!
On the way back from the coast
On the way back from the coast, we tried to do some whale watching at Cannon beach, but because of the weather the whales were difficult to see. (Actually we saw NONE!) We did take some pictures though. 
Our trip to Astoria
On Saturday, December 30th 2006, we went to the Oregon coast to meet up with Tara's friends from Seattle. Astoria is probably the most northern coastal town in Oregon, and below are some pictures taken from the Astoria Column, which sits on top of the hill overlooking the town. 
We did go up to the top, Cynfor was not happy about the heights, coming down the stairs was a slow walk. He was not very happy about it, but here is the photograph to prove he did it!
Monday, December 25, 2006
Christmas day 2006
We have a few pictures to share. We took some video also, which we will not post - only because of its size - but these should give you an idea of what we got up to.
Let's say that Santa definitely spoiled Cynfor and Jessie, who are loving Christmas day right now. (Tara and Darren got a little spoiled also!)
We all had a huge feed for lunch, and are feeling quite full - and we have not even had our Christmas pudding yet. (I need to go get the custard all cooked and we can have that now!)
I hope that your Christmas was as much fun as ours was. The kids have had a great day, and it will take them some time to get down from the cloud they are on at the moment.
Let's say that Santa definitely spoiled Cynfor and Jessie, who are loving Christmas day right now. (Tara and Darren got a little spoiled also!)
We all had a huge feed for lunch, and are feeling quite full - and we have not even had our Christmas pudding yet. (I need to go get the custard all cooked and we can have that now!)
I hope that your Christmas was as much fun as ours was. The kids have had a great day, and it will take them some time to get down from the cloud they are on at the moment.
Twas the night before Christmas...
In the US home of Tara, Darren, Cynfor and Jessie, it was the night before Christmas. Where througought the house, not a creature was stiring, not even the snowman on the mantel. The Christmas tree lay waiting to be filled with any additional presents that Santa was going to bring, and as you will see in the next blog item (Christmas day) - there were indeed some presents to be had!
Sunday, December 17, 2006
A little more status...
Well, after 4 months, we have finally gotten our drivers license. This may seem trivial, but I know that we were both dreading the day that we had to head down and get ourselves tested again.
Both Tara and myself have been driving for some years now, and we are both fairly confident drivers, but when you stick an examiner beside you, you have to be a little extra cautious, as you know they will be checking everything that you do.
The process is fairly simple. We had a knowledge test we needed to sit, which was pretty easy for the both of us. We studied the text book that you get free from the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). You then fill out your application, pay your testing fee(US$5), and sit at a computer and answer around 35 knowledge questions. As soon as you reach around 85% the test stops, and you have passed. If you don't know a question, or want to come back to it, you can skip them. If you get one or two wrong, it will tell you what was the correct answer.
The next portion is booking into a practical test, which requires you drive with an instructor. Generally this is done for anyone coming from an overseas country, with the exception of Mexico, Canada, and a few others.
We booked the test at a place called St Helens (no, not the mountain) - which had the earliest test time for us, it is about 40 minutes away from us. It is a lovely place, on the river, more like a country town. When we arrived, we simply booked in, paid the test fee (US$9), and the tester came with each of us for around a 15-20 minute drive. He does not talk about the test while driving, other than giving instructions on where to turn, etc. At the end he tells you how you went.
For me, no issues at all, full marks. For Tara just a couple of little things, which to be honest - when you have driven a car for as long as we have, it would be considered strange. None the less, we both passed without any real incidents, and are both now licensed US drivers! It cost US$54.50 for an 8 year license.
This may not seem significant, except that your drivers license is your primary form of identification here in the US. You can use it to travel without the need for a passport (when flying domestically), as well as to get you access to local facilities, like the library and the sports and recreation clubs.
It was the last piece of real "form filling, etc." that we needed to do, and we now have it. Both of us are both happy and relieved. We have shown you the price of each step, just to see how much cheaper than getting a license in Australia it is. (Mind you going to the dentist is a whole other story!)
Both Tara and myself have been driving for some years now, and we are both fairly confident drivers, but when you stick an examiner beside you, you have to be a little extra cautious, as you know they will be checking everything that you do.
The process is fairly simple. We had a knowledge test we needed to sit, which was pretty easy for the both of us. We studied the text book that you get free from the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles). You then fill out your application, pay your testing fee(US$5), and sit at a computer and answer around 35 knowledge questions. As soon as you reach around 85% the test stops, and you have passed. If you don't know a question, or want to come back to it, you can skip them. If you get one or two wrong, it will tell you what was the correct answer.
The next portion is booking into a practical test, which requires you drive with an instructor. Generally this is done for anyone coming from an overseas country, with the exception of Mexico, Canada, and a few others.
We booked the test at a place called St Helens (no, not the mountain) - which had the earliest test time for us, it is about 40 minutes away from us. It is a lovely place, on the river, more like a country town. When we arrived, we simply booked in, paid the test fee (US$9), and the tester came with each of us for around a 15-20 minute drive. He does not talk about the test while driving, other than giving instructions on where to turn, etc. At the end he tells you how you went.
For me, no issues at all, full marks. For Tara just a couple of little things, which to be honest - when you have driven a car for as long as we have, it would be considered strange. None the less, we both passed without any real incidents, and are both now licensed US drivers! It cost US$54.50 for an 8 year license.
This may not seem significant, except that your drivers license is your primary form of identification here in the US. You can use it to travel without the need for a passport (when flying domestically), as well as to get you access to local facilities, like the library and the sports and recreation clubs.
It was the last piece of real "form filling, etc." that we needed to do, and we now have it. Both of us are both happy and relieved. We have shown you the price of each step, just to see how much cheaper than getting a license in Australia it is. (Mind you going to the dentist is a whole other story!)
Wild weather...
So we heard from family that there was news about our "wild weather" here in the Pacific Northwest. We had some pretty strong winds in Oregon, up to 100mph on the coast, not as hard as that here though.
Although we heard the wind, we had ensured that everything was out of the way, so it would not get blown about. All of the fun occured during the night, and we were not significantly impacted.
The kids school was closed on Friday - which was supposed to be their last day. They were dissapointed, as they were supposed to be having their winter party. Instead they kept Tara company during the day. All of the schools for the Beaverton district were closed on Friday because of the storm.
We heard from others though, who were not so lucky. Many people lost electricity due to the high winds blowing down trees. They dropped all over the place causing much of the power outages. Many people were without power until the weekend, and some are still not quite sorted out.
Then last night (Saturday) at around 7.30pm, a fire broke out in a power substation near the office. This is about 10 minutes walk away from the office, and I heard from someone who was working (when the power went out) that the flames could be seen in the sky from the office quite clearly.
Below is a photograph from the fire, as you can see - pretty intense. The fire crews had to leave the fire to burn itself out, because it was electrical, and the fear of getting fire fighters electrocuted.
Lets just say it has been an eventful week! And through none of it, did we get impacted!
Although we heard the wind, we had ensured that everything was out of the way, so it would not get blown about. All of the fun occured during the night, and we were not significantly impacted.
The kids school was closed on Friday - which was supposed to be their last day. They were dissapointed, as they were supposed to be having their winter party. Instead they kept Tara company during the day. All of the schools for the Beaverton district were closed on Friday because of the storm.
We heard from others though, who were not so lucky. Many people lost electricity due to the high winds blowing down trees. They dropped all over the place causing much of the power outages. Many people were without power until the weekend, and some are still not quite sorted out.
Then last night (Saturday) at around 7.30pm, a fire broke out in a power substation near the office. This is about 10 minutes walk away from the office, and I heard from someone who was working (when the power went out) that the flames could be seen in the sky from the office quite clearly.
Below is a photograph from the fire, as you can see - pretty intense. The fire crews had to leave the fire to burn itself out, because it was electrical, and the fear of getting fire fighters electrocuted.
Lets just say it has been an eventful week! And through none of it, did we get impacted!
The final touches of the gingerbread house
So - after the walls are up, and the chimney built. We start putting all the candy (lollies) on, until we finish. Jessie and Cynfor loved building it, as did I. Mind you - we were running out of places to put candy towards the end - without making it look silly.
As you can see - it looks pretty good when you finish. Let me tell you the smell was also pretty amazing, can hardly wait until Christmas to eat it!
As you can see - it looks pretty good when you finish. Let me tell you the smell was also pretty amazing, can hardly wait until Christmas to eat it!
Building the gingerbread house...
So, when we left you last time, we were going to start building our gingerbread house. Well, as you can probably see from the photographs below, we had a lot of fun. The house is currently being proudly displayed on the counter top (bench) waiting until Christmas for when the demolishing process begins, and we start eating parts of the house!
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
A Christmas blessing...
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Being so far away for Christmas, it is difficult to make sure we have passed on our wishes to everyone.
We have sent a few cards out, but now that time appears to have gotten away from us, we have decided that we would like to make sure we get to as many people by posting a Christmas note on our blog.
Tara, Cynfor, Jessie and myself would like to pass our best wishes to you all during this Christmas season, and offer you our wishes for a properous and fun new year.
I know that we have plans to enjoy our time during the festive season, and sure that all of you will also!
Now it is time for me to get together with the kids and start building our Gingerbread house, we will be sure to post photographs of that when it is finished - I know that the kids are very excited about buidling it!
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Christmas is coming!
Decorated stairs.
Our front door. Tara hand made the wreath on the window with real tree branches!
Beautiful lights on our garage.
Our first real Christmas tree. It is the Oregon tradition to have an Oregon grown tree. Isn't it beautiful? It smells so nice...
Presents started to assemble under the tree. Hmm, which one is mine...
Our front door. Tara hand made the wreath on the window with real tree branches!
Beautiful lights on our garage.
Our first real Christmas tree. It is the Oregon tradition to have an Oregon grown tree. Isn't it beautiful? It smells so nice...
Presents started to assemble under the tree. Hmm, which one is mine...
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
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