Thursday, December 22, 2016

Seattle in Summer 2016

Photo with Ojiichan and Obaachan outside their place with them and Lianne.

Here's the spread at Yuki's for Fourth of July - it was delicious!

Ethan with Obaachan when we went out for ramen.

Auntie Yuki with Ryan at a Mariners game.  Ryan has on his Mariners bomber hat and his Mariners cape.

On the Way to Seattle

The three kids at the visitor's center on the way to Mount St. Helens.  That's the mountain in the background.

Casey and Dorothy practice their selfie picture taking with Mount St. Helens.

The boys with Uncle Tatsu in Portland.  Yes, that's Ryan with one of his favorite blankets as a cape.

Uncle Chuck's Guitar

Stopped by Chuck's mom's place in Jordan, Utah south of Salt Lake City to pick up Chuck's guitar.  Here's our family photo with Ryan making like a rock star with his entourage!

Timpanogos Caves

Dorothy and Casey at the end of a 1.5-mile hike with an elevation gain of 1000 feet to reach the cave entrance.  Lucky for us, our tour time was near the end of the day when it was cooler.

Green River Trip Kayak Trip

Photo on the Green River taken at one of the troop's stops.  You can see the two-person inflatable kayaks to the left that were purchased by the troop.


Wednesday, December 21, 2016

Colorado River White Water Rafting

White water rafting on the Colorado River.  If you want extreme rafting, perhaps April and May might suit you best.  This was in the second half of June and the rapids were maybe Class 2 to Class 3, fairly tame.  On the plus, there was a middle part of the trip where rafters were allowed to leave the raft and float in the river.  Casey, Dorothy and Naomi at the back of the raft.  The four adults in the front of the raft decided to moon the photographer.  This was with Adrift Adventures in Moab, Utah - had a great time with them!

Arches National Park - Needs to be on Your Bucket List

The boys with their scout troop that went on the Moab over water 50-mile trip had time to visit Arches and Canyonlands national parks.  We drove them to Salt Lake City to meet up with the rest of their troop at which point the other three members of our family went our separate way.
The Windows Arches at Arches National Park.  If our memory is correct, you're able to walk up to and through these arches.  These are quite large arches with this photo taken from a distance using a telephoto lens.

Balancing Rock - probably one of the more well-known formations at Arches National Park.

Delicate Arch - this is the arch that is on the Utah license plate.  There are three places where you can view this arch.  The furthest away is the main parking lot where most of the tour buses park.  The second location is a slight hike up from the parking lot (this is where this photo was taken).  The third is a two-hour plus hike that will take you to the arch.

This was on the way to Double O Arch at the far reaches of Arches National Park.  This was probably the most strenuous hike in the park for us.  This photo was taken in the late evening.  We made it within sight of Double O Arch, but did not make it all the way to the arch due to darkness.

At the Fiery Furnace Viewpoint.  Took in an incredible sunset on this evening.

Bonneville Salt Flats


This is where they set land speed records.  You can walk quite a distance out into the water in the background of the photo with the water barely covering your ankles, but be sure to wear sandals or something because some of the salt crystals can be a little pokey on the bottom of your feet.
Here's a photo the kids wading out onto the salt flats.  We figured that it was safe since there were others out doing the same thing.

Elko, Nevada Airport - Before and After


This was taken in 2010 on our way to Yellowstone National Park.  We took the photo because we needed to get a photo with something that was a historical marker as part of our road trip scavenger hunt.  Naomi is almost 11 and Ethan is 9.

This was taken this summer on our way to Utah.  We found the marker again, but didn't recognize it at first because it had been updated.  Yes, Ethan is taller now.

Ryan, the Navy Officer

Ryan dressed the part of the subject of his biography - that's a real naval officer's uniform that he picked up at the annual scout rummage sale.

Ethan's Origami

Ethan continues amaze us with his origami skills.  This is a multi-colored ball that he constructed.

This is another modular construction that actually compresses when you push in from the ends.

This is one that he made on Mother's Day.  It's a gift box that he used for the jewelry that he gave to Dorothy.  The heart on top is made from a dollar bill.

TRB Trip to Miami

Not all Transportation Research Board conferences have sights like this one!  This was from the 15th International Conference on Managed Lanes held in Miami.  For you transportation professionals out there, click here for the conference program.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

First Visit to Las Vegas

Dorothy was able to visit Las Vegas for the first time with her gal pals - wonder if what happened in Vegas, stayed in Vegas?

Seattle in the Spring

Fisherman's Terminal in Seattle - it was a gorgeous day!  If you're hungry, be sure to check out Chinook's, the restaurant or the take-out place next door.

Naomi's Artwork

Naomi's nom de plume for her artwork; you can see more at: www.loneecho.deviantart.com/gallery.

Red Panda - digital art by Naomi

Scouting: Ski Trip, Prep Hikes in the Mud and Pancakes

Ryan on breakfast duty flipping pancakes.
That's Ryan with the light blue backpack cover in the middle of the stream of mud.
That's Ethan in the center with the gray backpack cover.
The boys traveled to Camp Norge near Tahoe with their Boy Scout troop for their annual ski trip.  Here's a link to their FaceBook Site:  https://www.facebook.com/campnorgeofficial

The Eby

The Eby Award finally came home with Casey in Year 25 - can't believe that the Bay Area Fantasy Football League for Engineers (BAFFLE) has been going on for that long!

Naomi's Junior Prom

Cousin Kimberly helping Naomi with her hair.
Here's what Naomi's hair looked like afterwards!

Sunday, December 18, 2016

Ringing in 2016 in Seattle

View of Space Needle from Queen Anne Hill on January 1, 2016.
Kids popping noise makers in the hallway after seeing Space Needle fireworks.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Christmas Update 2016

We had so much to recap in 2016 that our annual Christmas letter got a little lengthy this year!  

(Hint:  Use the zoom in feature on your computer to read it!)