Hike or bike—that was our choice today, and we decided to bike, starting from Sisters. Fortified with coffee from the Sisters Coffee Company, we headed west on Highway 247 (the old Mckenzie Highway). The road is still closed to vehicle traffic—the gate is closed 9 miles from town. That’s right about where the climb becomes steeper. From Sisters, we rode to Dee Wright Observatory at Mckenzie Pass (at least I did, Karen skipped the last couple of miles). My total mileage was 30 miles. The last few miles still had debris (wood and cinders) on the road, and there was snow; some road-side drifts were over my head. It was windy in places, and cool. I’ve enjoyed this ride every time I’ve done it—not too steep and very scenic.
Back in Bend we enjoyed another coffee at Sisters Coffee Company. I hung around there and read while Karen shopped. She loves the antique stores, and ended up buying a child’s folding chair with much character.
We drove back to our motel in Redmond for a shower and a change of clothes, then went to Bend and Baldy’s for good barbecue. We had interesting conversation at dinner with a retired Southern California car dealership owner; obviously well to do, but very friendly. He recommended french toast breakfast at the Pilot Butte Drive In, so of course, Karen wants to go.
Hot air balloons at sunset
After dinner we stopped by REI in the Old Mill District (I suspect one of the most distinctive REI stores around). We walked across the Deschutes River to look at hot air balloons (they were supposed to fly in the morning, but high winds grounded them) before getting too cold. The natives managed fine in shorts and short sleeves, but we were shivering. We finally got back to the motel at 9:30 pm.
Posted in Family, Outdoors, Uncategorized.
Tagged with Bend, Oregon, vacation.
By Phil
– June 6, 2009
Happy Birthday
Karen’s birthday is today. Dinner, dessert, and presents were with the kids, and Karen clearly had a good time, as did we all. She especially appreciated the hand-decorated book bag the kids made for her.
Dan, Janet, Carolyn, Elizabeth
Afterwards, we stopped to visit briefly with Janet’s dad (who has come for his first visit with the twins) and had another dessert (after all, who can pass up home-made ice cream). Dan had just taken their first family photo with the twins at the hospital. We love it.
Posted in Family.
Tagged with birthday, twins.
By Phil
– June 2, 2009
We spent a couple of hours visiting our new grand-twins yesterday at John Muir. Carolyn and Elizabeth are now 19 days old and are up to almost 5 pounds. They are now eating well on their own, and so have been removed from the IV and feeding tube. As a result, they now share a single “giraffe” unit (you have to see it to understand the name) and are placed right next to each other, sharing a single outer blanket.
We arrived just as the nurse was beginning to prepare for Carolyn’s feeding, so after a few photos of them together, Karen picked up Elizabeth and admired her while Carolyn took her bottle. It’s very interesting that the nurse didn’t hold the baby in her arms, but in her hands, and of course, as small as they are, that’s not difficult to do.
After Carolyn finished her bottle it was Elizabeth’s turn to eat, so Karen swapped babies and held Carolyn. It was her first time holding Carolyn, and she had a lot of fun interacting with Carolyn who was awake for a little while. After Carolyn finally finished her bottle, the nurse tucked both girls back in their crib all snuggled together, I took a couple more photos of them, and we said goodnight.
Posted in Family.
Tagged with twins.
By Phil
– June 1, 2009
Cortnie and Audree danced in Beauty and the Beast
Last night was the Livermore School of Dance performance of
Beauty and the Beast. Cortnie and Audree each participated, and they were quite lovely in their ballerina outfits. Audree was a bookworm and Cortnie was a feather-duster. Isn’t it great to see their happy smiles of accomplishment?
Posted in Family.
Tagged with ballet.
By Phil
– May 31, 2009
We went to visit the twins today and held them for our first time for an hour or so. Karen grabbed Elizabeth (well, not really—the nurse handed her to Karen), and I held Carolyn. Both were quiet and sleepy. Elizabeth no longer has an IV or feeding tube—just the heart rate, respiration, and O2 monitors. Carolyn still has the feeding tube and IV.
Afterwards, we celebrated with dinner at a favorite Thai restaurant and pigged out on red curry with chicken and roast duck fried rice. Delicious.
Posted in Family.
Tagged with twins.
By Phil
– May 28, 2009
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is for remembering sacrifices made for our country. For some, the images this calls to mind are painful. For me, not so much—no family member has been called upon to give the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Yet, there were hardships caused by military service: my dad, serving in the WWII air force, saw me when I was born in 1943, and then after the war was over 2 plus years later.
I’ve seen and heard glimmers of the sacrifices. There’s a friend who finds it nearly impossible to talk about his infantry combat experiences in Vietnam. I’ve been to the Vietnam War Memorial and been more moved by watching the people searching for a name, placing a memento, silently praying and remembering, than by the memorial wall.
But, one random event at Disneyland indelibly etched one meaning of sacrifice in service for country in my mind. Dan was about 4 and we were letting him scamper around an uncrowded Tom Sawyer’s Island. Another boy about his age was doing the same, so we struck up a conversation with his mother. After a bit of conversation, we asked her, “What does your husband do?” “He was killed recently in Vietnam.” Oh. Sinking feeling in pit of stomach, not for asking the question, but for the enormity of loss.
May God bless those men, women, and families who have given so much in military service.
Posted in Uncategorized.
Tagged with memorial.
By Phil
– May 26, 2009
Posted in Outdoors.
Tagged with Utah, vacation.
By Phil
– May 26, 2009
After we visited REI in Brentwood to pick up an order, we drove to the hospital in Walnut Creek. Navigating the labyrinth-like corridors we found the Birthing Center and then were granted access through two separate security doors. We finally had to show our ID when we got into the NICU.
Carolyn and Elizabeth are now swaddled in blankets and the heating system has been turned off. I understand if they gain weight then they don’t need the external heat source. We were again amazed at how small they seem (and are). Most of the photographs we’ve been looking at show their face and body, but don’t show anything to give a sense of scale. Since they are so perfectly formed, we tend to think of them as normal size, but at 4 pounds they are just “half-size” babies.
Carolyn was a real sleepy head and never roused while we were there. Here are some photos of her.
Elizabeth was sleeping too, but since it was her feeding time, she had her diaper changed (which got her good and agitated—in fact she set off her heart-rate alarm) and was given a bottle by the nurse. She took 5 cc’s, got burped, and then wasn’t interested. In fact, it looked like she was going to sleep again, but after being tucked in again, she opened her eyes and was quite alert for some time. She can certainly hear well, because little sharp noises caused her to jump.
The photos were taken without flash at ISO 1600, so they are a bit noisy and grainy.
Posted in Family.
Tagged with twins.
By Phil
– May 21, 2009
Precious and tiny
Tonight we visited Dan, Janet, Carolyn, and Elizabeth in the hospital. They took us one at a time in to see the twins, so I went in with Dan.
Elizabeth was unhappy and crying. Such a tiny, vigorous voice. The nurse deftly changed her position and popped the pacifier back in her mouth, and she settled down. Carolyn was quietly sleeping. They look so perfect—just little 4 pound versions of a typical newborn—that I was tempted to think they were ready to go home. But then all the monitoring wires, the feeding tube, and the IV tube dispelled that notion. I’m praying they will rapidly complete their needed development.
Posted in Family.
Tagged with twins.
By Phil
– May 13, 2009
All that was left of this vacation was the long drive home from St. George. For a change, we got a reasonable start, even after stopping at Starbucks for some better than motel coffee. In no time at all we were in the Virgin River gorge in Arizona.
Since I’ve not found a cache in Arizona, we made a quick stop at an off-ramp to rectify that. Heading back to the on-ramp, we were flagged down by a young woman who tearfully asked if we had jumper cables. I didn’t think I had packed them, and to verify I would have had to unload the bikes, so I told her no. But we said we’d ask at the pickup parked just down the road a bit. A nice young guy was hauling a big concrete vault on a flat-bed trailer, and he let us borrow his jumper cables. We quickly got the stalled car started and returned the cables with a good feeling.
So off we went, zooming along at the posted speed limit of 75 mph until we hit the traffic jam in Las Vegas, due mostly to road construction. After clearing the congestion, we were back up to speed and heading for a planned stop at Primm for coffee and bathrooms. Just before we got there (around 10 am), Dan called with the news that their twin girls were on the way early. What a surprise—we had thought we were taking this vacation early enough to have a comfortable margin before the anticipated early birth.
A little after 3 pm (we were somewhere northbound on I5), Dan called again announcing the birth of Carolyn Joy and Elizabeth Grace. Both weighed within a couple of ounces of 4 pounds. What a joyful conclusion to our vacation.
Note: posts about the interesting stuff we did in southern Utah will get filled in soon.
Posted in Family, Outdoors.
Tagged with twins, Utah, vacation.
By Phil
– May 12, 2009
