Rod & Carolyn's Page

Spring Update

2010-05-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Since this is the first update since Jan 3, most people have probably stopped reading this. So this is for all the "exceptions" out there. Or should I say "exceptional people" out there?

NASCAR

In February, Rod's brother, David, and his son, Jon, came down from Sacramento for a weekend of NASCAR races. Through a contact at church, we ended up with 4 tickets in the Toyota executive suite. We had seats (both outdoors & indoors) just above pit road, buffet lunch and unlimited drinks, and free Scan-view for the weekend, so we could listen to different channels. If you're not into NASCAR that doesn't mean much, but for us, it was great! Of course, our favorite drivers didn't win, but we still had fun.

CANCER RELAY-FOR-LIFE

In April a club from Rod's school participated in the 24-hour American Cancer Society Relay-for-Life. As a cancer survivor, Carolyn got to walk in the first lap. I'm getting too old to stay up all night in the freezing wind--especially when the teenagers won't stay up!

DISNEYLAND

For Carolyn's birthday in February, I got her 4 days of Disneyland passes. We finally got to go a couple of weeks ago, and had a great time. It's nice not feeling like you have to do everything in one day. We saw a great "Aladdin" show at the Hyperion Theater in California Adventure, then had one of the best meals we've ever had at the Cafe Orleans in Disneyland. We couldn't get into the Blue Bayou, so we had to "settle" for something less. It was great! The "less" was the price. We stayed until fireworks, then relaxed listening to a swing band before the long drive home.

Mostly we do schoolwork and yard work -- both of which seem to be perpetual.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

2010-01-03T18:28:00.001-08:00

From Dec 20 - Jan 1, we celebrated Christmas with our entire family. If you count from the afternoon of the 20th to the afternoon of the 1st, that's 12 days.

Holly & Dan flew out from Washington, DC and join Tim & Stef and Carolyn and I for a wonderful Christmas week. They were one of the first flights out after the major DC snowstorm on Sat the 19th.

The most common Christmas gift was Wii, and Wii enjoyed playing it.

Mike & Kallie were in Colorado for Christmas Eve, and had a great dinner in the camp dining hall. We took Holly & Dan to LAX on Saturday, then left on Sunday for Colorado, arriving there Monday afternoon.

We opened more presents on Monday night.

We spent all week enjoying being Grandparents.

On New Year's Eve all the power in the valley went out while we were playing Wii, so we played Scrabble by kerosene lamp and candlelight. We had just fixed hot drinks, so it was a pleasant surprise.

We drove home Friday and Saturday through some pretty cold weather.

If you would like to see more pictures of our Christmas, here is a link to Snapfish

Now we are trying to get ready for school tomorrow. Like we'll ever really be ready. :)

The best kind of homework

2009-11-24T14:08:00.000-08:00

As an AP Government teacher, it has been a real treat to spend a couple of days as a tourist in the Washington, DC area.

We took a "Monuments by Moonlight" tour of DC on Sunday night.

This picture is through the window of our tour trolley.

This is the Washington Monument from the FDR Monument across the tidal basin.

After Dan's promotion on Monday morning, Carolyn and I visited the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress. We even got to sit in the court for a tourist lecture.

It was raining as we walked around the Capitol building.

Today we visited Thomas Jefferson's home of Monticello. Very impressive.

For lunch we ate at Five Guys Hamburger, which is supposed to be the East Coast's version of In-n-Out, complete with red and white ceramic tile. Not!!!!! Can wait to get back to the real thing!

Tomorrow we plan to go visit the home of James Madison, that author of the Constitution. Now this is my kind of homework!

Major Daniel Hayden

2009-11-24T14:02:00.000-08:00

On Monday, November 23, we got to attend the promotion ceremony of Dan to the rank of Major in the United States Army. It was a great ceremony. Dan was promoted along with one of his college-ROTC buddies, while a couple of others of his Army ROTC buddies, and most of his family were able to attend. To have it take place in Washington, DC was even an extra plus.

Congratulations, Dan!

Fall in the High Desert

2009-11-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

I know it's not the real fall that people get in the North or on the East Coast, but it's what we get here. There's a little bit of color, and a little bit of cool. Our high temps have been in the 60's a lot, though we still get some 70s. Lots of sunshine. We haven't had any rain since the first week of June -- and that was unusual.

So today was spent raking up leaves, cleaning out old flower beds, and general yard work. Soon it will get too cold for that.

This coming week is the last game of our high school football season. Even though we lose, it is fun to go to the games. There's something special about a cool evening in a high school football stadium. So the seasons change here, too.

Soon we will be traveling to Washington DC and North Carolina during Thanksgiving week, then to Colorado between Christmas and New Years. A lot more weather variety coming up, that's for sure!

Daylight Losing Time

2009-11-01T18:20:00.000-08:00

So it got dark in the afternoon. Not ready for that!

Last night we got all ready for the Trick or Treaters, but there weren't as many as before. Carolyn's class carved our pumpkin, and even made a scarecrow out of some of our clothes and newspapers.

So we sat them on the porch, and even sat out there ourselves. It was a pleasant evening, and we enjoyed the kids who did show up. Now we have a ton of chocolate left over. Poor us :)

We got a new bed for Coda, so she has one in the kitchen and one outside. She seems to like it a lot, if she would ever stay awake long enough to enjoy it.

Fall Festivities

2009-10-18T18:27:00.000-07:00

School is in full swing. Carolyn is enjoying 1st grade, as much as she hoped. School also means Friday night football and Saturday activities -- in addition to grading papers.

My club called T.H.E. C.L.U.B. had a float in the Hesperia Days Parade. The kids built a little Ronald McDonald House, and we advertised that charity. We often cook meals there on Saturday nights.

We went to the Saturday NASCAR race on Oct. 10. One of my students gave us pit passes, so we were down there during practice. We got to see our favorite car up close. I also went down on Friday for qualifying, and got to see some of the drivers up close. I even shook hands with Jeff Gordon.

This weekend was our annual Missions Fest. We had several ministry partners with displays at church, and I preached a missions message titled, "Turning the World Upside Down" based on Acts 17.1-15. (I was assigned the passage based on our preaching rotation, so I turned it into a missions message.)

We were sitting on the patio at night listening to Harry Potter books, but now with school work and cooler weather, we are getting behind. Of course, I think the NFL on TV has a little bit to do with that, too.

Family Reunion

2009-09-19T12:24:00.000-07:00

Carolyn got to travel to Illinois for the Hulvey family reunion. She had a good time catching up with aunts, uncles & cousins that she hadn't seen in a long time. She was able to meet up with relatives from both her Mom's family and her Dad's family.

Carolyn and her Dad show off how high the corn is ("as high as an elephant's eye" -- and they were in Illinois not Oklahoma).

Shortly after she returned, she got a phone call that her mom was gravely ill. Carolyn was able to spend 3 days with her mother before she passed away on August 20. It was a sad relief! No more suffering.

But life goes on. We are now both in full swing of teaching . . . weekends are sure nice!

Southwest Road Trip

2009-08-02T16:57:00.000-07:00

2000 miles with Harry Potter

The last two weeks of July we traveled to Tucson to see Carolyn's mother and brother, then to Colorado to visit Mike, Kallie & Jack. While driving we listened to two Harry Potter books. Well, we didn't finish book #4, so we listened to it while sitting out in our back yard at nights after we got back.

Dale and Barb own a limo business. They drove us around Tucson in this "mouse" limo. We hadn't seen Carolyn's Mom since she moved into a nursing home near Dale.

It was fun spending time with Jack. We took him on walks with his Jeep stroller.

We rode a train through the Royal Gorge in Colorado.

Jack is already becoming "electronic." Though he thought the iPod was a cell phone.

More Wedding Pictures

The following links will take you to two different sets of pictures taken during Holly's wedding.

Dan's uncle's pics

Our pics

Bells, Bells & Bells

2009-07-05T21:24:00.000-07:00

Wedding Bells

Holly & Dan were married on June 20 at Edwards Mansion in Redlands. It was a great day! It culminated a week of various kinds of dinners and get-togethers; many of them at our house.

Church Bells

Three days after the wedding we took a group of 4 high school students to Europe. We went to London Paris & Rome. The pictures above are from Florence and Rome, Italy.

We even heard the bells of Notre Dame.

Liberty Bells

We didn't actually hear any bells on the 4th of July, but Carolyn and I went with Tim & Stef to a Mavericks baseball game and saw fireworks afterwards. That was after a BBQ and swimming at our house.

Springing Forward

2009-03-14T22:22:00.001-07:00

Ever felt like someone changed the laws of nature? It doesn't seem like 3 months since I updated this site, but the calendar says so. Maybe someone is stealing some hours from my day. If so, I hope that person gave them to you.

January.

Holly & Dan joined us for a weekend of wedding planning. I'd like to say wedding planning is fun, but you've all seen "Father of the Bride." 'Nuff said. But the fun thing was an "open house" on Sunday afternoon. Several of Holly's friends, and folks from church stopped by to see Dan & Holly. It was a good time.

February.
Carolyn and I went to a NASCAR race again. It's not as much fun as it used to be. Too bad. Carolyn and I also went with some kids from my high school to cook dinner for the residents at the Loma Linda Ronald McDonald House.

March.
After spending a month at nearby Ft. Irwin, Holly got away for a couple of hours to see us on Sunday afternoon, March 1. That was a good way to start the month. Now with Spring about to spring on us, we have been working in the yard, waking it (and the pool) up, so that we can enjoy our great outdoors.

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

2008-12-17T21:23:00.000-08:00

This year Christmas is coming very early!

We had our traditional Christmas Eve fondue dinner on Sunday night. We went to Tim and Stef's, and had dinner and opened presents. It was a great evening!

On Tuesday evening we went to Stef's school concert. all "5" of her groups did great!

On Monday it snowed a little But today it snowed A LOT! It started snowing at 6 this morning, and probably won't stop until tomorrow morning. Hesperia schools were closed today. Both Hesperia and Victorville will be closed tomorrow. So that means Christmas break also came early.

We got over a foot of snow. It damaged some trees in our back yard. When it covered the Christmas lights in our front yard it made a cool light show.

Ridin' The Rails

2008-11-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

Ok, maybe that's a bit melodramatic, but we did ride Amtrak's Coast Starlight from LA to Tacoma to spend Thanksgiving with Holly. We made it fine, and had a mostly pleasant trip.

Tim took us to Rancho Cucamonga where we caught Metrolink to LA's Union Station. There we boarded our train.

We were downstairs in a coach car, only 12 seats in our area, so it was a bit more private than regular coach. We slept there, and did some reading, but spent most of our time upstairs in the Sightseeing Car with all the windows.

We are two meals in the Dining Car. You sit with other people, so we met some interesting folks.

It was nice seeing the landscape go by, the So Cal Coast and Oregon Cascade Mountains. This time of year, too much of the trip was in the dark to see much.

We slept like on a plane, but with more leg room. We upgraded to a sleeping car for the return trip, so that we can compare.

Fall '08

2008-11-13T19:48:00.001-08:00

We didn't do Trick or Treat at home this year because of high school football. The Hesperia High School Scorpions are now 9-0 on the season. This has never happened to us before. It has been quite exciting. We even went with our "rooting section" up to Lake Arrowhead last Friday night for a game at Rim of the World High School. This Friday, the 14th, is our last regular season game, and it is a home game. So it will be a big deal

School has kept both of us busy the past couple of months. Carolyn carved pumpkins with her class again this year. It is always a big hit. The kids get to take the Jack-o-lanterns home. So that is good for them. Carolyn has been fighting a cold that was diagnosed today are a respiratory infection, so now she is on meds. That should help.

It has been unseasonable warm here. Supposed to be in the mid 80s tomorrow. Hard to believe that Thanksgiving is just 2 weeks away.

Take a Hike!

2008-09-27T13:15:00.001-07:00

How many times have you wanted to say THAT to someone?

Well, today we did . . . with the Outdoor Club at Hesperia High School. We walked along the Pacific Crest Trail near Silverwood Lake.

It was mostly deserty dry brown stuff, but we did find some shade and trees from time to time. Another teacher is the advisor for the club, but we went along for extra support. There were 12 students and the other teacher. We had a good time, and we're glad we did it. We are also glad we have a pool to come back to.

Jack Shack

2008-09-23T22:02:00.001-07:00

We are getting ready!

The whole McKean gang is going to be here the weekend of October 12. Yay!

That includes the newest McKean, Jack Michael. So today we got some stuff for him, and all his brothers, sisters and cousins (that's multiple choice, not necessarily all inclusive, Kallie). The new safari pack n' play we call the "Jack Shack."

Ok, Jack. Y'all come by real soon, y'hear?

Friday Night Lights!

2008-09-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

Friday night high school football is back! For over 10 years, maybe for 13, we've spent almost every Friday night home football game with the same group. Don & Tammy Fortner and Joe Ellis, and Darrell Fortner. Our families were in the marching band together, and we've been to dozens of field shows and football games. So last night was a kind of an annual reunion. It helps that our team won 32-10.

We are always as interested in the Marching Band as we are the football game. And, of course, we never think it was as good as back when . . . We have lots of "war stories to tell. We also have a fun rivalry, because between us we are Chargers, Steelers & Raiders fans.

In a time that seems so full of things being unsettled, and all politicians promising change, it's nice to know that some things don't change. Good friendships can withstand a lot!

School Daze

2008-09-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

We are both back in full swing in our schools. We've both had parent "Back to School" night, and we've both had conferences with parents of disruptive students. Ah, it's good to be back . . . NOT!

Are we getting too old for this? What happened to an emphasis on good teaching and educating the young? Now it is all test scores and placating parents. Students run the classrooms, and administrators run scared. We are both struggling to keep our eye on the calling that led us to teach in the first place.

Then something good happens. I went to a funeral today for a man who taught briefly in our district after retiring from teaching in Watts, LA, after retiring as a Nazarene Pastor, after working for many years as an nuclear scientist. I haven't seen him or his family for about 5 years. I walked into the church where the funeral was, and his son-in-law, the father of one of my former students, walked right up to me and said, "I don't remember your name, but I remember that you were our daughter's favorite teacher." Ok, now I'm ready for Monday.

Gotta "keep our eyes on the lives" of our students. That's what it's all about!!

Yard & Pool

2008-09-06T22:33:00.003-07:00

In my last update, I wanted to include pictures of our yard and pool and night, but I couldn't find them. Well, here they are.

Too bad summer is kinda over. There was still yard work to do today, but too much school work to enjoy the yard and pool this evening. Ugh!

Well, there's always tomorrow. Wait, there's also NASCAR and NFL. That's why we have TiVo.

Summer's End

2008-09-01T19:25:00.000-07:00

Some people live by the astronomical calendar, and they think there are 20 more days of summer. We are school teachers. We know when summer really ends. Today! Ugh

Carolyn starts back teaching 2nd grade tomorrow with a room of 30 (eager?) scholars. Let's hope! Actually, Rod started back on August 11. So our summer has been practically done for a while. But we did get in some summertime activites.

Yard Work

We painted the patio cover, which meant taking it mostly apart and painting each board individually with a brush, then reassembling it.

Kayaking

We got to go to Big Bear lake and enjoy our kayaks, along with watching ducks and sailboats. It's nice to have that opportunity less than 1 hour from our house

Pool
We spent a lot of time, when it got too hot to work on the house or in the yard, swimming and reading by the pool. We even spent some evenings watching movies outdoors by projecting from a DVD player to a white board screen. Our own "drive-in" theater.

Hollywood Bowl

We usually do this once a year. This year with Tim & Stef and the Prices, we saw a concert production of Les Miserables. It was fantastic!

NASCAR

This weekend my brother David, along with Marcia and Jon came down from Roseville to join us for 2 NASCAR races. Our favorite drivers didn't win, but it is always fun to suffer in the heat, have your eardrums numbed by the engines, sit next to drunk red necks, and smell that exhaust from 100 octane racing fuel. It was great fun! No, really, it was. This is the third time Carolyn and I have gone down to Fontana, and it is a great experience.

So now our routine changes. Actually, we never stop thinking about teaching. Most days this summer we were reading, revising, planning or dreaming about how to be better teachers. It is a great calling, and we are proud of what we do and how we do it.

We're hoping, though, that we can "get a life" other than teaching. So stay tuned for more updates and we try to keep the adventure going.

Back in Hesperia

2008-07-18T22:18:00.000-07:00

We arrived home tonight about 7:15. We left David & Marcy's at 9:30. We had to stop a lot, we are real tired of the traveling.

Tim met us when we pulled in the driveway, and after unhooking the trailer we went and got Mexican food -- La Casita salsa. What a way to come home.

Tomorrow we start cleaning the trailer, fixing the yard and pool, reading the mail, paying the bills, and making up for being gone for 4 weeks.

Fires, Fields & Family

2008-07-18T07:07:00.000-07:00

We are back in (cough, cough) California. We had heard about the fires for a couple of weeks, but when we drove by Mt. Shasta and couldn’t see it, we finally realized how bad the smoke was. We later learned that it is a lot better now. So it must have been bad.

And the drought is bad, too. Everything looks drier than usual, and I’ve never seen Shasta Lake so low. We could see the bottom in places that used to be wide lake 40 years ago. Sorry, we didn’t get pictures of either the hidden Mt. Shasta or the lake.

The rest of northern California was agricultural fields. The rice fields were the greenest. The white crane was so common in the rice fields of Taiwan and China, that to see them in California was interesting.

I think the bird is called Ibis.
(You have to look hard to see two of them)

We arrived at David & Marcy’s house on Wednesday night. We had lunch with Grant & Karrie on Thursday, and basically just stayed lazy all day.

Friday should be the last day of this trip. Who would ever think someone would be glad to see Hesperia!!

Oh, PS:
One more JACK: We have been using our Garmin GPS. We got tired of the naggy lady whose voice is standard. We switched to a male British voice that I called "Bernard." But he pronounced American words wrong. Cirque Dr. in Tacoma he called Cirque doctor. Shoshone St. was Show-Shown Saint. So I looked for more voices, and found an American male voice named: Jack.

Snow, Smoke & Secret Service

2008-07-15T21:09:00.000-07:00

In June 1995 our family stopped to visit Crater Lake, Oregon on our way from Roseburg back home to Hesperia. We had about an hour to visit on a Sunday afternoon. As we approached the area, it started snowing. By the time we got to the lake the falling snow and the ground/lake fog made our visibility about 50 ft. We never saw the lake.

Last night we arrived at Diamond Lake with clear skies and the setting sun lighting up the snow covered peaks. We couldn’t wait to get our first view of Crater Lake.

When we woke up this morning we thought someone was burning something. Then when we went outside we saw the sky was hazy. Sure enough, a nearby wildfire was filling the sky with smoke. Our second chance at seeing Crater Lake was being jeopardized. But through the smoke we saw the lake.

The website said our first words would be, “Wow!” They were right. Without even thinking about it, we walked up to the over look, and I said, “Wow, look at that blue color!”

WOW! Look at that blue color!

We drove along many overlooks. At one there was a ranger and a fire officer and they had some parking blocked off. Then we noticed that one of the tourists talking to the ranger had an earpiece on like a secret service agent. Then we noticed a limousine parked by us. We had followed it into the park, and noticed that they didn’t pay. As we were getting ready to leave the overlook a few dozen motorcycles came up, followed by a Suburban motorcade, followed by park and police vehicles with their lights flashing. Several more earphone guys got out of the Suburbans, and several Middle Eastern looking people also go out. As we finally left I asked one of the rangers, “What’s going on?” He said, “Oh, just a dignitary.” We never knew who it was, but heard a rumor that it was the king of Jordan. And he didn’t get to see the lake either. So now we have something in common with the king of Jordan.

Secret Service Chipmunk

Diamond Lake - Our site is near the lake

Mt. Thielsen, one of the many old volcanoes in the area

We came back to our campsite and sat outside and read until the mosquitoes convinced us to go inside. Tomorrow it's on to David & Marcy’s. It will be a long, hot day!

I Do Know Jack

2008-07-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Over three weeks ago we left on this odyssey. But before we got out of the driveway I bent the stabilizer JACK because I didn't have it raised far enough. On the second day we blew a tire in the middle of nowhere, and I had to use the floor JACK I brought to raise the trailer to change the tire.

We finally got to Mike & Kallie's on the third day so we could finally meet our grandson, JACK. Over the next week we kinda got to know JACK. Though I'm sure he keeps changing every day, so we now don't know him as well as we used to. But while we were in Colorado, I had to use the floor JACK again, to raise the trailer to repair the plumbing that was tore up when the tire blew.

In Idaho I ruined my cordless drill installing the new stabilizer JACK that I bought in Utah. Then in Pt. Ludlow I had to use the floor JACK again to replace a brand new tire that had gone mysteriously flat.

This morning, as we were getting ready to leave Washington I needed to put on the new tire I bought to replace the mystery flat. I was going to use some stacking blocks as a rolling JACK, just roll the trailer forward and the good tire would go up on the blocks, while the back tire would go up in the air for changing. As I was raising the trailer to put it on the hitch, the tongue JACK broke, dropping the trailer. So I had to use the floor JACK again to get the trailer on the hitch so I could roll in forward on the rolling JACK.

On the way to Diamond Lake, Oregon we stopped at bought a new tongue JACK which I installed tonight. So after these three weeks of odyssey, you can’t tell me that I don’t know . . . .

Washington Weekend -- Water, Water & Water

2008-07-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

Friday we rented a canoe and kayaks where we are camped at American Lake here at Ft. Lewis. Holly's dog, Coda, went with us. We saw a couple of bald eagles. You will too if you look hard enough.

Saturday we met up with our friends the Smiths for a picnic at Lake Sammamish. We went on their boat, then picnicked, then had pizza at their house.

On the way home the setting sun was lighting up Mt. Rainer, but the picture doesn't do it justice.

Sunday after church Holly grilled some salmon, then we took Coda for a walk at a park along Puget Sound. The Olympic Mountains were in view today.

Boats, Blooms & Battle Beans

2008-07-10T20:55:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Holly joined us for lunch at Anthony's on Puget Sound in Tacoma. It was great food and great views; not just of the boats, but also of Mount Rainer.

Anthony's is located at Point Defiance park in Tacoma. They also have some great flower gardens, and an old Hudson Bay Co. fur trading fort. It was a beautiful park and way to spend the afternoon.

On Thursday, we all had lunch together at Ft. Lewis at a coffee and sandwich place called Battle Bean. Then we got a tour of one of Dan' Strykers. Well actually, it belongs to the Army, but it's assigned to Dan.

You can see Carolyn inside the Stryker holding a cup from Battle Bean.

We tried to go kayaking today, but there were no rental kayaks available. We'll try again tomorrow.

Otherwise these two days have just been lazy times with Holly & Dan and the dogs.

We found a tennis ball at the park yesterday, and Coda has had fun with it.

Captain Holly!

2008-07-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

This morning we attended the ceremony for Holly to be pinned with her Captain's rank. We got to do the pinning. It was a nice, ceremony outside her work building. Col. Clark who was there when she became Lt was presiding.

Yesterday we attended the Tall Ships Festival in Tacoma. There were replicas of the HMS Bounty, the actual one used in the 1960s movie, and a replica of the Niña. Plus other large sailing ships.

The Niña.

Even Mt. Rainier came out for the show.

We are camped at Ft. Lewis' Travel Camp on American Lake. We haven't tried any lake adventures yet, but probably will.

We learned today that the flat tire we discovered on Sunday morning was caused by a piece of fireworks debris in the sidewall. Not repairable and not covered by the warranty. Bummer. $100 Bummer!

Oh, well, it's just part of the adventure!

Pictures to follow

2008-07-06T21:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday we drove with Renata Riggs up into Olympic National Park, and on to Lake Crescent. It was beautiful scenery, even though it was cloudy/fog with a chance of cloudy drizzle. It was well worth the trip, even though we couldn't see the mountains that surrounded us.

We spent the evening in our trailer watching a DVD.

Today, Sunday, we arrived at Ft. Lewis. They have an RV park on post. It is a beautiful tree-surrounded spot.

We left Pt. Ludlow this morning, and just as we were hooking up the trailer, discovered that one of our new tires was flat. Ugh! So we lost a 1/2 hour putting on the spare.

Then we made two shuttle trips to the airport. First to pick up Dan at 2, and then Holly at 6.

So, we don't have time to post pictures now, will try to update that tomorrow.

Fourth of July

2008-07-04T23:03:00.001-07:00

We made it to Port Ludlow last night, and we are parked in a very foresty place.

We spent today with our friends David & Renate Riggs. We spent most of the day on the deck overlooking the Hood Canal.

Tonight we watched fireworks from the deck.

For Sale -- Cheap

2008-07-02T20:59:00.001-07:00

That should tell you everything you need to know about our trip today! Pulling a trailer is not my idea of vacation.

At the end of the day we finally reached Pendleton, Oregon. We did go to the Pendleton Woolen Mills store. It was too hot to buy a wool shirt, but it was also too expensive!! Even the stuff "up to" 50% off!

But we found a great little restaurant in the old part of town, and the waitress told us about a Riverwalk, so we spent about an hour walking along the river.

We are staying at an RV park that a review on the internet called "Walmart with hookups." It's just an asphalt area with striped lines and hookups. Weird! But we have the airconditioner on, and we aren't driving. So that's good.

Tomorrow on to Port Ludlow, WA to see the Riggs. Another 7-hour drive. Yuck! I wonder if someone would trade me two airline tickets for a truck and trailer?

Did Utah what I taw?

2008-07-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

I tawt I taw a bunch of nuthin'

Below are all the interesting pictures that we took today. In fact, they are ALL the pictures that we took today. Utah is boring!!!

We drove a lot on two-lane roads through hours of nothing, except terrible construction zones. Then we had to drive through the Salt Lake City area. Give me LA traffic anytime. In one of the construction zones a big rig locked up his brakes in front of us, and we had to put ours on hard. It was a bit scary, but we made it. Those people are crazy. Speaking of crazy, we saw a Starbucks in the (Mormon) suburb of Sandy, Utah.

Once we got within an hour of Twin Falls, Idaho we finally saw some green. Lots of farms. Lots of huge new dairies. The ones that moved here from Chino.

So we are parked for the night. It was a long, exhausting day. Tomorrow we got to Pendleton, Oregon. I wonder if it will be too hot to buy a wool shirt.

A whole lot of nothing

2008-06-30T21:50:00.001-07:00

Today we said "Goodbye" to Mike, Kallie & Jack. It was hard, and sad, to leave. Now we really know what it feels like to be Grandparents. It "is" grand! We love Jack so much. We both cried before we left. It was hard!

We also said "good bye" to Spring Canyon. It is a unique place and ministry, and we are so proud of Mike & Kallie for their contribution and service there. They are truly Godly parents, spouses and leaders.

Then we spent the next 8 hours looking at mostly -- NOTHING. It was pretty, but way desolate! Once we crossed the continental divide (our 3rd time in a week), the western side was a whole lot of nothing. The good news is: no travel delays today. Just long and boring. With the same tomorrow.

We arrived in Green River, Utah about 6 pm and it was still almost 100 degrees and a bit muggy.

But we were treated to a light show tonight, so that was nice.

On to Twin Falls, Idaho tomorrow.

Way Out Back With Jack

2008-06-25T19:59:00.000-07:00

Today was a leisurely vacation day, starting off with sleeping, reading, and just being lazy.

Then we packed Jack for a trip out back, to St. Elmo, and old ghost town from the 1880s.

First we stopped at famous K's in BV for burgers, ice cream, and a picnic in the park.

At St. Elmo we saw hummingbirds, chipmunks, and lots of old buildings.

Tonight Grandma and Grandpa got to stay home with Jack. Grandpa made up a song for him called, "Way Out Back With Jack." He'll probably even sing it for you if you ask. :)

Jack At Last!!

2008-06-25T09:45:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to see Jack! Yay!

On Monday morning we went back to Cortez, Colorado to get four new tires for the trailer.

That took some time in the morning, so we had just a short time to visit the Anasazi ruins at Mesa Verde National Park.

The trip to Mike & Kallie's took us over the continental divide at Wolf Creek Pass. It was a beautiful drive, and even had some rain. Then Colorado on the east side of the divide was quite a different place.

We arrived in time to go out for a steak dinner. And, of course, spend a lot of time watching, and taking pictures of, Jack.

Most of Tuesday was spent repairing the plumbing damage on the trailer. Like Thomas Edison said, I didn't fail a bunch of times, I discovered a bunch of ways that didn't work. Finally about dark we had water in the trailer, and only a few drips on the ground.

We are enjoying our visit with Mike, Kallie & Jack at Spring Canyon!

Day 2 -- "Vacation?"

2008-06-22T22:11:00.000-07:00

So one thing I wanted to say yesterday, and didn't: A lot of the places we were yesterday were along the old Route 66, route. I could swear I saw Radiator Springs off in the distance one time. I asked Carolyn if we could go visit Mater & Sally.

We started the day in Flagstaff, and got away much later than we wanted to. I really wanted to get to an RV parts store, but the only one in town wasn't open on Sundays. So we took off. The sway I felt yesterday was worse today. We stopped a couple of times to make adjustments in the hitch hoping it would help. We thought it helped a little.

This is what most of the day looked like. It looked nicer in person, and for the first half hour.

Then: "Houston, we have a problem." We blew a tire, that did some damage to the trailer. We limped into a little town. With no tire stores or real service stations. My tire iron didn't fit the trailer wheels. But a Navajo guy came along and helped.

Then I found a hardware store to buy a tire iron, and some parts to fix the water hoses that were torn up by the tire. That put us 2 hours behind.

We spent the rest of the afternoon driving near Monument Valley, and seeing Four Corners, but never got to see Mesa Verde in Colorado. We hope to tomorrow, but we have to buy a tire first.

On the Road Again

2008-06-21T23:21:00.000-07:00

We started off today on a 4-week adventure to see alot of our family.

But the start didn't go smoothly. I forgot to raise one of the stabilizer supports, and bent it before ever getting out of the driveway. That's after we were over 3 hours later than our planned time to leave. I tried to fix it by pushing it back with my feet. But ended up having to take it off.

Oh well. We stopped at In-N-Out in Barstow, knowing it would be several weeks before we tasted that again. Carolyn heard a guy in In-n-Out saying, "We have something just like this in Pennsylvania, except it's called Chic-Fil-A. We hope he had a pleasant surprise!

We had more trouble with trailer sway today than we've noticed before. Not quite sure why, but since I have to find a new stabilizer jack in the morning, I'm hoping I can learn some more about the sway problem.

Tonight we are at a KOA in Flagstaff.

Father's Day

2008-06-15T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's a blessing to be the father of three great kids

Tim lives next door, teaches in our school district, and helps with sound and music at our church. Also does a mean BBQ.

Mike leads wilderness programs at Spring Canyon camp in Colorado.

Holly called from Iraq today. She's there for two weeks for briefing and training, and is on the return leg of her journey.

Tim and Stef had us over for BBQ lunch, kabobs. It was great!

So it was a good day at our home in Hesperia

June 14

2008-06-14T19:57:00.000-07:00

June 14 if Flag Day, hope you put out your flag.

June 14 is also our anniversary. Today is our 39th. Seems like a big number.

So what do you get on your 39th anniversary? How 'bout a pink fishing pole, and a new camera to take a picture of it. Just in time for our vacation.

We also got a soft top tonneau cover for our pick up.

We also celebrated with steak & lobster at Red Lobster -- I know, almost fancy!

So that's the news from . . . . here

Just in case

2008-06-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

Just in case someone is actually reading this, here's a quick update.

We spent a lot of family time together November through January. Since then Carolyn and I went to a NASCAR race, and went camping at Big Bear in April.

Holly was with us for Christmas, and her boyfriend Dan joined us for New Years

NASCAR Truck & Nationwide race at Fontana. The Nationwide race was rained out, but we had a good time with church friends anyway.

Jack was born on Easter, and the next Sunday we had a rose on the Communion Table at our church.

Big Bear Lake in April

Jack's first smile for the camera

Other than that it is just housework, yardwork, and school work. On June 20 we will leave for 3 weeks to visit Mike, Kallie & Jack in Colorado. Jack made us grandparents, so we can't wait for that.

Summer Update

2007-09-03T18:36:00.000-07:00

It's been a while -- since May -- since our last update. So it's about time -- don't you think?

Holly came for Memorial Day weekend. It was a great visit. We mostly hung around the pool, and made a stop at In-n-Out.

In June I led a small group of students to London, Paris, and the Alps. We enjoyed the regular tourist things, saw Wicked!, and I enjoyed the Starbucks.

We bought some kayaks on my birthday, and when we got home the place was full of people for a surprise pool party and BBQ. It was a total -- and happy -- surprise! The next week we went camping at Big Bear Lake with our new kayaks. Carolyn's is red and mine is yellow.

Holly came again for 4th of July and we went back to Big Bear with the Kayaks. We also went to see Wicked! in Hollywood at the Pantages Theater.

Kallie came later in the month, so the kayaks got a work out again.

We took a friend to the Hollywood Bowl for a production of South Pacific. It was great!

This weekend my brother, David, came down from Sacramento, and we went to two NASCAR races in Fontana. We got to see our favorite drivers and cars. We had a great time, even though it was (100 degrees +) HOT.

So that catches us up to a lazy Labor Day. Carolyn starts teaching again this week. My school started last month. Now I already have papers to grade which I successfully avoided all day!

Senior Prom

2007-05-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

That's "senior" as in high school seniors. We chaperoned the prom last month, and the pictures just came in. I don't know why they make us pose in these stiff poses. I look fat, but it's just because my jacket was too big, and I'm turned sideways. Oh well, we did take our camera, and took pictures with the kids, but not with each other. The girl in the top right is Tiffany Han. She was Carolyn's student when she (Tiffany) was in the 2nd grade. The girl in the bottom picture is Caitlin Endlsey. She has been one of Rod's students all 4 of her years at Hesperia High School. She was on the first group to go to Europe.

The prom was downtown LA at the Science Center. Everyone had to ride in charter buses. It wasn't really as bad as people feared. Well, the music was. We couldn't get far enough away from it. That's where these two "seniors" were different from the high school type.

It has been windy here, and a bit chilly on the weekends. So we haven't done as much outside as we would like. Of course, we never get enough done inside, either.

I (Rod) will take a small group of students to Europe on June 5, for about 10 days. London, Paris & the Alps. More on that later. Carolyn's school year is over about June 20.

Signs of Spring

2007-04-03T20:29:00.000-07:00

Now that Spring is officially here, we can get out and enjoy it. We finally got into the pool, actually on March 17. Max, the real tortoise, came out of hibernation the same weekend. We are enjoying the warm weather.

Hesperia was in the news last weekend because of a wildfire south of town. It was actually far away from the main part of Hesperia, but still within the "city limits" -- which is a big chunk of the desert.

Carolyn is on Spring Break this week, so she's out doing more yard work. You'd think it would be done some day.

Now You See Them . . Now You Don't

2007-03-12T18:27:00.000-07:00

We said "good bye" to some trees today. Two big ones near the front of the back yard, on both sides of the house. They were getting too big for the space, and they were getting too messy. They dropped "snow flakes" that sprouted new trees all over the place. So now things look more open.

Springtime & the Rockies

2007-03-10T20:41:00.000-08:00

While Mike & Kallie are playing Rocky Mountain High, we're doing yard work. But there are signs of spring to make it worth it. Cooper & Danny came to help today. We also arranged to have two large trees cut down this coming Monday. The guy said that they are Japanese Elm Trees. That would explain why they grew like King Kong. Though they make nice shade, they make a real mess each Spring and Fall. The one by the garage is also in the way of driving the trailer in and out, so having it gone will be a good thing. Slowly but surely we are getting the yard ready

Off To The Races -- NASCAR Style

2007-02-25T20:19:00.000-08:00

We did something today that we haven't done before. We went to the NASCAR Nextel Cup race in Fontana. It was cloudy and cold, but we had a good time. We were surprised by the noise and the smell (let's see, am I talking about the cars or the rednecks?). Our favorite driver went out early with a blown engine. If you can't tell who our favorite driver is by looking at the pictures, you don't know NASCAR.

Watching it in person is very different from watching on TV. You can't pause it to go to the bathroom. But you can watch whatever driver you want, and you can see things that you never see on TV. We might try it again someday. You should join us.

You can view more pictures in the NASCAR album, on the webshots link to the left.

College Tour '07

2007-02-24T16:24:00.000-08:00

Last week we helped supervise a group of Hesperia High School students on a tour of colleges in Northern California. We went as far north as Chico, with stops at Chico State, UC Davis, Sacramento State, Cal State Stanislaus and Fresno State. We had dinner one night in Old Town Sacramento. The weather was cloudy, cool and rainy, but the kids were wonderful. We had a great time.

Now we're back in school for regular.