Happy Anniversary

Dave and I have known each other for 13 years now. We met our junior year of high school, starting dating our senior year and got married after our senior year of college. 7 years, 3 moves (including 1 cross country), 4 degrees and 2 beautiful children later, and I love him even more today than I did on the day I married him. Dave, I love you for the man that you are and that you continue to grow to be. I feel so blessed to be on this journey with you. You are my soul mate, my partner, the one who gets me, my best friend. Thank you for 7 wonderful years!

Update on the fire

It definitely smells worse this morning than it did yesterday. Over night the fire spread from 35,000 acres to nearly 90,000. It is making a steady march to Mt Wilson, where firefighters have been set up and using as a control center. It also homes all the local radio and television communication towers. It also has a beautiful old observatory. They are prepared to defend it but recognize that they may not be able to. So we'll see what the day holds.



This is Mt. Wilson observatory before on a normal day.


The antennas of Mt. Wilson.

Fires

In southern California, August is one of the hottest months of the year and the beginning of fire season. LIke all of nature, the fires are part of the natural cycle of the forests. But the fire that is currently burning near us is a little different. The area of La Canada and Pasadena/Altadena hasn't seen a fire in about 60 years. Needless to say, there is a lot of growth available for the burn. Because of this the fire has spread rapidly and in all directions. While we are pretty safe because we are about 10 miles south of the mountains with plenty of concrete between us, our neighbors north of us are not so fortunate. Thousands of homes have been evacuated (including our pastors'). From it's start on Thursday it has burned over 35,000 acres and is only about 5% contained at the moment. Amazingly though only 3 structures have burned. Those firefighters are amazing! Because of how rare it is to see such a big fire in this area, people are pretty curious and going out to look out areas to get a view of the flames. Dave and I are no different. It is a little mesmerizing. We've been taking photos every day I guess in an effort to document it. We actually have a pretty good view just from our own front lawn. The lack of winds have kept it from spreading any faster and kept it from blowing ash our way as well. That is definitely good! But we're still staying indoors because there are a lot of particulate matter in the air that can cause health issues. We'll keep you updated but know that we are ok and not really in harms way. The biggest problem for us will be the air quality. You can also check out for more information. Here are some pics of what we have seen so far.


The view from our street. All the white above the mountain is smoke-not clouds.


The fire at night from our viewpoint in Pasadena.


The fire just above Nasa's Jet Propulsion Lab, in Pasadena.


The view from above the Rose Bowl.

Cloudy and Green

Our family recently visited Portland, OR for the first time. Up to this point, I have been told by numerous people that I would love the city because there is great food, great scenery, great public transit and because it is a "green" city. I was starting to think that all the hype about Portland was only going to leave me disappointed because it had been so built up in my head. But after about a week in the city, I have to say that I really did like it. I was impressed with how beautiful it was- so many big green trees, mountains and parks everywhere. The public transit was great and the kids loved riding the trains and buses.


The food- delicious. The food carts lined up and down the downtown streets let you eat basically any kind of food you want. Could there be anything better than that?


And green indeed! I know that "green" has become hip or trendy and some even equate it with a "left wing" agenda. But I was concerned about "green" issues before we ever moved to California and have found much more support for these concerns here than I did anywhere else I have ever lived. But I have never seen a whole city committed to living a simpler and cleaner life- until I went to Portland. Evidence of this could be found in the public recycle bin next to every public trash bin throughout the city, the countless bikers and bike lanes throughout the city, the readily available composting bins, and ample vegetarian and vegan food! Oh yeah, did I mention the lack of box stores and chains? In every neighborhood, you could see something new and unique- a value that is so important to Portlanders. They pride themselves in doing it themselves whether it means growing their own food, maintaining gardens with indigenous plants and flowers, or making their own crafty things instead of buying them. I do admire this though having a black thumb I'm not sure how well I would fair;) The pace of life is slower, calmer, and definitely more natural. They grow local and buy local. They are friendly and generous, though not too fond of the wealthy Californians who keep moving up and driving up the cost of real estate. Glad we don't have to worry about that since we're so NOT wealthy! But most of all, I just felt it refreshing to be in a city, large and vibrant, that was clean and committed to changing the impact that cities have on resources and the environment.



This was a bike and beer festival on the river downtown. They actually had these "compost offices" with three bins for your trash. One was labeled 'landfill', another 'recycle" and the last 'compost'. How many cities offer that in public spaces?



This guy actually won a contest in which the prize was a brand new tricked out bike. The contest- give up your car and get a new bike. So this guy won (yes, others, many others, entered this contest) the contest by signing the title of his car over to them and in turn received a new and lighter mode of transportation!

Now I know that this was our first visit and that we don't live there with the day to day, season to season feel. And I am ok with that. For now it will remain in our heads a haven for progressive city living and all around beautiful city.

Bumps, bruises and boxer eyes

Willow is, uhm how should we say, adventurous. She is now 14 months old and already has a chipped tooth. She often has bumps and bruises, some from her brother or neighbor and many more from her own actions. For example, a couple months ago she got a sizable bruise on her head because she wanted to run around with a towel on her head after bath time. But she got going to fast with the towel over her head (and eyes) that she ran right into the dining room chair. She has some nice scraps on the knees and elbows from trips and falls. She even got a scab on her head when she fell outside and face planted on the sidewalk. But the most recent "injury" was what Dave and I affectionately termed her boxer eye. We still haven't figured out exactly what happened- whether she fell (or was pushed down) or if her pink eye spread- but she ended up with a swollen eye that looked like she was in a boxing match the night before.



As you can see, it was pretty dramatic. She has those big beautiful eyes like her brother and to see one of them only open about half as much as the other was so pathetic. It didn't seem to really bother her too much but we did have to keep a close eye on it. The girl just doesn't really let anything slow her down. Bleeding, crying, eye swelled closed- she just keeps moving. I think she gets that from her dad:)