Physical Therapy and pumpkin pie for Dad's birthday

I went to Physical Therapy for the first time last week. The therapist was concerned about my lack of flexibility and told me that before we could work on strengthening the muscles around my left knee, we'd have to start with flexibility. He gave me a big white foam roller and prescribed a whole regimen of stretches for me to do multiple times per day. After a week of diligently doing the stretches, I felt a bit better, but still pretty tight.

At our second visit, he recommended some additional stretches but added a few strengthening exercises. Here are a couple photos I had him take of me to serve as reference when I'm at home trying to remember the proper position.

Seated stretch

Simple stair-stepper, made out of an old phone book

Mom sent me a picture this week that really had me puzzled. I've included it below. There were a couple colorful sections, and written on one was, "Mark was here... July 15th, 2001. Exactly one week before my 16th birthday!"

I vaguely remembered having written this, but couldn't remember where it was. Turns out, it was written on the carpet pad in my parents' downstairs bedroom at their house in Provo. We had to replace the carpet pad down there all those years ago when they had been having some moisture problems. She sent me this picture because she had begun a remodel of the room, which is the room where our boys always sleep while in Provo.

Carpet pad

Well, Thursday was Dad's 71st birthday. In usual fashion, we had pumpkin pie for dessert. It's a tradition that I hope we always do. Emmie got in on the action this year and enjoyed her pie. Luke, as always, polished his off in no time and was asking for more. Logan, however, was somewhat hesitant and merely picked at his pie a little bit. Not a huge pumpkin pie fan.

I wonder what Dad would think of my family and our life. We were just barely starting out in Texas when he passed away. I hadn't even found a great place to get a chocolate shake yet! Luke was a little (big) pipsqueak, just seven months old when Dad passed away. We've come a long way and lived a lot of life since May 2009. We sure do miss him, but we talk about him often, and I think the kids will have a sense of his closeness even though they never really knew him.
 

Emmie enjoying some birthday pie

This slice is for you, Dad!

Logan, being a good sport about it.

Luke with a face that says, "Where'd my pie go!?!"

msh

FHE, Valerie's, bikes at the lake!

Ahh, it's been a nice relief to be done with the marathon. Time to turn my attention and efforts to other things. Having the stress of long distance runs off my shoulders makes me feel so much lighter! Now I can focus on getting my knee healthy and running for pleasure and to stay in shape rather than to train for a 26 mile run!

Another beautiful week here in the Northwest! On Monday evening, we met up with the Lenzes and Shattucks at the part to do a combined Family Home Evening lesson. We discussed the Jaredites and how the Lord prepared a way for them to travel across the ocean in the barges without windows. For our activity, we painted smooth stones with glow-in-the-dark paint. It was fun, and of course, a little bit messy when letting the littles do the painting.

FHE at the park

Painting the stones!

This weekend saw more soccer action. It was picture day for the boys, so we all went together at the same time and tried to keep the boys from getting their shorts and shirts dirty before getting their pictures. Logan was really cute and did a nice job smiling for the camera. I should post a picture of the actual prints once I have them in hand. For now, though, here's a pic I snapped of them before game time.

A couple of handsome Holdaway soccer players!

After their games, we decided to celebrate a little as a family and go to breakfast. We had heard that Breakfast at Valerie's over by I-205 was supposed to be really good. Well, if the wait time and number of people on the sign-yourself-in waiting list was any indication, it was going to be a good experience! We sat in the waiting area for probably 30-45 minutes (for breakfast!) before getting called back. There were some auto classified magazines along with this cool Concours d'Elegance poster on the wall. It totally reminded me of Dad and made me want to find a good car show to visit with the boys.

Concours d'Elegance (French for Competition of Elegance)

By the time we sat down, ordered, and then finally got our food, the kids had been sufficiently nutso and wild that we had all switched seats at least once, it seemed. Suzanna and I were a little batty, as you can tell from the pictures below.

Starting to get a little silly while waiting for our food!

I eventually moved to the other side of the table to separate the two funny boys.

What a bunch of colorful shirts!

All the soccer playing and food eating wore us out. Both boys passed out in the car while we drove across the bridge to Jantzen Beach in Portland to pay a quick trip to Children's Place.

Logan with his blanket over his face to block the sun.

Luke catching a cat nap as well.

Later on that day, I told Luke to get his shoes on and get his bike ready so we could go on a little bike ride. He's done so well at riding a bike that I figured he'd do pretty well on the very tame trail by Lacamas Lake. We loaded up and headed down. I told him that we'd ride a mile or two up the trail but to keep in mind that however far we rode up the trail, we'd have to ride back down to the car. I was pleasantly surprised at how enthusiastic and excited he was as he kept on riding til we had gone over three miles up the trail, turning into a total ride of over six miles! That's a long way for a little dude.

Map of Lacamas Lake. We rode along the south west side of the long, skinny lake

Luke on the trail by Lacamas Lake

Part way through the ride Luke yelled to me, "Hey Dad! This is actually really fun! We should do this every morning!" Haha, I had a good laugh out of that and hoped in my heart that he would have a good attitude about it in the future and maybe want to do this often (though probably not every morning!).

Taking a short break for a drink from the water bottle

Here are a few more pictures from the ride.

He wanted to be sure I got a good photo of the scorpion on the side of his helmet

A beautiful day for a ride!

An action shot!

I captured a few videos along the way as well. Some of them came out sideways (probably because I was holding my phone portrait rather than landscape), but at least one of them came out pretty nicely. Here's a link to that video, which is hosted on Vimeo.

msh

Beautiful northwest, ice cream with Logan, survived the marathon

After such an eventful week last week, I wasn't sure how this week could compare. Well, with the obvious exception of my first MARATHON that happened on Saturday, that is! You can read about it and see pictures here.

The weather in September in the Pacific Northwest is incredibly beautiful! I love where we live. The huge evergreen trees that surround us are always so pretty. When the wind picks up, I can hear it rushing in the trees across the street and it sounds a little like rushing water. I got a couple pictures this week of him getting on the bus, and you can see how beautiful the big trees are in the background.

Luke getting on the bus on a beautiful September morning!

Logan and I went out this week to do some errands. We stopped by Fred Meyer and checked out some coffee tables, as we continue to brainstorm about home renovations and how the furniture will all be arranged. We stopped at Baskin Robbins for some ice cream cones as well! Tasty treat with a fun kid.

Logan acting as a point of reference for the size of this coffee table

Enjoying a little lick of Dad's ice cream cone!

Showing off that cute grin, minus one tooth, of course.

Awkward selfie

This was a big week for our family back in Utah, as Jordan few to Peru to enter the Lima MTC as his mission began. He'll be in the MTC for approximately six weeks before flying to Iquitos which is near (in?) the Amazon, bordering Brazil.

Mom sent me this picture of Jordan and herself just outside the gates near the Salt Lake Temple from their trip there. She told me it was such a nice experience to be in the temple with him and get to have that sacred time together there. I'm confident he will be an effective missionary and have some really wonderful experiences as he learns Spanish and prepares to teach the people there.

Mom and Jordan at the Salt Lake Temple

On Saturday after the marathon, we met up with David and Sara (and Lauren) to go try a cool floating burger joint off of Airport Way in NE Portland. It's called "The Deck" and is seasonal, as the owners float it back up the river during the winter months.

When we met up with them near the Shell station by WA-14, we were shocked to see them step out of their car fully decked out in formal attire. Sara had her prom dress on and David was dressed in a suit and tie, complete with the coat. We were a little surprised and a lot confused, as they were the ones that had told us the dress code was "casual." After some confused looks and questions, they laughed and explained it was a last-minute decision to play a joke on us, as they had their formals in the car or near the car from some other thing that had been going on.

Holdaways and Lenzes at the Deck

A little post-marathon selfie

Close-up detail of my race shirt, another trophy!

On Sunday evening we had the sister missionaries over again. Sister Rasmussen (my "cousin") often brings her ukulele. She demonstrated a cool technique that adds a little percussion to a regular strumming pattern. I think it's called "chunking," but it's something that I hope to learn to do once I get a ukulele and get going on my 30x30 goal of learning to play.

For future reference, Lanikai is a good ukulele brand apparently

msh

Labor Day, school starts, trip to beach

Labor Day weekend was great! I didn’t mention it in the last post, but on Saturday, Suzanna and I got a babysitter and went to Mor Furniture in Portland to see what their selection was like. We’ve been wanting to furnish our living room for a while, and with a few home renovation plans in the works, we decided some new family room furniture would be nice, too. The couches we’ve had in our family room are only about five and a half years old, but that time has included Luke and Logan as babies, toddlers, and now BIG boys. They’ve done quite a number on the loveseat, jumping up and down enough times to ruin the springs and tear through the material. Lots of lovely stains as well!

We found some affordable options that we really liked on Saturday. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I forgot to take measurements AND pictures of the leather sectional! So we went back on Labor Day, with the kids this time, after a ward Labor Day picnic at the park. Here’s a picture of the leather sectional we purchased for the family room. Oh, and who could turn down the popcorn, soda, and fresh baked cookies Mor offers in their showroom! It reminded me of the free hot dog and soda Saturdays at RC Willey and free hot chocolate at Ultimate Electronics from my childhood.

Leather sectional, coming soon to a family room near you! Well, at least near "us"!

Smaller than the first one we bought. Glad Costco has a great return policy!

Of course, no family room is complete without some other “essentials.” We actually purchased a larger one on Saturday, but we took it back because when we got it home and out of the box, it was just too massive. I think this option will be much more manageable, not to mention quite a bit cheaper!

I snapped this photo on the way back across the Columbia River from Portland into Vancouver. We truly do live in a beautiful part of the world!

I love this view we get every time we drive across the river into Washington

With Labor Day over, it was time for school to begin! We signed Logan up for the same preschool (Mill Plain United Methodist Preschool) that Luke has done the past two years. Overall, we’ve had a fairly positive experience. Logan was excited to go, and we were excited for him. He’s a pretty smart kid, but he’s going to be one of the youngest in his class, since he’s got an August birthday. It means that Luke and Logan, while about 22 months apart in age, will only be one year apart in school. Mixed feelings, for sure, but I think Logan will handle it well and do just fine.

Logan going to Pre-K!

Logan is super cute and has been changing so much lately. It startles me to look at pictures of him from when we first moved into our house in Vancouver and I realize that he was just a baby! He wasn’t even quite two yet. Really close to Emmelise’s current age. I remember thinking that it would be really strange for Logan (at that time) to be a 3- or 4-year old like Luke was and be talking a lot and doing big boy things. I think maybe Logan’s milestones don’t get noticed as much because we’ve already been through those milestones with Luke. But when I do stop and think about it, it really is noticeable and fun to see his changes. He says so many funny and sweet things to us!

Holding up his sign

So Logan started on Tuesday, and Luke had his first full day on Thursday after a short assessment on Wednesday.

Luke looking genuinely excited for his first day!

Luke and Suzanna. Time to send the big boy off!

I had to get in on the first-day-of-school picture action!

Off they go to the first day of public education!

Between Luke and Logan waking up between 6:30-7:00 and school starting at 9:15, I don’t think we’ll ever have much of a problem with getting to school on time. Sending Luke off on his first day was fun, though it left me a tiny bit anxious. All day I was wondering what he was doing at that moment and how he was reacting to the various situations and “firsts” he was encountering.

When Suzanna dropped him off (they chose to walk the first day instead of taking the bus), he insisted that he ride the bus home after school. Well, because he didn’t ride the bus in the morning, they didn’t know that he was supposed to be on his correct bus for the ride home. When we went out to the stop and saw his bus pull up, there was no Luke! The bus driver said he never got on the bus! 

We called the school, but they said there weren’t any kids left there. We were a little nervous but sure that this must happen frequently enough that they know how to handle it well. Turns out, they had put him on a bus that goes near our neighborhood, thinking maybe that was the right bus for him. Eventually the bus with Luke made an extra “stop” at Luke’s normal bus stop location, and off he came. He didn’t look worried or concerned, and he just acted all matter-of-fact about his first bus ride experience! They’ve got a pretty good system to keep track of kids, especially Kindergarteners, so I’m not too concerned about his future bus riding experiences.

I don't know where my brothers are!

With Logan’s and Luke’s first days of school over, it was time for their first (fall) soccer practice! We had signed Logan up for soccer months ago when Luke had his spring season, but because of the broken collar bone, he had to sit that one out. Fortunately, he’s enrolled now and excited to play! He did a great job in today’s practice! I was impressed at his ability to dribble the ball and stay focused. I think he might really enjoy this season!

Luke’s team is wearing green jerseys this time. They decided on Green Lightning as their team name. I overheard them discussing team names, and I wanted to suggest they call themselves the Green Grass Stains. One of the parents either works for or has connections to a local business that can print designs on shirts, so his shirt has LUKE across the back. Kind of fun. Logan was convinced that he was going to be on the red team and that their name would be the Red Snakes. Well, he was at least 50% right. I didn’t hear his team deciding on a name, but they are indeed the Snakes. Sounds like Logan spoke up and may have been persuasive to get his team on board!

Logan and Luke passing the ball before practice.

Logan with his "red snakes" jersey. Somebody needs to get that boy's eyes checked for color blindness!

After soccer practice, we made a quick stop for dinner at Wendy’s and headed home to finish packing some stuff up for another fun weekend at the Lenzes’ beach house on the Oregon coast in Lincoln City! We worked it out so that Sara and the girls would come with us on Thursday night, and David would join us on Friday after a work meeting. The reason we decided to go was because the weather was supposed to be downright HOT on Friday!

The drive was mostly uneventful, despite some crying kids. Fortunately we got them all to bed relatively quickly once we arrived. Friday did not disappoint! I sat upstairs in one of the bedrooms, away from most of the noise and action, working on a big work project that’s been taking my time for the last month or so. But it was pretty peaceful and relaxing to look up at any point and see this out the window.

Look at those colors! #nofilter or whatever.

The weather was indeed hot! I decided at one point to go sit on the patio overlooking the ocean with my laptop to do a little work. Besides it being blindingly bright, it was uncomfortably hot! I think the heat may have been record setting for early September because the temperatures were in the 90s! I only stayed outside for a few minutes before having to go back inside with slightly scorched feet.

 Suzanna, Sara, and the kids went out and played on the beach for a while. I was the designated “babysitter,” but really I just listened for when the sleeping babies would wake up, and then I would tell the ladies so they could come and fetch the children. They had a great time outside playing in the sand for a couple hours.

After David arrived, we took a kite outside and flew it for a while before running bare-chested into the ocean! Despite it being a really warm day, the water was shockingly cold! I only went all the way under a couple times, and that was sufficient for me! I had wanted to do it at least once, but decided quickly to get back out before going completely numb!

Once the kids were in bed, David made us this tasty warmed Apple cider drink with whipped cream and a salted caramel sauce drizzled over the top. Maybe not the best thing to have a hot drink after such a hot day, but it sure was a special treat!

A tasty apple cider creation by David!

On Saturday morning, we all headed out together and went down the beach a mile or so to where the seals gather and play. It was a much cooler morning, the sky was grey, and the fog hung low over the water. Though cold, it had a fun feel to it. Now would have been a great time for the hot drink!

David sort of photo bombed this picture; if that's even possible since he's the one taking the photo!

A cold and foggy morning at the beach! Still loving it!

We watched the seals and fishermen for a while before heading back to the house. David had to head back to Portland for a wedding that afternoon, but the rest of us stayed back at the beach and hung out. I got a chance now to go out and play on the beach with the kids while Suzanna and Sara went to get a pedicure. We played in the run-off water from the city that was running into the ocean. It’s much more tolerable there, and  it’s quite shallow, so it makes for a great play area that’s safe and away from crashing waves.

Luke making a sand castle

Emmie and Katelyn enjoying the beach

I could watch the surf roll in all day. Oh wait. I did!

Location, location, location! Talk about prime real estate!

Knuckleheads, watching a movie on the beanbags.

I could totally get used to life at the beach! After we came inside and got cleaned up, I put a show on for the kids and excitedly put on the BYU-Texas football game! It was a much hyped game since Texas is a perennial powerhouse and had the game vs. BYU circled on their calendar after the dominating BYU victory last year. I was a little nervous as it got started and BYU’s drives kept stalling. It was 6-0 at halftime, and David was now on his way back. I told him I’d give him scoring updates throughout since he wasn’t there to see it in person. What followed at the beginning of the third quarter was a flurry of scoring update texts to David:

6:33 p.m.: Opening drive of second half. Touchdown BYU! Taysom Hill rushes in from like 25 yards out and literally hurdles over a defender to score! BYU 13-0!

6:44 p.m.: Second BYU drive of second half resulting in another rushing touchdown! BYU 20-0!

6:54 p.m..: Third BYU drive resulting in a second Taysom Hill touchdown! BYU 27-0!

7:01 p.m.: Unreal! Fourth drive results in a third TH TD! BYU 34-0!

BYU handily won, and if it wasn’t for a late third quarter touchdown by Texas, it would have been the first time Texas had been shut out at home since like 1976. Great game for sure!

MVP! Play of the game!

It’s been  a lot of fun staying overnight at the beach house because it gives us “adults” time to be together without the kids once they’re asleep. We played games, talked and  laughed a lot and watched a movie as well. We’re glad to be close with the Lenzes, as it seems like couple friends are hard to come by.

Sunday at the beach house included church for most of us (Suzanna stayed back at the house because poor Emmie had been falling apart and desperately needed to sleep!). We did a pretty good job of planning this time and were able to be cleaned up and out of the house in good time. But to help things along, David and I took the kids to the park for a while as Suzanna and Sara finished things up.

Luke was so exhausted that he fell asleep on the way over. I didn’t have the heart to wake him, so I left him in the car sleeping, with the hatchback door open so he could stay nice and cool and so that I’d be able to see him from the nearby park.

Devils Lake. I think.

This picture is out of order, but as we were packing up to leave, David claimed to have seen a whale breach the water and splash back down. We all rushed to the windows to watch, and sure enough, a couple minutes later we saw it again! It was pretty cool to see a whale so close! I snapped this photo of the others intently watching out the window for another sighting of the whale.

Watching for whales!

Lenzes, Logan and Emmie

Logan and Emmie on the giant play structure.

Better wake him up before we have to leave!

Mark and David

It was a great week all around!

msh