Family Vacation at Eel River

As many of you know, we recently took our first family
vacation since Benton was born. That's right -- we've
not traveled anywhere if not for a holiday, wedding,
or other planned out-of-town gathering. Given
Benton's medical needs, flying is a tough choice for
us, so we took to the road!

Dennis, Tam, Benton, Iron, and Dennis's mom
Judy packed in the Yukon and headed south. Way
south. Our destination? Dennis's Aunt Cookie's house
on Eel River in Northern California. For years Dennis
has shared stories of many fun summers spent at his
aunt's, and he's often said he wanted to take Tamara.
With Judy along to help care for Benton, we figured it
was about time!


Above is a shot of Iron and Mom cuddling on
Aunt Cookie's deck overlooking Eel River at sunset.
After 14 hours of driving, we were happy to arrive!
Below is a shot of Aunt Cookie's beautiful deck view.


Here Iron and Daddy are exploring Aunt Cookie's
property. Her house is in the background.


Aunt Cookie has a very green thumb! Following
are shots of some of the many flowers blooming
in her yard.










But enough lounging around...


We're heading to the river!!!


Daddy carefully held Benton in the water,
which he LOVED!!! What a big bathtub!


Iron wasn't so sure himself...


One of the trip's highlights was a six-hour kayak
trip Dennis and Tam took down Eel River. We
were guided by Aunt Cookie's neighbor, Jerri.
We put in at 9:30a, and temps were already
climbing. But the glassy water was perfect!


We paddled leisurely and stopped wherever
we wanted. Our favorite spots were passageways
and little "caves" among rocks. The water there
was so clear and deep -- great for jumping into!






We'd beach our kayaks to swim and walk around
as well, searching for rocks and driftwood.


Here are some of the rocks we collected. (When
we got home, we put a light finish on them so they
always look wet, which brings out their most vibrant
natural colors.)


A few hours into the adventure we found a
gorgeous waterfall. It doesn't look like much
in this shot, but it was beautiful!


Near the end of the trip, we came across
a large rock that looked like it had a bunch
of mammoth barnacles on one side of it. Here
Tam is getting a closer look.


The bumps were actually birds' nests made of
mud. The tenants were flying in and out of them
like they were all late for some event! If you look
real close, you can see one birdie's beak peeking out.


One more stop: Here we're checking out an old,
abandoned train track trellis. Eel River was
founded as a logging town, and train tracks followed
the river through the area. Although no longer in
service, the tracks' bones were evident everywhere.
This trellis was built so the train could traverse a
"small" creek that feeds Eel River. Apparently,
during the winter/spring, this creek still rises some
30 feet or so above Dennis's head!


Even though we had a blast, we were happy
to come home and see our boys again.


Here's a funny shot of Benton and Iron
sharing cheerios. Well, I'm not sure Benton
meant to share, but Iron's eyes had locked
in on their prey.


Don't believe us? Check out this video! :-)


On our way out of the Eel River area, we made a
pit stop in Humboldt Redwoods State Park. Here
Tam and Iron stand in front of a massive Redwood
tree. And that was one of the small ones!


Although time passed way too quickly, we had a
wonderful time and are so glad we took the trip. It's
great to know we'll still have the fond memories long
after our tans fade. Aunt Cookie, thanks for the great
hospitality -- we treasure the time spent with you!
And Judy, thanks for all your help as well...we
wouldn't have enjoyed the trip without you! We love
you both!

Memory of Memorial Day 2010...

As long last, we're taking you back to Memorial
Day weekend, during which we made our annual
trek to Beach Haven on Orcas Island. (See 2009
trip's post here.) Orcas is one of the San Juan
Islands located in the Puget Sound off Washington's
coast--the exact island where Dennis and Tam got
married in 2003.

We're fortunate to revisit the island every
Memorial Day weekend with our friends Carrie
and Ted Schneider (plus boys Owen and
George) and Sara and Bryan Woods (plus
daughter Willa). This year brought on much
change -- Owen, George, and Benton are
bigger, and babies Willa and Iron added two
more heads. With the need for more space,
we passed on separate small cabins and rented
a large A-frame cabin that housed all of us.
With a bit of extra room, Tam's sister Tracy
and her husband Ross flew from Kentucky to
join us. What a blast!


The only time Tracy and Ross had been to Orcas
was for Dennis and Tam's wedding. Here they
are getting acquainted with the grounds.


Here they're spying on an old whale vertebrae that
was on our cabin's property.


The cabin was right on the water...here
are Tracy and Ross snuggling on the deck.


Every morning started just like it should...
in jammies!


Dennis and Tam's wedding ceremony was
on the grounds of Orcas Island Pottery.
Here Tracy and Ross stand just inches from
where Dennis and Tam shared vows.


Benton cuddling with Mama...


Hills family photo...


Iron can't take his eyes off Willa! Here's
Tam and Iron with Sara and Willa...



Then Iron and Tam pose with Aunt Deeky...


Most of us made kayak voyages to the nearby
island. Here Ross explores the island once he
and Dennis paddled their way there.


The tide was pretty low then, exposing some
interesting sea life and plants.


With a chill in the air, we spent a good deal of
time indoors, and here's Tam and Benton
getting cozy.


Uncle Ross and Iron shared some giggles!


Look at Willa's adorable little nose!


Later, Daddy and Benton camped out on
the rocky beach at the water's edge.


Ross also organized a Ling Cod fishing trip
that he, Tracy, and Dennis braved. Dennis
caught the first fish...


...Ross caught the most fish...


...and Tracy caught the biggest fish!


Tracy's fish was the only one big enough to take
home. Within three hours of catch, Ross made
us all the yummiest (and freshest!) fish 'n' chips
we've ever had!

The weather was less sunny than in years
past, but we were finally treated to some
sunset rays during our last evening. Here's a
view of the shoreline from our deck.


And sun falls behind the mountains.


Until next year...


Thanks again to the Schneiders and the
Woods for organizing such a great getaway!
(We wish we had more photos of you to add
to this post so people could better put faces
with the names we talk about often!) Tracy
and Ross, it was great to have you with us this
year! We feel so blessed to have friends like
you, and we look forward to future adventures
with you all!

Want a Good Laugh?

Having a cloudy day? Maybe these giggles will
cheer you up. Enjoy! :-)

Dennis -- The Marathoner!

It's true -- Dennis can now say he's a bona fide
marathon man! Yesterday, Dennis ran and
completed the Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Marathon,
a 26.2-mile road running race that started in
Tukwila, Wash., and finished at Qwest Field
(where the Seahawks and Sounders play) in
downtown Seattle.

More than 27,000 runners from 50 states and
23 countries ran the second annual race, which
included full and half marathons. They enjoyed
ideal race conditions: a cloud cover with dry
skies and temps in the high 50s to low 60s.

Some of you may recall that Tam's sister Tracy
and two of her friends came to town last year to
run the marathon. Dennis ran the half marathon
then. Read the post from that day here!

So how did the marathon unfold? The day before
the race, Dennis visited the expo to pick up his race
packet. There he visited the Brooks Run Happy
Cavalcade of Curiosities.


He also said hello to Tam, who was helping
runners choose apparel in the Brooks booth.


Before leaving the expo, Dennis envisioned
his race-day finish...


Then came race day morning. Here's Dennis
right before we left the house, start line bound.


Shortly after the race began, at mile .7 to be
exact, all runners had to run underneath and
between the legs of the Brooks "Rocker Dude," a
five-story stall inflatable guitarist, complete
with 9-ft tall shoes, tattoos, a mullet, and...


...luscious butt cheeks!


Tam drove around the course to try to see
Dennis and cheer him on along the way. Here
he is at mile 14, exchanging his hat with Tam
for a fresh, dry one. He was smokin'!


Next Tam saw Dennis at mile 21. This is a rough
spot, the point at which most marathoners feel
like throwing in the towel. Dennis was struggling
a bit himself...his legs started cramping and he
really had to push to keep going.


Finally Tam saw Dennis was at the finish
line. Look at that smile! He did it!!!


Dennis's official (chip) finishing time was 3:35:48.
That's three hours, 35 minutes, and 48 seconds of
running at a pace of roughly 8:14 per mile. He
placed 42nd in his division and 328th overall. Here
he is at the finish line VIP tent with Tam, Iron,
and his trusty mylar blanket.


A closeup of his medal...


And some cookies given to us at the VIP tent.


But Dennis took home more than a medal and
some gourmet cookies. After the race, he was
shocked by some pretty banged up toes. Looks
like his feet swelled and arches collapsed more
than he expected them to over the course of
26.2 miles...so much so that his big and pinky
toes filled with blood under the nails. Yowza!


Despite the battle wound, celebration continued.
Here's Iron at one of our post-race VIP parties.
I think Daddy inspired him! First we'll work on
crawling. Or baby steps, as they say. :-)


Congrats again to Dennis, who worked very
hard in a short amount of time to prepare
himself for his first marathon, a great
accomplishment. We're proud of you, Dennis!!!