4th Annual Hamm Boys Hike

September 4th through the 6th, the Hamm Boys, less Braden this year unfortunately but necessary due to the birth of their son Mason (see their blog), Jeff, Robb, Jordan and I went on our 4th Annual Hamm Boys Hike this year to Hyas, Tuck and Robin Lakes area of Washington.

To say the least we had a blast and look forward to the male bonding ritual for many years to come... if they allow me along with them. 

Oh wait, they will allow me to come as I buy lunch for them at a chosen restaurant somewhere near the trail head and prepare a great meal to eat on our first night out. This year's prime first night meal was Stoganoff fit for Emoril! It was chuck full of the finest cow Alberston's could muster, the best sauteed yellow onions grown in the world (Nyssa, Oregon), just the correct amount of garlic and spices to make this mouth-watering blessing too good for words other than "AHHHH"! It was so good as we lathered it over our well prepared Minute Rice. So after all of this, I think I will be invited back.

Here is a picture of the boys just before going into the lake. Notice the beauty of the area. I would imagine the lake was hovering around 45 degrees and they were ready to go.

And they did go in and get completely submersed in the freezing water. You will however notice that one of the hikers is missing in this picture and ventured in only to his thighs. 

We did have a pesky chipmunk bothering us

 in our camp so Jeff devised a little "trap" full of peanuts under the bucket... things worked really well as the varmint was enticed in to the trap, the rope was pulled out and scared the dickens out of the chipmunk as the bucket came down only slightly too late for his capture. Three more times "he" was lured in by the peanuts and the line was pulled and the bucket fell... and he made off with a good winter's supply of peanuts. Robb also was bit on his finger by a mouse in his tent on our second night, which we are sure it was revenge by the brotherhood of varmints.

Our 2nd day we left around 8:30 a.m. for Tuck Lake, a hike of about 2.5 miles in and up to 5,500 feet in elevation, a gain of over 2,000 feet; most of the 2,000 vertical feet came in the last mile of the hike, as this picture will attest. This is one of the more difficult hikes I have been on and I am glad that we were only day hiking with our day packs. We enjoyed a scrumptious meal of summer sausage, cheese, bagels and rolls and water. Howcould life get any better than that?

The lake behind us is Hyas Lake and we were camped at the far end. At this point we are a little under Tuck lake at about 5,000 feet.

We made it out despite the attack on Robb by the vicious mouse in the middle of the night and found our way to eat at the famous Roslyn Cafe. The food was great, the atmosphere superb and the company was the best less one. We hope that next year Braden and Chris will be able to come with us on another high adventure... that is if they invite me along. I love this tradition and the opportunity it gives me to be able to get up in the mountains and outdoors with my sons.

Baby Dill Pickles

Wow, has anyone else in the world discovered the delicate, yet tangy flavor or Farman's Homestyle Baby Dill Pickles? They are the best. As I was just "jar diving", another new word I just made up, for my third pickle in the last five minutes, I was chasing around the last few pickles with a fork that was a little too small for the jar, and it reminded me of trying to catch a gold fish in the fish bowl when I was a little kid.  Anyway, try the pickles... they rank up there with Creamies in personal popularity.

Text messaging lingo

Okay, so I finally figured out what "lol" means and wondered why this new spelling came to be and why anyone thought that up. I mean how long does it take to spell out laughed out loud, let alone why you u (you) would want to tell someone that when you could just tell them that is funny. So I timed it out... it takes maybe 10 seconds to type in LOL on a normal keyed cell phone. Laughed out loud and the true spelling took me... okay a lot longer so that I didn't want to time it out.

But if you had a querty key boarded phone, you could just respond to the email in plain english so everyone could understand it; and or, take a picture and send it to them; or better yet, take a movie of yourself on your phone of your self laughing out loud; or just call the person and just laugh out loud in their ear and talk to them like we used to do. Oh wait... that isn't 21st century thinking. That is like ancient thinking... at least 5 years ago. Ok, it makes sense to use lol, u, i, ummlol, iwicttusichwyvslbiatui, and many others. I am sure you texters can figure out what these other text messaging favorites are but for some I will need to provide a dictionary:

lol - laughing out loud
u - you
i - I
ummlol - you make me laugh out loud
iwicttusichwyvskbiatui - I wish I could talk to you so I could hear what your voice sounds like but I am texting you instead
wwutwucjcmattmitfpswcbdwtcs - why would you text when you could just call me and talk to me in the first place so we could be done with the conversation sooner
jwcwsrtbih - Jane will... ( maybe you can fill in the rest of this text message)

You see how easy this is, how versitile and it just makes so much sense and so you can really communicate your message with ease and save a lot of time and energy so you can get on to the next text. Great, huh?

A great father's love

You know how through email we can get a lot of junk... but this post is about a link to a very great father who loved his son more than words can express. I wish I could say that I could some day feel the kind of love and passion this father had for his son. 

Watch the video after you read this. I am told that this happened several years ago but it is totally amazing...

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'

The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'. They went on
to complete the marathon together.

Father and son went on to join other marathons, the father always saying 
'Yes' to his son's request of going through the race together.

One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together.'

To which, his father said 'Yes'.  For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .

Father and son went on to complete the race together. View this...

www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

whasupwidat - I think I invented it!

I was just on another blog reading about all of the things in Jen and Gabe Payne's life and posted a comment with the word "Whasupwidat" which a I am sure is a word I just came up with... or is it? Hummm, maybe I did hear it on the radio, or in a movie or 10, but I was probably close the the first 55 year old male, living in Bothell but working in Mill Creek, while watching the rain fall in the area only because we are entering the Memorial Day weekend and it always rains in this area on this weekend. But hey, whasupwidat anyway?

Satisfied and excited with life

I am blogging in response to another blog regarding missing high school and realizing we are growing to be adults. I love being 55 years old, having gray hair, life is slowing down, I can't run with the wind, hit the golf ball as far (okay that one bugs me), and all of the other things that go with it. I have loved every phase of my life as I have graciously grown older and older. I love the fact that rather than making sure all of my zits are cleaned up, I clip nose and ear hair when Jane insists. I love that rather than chasing my kids down the hall I have earned the right to chase grandchildren where and when I want to. I love that rather than worrying about going on a date with someone I hardly know but think she could be hot... instead I get to come home to the best woman in the whole world and have her put her arms around me and make me feel special... even when I am not. 

Ah yes, getting older and living in the "now" is the most glorious time of my life. Now is when I can live life to the fullest, experience things I have never done before, and laugh at things that aren't even funny and people won't wonder why. I love this phase of my life and can't wait until tomorrow comes... as tomorrow will bring new challenges and opportunities to my doorstep that will cause me to be better, wiser and happier than ever before. Yesterday's were awesome, but tomorrow will be the best!!

OLD SPICE!! Aahhhh

What is the big controversy over the best smelling under arm deodorant on the market. Some one said, "what is with the name, that should tell you something." Do you want me to put on some new smell that came from the locker room of the local school gym?  This excellent fragrance has stood the test of time. Many deodorants have come and gone and everyone tries to reach the pinnacle... OLD SPICE. Many things do get better with age; cheese is one fine example if it is not left unwrapped in the refrigerator too long. I am told, that wine is better with age. It seems like clothing and styles get better with age as well as many people are now wearing the same thing we wore in the 70's! So there must be something to say about Old Spice's fragrance. And besides, it is underarm deodorant and you shouldn't be sticking your nose in there to check things out anyway unless your name is Mary Katherine Gallagher from SNL and at least she used her fingers to check things out. I for one, will stand and firm on the side of Old Spice, unless Jane stops buying it for me for some Organic brew someone has whipped up at which time I will have to be a closet user.