Extreme Sports

This summer, we decided to get a little more adventurous with our outdoor activities. Along with the Kerns, we rented some quads to ride in the Tillamook Forest. They have over 200 miles of trails, so we did our best not to get lost in the woods.

looking my best with helmet hair and body armor :)

Em getting technical on some rough trails

we rode to the top of a mountain and had a panoramic view of Tillamook Forest

The next weekend, Emily scored some free tickets through her work for us to go see the Mtn Dew Tour (an invitational event sort of like the X-games). As we drove through the parking lot, I caught a glimpse of Olympic Gold Medalist Shaun White hanging out at a makeshift trailer. Unfortunately I could not get my camera ready fast enough to get a pic of Shaun.
My favorite events were the dirt and street bike events:

I only wish I could do a double tail whip off a jump this big!!

we had suite tickets for the indoor events....sweet!

Visit to San Fran in August

We're finally getting a chance to catch up on blog posts! It looks like we're about a month behind, but we'll get there eventually. I visited San Fran back in August for my weekend of MBA classes. Renee and Danny were great hosts, and my trip happened to coincide with a visit to SF by my Uncle Bill and Aunt Jackie (Renee's parents whom I grew up with in St. Louis). I love my MBA class weekends because they give me an opportunity to get to know my classmates further and they give me a chance to visit with family!

Naomi and Nina are growing up quickly. Naomi started kindergarten and Nina is definitely getting into the chatty stage. I have to say, I'm really impressed at how articulate Nina is...when she says "boot", she really articulates the "t" sound at the end. During this visit, my name was "Boot" ;)

My Uncle Bill kept himself busy during the visit by offering to help plant some of the garden in front of the house. The girls had some fun helping out with their little shovels.

Naomi decided it would be cute if her and Nina decided to wear matching pink dresses. I loved it! They gave me a little fashion show.

Nina singing some karaoke!

Renee has this amazing ice cream attachment for her Kitchenaid mixer and made us all some delicious blackberry ice cream made out of yogurt. It was healthy and tasty!

The girls love it too! I can't wait to visit SF soon to see the girls again...I love being able to spend time with them.

To cap off this post, I want to end with a picture of my group in my MBA program. The Babson MBA is focused around a lot of group work, and I spend a lot of time each week on the phone with these guys. Luckily, I think they're all great to work with, and we have a strong group bond on both a personal and professional level. I only have this group for 7 more weeks (we're already 6 months into the program!), and then we switch to entirely new groups. I've really enjoyed the program and what I've learned from it - I've met some top notch people from the program and feel that I've developed some friendships that will last for the next 40 years and beyond.

Ohio Trip in July

In July, my brother's wife, Melissa, passed away from her difficult bout with cancer. It is especially difficult for him because he now has 3 young boys to raise on his own. We traveled home for a week to be with the family and attend the funeral. On a positive note, it is the first time all of us siblings have been together in 3 years since we all live in different states (and Karen in a different country). The kids (our 5 nephews and 4 nieces) are all growing up so fast too, so it was great to spend time with them.

hanging out at Mom and Dad's

having lunch at the Tearoom with Anna

The Carpenter kids take lessons on violin, viola, and cello so they played us a little concert out on the deck. It is awesome to see how much poise they have at such a young age!

matching dresses for cousins Anna and Abby...they seemed inseparable

Mom bought a snow cone machine, so you can only imagine how popular this was in the Midwest heat. Emily, Karen, and Kathy serve up the flavor!

snow cones = happy kids (and happy adults)

We went to the Preble County Fair to watch Logan show his cow.

the boys getting the cow ready for the show ring

the crowd

And no trip to the fair is complete without some really greasy food. One of my favorites is the Texas Tenderloin. I haven't had one of these in about 10 years.....and it was as good as I remembered. Sometimes it is the simple things in life that can bring back the most fond memories of childhood.

yes, the Texas Tenderloin is almost as big as a plate and it dwarfs the bun!

Overall the trip was great, but a mixed bag of emotions. It is always good to visit with family, however it is unfortunate that it was under such circumstances.

P.S. - I just had to throw in this pic of Mt Hood that I snapped from the plane window as we descended back home to Portland (still plenty of snow in late July).