Fall 2011 (September–November)

On Teresa’s birthday in September we kept up the tradition from last year by going with the Gneitings and Martins (and the Danas this year) to the “Fruit Loop” around Hood River in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. We had good food & good times. Teresa bought some fruit to can again – the peaches didn’t work out, but those pears are DELICIOUS!

I took advantage of the beginning of fall and drove to Larch Mountain for a nice hike in a lush forest – and a gorgeous panoramic view of 4 different mounts around the Columbia River Gorge. The panoramic picture I took is too big, but here are a couple of the views I saw.
This is a northern view, across the Columbia River. The peaks are (left to right) Mount St. Helen’s, Mount Rainier, and Mount Adams.

This is a view east of Mount Hood.














In October, Krista and Elaina surprised Teresa by flying up here and showing up at her work with balloons! Teresa said she saw them and just started balling! We had fun the next few days and went to the Oregon coast (Cannon Beach) for a cold but fun day at the beach.













And last week I had my 4th part of National Board exams. It was on Friday and Saturday. My birthday was on Saturday so I was able to go out with Teresa after the hours of testing were all finished! Yes, we saw a movie - and yes, I had pumpkin pie.
I decided that I would celebrate my birthday week for the week after my birthday (since I was just studying and stressing the week before). So it just ended with the fun opportunity of having Jon McBride (my sister Rachel’s husband) in town for a Weber State football game. We went out for dinner last night and took the train around downtown. Jon, as always, was great company to have around. It was endearing to see him talk with such beaming joy about his little girl, Fia, and his new baby boy, Sam.

After dinner, Teresa was pretty excited when we stopped by St. Cupcake just before it closed – honestly, we all were. Half way through Jon’s first mini cupcake he paused and said he was just trying to understand how it was possible to make it taste so good!

Rest of Summer 2011

Okay, quick catching up of the rest of our summer. We did some camping (all right, just once) at Battleground Lake in Washington. After hauling our gear up to the spot with 3-4 wheelbarrow trips, and setting up camp, it was SOOO refreshing to take a swim in the cool lake water. Refreshing for Jeff anyway. Teresa just watched.




And then July, as always, was packed with all kinds of fun. Teresa’s parents came for her Dad’s second Seattle to Portland bike race. Yes, over 200 miles in 1 day. Awesome! It was so great to see them, and Ann even let me take her picture!



Then my Mom, Dad, and youngest brother (Ben) drove up and spent a few days with us. Becca, Kaytie, and Christian were already living up here for the summer so it was a blast! We toured the Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood with a nice southern view of Mount Jefferson. In the movie “The Shining” they used the exterior of this lodge to represent the cold, empty, manor where Jack Nicholson’s character lived with his family for a season....”Here’s Johnny!”






Then we hiked to Mirror Lake with great views of Mount Hood.



And, of course, visited some falls in the Columbia River Gorge. We also checked out the Bonneville Lock & Dam where we watched the fish swim up the fish ladder and the lamprey sticking on the windows!

Visiting Grandpa & Grandma Favero in June

Over Father’s Day weekend I had the awesome opportunity of flying down to L.A. and going to see my Grandma & Grandpa Favero in Bakersfield. I had not seen them in 2 years. Since then Grandpa had suffered from a fall where he hit his head and became unable to fully control the right half of his body. When he speaks we cannot understand him (though he does not recognize it). He thinks he is speaking normally and is frustrated when we fail to respond properly to his questions/requests/demands. Though I have heard him say “No” “Yeah” and “Wow”, most of his communication is in the rhythm of normal speech but with the varying use of what sounds like “Wah, wah”.
So while there I took a few pictures and videos.
This one is when he sang hymns while my Aunt Dayna played the piano. He sang in correct tune and rhythm – and even sang tenor or bass on some of the songs!

It was fun making him laugh because that is the Grandpa I remember. Since I couldn’t always understand what he was saying, it was usually easier to tell him stories and fun memories I have with him.

Here are a few more pictures during my stay with them in Bakersfield.

Ater a shower and shave and after Grandma trimmed his hair.

Grandma made us some fried apples – she had been talking about them for a couple days and they just sounded so good! Besides, even after her cataract surgery that week it was pretty hard to get her to keep still. Always gardening or doing something around the house. This was a safer activity (no bending over as the doctor had outlawed).



Linda & Darwin stay there 5 days a week and help Grandpa with eating and getting around. It is a big help to Grandma.



I got to spend my last day there with my cousin, Tyler. I hadn't seem him for 5 years! These are his adorable kids, Carter and Lucy.

We drove to L.A. and I saw a bunch of things I had never had the chance to see: the tar pits, Chinatown, Hollywood, farmer’s market, the Santa Monica pier. It was a blast!

So, back in April...

We took advantage of a sunny day and drove to the ocean! It was a bit chilly but, yes, I (Jeff) still jumped in for a quick dip in the Pacific Ocean. How could I possibly pass it up?

Also, I drove a little fast on the way there and got a $245 speeding ticket...doh.

So here are the only pictures to record the grand day out – hopefully Teresa doesn’t get mad at me for posting our goofiness! But, hey, you know us – we’re kinda goofy.

January–snow caves with the scouts

Yes, I am actually updating the blog monthly now! We’ll see how long it lasts...

Anyway, it was a beautiful day when we took our 11 year old scouts over to Mount Hood to build snow caves.

Brother Jentzsch built a fort next to a tree, and the rest of us just dug into the hill and built some pretty impressive caves. It was a practice to prepare the boys for the day when they actually sleep in one – a different experience altogether.

 

 

Of course, the best part was destroying them!

 

And it was a gorgeous view – especially when the sun began to set and throw shadows across the snow.