Another Two Months Go By...

I really need to get better at keeping you all up-to-date. I mean the last post was back in Sept, wow. Not only that but it was Sept 9 and it doesn't look like I included any Hawaii pictures from our Labor Day/Melinda's Birthday/Vacation trip. What a fun time that was. Time really does fly by the older you get. But it doesn't have to really. I mean it's my choice to stay as busy as I do and work hard and all that. Sometimes I wonder what it's all for. Then I remember the fun Hawaii trip and the recent California trip Melinda and I went on. We visited an Uncle of mine who lives in Berkeley with his family. My cousin is pictured in his very stylish white suit. He was going to be in a Quinceaneras. I've included a few pictures from that trip. We went up to Napa Valley and drove to St. Helena. Melinda's grandparents are buried there and we got to visit their grave site. It was very peaceful. There was this winery called the V. Sattui Winery and it was one Melinda went to as a kid. She got really excited when she recognized the place. We also spent a day in San Francisco. I wish I could post video clips on here. There's a really neat one of us on swings in some park near China Town. I ended up staying a few more days with work out in Napa Valley. We ate one night at this winery and it was neat how they decorated everything. We actually ate in the cellar with these wine barrels stacked on top of each other ceiling high. It was probably 20 feet up. The leaves have really begun to show their vibrant colors, painting the landscape. That's something we didn't see much of in Texas. They just turn brown and fall off. But Texas is probably having nicer weather than we are. It has been gloomy the last couple days. It really isn't that bad, of course this is only the beginning. The job has been going well and I really am thankful for all the blessings God has giving us. It's nice to experience the outdoors and the beautiful surroundings. I was traveling by ferry one day and got to see Seattle grow as we approached the city. That was neat to see the skyline get bigger and bigger. I hope to have the Hawaii pics up soon. There really are some neat shots in there. I have also included a more artistic side I never knew I had. To be honest, I enjoy watching Melinda eye shots and I have learned some from her. I really like the sidewalk cafe shot. We had lunch here the day we were in San Francisco. I actually came here back in Aug when I was out for training with work. I wanted to take Melinda there when we went down and I couldn't remember where exactly it was. I just knew it was on Columbus. We walked around this corner that seemed familiar and low and behold there it was. There are a lot of alleys in San Fran with all this trash. I thought it was interesting so there are some trash shots in here. I like the one with the milk cartons. Enjoy and I will be back soon with more exciting stuff from the North West.

Mojo Music

We were on our way up to Oregon/Washington and had a stop in Colorado. Melinda took some pictures at one of my old jobs there. This was when I first moved up tand was living in Eagle-Vail. That's just in between Avon and Vail. This wasn't my first job. I worked as a ski-lift operator for Beaver Creek and then waited tables at Outback Steakhouse. I also got placed in employee housing while working at Beaver Creek. I had two Australian roommates and when they moved out one briefly from Scotland. The music store was in Avon, at the bottom of the mountain to Beaver Creek Ski Resort. It was a pretty cool job. I was working here the day of 9/11 and remember watching the news all day. We didn't have much business on that particular day. One of the cool things about this job was that we got to go to a lot of the concerts in town for free. We usually sold tickets to most events. It was weird going by there to visit. This was also a time when I wasn't really living the life a Christian would. I was partying a lot, yet searching for what life was about. God found me and eventually I quit this job to move over to Summit County closer to the church I started attending and the new positive friends God placed in my life. It's weird how He works...

For some reason I had too many pictures in one post, so hopefully this fixed the issue.

Family Reunion in Bend, OR. Aug '07

Break from conference in Welches, OR Jon-Melinda-Rachelle-Travis (co-worker) Aug '07

Can you guess what 1985 movie this house was in? A childhood favorite starring Corey Feldman, Sean Astin, Jeff Cohen, and others... Yes Goonies!!! Astoria, OR Aug '07

We got to get our fill of Texas when Pastor Ion and his wife were in town. Portland, OR Aug '07

Max looking up at master climbing rocks. Tillamook, OR Aug '07

Beach near Tillamook, OR Aug '07

Has it been that long?

Well... I didn't realize it has been so long since I last logged on and put one of these message thingys up. Not that I haven't been on a computer everyday or anything. So what has happened since then? Well, to start off Melinda and I are pregnant!!! Just Kidding... But seriously though... I was out in San Francisco a week for training, then my family came up for a small reunion in Bend, OR. Then Melinda and I went down to Welches, OR for a conference. That place is spectacular. Work has been daunting trying to set everything up, learn my routes, names of all my contacts. And of course deal with all the issues that have been ignored since the last rep. Enough about work though, I actually enjoy it. I've always enjoyed being so busy that it stresses me out. Kind of weird, huh? I have included a lot of pics this time around, just in case it's another 2 months before I get on here again. Some of these are from Texas before we left for Washington. We have a few from Las Vegas/Hoover Dam where Melinda and I spent our anniversary back in May.(It was work related, otherwise we would have gone to Florida) A few from our stop in Colorado on the move to WA. We got to spend a couple days where I used to live and met up with old friends. And then a few here since the move. We are going to Hawaii next week for Melinda's birthday. That should be a lot of fun. All I'm bringing are swim trunks, a few t-shirts, and some sunblock. As luck would have it, my mom recently moved within an hour and a half so she gets to watch Max while we're gone. She's down in Tillamook, right on the coast. I've included some shots of the beach when we went down there last weekend. Enjoy cause it may be a while...

Hoover Dam May '07

Ceasar's Palace May '07

Found this looking for more pics. This was in WA before we moved up. June '07

Melinda-Jon-Heather @ 'Going away Party'- June '07

Cottonwood Lake, CO June '07

Jon-Barbara-Melinda @ Copper Mnt SDA Church June '07

John-Ben-Jon-Max in Silverthorne, CO June '07

Rangely, CO June '07

Friends from Texas in Tacoma? Jon-Melinda-Danae-Damon July '07

Another Sunset from our patio, NOT color enhanced... July '07

Some hike near a falls... Max and this boy who really enjoyed playing with the dog. July '07

I was walking in San Francisco and while waiting to cross the street found myself looking at the ground. I thought that it would be a good picture, and my wife agreed!!! Aug '07

Pittock Mansion that overlooks Portland, OR... see next shot. Aug '07

View of Portland from Pittock Mansion

Week Two

Week two has ended and we have really started to settle in. We had a bit more of this Northwest rain they speak of. It rains for a while and then the sun breaks out, then it rains again for a couple hours and then the sun comes out for 20 minutes. Really weird... But good for those who like change. This past week was also my first week at work and it went well. I am getting antsy to start the actually routes I will drive, but need to be patient. I might as well enjoy the training period before I start working really hard. Friday evening as the rain dispersed we were left with a beautiful sunset from our balcony. On Saturday after church we were invited over to eat at a member's home. It was a great lunch and I got to share my testimony and we all talked for quite some time. Deep down inside I wanted to go on a hike with Melinda and Maxie, b/c the weather was awesome and you have to take advantage of every opportunity you get up here. So we left their house and went to Battle Ground Lake State park, about 10 miles from our home. It reminded me of a summer camp with the small lake in the center of camp. We hiked around the lake on this mossy trail and would stop from time to time to let Max swim. He had a blast. Then we saw the Wooly Mammoth Tree. Kind of strange looking huh? Well I am off to play some ultimate frisbee with the young adults. Seize the day and all...

The First Visit

These are from when we first came out to the Portland area searching for a place to live and checking out the scenery. We cut it close looking for a new home. We had 3 days out of the 4 we were there to find a place, and we settled on Whipple Creek on Day 3 at 3pm. Yes Whipple Creek, don't ask me what a Whipple is. The top picture was taken from our little balcony at unit S-81. It has plenty of room for Max to run around, and they are very 'dog friendly'. Our relocation agent Kris gave us a list of things to do, but since we only had 29 hours before we were to leave 'item number 8- Sunset at Seaside, OR' was what we decided to try. The sunset picture was actually taken by me. Hard to believe you say? I guess being married to such a talented photographer is rubbing off. (Check out some of her pics on her blog. melindaholland.blogspot.com- website to follow) If you are wondering what melinda is pointing at in the sky it's nothing. Just Superman!!! (He's really way up there, kind of hard to see.) All we had heard regarding Portland was Rain, Rain, Rain. So when we came to visit what did we get? Sun, Sun, Sun. You can see some clouds on the coast, but inland towards Portland was beautiful the whole time we were there. It has rained since we've moved here, but at least it's not Texas. Enjoy with a cup of monkey joe!

Columbia River Gorge

Max and I at the top of Horsetail Falls.

Here is beautiful Multnomah Falls.

Melinda and Max exploring some rock formations.

On the trail to Multnomah Falls and then onto Horsetail Falls...