I spent soooooo much money fueling myself, my wife, and even my new sister-in-law with Starbucks. We promptly returned to Hillsboro to witness Holly and Kevin seal the deal August 1. The Mishlers and Kinnamans have gone into business together and both families are very excited. We arrived late Wednesday night. Thursday, Lisa and Mom went to tea with the ladies. DJ House and myself entertained the kids at the park, visiting Uncle Drew a work on the dirt crew (who loaded Abby with 20 oz. of Mountain Dew; imagine what that was like), and killing time in Target. Thursday night Drew, DJ and I picked up Kev AFTER rehearsal. (Since his exit from the ARMY, Kev took a position with the El Paso, TX police department. He is now working through their version of "boot camp.") His police training would only let him have one day off. We promptly returned and went to bed because...
We had to get up @ 6:30 for Kev's "bachelor party," out on the mighty Willamette 
-we took dad's boat out on the pristine water to ski and wakeboard, topped by a quality Taco Bell breakfast. 
Following our naps, we headed to the church and suited up for pictures at Dawson Creek Park. 
Then pictures, with the flower girl riding her pink razor scooter through the park, while the ladies all held their collective breath. Ceremony. Reception under the cool tent. Bride and Groom bail. Clean-up.
First; man, these events are tiring! Second; I appreciate them more and more as I get ... older. Finally; I can't believe that my bro is hitched and movin' on. He was so happy.
The great thing about this wedding is that I knew everyone, it seemed. It also felt like a great celebration
-- a great experience for my kiddos, as is was the first they have ever been a part of, or even witnessed, for that matter. It was good to see people and great to see Kevin and his fantastic bride. She and Lisa get along greatly... and my kids are sooooo into their new aunt, Holly!
...all the old romantic legends, all my dreams, come back to me.” Wrote Henry Wadworth Longfellow. Above, is a picture from the back window of the beach house.
They explored the tide pools, played in the sand, and spent hours up in the sandy cliffs. 
We celebrated our nephew, Dylan's, 5th birthday by taking a trip to the aquarium in Newport -- the kids seems to really appreciate it and enjoyed seeing the cool critters...
like these crazy spider crabs -- YUCK! Tiffany was commissioned with booking our accomodations. She did a great job; landing us a place right on the cliffs with our own backyard, private beach access, and a hot tub looking out on the ocean. (It's the BIG one on the right.)
Over the weekend we were there, the parking lot of the local casino was filled with participants for a BBQ competition. We had fun walking the little BBQ tent city, filling our bellies, listening to live music, and even watching world famous competitive eating champion, Joey Chesnut consume more than 10 lbs. of ribs in 12 minutes. Next the city hosted a safety fair with exhibits for the kids to learn about emergency services, home fire safety, and poison control and stuff.
They also got to play on the emergency response vehicles like the fire engine and jetskis. Our time at the beach house was grand. But, you know what they say... all good things come to an end.
That makes it nice to get out to Clarkston, WA; where the weather is HOT, the water is frigid, and the family is abundant. 
I love few things more than the access I have to my grandparents when they move into adjoining trailer sites. How many people can say that their grandparents live next door to one another...even if it is for only one week. My kids love seeing the cousins. I loved visiting with old friends and my aunties Gail Michelle, and Sandi. 
I must give honorable mention to Uncle Tony and his amazing waterski. 
Speaking of watersports, Ryan tried wakeboarding and he rode a pair of skis. 
I am so proud of his effort and perseverance. We had a great time and like the years before...our long-weekend stay of 4 days...was too short.
Kevin has gotten out of the Army and he is now engaged to Holly Mishler -- hooray--and their wedding is planned for the beginning of August. Ryan is now 8 years old. We celebrated his birthday with friends at Boondocks and ice cream with the family. 
May has been crazy fun, with family coming to visit nearly every weekend; first, Kevin came through on his way to El Paso . The kids had a blast with Uncle Kevie...he even face painted them with Army paints! They laid out in the backyard grass and were seriously convinced that they were camouflaged! 
Next Drew and Courtney rolled through, driving on their way home from SNU.
For the second year in a row, Uncle Drew took the kids to the neighborhood pool for the first swim of the season...even though it was only in the low 70's!
Finally, Mom and Dad brought Drew, Daniel, and Pepper out for Memorial Day weekend for a nice visit. It was good to see Mom. 
Abby enjoyed having a dog for a few days.
While all of that was going on, Tiffany and Brendan had baby Makena on May 6th. Horray!!!
Whew, it feels like we need another holiday weekend, just to recuperate from all of the fun and excitement we have been having. This spring has been fantastic! To top it all off, out resident Celtics fan Ryan, has been closely following all of the drama that his team has offered in NBA playoffs.
We originally had plans to come out and catch a Trailblazers game with, "just the boys" and our friends Ed and Parker Veeck. We ended up bringing everyone. Our trip actually turned out to be a little longer and more involved than we had anticipated; as the entire family ended up coming to spend a special weekend with Grandma K. It was a great time. Friday we visited a job site and the kids were introduced to their first "gyser" (a broken water line). Saturday we went to the Zoo and enjoyed a mild, sunny February day. The weather was perfect! (I even wore a t-shirt). Sunday we went to church, over-ate on mom's lasagna, and rolled down Sylvan hill to the Rose Garden to catch Blazers vs. Celtics. Brandon Roy sprained his ankle and the Blazers gave up a 17 point lead to lose to the three-headed monster. 
Ryan got to see Ray Allen win, buy a basket ball, and he was happy. Will and I got to cheer for our team, see Travis outlaw throw down and poster-ize Paul Pierce. We ate pizza and popcorn after the game and finished off our Sunday with a heathy dose of Looney Tunes. Ryan is now a big fan of Foghorn Leghorn. All-in-all it was a great trip and fun to share the fantastic city of Portland with friends and family. Now, back to life in Boise, once again.
little 8foot jumper from the baseline. He looked good. I am most proud of his quickness and the great defense that he plays. He hustles to his man and moves his feet well. What a great time.
