New Camera ....testing, testing....

Here it is... the new camera came today!
Zoom

"Cooker helper"

The funny face boy is back.

"W" is for Wyatt!

Five months and three months....the babies

Little Miss Danika turned 5 months old on Jan. 29th. We just happened to be at their house so have a picture of her. She is such a smiley little dolly.
Here is Rowan, he is 3 months old today! He is a sweet snuggly little guy. Too bad his momma starves him.....look at those hollow cheeks.

Two days of AMAZING!

Friday we took the trolley tours. We took both the green line tour and the orange line tour. It kept us from getting exhausted walking for miles and miles and we were able to get off whenever we wanted to and get back on one of the next trolleys to come along.

So these pictures are from Friday.

My sister Kelly (my tour guide)
The National Cathedral (breathtaking)

Union Station (the statue out front is of Columbus)

The U.S. Capitol (notice the flag? It indicates that Congress is in session)

Washington Monument (the only one I didn't see up close and personal)

Jefferson Memorial (he said some very profound things) I have some pictures of the FDR memorial as well but didn't blog them. It was someplace I'd like to spend more time at.

This is Saturday....Kelly and Kurt and Tiia all came as tour guides for our travel to the White House (no cameras allowed.) Everyone should get a tour of the White house, seeing the artwork alone is worth the time there. It was spectacular. After a brief stop at one of the many, many museums in the city we were off to see the Lincoln Memorial and 3 of the war memorials.

This is the Korean War memorial. It was so beautifully done.

Here is the Vietnam Memorial The Lincoln Memorial

The WWII memorial which I found to be so informative and inspirational.
They have these pillars all around the sides. Each one has a state name or territory name.

I don't know how many of these there are but they are incredibly detailed 3-D carvings depicting images of the war, both in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. So cool. The paratroopers above owed a lot to the Rosie the riveters below.

This the the Atlantic side of the memorial and it has a mirror image on the other side for the Pacific. Isn't it beautifully ornate?

Our day ended here as far as tours go. We had a delicious dinner at Kurts sister's house. She was also the one who arranged the tour of the White House.

So there you have two more days of my adventure in the Capitol. See y'all soon.

Mt Vernon

I'm sure all of you that have been to Washington D.C. have toured Mt Vernon but this is my first time here so I thought I'd give you an idea of what is looks like here in January of 2008.

I enjoyed every minute of my time there with the exception of getting to the restaurant at 2:30 p.m. and reading that lunch is served between 11:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. :(

This is the south side of the house. The north side has an identical covered walkway. It is pretty amazing. My sister Kelly has a years pass to the place so she can go everytime someone comes to town. I don't think I'd tire of this place in 20 visits. They really don't give you enough time in the mansion itself during the tour. But the grounds are amazing. Kel says they are nicer in the spring and summer but I found the brisk weather and fairly small crowds gave me better perspective on what it may have been like back in 1798.

The Potomac River is down the hill just beyond these trees. I have some pictures of my own of the view but I'm borrowing Kelly's pics for now. Basically because I didn't take any pictures of myself.....but she did. So here I am facing east at the back portico of Mt Vernon. Too cool for words.

All of the videos and such in the museum as well as the tour guides were so informative. I learned a whole lot more than I knew this morning.

The trip saga will continue....touring monuments tomorrow and the White House on Saturday. Fun stuff.

Jetting to D.C.

Just a quick note before I pack to leave. I'm excited about going to see my sister but also a bit anxious to leave home. I am not much of an adventurer. My big adventures usually have something to do with the kids or grandkids. It's hard to leave these guys behind. Why does Virginia have to be clear across the United States!? I vote we bring it closer.



Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it. But be warned I'll be heading back with tons of hugs and kisses from Aunty Kelly. Be good kids.

Thanks Ry. It was fun.

Rylan's annual visit to Portland came to an end this morning. He is on his way back to Pusan and work and school. It is nice having him around. We look forward to maybe someday having him in the states again. But I am thankful that he can make it home once a year and that we have the technology that enables us to email, IM and phone whenever we have a need to be in touch. I know there are people that did not get to see him much, if at all. We will try to remedy that next Christmas.

Thanks Ry, it was fun!
Take care of yourself.

2008 a new year

Here are my "boys" starting out the new year. Ry, sporting his new haircut and his stylized playing of the Wii, Guitar Hero.

Then Hayden and Cameron with their new haircuts and styling aids.

I sure love my guys.

But there is nobunny like our little Snow Bunny, Danika. She is 4 months old already and quite the sociable little gal. She recently had a cold and her voice was gone. :( Everyone seems to be getting on much better now.

Let's keep in touch in this new year. Keep updating those blogs!

Jesus' birthday and mine

One of the only things I wanted to do for my birthday was go to the zoo lights with my family.
We did that.

We rode the zoo railway. Always fun even though a bit nippy on those metal seats.

The other thing I wanted for my birthday was for my mom to be here. She canceled her original flight due to illness but booked another for the day of my birthday and showed up at our house during the party. Way too cool! She came with my niece Tiffany and her husband Craig and our nephew Brad and his wife Katie and son Emory. What a little love. Mom was in her glory with all 6 great grandchildren in the house.

On Sunday the 23rd our little church had their first CHRISTmas program. Joylynn sang "O Holy Night" and Mom was able to be there too.


We hosted the church Christmas Eve service. It was really lovely with all the focus on the "Light of the World" being born.
When it was just the 18 of us again we opened our pjs and started taking pictures.
Here is the R-family. Here are all of the kids and thier kids. Pretty nice grouping of peoples hey?













Last of all a picture of our living room before it exploded into a ton of wrapping paper and people.
Looks kinda peaceful.
Our Christmas was wonderful. Hope yours was the same.
Blog back at ya in 2008. Happy New Year!

Time sure flies...

Twenty years ago in the very room this picture was taken five other children were in the "line up". Rylan was 7 at the time, Joylynn 5, Cherise 4, Alyssa 3 and Krystle not even two. My how the time has flown.
This line up is younger but it was too cool having all 5 of them here at once. From L-R....Wyatt Earl Martin R., Rowan Charles Newton G., Danika Jane Kelly R., Simon Miller H., & Genevieve Kay Marie R.

Pretty great!

Uncles R Us

Uncle Cam and Rowan Uncle Hayden and Genevieve

Uncle Rylan and Danika

Holiday Happenings...

We had a lovely dinner with Kiel and Cherise at the Rheinlander.

Where did we go wrong. I guess we can excuse Joylynn's behavior in her own home but Cherise is out in public.

Here are 3 of our lovely daughters with our newest grandson. Rowan likes just laying back and taking it easy. He is sporting his new sweater from his Gremmy, Kathryn.