Two-Mountain-Drive (St Helens / Rainier)

shoulder injury - acromioclavicular separatiom

At Nick's bachelor party my shoulder got jacked playing ultimate frisbee. I had surgery last Tuesday and am recovering well. I looking at 3 months recovery : (

Youth Trip to Eastern, WA - last week of July

Family Visit in July

My sister Andrea came to visit this past weekend from Maryland. We had a great time! We whale-watched, went to Hurricane Ridge, took a ferry to Whidbey Island, went through Deception Pass, walked around Seattle, and then chilled in Olympia for a few days. I'd never been whale watching, on a ferry around here, or at Deception Pass, so those were good times.

These are a couple of the orcas we saw. There were four or five swimming around - under the water for the most part. We didn't get any fancy breaching or swimming tricks. Bummer. After seeing about 4 orcas, we grabbed lunch in Friday Harbor:
Above the clouds on the way up to Hurricane Ridge:
No line on the horizon of the Puget Sound / Pacific Ocean:

At Hurricane Ridge: Deception Pass Bridge - Whidbey Island, WA Important Reminder:

Eagle Peak Trail

On Friday Matt, his friend Mateo, and I tried to hike to Eagle Peak, which is on the edge of Mt. Rainier Nat'l Park. It was overcast and cold, and the snow kept us from getting very far... so that was a bit disappointing. But we still had a fun time away from town and wandering around the woods. This is another hike that I'll have to try again when it's actually hiking season.

Another go at Rainier...

I'm trying to get in a couple trips to the snow before it's all gone. On Saturday Annemarie, Kristin, Richard, and I headed out with our snowshoes to the Paradise side of Mt. Rainier for some sun, some views, and a little bit of elevation gain. We stopped at Panorama Point for lunch, then Richard and I headed up a bit further. It was a sweeeet time.

back to the snow

Yesterday, my buddy Scott and I spent the day snowshoeing at Mt. Rainier. I have not been out nearly as often as I should be. It was a beautiful day.

Scottie:

Me and the Mountain (above)

At Panorama Point (above)


This is the furthest up toward the mountain that I have been - probably a few hundred feet above Panorama Point:

Easter

I got to design the stage decorations for our Easter services this year. I was really pleased with how it turned out! I cut three sheets of semi-stretch fabric into different sized trapezoids and pinned them to the back wall and floor. Each sheet was illuminated with a 50 watt halogen flood lamp. Unfortunately I couldn't figure out a way to hide the light source, but in the big picture the bulbs themselves weren't too noticeable. Shoot... I like that glow! The three pieces of material represent the Trinity.

From the front row:

The whole stage view from the back of the sanctuary:
Easter services went great! The worship team led very well, and it seemed like a great time of celebration.