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Last week I was up in the North Cascades of Washington for Thom and Katie’s wedding. It was an amazing trip. The ceremony took place beside Perfection Lake (aptly named), which was about twelve miles into the backcountry, in an area called the Enchantments. Thom and I had been to the Enchantments many years before, although via a different route.

The weather was absolutely stunning– every day was clear and sunny, not at all what you’d expect from late September and early October in Washington! The larch trees were turning color, peppering the landscape with their yellow needles.

I managed to take a few good shots on the way up the trail:

Here’s some detail of a larch. The needles are surprisingly soft, not at all like pine needles.

And here are the views from our camp site, looking first to the north and then the south:

Yes, the water was really that calm and the sky was really that blue.

Here’s a fun shot of an old tree:

The new bride and groom enjoyed their stay in a lovely honeymoon suite, which I decorated with the help of the maid of honor:

The day after the wedding, we hiked around an area called the Upper Basin, which was much more rocky and sparse. Even though it was the first of October, the weather continued to be amazing– we were hiking in shorts and t-shirts. I took the opportunity to wander barefoot a little during our lunch break.

Finally, here’s a shot of dusk over Perfection Lake as we were returning from our “play day”:

Unfortunately I messed up some setting on my camera, so about 200 of my photos from the last few days of the trip ended up being grainy and blurry. It’s a shame, because after this trip I’ve decided the Enchantments are definitely one of the top ten most beautiful places I’ve visited. They were truly stunning.

According to my math, we covered about thirty-two miles in four days, crisscrossing the wilderness. Because camping permits are very restricted in the area, there were hardly any other people around at all. It felt like we had the run of the place.

I’m so happy for Thom and Katie, and wish them the very best as they begin their life together.

Today was the Big Day: Alex left for his mission in Peru. It’s one of those things that we’ve known was coming for a while… eighteen years or so, in fact, so it wasn’t really a surprise but it was still strange when the day finally arrived.

Last night we celebrated with a family dinner. Alex picked the location, and to no one’s surprise he requested Benihana.

This morning he said his good-byes to Kyra and Zack, a couple of friends, and we drove to the airport. We posed for a moment before he went through the security line:

Of course we had to take a couple of goofy shots as well.

I have no idea what Laralee is doing in that picture.

Delta agreed to give Laralee a “gate pass” so she could accompany Alex through security to the gate, but told us they’re only allowed to give one. TSA rules and all that. Yay, security! She was glad she could join him, and managed to get a quick picture as he boarded the plane to Atlanta.

As I write this, he’s sitting in the Atlanta airport on a layover as he waits for the flight to Lima, Peru. There will probably be a dozen or so other missionaries from all over the country who are gathered there for the flight, so at least he’ll have some company as all of them nervously embark on this next step in their lives.

Godspeed, Alex. We’ll see you in two years.

My friend Kevin dropped by our ultimate league last night and took a ton of photos of the games. He even managed to catch a few good action shots of me.

Here I’m sneaking a forehand past my defender:

Tossing a casual backhand downfield:

And here’s a nice shot of us heading downfield with a backlit sunset:

It’s been a great league so far (we’re three weeks into the season) and I love my team. Hopefully we’ll continue to do well.

Hah, I stumbled across this today and it reminded me of my days working in a computer lab…

Since no one but computer lab guys knew what this meant, HP finally updated the message so it was a little more clear what was wrong with the printer:

Which only leads to another great 80’s reference, of course.

I found this old photo on my phone… on our California trip, Alex was a bit thirsty one night at the restaurant.

In the middle of a drought in California, too…

The other night I cooked up some homemade hot fudge for my bowl of ice cream. Delish.

Our latest Zing activity was a Rockies game on Monday night. We had sweet field-level seats right down the third-base line, courtesy of Brian’s work on StubHub:

The weather was absolutely perfect, so it was a great night to sit out and watch a game. Too bad the Pirates trounced us– the first batter of the game cranked a home run, and a few batters later (still in the first inning) we watched another home run ball soar into the deep seats. The final was 9-3, but still a good time with the guys.

Last night Alex was awarded his second-degree black belt!

Normally there’s a ceremony where a group of students who are receiving new belt ranks are all presented together. However, since Alex will be leaving the country (and thus the dojo) in a couple of weeks, the instructors decided to test him a little early.

First he was run through the rigors of their fitness regimen, which consisted of a series of push-ups, planks, crunches, jumping jacks, mountain climbers, burpees, bicycles, and holding the “horse position” for a couple of minutes. It was grueling, but Alex never complained. He just said “Sir!” whenever the instructor ordered him to switch to a different exercise.

Then, sweating from that, he had to face three attackers who all went after him. They were all wearing pads, but he wasn’t. He had to demonstrate his self-defense skills as well as his black-belt moves, fending them off as they came at him from three directions.

Apparently that wasn’t enough– the instructor then called up two more people, and Alex fought five attackers at once. Of course he wasn’t going full-bore, since he could have potentially hurt someone, but he did manage to accidentally sneak in a punch against a teenage girl (also a black belt) to give her a black eye.

Afterward, he was exhausted, but the instructor jumped him and they wrestled a bit as Alex fought him off. The instructor is an ex-Marine who’s very skilled at self-defense, and he wasn’t giving Alex any breaks. I’ve participated in some of the classes with Alex, and I can attest that he’s good. He did a great job resisting the attack.

Finally, Alex demonstrated one of his kata. There are different ones for the various belt ranks, and he chose one of the hardest.

His moves were, as always, very crisp and sharp. He looked good out there.

At last the instructor was satisfied and there was a nice presentation ceremony. Alex received not only a second-degree black belt, but was also given the honor of the first advanced self-defense degree.

The instructors and several other black-belt students all congratulated him with brief speeches, talking about how dedicated Alex was and how much work he put into these classes. And here he is with his awards and new belt!

Following the ceremony, we had some cake and punch. Alex cut the cake with a katana (his weapon of choice).

All in all, this was a pretty big deal and certainly a big moment for Alex. He worked hard for six years to earn this, and he’s sad to leave the dojo. I’m really proud of the skills and discipline it taught him.

My friend Dave went to the bank the other day to deposit a check he’d received from a client for work his software company had done. The check was rather large– tens of thousands of dollars– and he said the teller looked like she was about eighteen. With wide eyes at the size of the deposit, she asked Dave what he did for a living.

Completely deadpan, he replied, “I play in a rock band called Thunk.”

He figures she probably decided then and there to change careers from bank teller to rock star.

It’s completely true, of course: he does play in a rock band called Thunk. In fact, they played to a huge crowd last weekend; here’s a shot. Dave’s on the keyboard on the far left.

About a week ago my friend Jason agreed to take some family pictures for us. He captured some really good ones.

Then there were these.

Maybe a year ago, Jason took family photos for our friends the von Niederhauserns, and [insert long story here] they decided to take a “pirate photo”. Here it is:

So we did the same, although I think Zack misunderstood “pirate pose” for “Stephen Hawking pose”.

Yep, what an awesome family.