Climbing Mt Adams

I got to spend some wonderful time with 2 of my favorite girls climbing Mt Adams the past few days. Christa proved to me once again that she is a beautiful person and I am blessed to be with her. Each step took her further and further away from her comfort zone, yet she continued on with an adventurous spirit.
The weather was great and made for some fantastic views.
We planed to hike half way on day one and spend the night. Then we would climb to the summit on day 2 and hike all of the way out on that same day. However, the second day's hike went slower than expected and after a difficult assessment of our energy level, the conditions and the time, we turned away from the summit after hiking within 500 vertical feet of it. By the time we got back to our mid-mountain camp a small storm was brewing and we decided to spend another night there. We hiked out on day 3 with frequent rain-showers hastening our pace to the car where we had dry clothes waiting.
We got home today with sore muscles, some sunburn and a determination to go back another day. I certainly don't feel like the trip was a failure, my intention was to spend some time with Christa and have an experience with her that was unique to the 2 of us. That goal was definitely achieved. (Now if only I had remembered to re-apply sunscreen every couple of hours, I wouldn't be in so much pain now-ouch.)

Wall Raising

Click the image to see a more detailed version.
My neighbor took these pics while we hoisted the wall. It took 6 pulleys, 4 guys, 1 girl and 2 trees.

Treehouse View 1.0

I just missed the best colors tonight. But this is the first clear, sunset view of Mt Hood that I've had from the treehouse. I'm sure there will be plenty more where this came from.

Spent a couple of days out at Camp Yamhill this week. My wife had been out all week serving as the craft lady for Jr. Teen camp and my friend Greg was heading out to get set up for his Father/Child camp, so I tagged along to help him and see her. It was fun to see Christa enjoying her first week ever at camp. We now have a reference point to share our experiences. Perhaps next year I'll get to go with her for the entire week. Greg's vision of a mine shaft was my main focus and I think it turned out pretty well. I'm excited to see how the kids reacted to the long dark tunnel leading to a large cavern filled with gold. I hope that by the time they used it, it was cooler in the day.
Took a few pics. One is a plant called Indian Pipe, that I had never seen before.
The rest are from the 5th and 6th grade flower bomb war. Boy did that bring back memories. I can clearly remember the excitement and anticipation that a handful of flour bombs brought me as a camper. Waiting in the bushes to ambush someone seemed like an eternity. Usually the rush was short lived with a fierce volley of flour and few combatants left standing. It was good to see the fun lives on.

Commencement

Today was my last day to work with these fine folks from PacifiCare. After 4 years, you can imagine the impact they have had on me. For much of my time at PCare they were the silver-lining in the often grey clouds. I will miss each of them and wish them well.

On the bright side, I am excited about beginning a new adventure. I currently have no employment plan and don't even know if I want to continue in app development. While not knowing where my next paycheck will come from is a bit unnerving, it also gives me something new to explore. I hope to take a little time off and sort some of this out. Which should give me some time to work on my treehouse, play with my dog and enjoy time with my wife. You know, the stuff in life that is important.

Three

Three, originally uploaded by jasonhillpdx.

Big happenings this weekend in the treehouse. With the help of Greg, Ike, Dustin and Amy--All the walls have been lifted into the treehouse. Now its just roof, deck, stairs, railing, windows, door...