finally pictures from camping!

hey everyone! sorry it took so long, im finally getting around to posting pictures from our camping trip in july.... and a video.... zoolander started randomly swimming yesterday, usually when we take him to the river he just wades around and wont come in, but we went yesterday to the river for a bit and zoolander was swimming all over the place... .i guess watching the olympics does pay off! haha.... we will see my siblings in the north west at the end of september! should be a fun trip!!!

Quick little update from the Mancebo

Hey all!
Thought i would post a quick update from our neck of the woods... things have been crazy here! we are moving yet again this weekend... apartment living just isnt for us. and its very cramped with the dogs, so we are going back to renting a house for a year and then our plan is to buy a year from now. I also totalled my car... yes im that good of a driver, so last weekend we had the joy of going car shopping and settled on a honda crv. it gets the same gas mileage as my old car but adds a bit more space so we wont be renting suvs for road trips and camping trips that include more than just the 2 of us. we are planning on heading north to portland and maybe seattle at the end of sept from the 25th to oct 1st... let us know if that works... will post pics from our most recent camping trip when i get a chance, im at work right now and cant do it.

love you all!!

The Bluebird has launched!

Well we just got home from launching the Bluebird. AWESOME! She floats! We had a lovely christening ceremony here at the house and then took her down to the harbor and SHE FLOATS! It was awesome. It is so beautiful and so incredible that Mike built her! We cruised around the bay for an hour and a half or so. Didn't splash the boat til about 10:40pm. Gonna sleep a couple of hours and then get up at 7am for more!!! Love you guys and will post more pics soon..

Brewers Fest '08

BrewFest was another good time. This year, my sisters and their husbands were in town for the festivities. Although without the descriptive vocabulary of their Oregonian comrades, they found lots of tasty brews to partake in. Ryan and Dave tasted all 72 beers, with help from Zack and Kris. Here are some of my favorite pics.

Melissa, Amanda, and Josh under the tent heading for another taster!

My sister, Amanda and her husband Josh.

Dave, Ryan, and Zack. Another memorable Oregon Brewers Festival!

Painting

So Mike has begun painting his boat. It looks BEAUTIFUL! It has been named"Bluebird", and is getting closer to getting splashed! Pressure is on because our other boat is INOPERABLE! Long story, but the welding (poor welding) is cracking at the welds and the boat is unsafe to take on the water. Mike gets to try to deal with getting compensated for that today. Big fun. We have still managed to have as much salmon and halibut as we need so that isn't too bad :) Already have smoked a couple smoker loads and have been enjoying that. I've been doing the farmers market and that's been okay. Slow start and chillyyyyyyyy and rainy for the past four saturdays. Everyone around here just keeps waiting for "summer" to arrive. We have been managing to go for nice bike rides and walks in between rain squalls though! Looking forward to my parents visit Aug 8. Kelly will overlap with them for their last two days and visit for a week or so too. Our friend Julie who used to live here is also coming in a few weeks! So again.. PRESSURE for boat being ready :) Well hope everyone is well! love you guys
M & C

Desperately Awaiting Marathon results and Photo's

hey guys... hope everyone is well. The sun came out today!!!!!! It has been a gloomy cold summer(hard to call it that). BUT is beautiful and sunny and fabulous today and is supposed to be for the next three days. Mike is busy with his boat and hopes to be able to paint it in these few days. He can't paint unless its not raining and yucky for three days because of humidity.. blah blah blah....so he's been kind of held up. Anyways, everyone cross your fingers and send us rays of sun! Went for a lovely bike ride and walk today. Hard to even come inside! Can't wait to hear about the Marathon! Love you guys......

Some good Pictures

We had a great time with Mom and Dad Ross here in Portland. The weather was awesome and we had a chance to take in some of the sights and take lots of pictures. One too many pictures by these faces!!!

Then it was off to fly-fishing in Central Oregon. It was the first car-camping trip that didn't turn into a road trip due to boredom. Dave fished in the morning (I dozed) then it was walking the rivers and fishing during the day and fishing in the evenings for a short bit till we couldn't see anymore. It was great.

This is an evening fish on the Metolius. Our campsite was right on the river not too far from here.

We hiked up the river to this cool tributary to the river. It just gushed right out of the hillside! This is actually how the entire river is formed, it just comes out of the ground at the headwaters. We didn't go see the headwaters but we will I hope.

Dave decided to fish right next to the tributary and guess what! He caught his first fish on a fly. It was a rainbow trout of about 8 inches. It was really exciting.

Then it was off to Crooked River in more high desert country. This river was nestled in a pretty cool canyon. It was nice to be in the desert after the spring rainy season. This is a picture of Dave evening fishing. He didn't catch anything though.

After the Crooked River we headed over to Lower Deschutes. The fish were jumping at everything! We didn't have much time to fish here unfortunately but had so much fun we are trying to get there again this weekend! I still have yet to catch a fish but am very much looking forward to it!

Hope all is well with everyone. Lots of love, becky

Fires

As of latest count there are currently more than 800 fires burning in northern california... not only has it been really smokey around here but the sun has been bright reddish orange... which is a bit on the eire side when youre driving home from work and the glares are all red and the sun is bright reddish orange.... thought i would share a pic of our new sun with yall.... hope everyone is doing well! were just trying not to breathe in the smoke! oh and tami... china isnt the only place where smokey is a weather condition.... thats what theyve been saying about our weather here for the past 4 days.... 95+ and smokey...

the Brian and Becky update....

wow i cant believe its been almost a year since we got married... things have changed immensly... ive changed jobs twice, weve moved, saving for a house... working lots of overtime... and trying to enjoy each other when we arent on opposite schedules... brian just got a job offer from another small fire department for part time, right now they work 12 hr shifts but soon will be changing to 24 hr shifts... so brian will also be gone 3 days a week, which works out nicely we can both work and still have 4 days off together, well after we have a house... for now im working mike and caroline style.. 60 hrs a week. its not as bad as i thought it would be just barely ever see brian which makes it a little hard but its only temporary. were still hoping to make it to portland in the fall and are already planning a trip to alaska for next summer.... everything else is about the same... kansas is a pro at opening the fridge now. unfortunately the apartment we are living in has a side opening fridge and freezer so kans can get it open... will be very nice when we have a house and our fridge back the side by side is kansas proof! for now the child proof lock will have to do! hope all is well with everyone else! we love you all

More pictures

Dave and Becky on their front porch.
A "snack" in Dave and Becky's backyard.
Tami and Dad at the first Starbucks.

The Great Northwest

Here we are with the Columbia River Gorge in the background. (Right?)

Our plans to drive to Seattle changed when we found very cheap airplane tickets. When we landed, we found ourselves in 30/40 degree weather, dreary and rainy, but just right to enjoy the fireplace that was at the house where we stayed with Tami and Billy. Between the team reunion and driving Billy to work, we enjoyed sipping our hot drinks and reading as we watched the squirrels hop through the wet grass and up the pine tree in the backyard. After several days of rain, the sunshine came out, the temperature rose into the 70's and the Seattleites came out in droves to enjoy the warmth of the sun. We took several walks around Green Lake, a stroll through the Botanical Gardens, a walk along the shoreline to a delicious lunch of fish and chips, and a drive down to the "Sound" to watch the sailboats and the sun setting behind the the clouds hovering over the Olympus Mountains.

Our three days in Portland with David and Becky were awesome. We highly recommend the Dave and Becky bed and breakfast. It features wholesome food, including barbecued meat and veggies. The sound of flowing water streams through the window while their guests drift into sleep. The recreation can't be beat. Bird watching, sleeping in the sunshine, picking lettuce from the garden, "hiking" :) to a waterfall, strolling through a rose garden on a hill overlooking the sun setting on Mt. Hood, browsing through the Powell book store and coffee with the locals. Thank you! We had a great time! Tami, you have the pictures from Seattle. Any good ones?

so why are there no pictures of mom and dads trip north?!

just because you flew right passed us doesnt mean you get to keep the whole vacation a mystery... post pics people!!

Happy Fathers Day!

We love you.. Hope you had/are having a great trip!

To David, Love Caroline

Thanks for the great news last night David
Love you

Happy Anniversary David and Becky

Happy anniversary. We love you guys

hey all!

things here are getting settled... apartment life is definately not my thing! so in hopes of being here for less than 9 months im working all crazy... worked 60 hrs last week... and have 48 scheduled this week... the apartment wouldnt be so bad if we didnt have bug problems.... soooo not okay with me! were planning on taking a couple weeks off in july, use some pto and then in late august or early sept are thinking of taking a trip north. brian has never been to portland or seattle... we will see what our finances look like by then! as for the rest of our little lives... its hard to believe how much everything has changed in a year! brian is back in school taking 1 class online this summer and has registered for 2 online and 1 regular class for the fall... will definately keep everyone updated! mike and caroline... any chance of getting some kbay shipped our way? we would be eternally grateful! haha.... love you all!

brian and becky

Tripping up North

Dad and I are flying to Seattle on June 4th and returning to Long Beach June 17th. Hey David and Becky, how about if we visit you the weekend of June 13th? Did anyone else plant tomatoes? Our veggies are looking great... squash, peppers, and tomatoes :)

A moose had two babies behind our house yesterday!

I've been seeing this moose hanging around since we got home in the same spot behind our house in the trees and voila! Yesterday she gave birth to two babies!! They could barely even stand up yet. So awesome. I'll get some more pic's once she brings them out in to the open to start eating all our flowers! Plus a little pic of Mike's new toy. He bought a weed burner. Ah the exciting news from Homer Ak. It's great to be home. Love you guys

You LOVE? you IN LOVE? you large thai beer?

Well, we made it! Quite a drive it was. Saw 12 bears, 3 big horn sheep, 2 fox, bunch of moose, bunch of caribou, bunch of deer and a gazillion rabbits! The Cassiar highway was crazy. So many animals, and so close to us! The trip up was great. Had a great visit with Becky and Brian and a week with David and Becky. (thank you both so much for such a great time) Had a great hike and a million soy latte's made by barista David. YUM! Still trying to convince Mike to move there. Off to Seattle for Dicks burgers and Pete's coffee with Tami and Billy. Great to see them too! Then we drove up the Alcan like maniacs... Only stopped for gas and to pee and get a room. By the time we were close to home we were both INSANE from being in the car. Today was day one of vacation and it was lovely. Started by sipping coffee and looking out the window and then went for a walk, followed by me getting back in to my kitchen! woo hoo! Happy to be home. Hope all is well... lot of love
M & C

Happy Birthday TAMI!!!

Sorry this is a day late but we wanted you to know we were thinking of you on your birthday and hope that it was a great one.

Lots of Love,
becky and dave

Happy birtyday DAVE!!!

happy birthday to dave!!! we love you!

Check out the Living Room

Hi Everyone.
There is a post over on my family's blog, the Living Room, concerning Dave. Skip on over to check it out. The link is to the right!

Becky

Hi Family~

Sorry we've been MIA up here. We are in serious transition... homeless, and jobless. The job hunt has been interesting... Billy's had a number of interviews and has some promising leads on the table. We will see where it all leads. Having a place with free rent has left us a bit inclined to be picky on the job taking.... anyways.... I know Mike and Caroline are coming up this week. We would love to see you all when you pass through Seattle. I won't post our phone number on the blog (for obvious reasons), but if you think you might like to see us for a quick coffee or lunch break, feel free to give us a jingle. We'd love to see you!

Hope everyone is well!! :)

Much love from the Lin's

Happy Marriage Day!

Happy Aniversary, Mike and Caroline. You two rock the house.
Love becky

Happy Birthday Becky!

Hope you have a beautiful day. See you next week! Happy day of birth Carole too!

Update from the Mancebo's

hey there! just thought i would give a little update from our neck of the woods...Were moving may 3 to an apartment pretty close by, to save money for a down for a house. if all goes as planned, our lease is 9 months so in Feb we will be living in our own house! Brian is waiting to hear from Cal Fire (CDF) he made "the list" which means he is on the list for being able to be hired... along with like 1700 other applicants. hopefully he will get an offer soon, but no big deal, they keep the list as long as it takes to expire the list, the last one was good for over 2 years. As far as work goes for me, some of you know im going back to sutter general ICU starting may 5. It works much better for our schedule, and i miss the people and the really sick patients a lot. Im really excited to be going back but its a little stressful with everything hitting at once! cant wait to see mike and caroline on the 2nd... even for a brief stop!

hope everyone is doing well!

Dodgers!

Six shifts left! Woo hoo.... things are going well, looking forward to being done working for awhile. The Dodger game was a blast, we ended up in the shade and really enjoyed the day. It was HOT! Not much else exciting to tell but thought I'd post a couple of pics! love you guys

Chico

So we picked up our new truck. Flew to Chico tuesday morning and drove home yesterday. It was quite a whirlwind little trip. Did manage to go on a bike ride in the park on their cool italian self shifting bikes which was awesome. Had dinner at the Sierra Nevada Brewery as well, which was also quite lovely. We really like the truck. It drives great and seems to get pretty good gas mileage for such a beast! (once you get past the price of filling the tank!) We work the next three days and then go to a Dodger game on Sunday. 11 shifts left. Wow...... love you guys