Merrifield Times

By now it seems that it wouldn't be summer without a week at Crux Rock Gym . This year it was Hannah that made the most apparent improvement . That was especially evident as Mike watched them climb the local basalt columns. Hannah tackled a new route this year with perseverance and growing confidence. For Trevor , it's getting to be a little too routine. Expect him to look for greater challenges next year. He's old enough to move up and climb with older kids and learn new techniques. Who knows... Maybe he's up for an assault on the North Face of the Uxbridge Road...

No, it's nothing close to the Barcelona World Race (as those sailors spend Christmas in the Southern Ocean). Heck, this wasn't even a race. But it was an adventure. Perhaps inspired by the story of Grandpa Herc sleeping on the Flying Dutchman on Cayuga Lake , Trevor became interested in his own nautical adventure last year. With the realization that Mr. T would become a teenager at the end of the summer, Mike was determined to share the experience with Trevor before another summer slipped by. The plan was modest. They would simply spend the night sleeping on the Lido on Fern Ridge Lake and meet up with the rest of the family the next day for a picnic. The two adventures pushed off from the dock in the early evening. The north wind was fairly strong and refused to die as the sun went down . We found shelter in the lee of a small island and prepared the boat for the night . Although it took a while for the wind to die and the boat to stop rocking, Trevor and Mike mana

In August, we all made a trip to Portland to see Body Worlds 3 at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI). Real humans. Real science. Really amazing! Experience the human body in all its elegance and complexity in this first-of-its-kind exhibition. From entire bodies in dramatic poses to side-by-side comparisons of healthy and diseased organs, BODY WORLDS 3 is a stunning exhibition featuring over 200 authentic human specimens. See how your body's systems relate to one another and work together to help you function and survive. View firsthand how lifestyle choices impact your health and how muscles and joints work together during athletic performance. It was fascinating and amazing and well worth the trip. We are indeed fearfully and wonderfully made .

Growing up, Mike was a lifeguard at Robert H. Treman State Park . It's one of many beautiful reasons that Ithaca Is Gorges . It's always a treat to be able to walk the trails again and take in the incredible scenery of Creation. After lunch, the whole family plus Kelty started at upper Treman and walked the gorge trail. Trevor and Mike made it to the lower park and back. Meanwhile, the girls enjoyed the scenery and some splashing about in the creek. Check out the album for more pictures. To the right is a composite picture of the 115 foot Lucifer Falls on Enfield Creek in the park and Trevor in the blue shirt.

In all the years we lived in NY (a total of 27 between Jolyn and Mike), we never visited the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Perhaps it was because Mike switched to a safer sport ( lacrosse ...), when they put the ball in the hands of the kids to pitch... With Trevor's interest in baseball (although he played lacrosse this past spring), it seemed like a natural choice to visit the Hall of Fame. Here's an album showing some of our (Trevor's) favorite items, exhibits or scenes. We hit Cooperstown just right, if you want to avoid crowds. An early Tuesday in July was fine with us -- long before the festivities surrounding the All Star break and the 2007 HOF induction ceremony .

It's been a while but we made the trip back to New York over the fourth. It was largely a spontaneous decision to go on our part. Mike learned from his sister that Uncle Gus and his neighbors would be throwing a big (~70 people) 4th of July party and all the cousins and their families would be there. We also wanted to surprise Mike's mom who is doing ok but recovering from hernia surgery. After traveling on the fourth and arriving at my sister's quite late, we managed to get over to Longview just before lunch time. The four of us wandered into the cafeteria and found mom patiently waiting for her meal. Unfortunately, we were not early enough to take her out for lunch but the surprise was worth the trip. For many reasons, it was a good trip. We caught up with family and friends, visited old haunts, made a trip to Cooperstown , did a little hiking and just had a fairly relaxing time together. New York weather didn't disappoint us either... There was no shortage of

Hannah turned ten this year and had a major sleep over with a few friends. They made their own pizzas , played games, had a scavenger hunt, worked on a quilt and enjoyed homemade birthday pazookies ( You must try one )... and all that was before bed. It was enough to wear Lido out! The morning brought the sleepy girls to Grandma's for pancakes . It's a real hit. All in all it was a fun time with friends to celebrate the special gift that Hannah is to us all. Here's to the birthday girl . Later in July, she spent a special weekend with Grandpa Herc and Georgia.

No, this is not an undercover scene from the world of NFL dog fighting... It's actually just our black Lab Lido playing with Grandpa Herc's new yellow Lab, Tanner. We made a little trip over to Bend to meet Tanner for the first time and do a little skiing at Bachelor . Seeing Lido and Tanner kinda reminded us of Lido playing with our neighbor's dog Ben . Only now the roles were reversed. Tanner had two speeds... ON and OFF. It seemed Lido was game for a bit of K9 rough housing but a little bit when a long way for him in his advanced age of three! They had a great time and so did we. The skiing was great and we always enjoy riding Grandpa's lift. That's been his winter gig for years. Bachelor sure is a beautiful place to work!