Brave Katie

If you know Katie Jo, you know she is very, very shy in new situations or with strangers. It takes her a long time to warm up. (Just like her old man, it seems!) Well, she made me very proud with her performance at the Vacation Bible School program on Sunday morning back in late July.When the time came for the kids to get up on stage and sing, she went right up without hesitation. I was amazed and proud! She didn't really sing much and she didn't make the hand gestures, but she hung in there until the end, despite her discomfort. What a trooper! ... Anna Lynn, on the other hand, was her usual … [Read more...]

A Few Days in Frisco

There's no doubt that San Francisco is one of the USA's most beautiful cities. It's also a pretty weird place because the average temperature in the summer time is LOWER than the average wintertime termperature.I recently took a long weekend there to enjoy the city to its fullest. I went with my friend, Jenny Grant. We flew first class and stayed in one of the city's oldest and finest hotels, right in the heart of the action, the Sir Francis Drake, as the place to start the adventure.I also tried to pack in as many other fun experiences as possible - Lombard Street, the Golden Gate Bridge, … [Read more...]

Buzz about Phillips-Norelco???

I wouldn't expect anything from Phillips-Norelco to be this edgy and funny, but it's just hilarious. Check out:http://www.shaveeverywhere.comandhttp://bodygroom.philips.com/en/index_flash.html And, btw, it's definitely rated PG-13 or even higher.-Zebraman … [Read more...]

Matsu Glacier pictures

It was hard to head home after a week of fun with Samuel, Jacob, Dan & Wendy, and the Fishback kids. But at long last, the day finally arrived.Above is Dylan and Jacob over a sort of tunnel/canyon cut by the glacial runoff. There was a big, ice-cold stream directly beneath them. You might be able to see the strips of "blue ice" down and to the left of Dylan. Most of the glacial ice was white, but every now and then you'd see stripes or patches of vivid, sky blue ice. It's sky blue for the same reason that the sky is blue, that is the ice absorbs all other color wavelengths and reflects only … [Read more...]

Emmy Tay Fwine is 13!

I can't believe that I have TWO teenagers now, but it's true. Emily - yes, that's Queen High-n-Mighty - just turned 13. We did some shopping at Party City a few weeks ago and chose a fun laua (sp?) theme for her party.On Sunday, June 16th - her actual birthday - we had a little miniature celebration. It's a tradition that the kids get to pick a restaurant where they'd like to eat. Emily chose Sakura, a nice sushi and habachi grill in Hermitage. It was all of the Kline kids, Bailey Lyttle (her best friend), and two other friends from church. You can see her in the picture at right with her … [Read more...]

Mat-Su Glacier & Parenting

GRIPE: BLOG-SPOT IS NOT LETTING ME POST PICTURES!!!I have a tradition with the kids. Once the kids reach 5th grade, I start to take them on a once yearly dad-kid trip. It's usually supposed to be something close and cheap, like a weekend camping & fishing. But sometimes I get unusually good opportunities to do other things. This year, with Dylan, I had so many frequent flyer points that I decided to take us up to Alaska to visit my brother, nephews, and his new bride - Wendy.I initially started the tradition because we were planning a large family and I wanted to build in ways to remind my … [Read more...]

The Iditarod Trail

I'm not quite sure what the appeal of sled dog racing is. But it's headquartered in the same little town my brother lives in (Wasilla) and it's famous. So by gum, we're going to see this place!Sam and Jake don't get out very often as it turns out. So even though they live three miles away, they'd never been to the place.There was a really beautiful log cabin there that was almost entirely a gift shop with very expensive gifts. There was a small museum sort of thing there to give you a sense of history. There was also a fairly large side room with a big screen TV playing a video about the … [Read more...]

A Day at the Shooting Club

We wanted to do more things that were quintessentially Alaskan. We didn't have tons of time, since I have to work, but we wanted to spend at least a couple hours per day doing something fun and something we'd likely only do while here.Dylan (middle), Jake (left), and Sam (right) were having a good time hanging out and playing Xbox and PS2 all the time. But the weather has been absolutely fantastic. You just can't stay indoors when it's brilliantly sunny and about 76 degrees every day. So as we were driving down the road the previous day, I noticed two or three shooting ranges and/or gun clubs. … [Read more...]

11:30 pm in Alaska

Dylan and I are visiting my brother and his family in Wasilla, AK - home of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. It's a place of remarkable beauty. I can't wait to start exploring!I took this picture at Big Lake near Wasilla at 11:17 pm last night. As you can see, it's still very bright with the sun just going down on the horizon. We haven't been able to go to sleep before 2:00 am just because it's so bright!Cheers,-Kev … [Read more...]

Eeeew! I spilled some blog on my shirt!

Sometimes a blog isn't very fun or convenient. I think mostly it just feels neither fun nor convenient because you're having an off day. But most of the rest of the time, it is fun to some degree.If you're looking for some interesting images to look at, check out GapingVoid. It's fun when the artist isn't a total downer/boar.Enjoy!-Kev … [Read more...]