All Hail K!

I'm in sooooo much trouble for not updating this blog... My sincerest apologies. As usual, a lot of things have happened during the interim, and, I've come across more plain-old goofy stuff on the web -- how can you not?

First, the quick Kael update ("All hail K! All hail K!" - check out MIB if the reference is missing from your cerebral CPU...). This dude has three primary modes of existence: eating, sleeping (having become exhausted from his endless eating...), and pooping (a direct result of his endless eating...). He's gained almost 4 pounds in five weeks! On rare occasions, we, the collective circle of care givers, get to experience the non-eating, non-sleeping, non-pooping, mode of just hangin'.

This is when Kael ("All hail K! All hail K!) coos, smiles, blows bubbles, and is just checking stuff (the world) out. These moments are fantastic. Much to the dismay of all the collective care givers, for some reason that has eluded all (except me), I can make Kael smile just about whenever I want much to the jealous protestations of everyone. This assembled crowd of Grandpa-haters hasn't figured out that, being the most childlike member within the circle of trust (Meet the Parents reference...), Kael just relates to me better. End of story.

There are a number of wild things going on at Wilsonville Honda (which captures most of my conscious processing time): potential closure of the main road (Parkway Avenue) that leads to the store and the arrival of hundreds of new Hondas to our facility pretty much top the list. I can't go into details about the road closure right now, but let me say that this issue is far from being concluded. Ahem. The hundreds of new Hondas arriving right in the middle of the worst retail environment our generation has ever experienced is very much planned and greatly welcomed. As a result of a great deal of research and subsequent hard work, we've been able to double our market share in the Portland area in the last few months. This is at a time when Honda (like every manufacture) has greatly reduced its production of all its models. Big rewards require big risks, so as a result, my management team decided to do the unthinkable in this economic climate -- acquire as many cars as space and financing will allow in order to meet what we believe will be an increasing demand for ultra-reliable, fuel-efficient, cost-effective, Hondas. At the same time, we've managed to locate some unbelievable pre-owned Hondas that fit the same criteria. So here we are at Wilsonville Honda with the new Honda Insight and the original Honda Insight (70+ miles per gallon!!). It's an interesting time indeed!

In the middle of all this, I realized that I hadn't spent time with my family away from the daily responsibilities of the dealerships since last August. So we packed up and headed over the mountains to Sisters. After living in Central Oregon for almost 20 years, it was fantastic to be back. Crystal blue sky provided the perfect relief for the snow-covered Cascades. The smell of the pine forest in the cold fresh air was intoxicating. Since my shoulder surgery, I've spent very little time on my bike, but I decided to drag it along on this trip and try to do a little riding. So early in the morning while the family was still sound asleep, I slowly pedaled up McKenzie Pass until the snow said, "No! You may not continue!" I didn't put in many miles, but the miles that did pass were wonderful.

Among the amazing sights, here's a herd of Elk I rode past:

Here's what the road looked like at the beginning of the ride:

And five or six miles later:

And here's a picture of a really stupid guy standing next to his bike that's equipped with really skinny tires and about the dumbest thing you could ride in the snow and ice:

During our stay we visited friends and in each case I was reminded why moving away from the place were my children were born and the friends we had made was so hard. To give you just a small sampling of what we miss, here's a picture of the view from the kitchen from one of the aforementioned friends. They are 3rd generation owners of a this deep (320'+) high-mountain lake and the land that surrounds it -- which is surrounded by national forest. They are the only home around. It's difficult to express how beautiful this area is. I have other examples, but I told our friend that there might be a family or two in the Swiss Alps or other such locations that enjoy a similar view when washing their dishes, but I doubt it!

Here's a shot of the view from their dining room:

I have pictures of the panaromic view from their deck, but I don't won't you bolting out of your home or workplace trying to hunt this family down and steal their view!

Since no one in my immediate family is anything close to normal, while downloading the pictures you've seen so far, I came across this shot:

I have no idea why there is a bunny in the dish rack or why there is even a bunny in my kitchen or... Of course, I'm not much surprised either....

I'm not sure if this is politically correct or not. I'm not really sure if it's appropriate. I do know that it made me laugh... I also know that Kael has blown his diaper out while I've been holding him and subsequently "Pooped on my Knee." So that's the connection to this video. Here you go: