We had a great weekend with the Pjaks in Wenatchee this last weekend. Brad posted about our awesome day of golf, so I'll focus on some of the other fun times. We planned our trip around one of Elliott's t-ball games. We got the bonus of seeing one of Brad's church softball games too!

This is one of my favorite pictures. For some reason, it really struck a chord with me. I immediately started thinking of how strange (and wonderful) it feels to be growing up. I remember watching my dad play church softball when I was a kid. I'm sure my mom spent plenty of time sitting on a blanket in the shade watching me run around the ball field. Now my wife is doing the same with my kid! Plus...it just feels great to have such great friends. We love the Pjaks and every minute that we get to spend together.

Jack sure found some good friends too this weekend. As you can see, he had no shortage of entertainment, and all 3 boys were really sweet to Jack. Wesley especially loved to come up and "tickle" Jack. Of course, my kid obliged with a huge grin every time.

I've been a little derilict in my posting, so here are a few to catch up.

Jack got his first swimming pool experince last Thursday. He was a little unsure at first, but didn't seem to mind it too much after a bit. A little stoic, but mom and dad had fun.

the first touch...

Hangin' with cousin Ethan

Standing up with Daddy

The best part...he actually sat STILL in my lap for a bout a half hour after the pool. Normally he's either wiggling or sleeping. Never just STILL. It was nice.

I had a great time this weekend with Trent, Jen, Carson, JoJo and Jim in Eugene for Trent's marathon. It was a great day, and Trent beat his old personal record by 12 minutes! He finished under 4 hours - totally awesome.

But, I sure missed this kid while I was gone. We took some pictures when I got home.

Chub-a-dub-dub...

This is the smiley boy that we get to enjoy all the time (not always smiling though...)! We are so thankful for his life! He makes our so much better.

I didn't take nearly enough pictures of our coast trip this last weekend, but it was a ton of fun! Here's one of my favorites...this is my nephew Carson on one of our beach walks.

Baby Boy!!

Well...as the seasons change, so does my blog!

Lately I've been very excited about running and especially tracking my running progress with my Nike+ sensor that I got for Christmas. I think I finally ignored running long enough for a bothersome knee issue to go away. Now I'm back to just running without thinking about it. Just the way I like it.

Paying homage to my employer and the nifty exercise enhancing technology, I've designed my current blog template in the basic color scheme of the Nike+ website. Hope you like it, I'll be adding a widget to track my runs right on the blog! Aren't you excited? I am!

PB

Happy Birthday Momma!!

We love you!

Today I got to take Ethan for a ride in the new trailer! It was great! We both had fun...

Holy Gear Sale, Batman!

As I've described before, REI Used Gear Sales are a lot of fun for me. You will be convinced after you see how much I'm about to type. The first one was a bit of an unknown...with Eric and my Dad. We didn't know what to expect and proably showed up too late to get anything good. But it was so legen (wait for it) dary that I keep coming back. Then came the fateful "Gear Karma" sale where despite all of the folks cutting in line, Jim helped me score my first pair of ski-boots and bindings...we all know how that one turned out. Becky and I had a chilly but awesome gear sale experience together last winter (not the pregnancy winter, the one before that). She had so much fun, we decided to go again and take Jack!! There were a number of REI gear sales today (3 different stores in the Portland area) so I thought it would be a good chance to get some stuff since the deal-hungry masses a little more dispersed. We had quite a list too! We were looking for a cargobox for the Pjaks, snowshoes for ET's dad, a bike trailer for Jack, and new ski-boots for me (3 seasons in those used ones from the first sale and they are about done!) It started an hour earlier than usual, which meant getting up an hour earlier too! So we rolled out of bed at 5am...bundled up Jack in his little snowsuit, stuck him in the carseat and hit the road. He slept for about 1 1/2 hours once we got there, woke up, ate, spit up, and the just chilled. He like looking at all the people and seeing his first sunrise!

Becky and I planned our attack well. She (and Jack in the Baby Bjorn) would quickly find and stake out any cargo boxes or strollers that looked good, and I would head to the back where the shoes and boots were. We were in the 3rd wave of shoppers and immediately Becky spotted a cargo box (the only one) and claimed it.As she was guarding it, she spied a Burley kid trailer and pointed me to it. I scurried over and checked it out...brand spankin new. It was used in a photo shoot so they were selling it for 1/5 of the price!! so I wheeled it over to Becky and Jack and headed off to the shoe area while Becky got our names put on the stuff.Back up a little...yesterday I took my new skis to the shop to be mounted. While I was there I checked out some ski boots for fun. I new I could not afford new boots, but wanted to at least see what I was missing. So I tried on a few different pairs, and, of course, the most expensive pair felt amazing! I drooled for a little bit and then took them off, contented to pick up another pair of used gear sale boots today.

Forward...I walked into the shoe room and quickly scanned for shiny plastic and colorful buckles. I saw a few pairs of ski boots and hurried toward them (very respectfully to my fellow shoppers). As I neared the boots, I realized one of the pairs was THEM! the ones I tried on at the store. I picked them up, certain they would not be my size. As I spun them around, the beatiful number 29.5 gleamed up at me from the toe box. JUST MY SIZE. I looked at the tag and it said "Used once, didn't fit". They are in perfect condition and once again, just 1/5 of the price from the store yesterday! Woot!

I made my way back to Becky, adrenaline pumping, in total disbelief. On my way, I found the snowshoe area and snagged a great pair of slightly used snowshoes for David. I got back to Becky and analyzed our big items while she and Jack entered the abyss to shop a little more. the cargo box didn't have keys, so the REI employee gave it to me for 20 bucks (way, way, way less than 1/5 of the price). Then I picked up a few replacement keys for $4!

Becky closed out our hunt with some cool Keen shoes that she has been eyeing, and a sweet score on this Nalgene Sippy cup (the blue one)...only $.83! (yes, mom, we will sanitize it before we use it).

Anyway....it was a great day! Mostly I just enjoyed the time with my amazing wife and my beautiful baby boy. Jack has now been initiated!

...But the best part of the day [see below] was playing with my son!

I'm posting this first because it is of secondary importance to the post that will come next...but will appear above.

Becky and I have always had bad luck with birthday/Christmas surprises. Once a year or so, one way or another (usually involving Mike's impatience), something goes wrong and usually it ends in a ruined surprise. Apparently this year, we decided to avoid disaster and give each other our gifts early! So the other day when the sun was shining, I gave Becky her new bike...

...and today, Becky gave me a new pair of skis that she, my folks, and my in-laws all got together to get for me. I've been drooling over them for the last few years. Yay!

We've already been on two bike rides (today I ran 5 miles while Becky rode alongside me), and I can't wait to get up to the mountain!

Just needed to put up some new Jack pics!

for Brad (and Lindsey)

Jim beat me to it. But I'll post anyway. Today, we ran in the 8k portion of the Shamrock Run in downtown portland. There was free chowder and "beverages" afterward, but I didn't feel much like either after a sprint to the finish. It was a lot of fun, and running again feels good. I'm looking forward to July and the Cape Mountain Trail Run in Florence!

Thanks for running with me today Jim, it's more fun running with a buddy.

...and thanks to our awesome wives who braved public transit and early morning feedings (of the children) to watch their men run around.

Oh, yes...and Henry decided he wanted to ride in this family's wagon. They obliged! I'm not quite sure what is going through Stephanie's head though??

Nothing amazing in this video. It's just fun to see how quickly Jack is changing! I'm lucky I get to hang out with him so much!

For those of you who don't often click my blog links, you need to go here to my sister-in-law's page. There are some awesome pictures of Jack and his little cousin Abby together. Don't miss it!

It's been a good couple days. Saturday was the downtown walk (con cupcakes). Then on Sunday after church, Jim, Eric and I decided to take advantage of the sunshine and play 9 quick holes of golf. The weather was great! I even put on shorts...thankfully, you can't see my white legs in this picture.

This is where Jim got a hole-in-one (wink, wink).

This morning, Jim and I ran 4 miles before work...and before the rain came. It was good timing. After a day at work, Becky and decided to take Jack and Lily for a walk. If I wasn't already certain, Jack proved tonight that he is my son. From the moment we stepped outside, he couldn't take his eyes of the sky, the clouds, the trees (except when his hat fell down over his eyes, and then he started screaming). Just before the walk I was telling Becky how pretty the sky was on my way home, and apparently, Jack agrees.

Oh, yeah...this is the unhappy factor...For some strange reason the shape of Jack's head, combined with the way he moves it, forces every single hat he wears to slide down over his eyes. He doesn't really appreciate it!

Today Jim, Becky, Jack and I took a little trip downtown. In the face of a forecast of constant showers, we ventured out for a nice little walk around the Pearl District. we started at REI and then walked to Whole Foods for lunch. After that, we headed to Saint Cupcake for a delicious desert, and stopped off at a camera store on the way back to the car. It was sunny and beautiful almost the entire time! So much for the forecast. As we neared the car, it started to get a little "drizzly" and after we shut the doors, it really started coming down. Apparently we timed it perfectly.

Here's the little Bunch family on the stroll:

Jim, giving a hearty "thumbs-up" for some delicious looking (and tasting) cupcakes. Pictured from left to right: vanilla with vanilla butter cream frosting (Jim), coconut cream (Mike), chocolate vegan (Becky - what can I say...it was in Portland...you know how it is).

Jim making quick work of his cupcake....

...until he got it stuck up his nose. Butter cream frosting is apparently quite sticky.

Jack protested his being left out of the cupcake eating by spitting up on Becky shortly after this pic, but what else is new. Jim captured it all on camera, so that may be making a blog appearance at some point. It was a fun afternoon!