The great Spring Break boat building of 2015

Boat building, Spring Break 2015

I was planning to get some thesis writing done this afternoon but when walking home after working in the Boulder Mennonite Church's community garden for a few hours (tilling, raised beds, planting seeds, watering, etc.), my son asked me if we could build some boats when we got home. In truth, I was plum tuckered out from gardening in the hot sun and wanted to take a wee bit of a nap in our backyard shade. But as we talked about our ideas for making boats, his imagination and excitement about it couldn't help but be infectious...and I caught it. 

When we got home, I made us some lunch and we sat at the table drawing out our ideas for boats. After lunch, we got out some of our scrap 2x4 and 2x6 lumber ends from our tree-forting building and set to work. We had a lot more we wanted to add our boats - things like sails and anchors and rudders and helms and such - but we simply HAD to go try them out at in our local stream, Bear Creek in the St. Vrain watershed (check it out via the EPA's great Surf Your Watershed site). We found a few things to tweak but had a blast testing them out. And while I didn't get any writing done, I was happy to have spent those few imaginative and creative and fun hours playing and building boats with my son. 

These moments don't come around again and I'm learning to embrace them as they appear, regardless of my schedule. I've got a long way to go, but for now, I have this time with my loved ones. And I am grateful.

The waitress

Finn the short order waitress. March 2015

The other morning Finn wanted to pretend she was a short order waitress. She has so much fun making up service-oriented games and she had me hoppin' in the kitchen - one of the few times we'll make an exception to preparing different meals for everyone. As each person placed an order, she recorded it their own ticket which she pasted above the stove. And she was so excited to wear, as an apron, a scarf she recently used for fish printing (gyotaku). We figure we'd better support our kids in play or they won't want to come to us with the serious stuff, now or later. Plus it's just fun to play as a child. A fun Spring Break morning, for sure.

An American Pie family moment, Don McLean style

What were we doing this evening? Papa is cleaning up dinner dishes, mummy is packing lunches for tomorrow, the kids are getting their backpacks ready for school and setting out tomorrow's clothes...and we're all singing THIS song at the tops of our lungs - Don McLean's American Pie. I am in LOVE. With this family! And what a fantastic song to bring up and discuss society and its highs and ills, love and friendship, war and peace, politics and so much more with our children!

Side note: in February of this year, McLean publicly announced that he will reveal the original meaning behind the song's lyrics when the original manuscript goes up for auction in New York City in April 2015.

From paleontologist to airplane engineer

This evening after getting his pajamas on, little man comes out to the living room, obviously pleased with himself, and offers an explanation for his ensemble. He says

I picked out this shirt because it has dinosaurs on it and when I grow up I'm going to be a paleontologist. And if I get fired, I'm going to build airplanes. Not paper ones but ones made out of metal so you and Papa can fly in them. Yep.

And with that, he marched out of the room.

A breakfast prayer for the homeless

Little Jeremiah helping at the local food bank.

This morning's breakfast prayer comes to you courtesy of Little Jeremiah and his big thoughts:

"Dear Lord, please be with the homeless and help them find more and more change on the ground so they can buy food and be well. Amen."

Amen, little man. Amen.

Papa's silent prayer to the heavens after hearing this: "Please let this boy keep his heart and help me continue to protect, support and strengthen it." Then a mental note to talk further with him (and his sister) about different ways of helping others.

I am in love this little guy's big heart.

This guy...

Exploring at Garden of the Gods

Exploring at Garden of the Gods

Ninja turtle man stalking animals

Yes, even guys can get self-conscious about pictures

Osborne-Gowey family 2014.
Photo by Cameron Johnson Photography.

A Huffington Post article recently made the rounds, again, and caught my eye - So you're feeling too fat to be photographed (by Teresa Porter). I don't normally feel fat, but I do sometimes feel like I carry a little more weight than I'd like. Which can sometimes lead me to feel a little self-conscious when it comes time to being in pictures. I occasionally find myself with thoughts in my head like "is my face a little puffy" or "is my belly sticking out", or "is my beard all mussed up", etc.

But something a photographer friend mentioned to us last year - and something we've carried with us for most of the years of our marriage - was, "Just be present in the moment and show your kids how much you love them because they don't see what you see about yourself in the pictures - they just see you for you and the love you have for each other and them." The basis for her comments came from another Huffington Post article - this one from blogger Allison Tate - of a few years back; The mom stays in the picture. An excellent read (here are some other excellent posts of similar ilk). We've tried to stick to this mantra over the years, to just be present with each other, regardless of how we're feeling about ourselves in the moment. 

So now you know, in part, why we often don't shy away from pictures, whether you take them or we do. And why we'll continue to post pictures of our love for each other and our family and friends. 

Here's to another 20 years of being present in pictures and sharing them with friends and family.

Boating with friends, 2013.

This place is home

When we tell people in Colorado that we're moving to Boulder for a few years for a PhD program, they say we'll love it so much that we'll never move away from it. Like John Denver, it's true we've longed for more Rocky Mountain highs. And now we'll get a chance to explore there, become familiar with it, grow to love it, and embrace our time there. But I suspect most people we talk to in Colorado have never lived in Oregon - or the Pacific NorthWest for that matter. And those friends that have, now live in Oregon and the PNW. So many diverse environments. Such richness. Such solitude  Such grandeur. I'm sure we'll love Colorado and the area and the people, and for many good reasons. Of this I am certain. But here are more than just a few reasons why we call, and will continue to call, Oregon and the PNW our home. 

This place is special. 


This Place from Instrument on Vimeo.

There were a marvelous set of videos produced for Travel Oregon to bolster tourism in the state. This is a brief compilation of the seven top videos. Explore the full length videos of each of the seven, others submissions, and tons of other great Oregon material at Travel Oregon's 7 Wonders.


Perhaps the best IS saved for last. These stunning time-lapse shots taken in Oregon over several months capture a fraction of Oregon's splendor. For other incredible outdoor and living space footage, check out the other awesome stuff from Uncage the Soul Productions (see their link below this video).

Finding Oregon from Uncage the Soul Productions on Vimeo.

In short, I have no doubt we'll love Colorado, probably more than we even realize. But we also love the PNW. And we call it home. Probably always will. So have no fear, Oregon...we can't quit you.