Pics from Big Snow 08

Casey Case fighting the Cabin Fever
There is even more now!

Surrounded by toys like always.

He is a very prim and proper boy!

New Pictures Again

Dylan is always surrounded by toys.
Toys make him really happy!

He can also be really serious. "Where are you talking me?"

These are pics that were taken over the last couple weeks. I will try to get another video on here soon!

Dylan has turned 3 months old!

New pics of the boy!!!

Mickey is his homeboy!

2 months old!!!

Dylan is two months old, and got his first set of shots. Saying he hated it would be the biggest understatement ever! I don't think he has ever cried that hard, and he doesn't want to leave his mom's arms. He is in the 50th percentile in both length (23") and weight (11 lbs 13 oz.) He is really getting good at holding his head up, and is so smiley and aware. I will get some pics up soon!

Hometown teams

It is a good thing we maintained ties with our favorite teams from the midwest. These Washington teams are really terrible!!! My Packers, and Becky's Cornhuskers both ended up on the winning side this weekend. The dilemma comes in Monday night, as we like the Broncos, but I have Matt Cassel and Randy Moss on my fantasy team. We will hope for a Bronco win, with a couple 80 yard TD passes for Moss and NE. Here is a pic of Dylan watching the Huskers beat Iowa State.

Pictures

5 weeks later...

Wow, having a baby in the house definately makes blogging tough to get to. I don't know how Seth and Katie keep it up so good. Dylan is now 5 weeks old, somewhere north of 9 1/2 pounds, and hungry.

Fall has hit rather quickly, and we got our first frost this morning. Casey's favorite time of year is here as Missoula Children's Theater have rolled in to town, and she will be in The Little Mermaid tomorrow. She is the sister of the little mermaid, and has a twin sister in the play, which she is having lots of fun with.

As for mom and dad, we are really hanging in there. Our little man is happy, expressive, alert, and content. He is sleeping fairly well, only sometimes he has problems with the 2:30 am -
6:00 am stretch.

1st Video

This was the first time Dylan tried out his swing. He looks a little scared, but was enjoying the ride also.

One Week Old

It did not stay long!

Some more pics of the little guy...

New Addition

We welcomed Dylan Jacob Hill this morning at 4:24 AM. He weighed 8 lb. 1 oz. and is 19.5 inches long. He is healthy and hungry.

Name Game

We think we have decided on a name.

Dylan Jacob

We like it, but are not 100% certain it will not change.

Two Good Reasons

Well, once again it has been awhile, and here are two good reasons to type. The Mariners finally won a game, although it took a squeeze bunt in the top of the 10th inning, and a basesloaded double play in the bottom half, they won. Second, Ken Griffey Jr. hit his 600th home run. I can honestly say I have been a fan of his for all six hundred. When my best friend John Engelbrecht came back from M's spring training in 1989 with a Junior signed Donruss Rated Rookie card, we were both hooked. He was only 8 years older than we were!

As for the pregnancy adventure, we have somewhere around 85 days to go. I personally am so excited I can't believe it, and Becky is finally doing well enough to show excitement (without getting ill). We can see the end of the tunnel, its getting bigger every day.

The Washington weather is really inraging. I have taken to calling this month June-u-ary, as the temps and rain have the fall/winter feel. We actually had some thunder and lightning tonight, maybe the 4th time since we moved to WA 5 years ago.

Barry vs. McCain...all the hoopla, all the marbles...who the heck cares. One will raise taxes, and advance the US toward Socialism/Marxism, one will probably do those things.

Our yard Late May

Rheum palmatum var. tanguticum (Ornamental Rhubarb) is blooming this year and almost 8 feet tall. Leaves are each 2- 4 feet across!

Pots on our back deck...Clockwise from front: Lewisia's, Hosta, Golden Oregano w/Sedum 'Postman's Pride' & Campanula Blue Waterfall, and Heuchera 'Caramel'

The side yard...featuring Becky's Red Brick Road. Too many others to list.

The front garden, next to the extra parking. Pink flowers are Saponaria ocymoides, also there is a variegated Mockorange, Penstemon Ruby, and Heuchera Caramel.

Memorial Day

Well...hope ya'll had a wonderful holiday! I worked 12 hours, gotta love the plant business in the springtime. I will try to get some pictures of our yard tonight.

In other exciting news, we have 100 days until the arrival of Andrew?, Joshua?, Taylor?, can't wait to meet him!

Feliz Feliz Feliz

Happy Cinco de Mayo!!!

Please enjoy a Corona or margarita, or even better Tequila, and give a big Salud for us!

What does "Natural" mean?

Well it has been a while since I have posted, but this article today made me. I know no one else really cares about my Global Warming obsession, but I have to spout out my absolute frustration on the topic today.

I read this article
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601124&sid=aU.evtnk6DPo&refer=home#
and it made me want to throw someone through a window. Look at the first paragraph "Parts of North America and Europe may cool naturally over the next decade, as shifting ocean currents temporarily blunt the global-warming effect caused by mankind, Germany's Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences said. "

You mean there are naturally occuring changes that happen to the Earth's temps? Even with the human induced Global Warming brought on by us spouting CO2 into the atmosphere like a whale with hiccups? I have a folder of all the GW articles I have read in the last 5 years, and this one is the most damaging to the "consensus" ever. Granted many will argue the researchers behind the paper was paid for by "big oil", but on this one, "Big Green" took one in the snargglies. It is time the "Green Bubble" begins to burst!!!

Vote in Our Name Poll

Please go to http://www.pollpub.com/which-name-is-best.aspx and put in your two cents. You can leave ideas in the comments section.

Cheers!

The most exciting news...

Becky, Casey and I are all giddy as we will soon welcome a baby boy into our lives. We saw ultrasound photos 2 days ago, and everything was perfectly normal. We can hardly wait, especially Becky. Everyone give a cheers and have a pint for us!!!

Cheers,

$300 million on What Exactly?

If any of you caught the Algore puff story on 60 minutes last night, I hope you were as appalled as I was. I don't understand how the author of the most widely publicized "scientific" theory ever, would need to spend $300 million to publicize the cause. Just my observation, but if he needs any more publicity, the message is flawed. Must be more people like me than I realize, it is probably the Peoples Republic of Washington that is skewing my personal polls.

Garden Photos 03/2008

Pulmonaria 'Trevi Fountain' (foreground) is one of my favorites in the garden right now, even though it came from OR's Fat Dan. The Hellebore is Pink Lady I believe, and there are some hints of Dicentra foliage on the edges.





Eucalyptus urnigera and Penstemon 'Ruby' in the side yard.

Climate Change & Jack Johnson

Many of you know I am a fan of Jack Johnson. I am sure some of you also know that I am a skeptic of the theory on Global Warming/Climate Change (whatever we call it this month). Well these two opinions have collided in the forums on Jack's new "All at Once" website. Feel free to log in and throw some barbs at me (I can take it) or read along and get a whole new perspective on the changing climate. My screen name is "Crespidus" (said with an extremely deep/profound voice and followed by a string quartet playing "dun dun dunnnnn")

www.allatonce.org

Plant Nerd Night

I will be in Lake Oswego, OR Friday night for Plant Nerd Night. This is an event sponsored by KXL radio of Portland. Several specialty nurseries will be there with a presentation of their new plants and a small sale of some of them. It should be fun, and gives me an excuse to visit Cistus Nursery.

Aint It Funny How Time Slips Away

Well, I just read the origional post, and boy was I shooting for the stars! Much has happend since that last post. I have fallen out of love with plants, sort of, and due to the coming addition to our family, in an act of solidarity that should get me invited to Oprah, I am no longer drinking beer. It is a temporary situation, so I will not change the title of the page.

I can continue to focus on the political side, but am afraid that will alienate half the readers. Why don't Hollywood and popular musicians think like that? I guess I will follow their lead and just hurl my opinion, hope no one gets caught in it!

I have been wondering if anyone else noticed the clever and quiet shift from "Global Warming" to "Climate Change". It happend a couple months ago with no explanation and no discussion. It just became the new phrase, and everyone just assumed it means the same thing. I don't get it (said in Andy Rooney's whiny voice). Some people I have talked to don't seem to think anything of the change, but I think it is a sign. A sign of the wheels falling off the whole hysteria of GW. If you look, if you listen, the story is changing. This winter, one 4 month period, has completely derailed the whole movement. No one wants to hype GW in one of the coldest winters on record. I have actually been reading "Global Cooling" articles for the last two weeks. The whole theory of GW was pushed so quickly to the public as fact, that any possibility of miscalculation of predictions was not explored.

Now we have the current crop of Presidential candidates. I am not sure I can stand any of them, or more precisely my wallet can not stand any of them. Keep in mind, I think Primary season is the season of lies. I look at this time of the political process with a similar philosophy as Homer Simpson who said, "It takes two people to lie, one to lie and one to listen." Here are my untempered opinions of all of them.

Barak "Hope" Obama - Everyone I talk to loves the guy, even my parents. I have tried really hard to listen to him, and this is how I sum up what I think he is saying. He is for "Hope", "Hope for the future" because the "Future is ahead of us" the "past is what has come before" so we need "hope for the future" because we can't bring "hope to the past." Besides not knowing what the devil he is saying, he is going to cost me a bunch of $$$.

Hillary Clinton - This lady just reminds me of the meanest teacher at whatever grade school you went to. The kids in her class said she was not that bad, but you spent every summer hoping she would not be your teacher next year.

John McCain - Even he is calling himself a Liberal now. It really ticks me off that he is asking me as a Republican to do exactly what he has refused to do for the past 7 years. That is to suck it up and vote a certain way for the party.

Mike Huckabee - Not worth going into.

Dr. Ron Paul - This guy is a whack job. I would like to see him debate Bob Bernake every day though, the ratings would be huge. If you don't believe me, find him cleaning Bernakes clock on the economy on YouTube. Its priceless...

...So as of right now, my vote is still up for grabs. I may write in a candidate, and use terrible handwriting, just to piss off the poor person that has to count the mail in votes in this state.

Enough for now...

Corey