Wanted-Samson

Samson has weaseled his way into the family.  He’s not perfect, but he is a funny little guy.

We took him on a bike ride today down to the local burger joint.  He got a hamburger, of course.

Here’s the video from the ride today:  Wanted-Samson

Riley, Rachel, Robyn, Randy

We have a very special guest blogger today:  Rachel Hall.

Ten years ago today, Riley, Rachel, Robyn and Randy arrived.    As part of the celebration, Rachel made a short video birthday card for her siblings.

Here it is!  Nice job, Rachel!

And here is the video of their big tenth party.

Well, the peace and quiet was bound to end sooner or later.  We came across this little guy today quite by accident while picking up fish supplies at the pet store.  The Oregon Dog Rescue was having an adoption day, and Samson needed a new home.  He’s originally from California, is roughly five years old, with only one eye.

So we’re foster-caring Samson for a week, essentially test-driving the pooch.   If, by the end of the week, it looks like he fits into this crazy house, he’ll stay,  but judging by the reaction he got when he walked in the door this afternoon, I’m guessing he’ll be with us for awhile.

We’re big believers/supporters of  the shelters,  and it’s very cool that ODR let us try him out in the family for a week before making a decision.  So far so good.

Samson

Samson

Thanksgiving 2011

Things have been a bit hectic around the house, so I’m a bit behind.

But, I have a little holiday 2-fer for you.  Part 1 is of the Thanksgiving 2011 celebration with Terri & Lloyd Phillips and the Davis clan.  We ate too much, definitely drank too much, but had a great time.

Here’s a video of the fun.  

Next up…Christmas, which is in full swing now!

Reed's 12th Birthday

Reed turned 12 this week, and we’re still in shock.  First that he’s 12, second that he survived the first twelve years….he can be a bit of a handful .  But we love him, and had fun celebrating his birthday.

Reed chose Thai for dinner, so we visited the Thai/Vietnamese fusion place down the hill.  It was purty good.

This birthday, Reed joined the cellphone generation.  We told him a couple of years ago that he could get a cellphone at 12, and we made good on that.

Here is some video of the celebration.

A trip to the canyon, hiking Squaw Peak, swimming in Cave Creek, dinner at the Conways….what more do you need to know THIS WAS FUN!

Here’s the video.

Right before school let out for the summer, Rachel won a contest to design the cover for a local theatre company’s production of Rumplestiltskin.  We got the VIP treatment today at the showing.

Cover

Inside

Contest display

Rachel's Entry

Rumplestiltskin & Rachel

We are so proud of Rachel, and hope she keeps drawing!  Lots of fun today.

After a long hiatus, I’m back. Work/travel has been hectic and prevented me from more timely updates. But I had an opportunity over the long weekend to pick up the video tools again. I needed that.

Flag

We had a fantastic fourth, and again, hung out with The Davis Family over in Hillsboro. It was food, fun, friends, and of course, fireworks.   The event started with a good ’0l fashioned water balloon fight.  I managed to not get nailed with the camera too badly, but I don’t believe there was a dry person afterwards.

Then it was food:  burgers, hot dogs, and way too many munchies.

Water Balloon Fight

Grillmaster

Goofy

Blue Eyes

More Goofy Faces

Reed, Bob, Randy

The Davis Family

This was also my first video with the new Final Cut X, Motion 5, and Compressor 4.  The tools retain many of the “isms” that made the tool great, altho, it’s a totally new codebase, and not everything is there in the first version of the rewrite.  Still it worked pretty well for me.   No major glitches, I’m happy to report.

Here are a couple of screen captures of Final Cut and Motion tools:

Motion 5

Final Cut X

There are some nice time-saving features built into this rev of the tool, and I’ll post more on my experience when I get a sec.

And of course, there’s video here!

Hope your holiday was great too!  Drop me a note and let me know how you’re doing!

It only rained twice during spring break.  Once for 3 days, and the second time for 4 days.

I really need a break, and if I needed one, Becky needed one (and deserved one) more.  Been working non-stop since January, and the stress was getting to me.  So we took advantage of the week, and after birthdays, took off for the mountains.

We like Skamania Lodge for quick getaways.  It’s a mountain lodge on the edge of the Columbia River, just an hour east of Portland in the Gorge.

So we camped at Skamania, and went sledding during the day @ Little John.  Little John is our favorite sledding spot that is about 30 minutes south of Hood River, OR.

The music for this one just seemed to fit.  Feels like I’ve been gone for ages, and missed a lot.  Can’t tell you how many times I woke up in foreign hotel rooms missing my family.  Lotsa time lost on planes and in hotel rooms.  I hope Becky knows how much I appreciate her, and all her hard work.

• iPad/iPod Video
• Windows

Big # 9 was yesterday.  I put together a very quick video birthday card from me to them.

• iPod/iPad Ready
• MOV