TeNgaio Blog Pages

2009 Gourd Beautification Project

>> Thursday, October 29, 2009

Just a few pics of pumpkin carvin' at the TeNgaio Manor last night. Madeline was intent on doing hers as far as she could on her own which made it take on the appearance of a jack-o-latern that got in a squirrel fight. Ethan helped gut the gourds, while Britt helped Madi with hers while manning the camera.

Ethan told me that if we didn't have nice-looking jack-o-laterns that no one would want to stop by our house on Halloween. Carving pumpkins is fun but, good hell, I do not know how some people have the patience to make the uber-fancy ones that take hours – it's just plain insanity to spend that much time on something that is going to rot within a few days. Those fancy patterns they sell with the carving tools are enough to make a person start drinking – madness I tell you.

Good times anyhow and the kids loved it.

A Special Night In The Desert

>> Saturday, October 24, 2009

Britt and I spent Friday night watching U2 perform in Vegas at the Sam Boyd Stadium. Simply put it was a night of magnificence.

Having listened to this band for, oh, only about 25 years(!), it was like closure to be able to see them live. They have been on our "drop bucket list" for a long time. And they did not let us down.

We've never been to a show of this magnitude (40,000+ people) and I for one was skeptical as to how it would be/sound due to the fact that it was outdoors and we didn't exactly have the best seats in the house. But it didn't matter – the sound was fran-freakin-tastic and they had a HUGE L.E.D. expanding cone/screen-thing that had live shots of the band and was the base of "The Claw". Plus. the stage was so that the band had 360 degrees to walk around so everyone in the stadium could see them.

One thing to be said about a U2 show is how much positive energy there is in the air. Bono was accompanied by 40,000 people singing most of the lyrics to all songs – songs of regret, songs of joy, songs of lament and songs of possibilities. One special moment (of many) in the evening is when he (and 40k people) sang "Amazing Grace" as an intro into "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" which has always been a gospel song IMO and seemed to couple perfectly with AG.

Another cool thing about the show was seeing many families there. Kids as young as 3 years old were there rocking out with their folks. One kid a few rows down from us was really getting into it – especially when the Black Eyed Peas were playing. Both Brittany and I kept commenting how Ethan would have probably enjoyed this show and, hell, Madi too. They both love music and doing the “mock rock” gig at home.

I could go on but will make this short. One other memorable, yet gross (although I thought it was hilarious), moment was while one the way back to the condo after the show witnessing some poor sap in a limo just in front us on Britt's side of the car puke his brains out the window. Ahh, nothing like watching involuntary regurgitated alcohol (and whatever that dude ate) splash on the road right next to you while doing 40 mph. Thanks for the memory you poor sap.

A special night for the Westside TeNgaio's for sure.

For any U2 fans, here's what they preformed in order:
Breathe
Get on Your Boots
Magnificent
Mysterious Ways
Beautiful Day
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Stuck In A Moment
No Line on the Horizon
Elevation
In A Little While
Unknown Caller
Until The End of the World
Unforgettable Fire
City of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
I'll Go Crazy - Remix
Sunday Bloody Sunday
MLK
Walk On
One
Where The Streets Have No Name

Encore:
Ultraviolet
With or Without You
Moment of Surrender

Oh, and by the way, we obviously did not the take some of these pics – I ripped them from U2's site.

October Rocks!

>> Saturday, October 17, 2009

October is THE best month of the year. Halloween, Britt's b'day, cooler temps and jam sessions with our new band – who could ask for more? Hope everyone has rockin' October.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRITT!

>> Friday, October 9, 2009

To a beautiful wife and beautiful mom…HAPPY B'DAY!

Teton Park Sept. 2009

>> Tuesday, September 29, 2009

This past Saturday we got the hell out of town to take advantage of what was probably the last good weather of the fall season and headed to Jackson and Teton Park.

We took the kids across Jenny Lake via the shuttle boats and hiked to Hidden Falls. It's a short hike and the kids did fine. Ethan and Madi loved the boat ride the best of all.The weather was spectacular – 68 degrees, full sun and no wind. Unreal. I was salivating as I kept eyeing climbing routes on the big peaks. Fall is the best season to see the park. Hell, fall is the best season to do anything outdoors around here.

The park was crawling with other outdoor enthusiasts and it always makes me chuckle when I see the ones that are all gussied-up in non-outdoor attire and smothered in cologne/perfume. Enough to make the bears run for cover.

There was a forest fire north of Jackson Lake that made things a bit smokey but diffused the light enough that if one were a competent photographer, (that would not be me), they could have produced some nice pics. The park has a "let-it-burn" policy as long as structures aren't threatened, so as the wind picked up a bit in the afternoon, the fire intensified making for some dramatic smoke clouds. Nothing like a forest fire to enhance a trip.

There's a new pathway from the park's entrance to Jenny Lake (about 8 miles one way) that I think we'll try and hit on the bikes before it gets too cold.

Here are some more pics of the day trip we took: Teton Park

Quick Update

>> Thursday, September 24, 2009

Here's what's been going in the TeNgaio Manor as of lately:

Maple Canyon Labor Day 2009

>> Tuesday, September 8, 2009

We spent the long weekend in Maple Canyon, UT with other smelly, dirty climbing families and such. It was awesome. I've spent some time there on previous climbing trips but never with the family. We stayed with my friend Troy and his family and a few of their friends from Pocatello so it made for an enjoyable stay having other adults to converse with. Ethan and Madeline, however, were the only little ones representing our campsite. No problem though, being so young everything OUTSIDE is play worthy – especially dirt. They both had dirt mustaches on their faces, marshmallow goop in their hair and scratches to boot. Combined evidence of a good time camping.

Ethan got to climb on a wall that someone had been kind enough to set up anchors on sometime ago that allows for easy, yet, somewhat technical climbing. He's had no problem going up, it's the being lowered down to the ground while trusting in the rope that has freaked him out (at least at Heise), but at Maple he lowered down like a pro.

Ethan earned himself a new title of "Master Marshmallow" as well. He HAD to cook everyone their marshmallows for their smores – and he did a good job too.

Madeline had a blast playing with Troy's 2 dogs, Roxy and Maya while getting just as dirty as the dogs did. She loves dirt. Period. I tell you, for a 2 year old that girl is tough and strong. She keeps up with her big brother very well and can hold her own. We had to get her to come down off the rocks as she wanted to keep scrambling up some steep boulders. Yup, I can foresee many family climbing trips in the future. Oh, and evidently little Madi loves marshmallows too. A lot.

On the way home on Monday we almost rear ended a car on the I-15 and ended up running off the road into the grass-filled median! Pretty freaky. The people in front of us were too close the people in front of them and slammed on their brakes, causing us to do the same but my anti-lock system kicked in and there was no stopping. We and the truck behind us ended up on the hillside. Everyone was o.k. but goddamn those Utah drivers! Morons. (sorry if I offend anyone, but come on folks!) Then we ended up in just about standstill traffic on the Interstate right after. It took about 45 minutes to travel about 5 miles. Lame. Oh, and then we ate the the worst Sizzler (no surprise there) I have ever encountered in Woods Crossing. Small prices to pay for such a great weekend I guess.

Piece of Crap

>> Sunday, August 23, 2009

The evidence

Last Friday evening as I was driving to a friends house Britt called my cell to inform me that the microwave was on fire, (yes, flames literally spewing out of the control panel.) She seemed pretty upset and serious so I kept the smart-alec remarks to myself and drive home like I was, well…reporting to a house fire.

It's surprising how fast a Toyota Tundra can get up to 100 mph when it's told to.

When I arrived, Britt and the kids were outside and all I could smell was burnt plastic. I feared the worst, (kitchen ablaze, house burned down, us living in a van down by the river, etc.), but the mess wasn't as bad as I thought it to be. I'm not down playing the seriousness of it at all but I'm one to expect the worst when things like this happen.

In the end, everyone was all right – the house just smelled like burnt plastic for a few days, but the smell is now gone.

It's ironic though. We've been talking about getting an, "above the range microwave". We just didn't plan on doing so by nearly burning down the kitchen!

Warm River Camping=Chillaxin' 1

>> Friday, August 14, 2009

Crazy kids!

Madi and Sophi having a serious one-on-one

Ethan, grandpa Jeff and a German Brown

Big brother lovin' little sis

Brittany and grandpa Lloyd

Last weekend was spent at Warm River Campground outside of Ashton, ID. The main goal was to float the Henry's Fork but, alas, the weather was too cool for any bodies to be dippin in the "Warm" River, (it's a misnomer).

It was a good opportunity to just relax and let the kids play at camp while the adults all sat around gossiping. Tamera made a kick ass dutch oven dinner that had me bloating to the gill as I laid in my tent trying to sleep. Then, Jeff and Tamara filled us up again the next morning with an awesome breakfast. Ahhh, car camping in Idaho.

Jeff took Ethan, Jaxon and Legend fishing. Ethan loves to fish. He tells me, "Dad, you climb so you don't know how to fish (he's right about that). I fish. I'll show you how to fish, o.k.?" He must know what he's doing because he caught 2 German Browns – way to go ET!

While the boys were fishing, Brittany and I took Madeline up to the lower Mesa Falls lookout. I forgot how beautiful the Mesa Falls area is. It's crazy to think that the whole area up there, including Island Park, is a caldera, an old volcano. You can tell by all the fractured basalt columns and boulders strewn along the steep hillsides that lava once flowed heavily up there. Idaho and hot lava – who'd a thunk?