My life and travels in bullet points

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Birthday Skydiving!!

Holy crap!! Let me tell you jumping out of a plane is a very freeing and cleansing experience. Knowing that this could be the last couple of minutes on earth, really makes you think of what is important in life. I thought I was going to be so nervous when the door opened up to jump out. I was the exact opposite ready to jump, ready to conker the task at hand. If I could do this I could do anything in life.

The jump:

The initial feeling was OH SHIT!! But after we stopped spinning and flattened out it was amazing. I was free, able to see everything for miles. The adrenaline rush was overpowering. I felt like when I left the plane I was leaving all my baggage in it, and starting something new something with meaning. Here’s to a new start and a new look on life.

North Michigan

 

Savana and Uncle Justin

Shell-Bell

Zeb and the gravatron

Sleeping Bear View

Margarita

Kiss

Juggling 6!

 

Northern Michigan Highlights:

  • Enjoying time spent with my nieces and family
  • Fun at the fair
  • Zebs birthday
  • Sleeping bear sand dunes
  • Anniversary dinner and beach time with my one and only. :)   I love you baby!!
  • And of course Juggling love.

South Dakota

Mount Rushmore

Gold Panning

Gold mine tour

Zeb at the Cosmos in SD

Badlands erosion

Night Sky over Badlands

South Dakota Highlights:

  • touring a old school living roof homestead
  • Hiking the Badlands National Park
  • Getting sideways in the mud with the fifth wheel
  • Seeing prairie dogs for the first time
  • touring Mt. Rushmore
  • Panning for gold and a tour of a gold mine
  • A fantastic 4th of July
  • The evening sky program at the Badlands
  • Wierdness on the tour of the Cosmo’s

A Video Update from Michigan

Tara and I decided to do something a little different this time. (And we had fun in iMovie too.)

Boise Id, Yellowstone Wy

Linda and Andrew

View in Boise

Father's Day in LEGO

Yellowstone Bison

Bubbling Paint Pots

Old Faithful during eruption

Juggling Snow Balls

 

Boise Highlights:

  • Time spent with marvelous friends.
  • Hiking along the Oregon Trail, and seeing the ruts from the wagons.
  • A SWEET Fathers Day present, and a day spent with my two favorite people!

Yellowstone Highlights:

  • Seeing bison, bald eagles, deer, antelope, and elk.
  • Seeing the Paint Pots, and enjoying the sulfur smell.
  • Watching Old Faithful erupt.
  • Juggling snowballs for the first time, and juggling with bison.

Eugene, Or and Vashon, Wa

Juggling at Saturday Market

At Sweet Creek

His first time to the beach

on the ferry

the needle\

Veg kit installation

bounce

 

Oregon Highlights:

  • Juggling at the Eugene Saturday market
  • Great hikes
  • Hanging with Clark the Veggie Guru
  • Bear’s first trip to the ocean

Washington Highlights

  • LIFE is Good unschooling conference
  • Ferry to Vashon island
  • Destroying the fifth wheel bumper getting off the ferry
  • Hanging with the ever so awesome Swiss Army Wife and her family
  • Playing tourist in Seattle
  • Veggin TJ’s and Heather’s RV

Bodega Bay and The Redwoods

Justin in the Redwoods

Corkscrew Tree

Funny treehugger

My guys on The Sky Trail

Almost as tall as me

On the edge

Enjoying the view

Highlights:

  • We saw Breath taking views at Bodega Bay
  • We saw the worlds largest tree
  • We took a gondola ride over the Redwoods
  • We walked among giants
  • We hiked where Star Wars 6 was filmed
  • And we we we we all the way home

See ya on the flipside!

New Blog

Wondering what this new blog is about?

  • I’m not a writer.
  • Hence why I haven’t blogged in almost a year
  • But I really wanted to blog about our travels.
  • So I thought it would be easier to do it in bullet points and photos.
  • With that in mind here is the new blog, hope you enjoy.

San Diego Fun

Fun on the Ostrich

Juggling at the Pacific

Running Away

Highlights:

  • Rode a carousel for the first time
  • Juggled by the ocean
  • Played in the water

See ya on the flip side!

Family Fun in La Crosse

The past month we have been in Wisconsin. Its so hard to post about everything, so I’ll just pick some of the highlights.

We spent time in La Crosse. This is where I was born and both my mom’s and my dad’s family is still there.

My aunt and uncle were kind enough to let us stay on their farm for two weeks. (Thanks Aunt TT and Uncle Ron!) My other aunt and uncle let us borrow their car while in town so it was easy to get around. (Thanks Aunt Sally and Uncle Scott!) Here’s a couple of pics of the family hanging out around the fire:

Fire“>

Family

We also had dinner with my other side of the family but I was having so much fun I forgot to take pics. It was nice to catch up with everyone. I haven’t seen most of my family in WI for 8 years.

Lots of get-together’s and eating. My grandma made yummy rhubarb pie, and my aunt Sally made Almond Hershey Pie. I bet I gained 10 pounds while in Wisconsin. ;)

Here is a pic of my Aunt Nancy and Uncle John and I. They came all the way down from MN to see us. I feel so special. They’re the greatest.

Justin, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Jon

Man, I think its time to shave my head.

I love all of my family; they are so great. I hope to come back soon and visit again.

For Z’s birthday we went horseback riding. It was so much fun and he really loved it.

Zeb and Annie

Justin and Gus

Here’s to family and fun times!

Blacksmithing Class

Smithing has interested me ever since we interned on the farm in Albuquerque, NM, where it was introduced to me. I had the opportunity to stop and take a weekend-long blacksmithing class in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, last weekend while on our way to visit family in La Crosse. I love the uniqueness and the endless possibilities  of things you can make with smithing. Its a dying trade that not too many people know how to do anymore, since we live in the age of machines.

This was my teacher David Day. He has 18 years experience smithing.

Here are some of the things I made: a coat hook (top left) that I made frome a push rod out of a engine, a ornamental leaf (top right)which was made out of a 1/2in diameter piece of metal . and a pair of tongs custom fit for my hands. ( The tongs they had at the class sucked; I couldn’t hold any piece of metal tight with them.) I had so much fun, and learned so much about the dynamics of smithing and metal. I wish there was a way I could smith on the road. :( It is so simple but yet so complex at the same time. I have hopes of using my carpentry skills, and smithing skills together one day to make some really beautiful pieces of art. I can’t wait to have the chance to do it some more.