A date in Yelm

Nichole and I went out for dinner and to a movie tonight. We headed south to the small town of Yelm. The drive is about 25 miles and there are no traffic headaches, unlike those on South Hill. We ate at Casa Mia and then watched March of the Penguins at the Yelm Cinemas. The movie chronicled a year in the life of the Emperor penguins. They are amazing little birds. The movie was very good, and the baby penguins peaking out from under their fathers were very cute.

Mac Desktops

My good friend and fellow Mac lover Mitchell Scott pointed me in the direction of this website. Check it out for some sweet desktops. Thanks Mitch.
Mac Desktops

Orcas Island

Here is a small preview of our trip. This is looking toward Mt. Rainier from the hike up to Mt. Constitution. I will be updating on Monday with a full report and pictures in our gallery.

Golf

On Monday afternoon, Carl, Nichole, Mike Taylor and I all went golfing at Lipoma Firs. I shot a 58, and Lance helped me with my swing beforehand. I definitely see mountain biking as my outdoor sports passion, but it is fun to go golfing every once in a while.

Nichole's birthday presents

Nichole received some birthday presents as her birthday was this past Wednesday. She received a pair of really cool Keen sandals, a mountain biking outfit, a satchel and this great piece of art from Debra Bauslaugh. Debra hand-made this.

Leavenworth and Creation

From July 23-25, Nichole and I went to Leavenworth, Washington. We stayed with the Gibson Family in their Trendwest time share. On Monday we tubed down the Wenatchee River and had a great time. We also ate some great German food.

We then came home for a day, did some laundry, bought some food and headed back out on the road. This adventure was a trip with the youth group to the Creation Music Festival at the Gorge Amphitheater in Central Washington. We saw some great Christian musicians and speakers. My favorite performance was by Phil Keaggy who is an unbelievable guitar player. Nichole enjoyed the myriad of worship times while we sat overlooking the Columbia River

Nichole is now doing her two week guard service at the Fitness Center on McChord Air Force Base. Her name tag claims that she is a fitness specialist. Today, all the units had a sport/fitness day and played all sorts of sports. Nichole competed in dodgeball and softball. Her softball team took third place. She has also taken the job as the afternoon secretary for CCBC and will begin working the Tuesday after Labor Day.

I am preparing for the fall youth schedule and continue to enjoy biking. Today I biked to church.

First Commute

I rode my bike to church today for the first time. It was about 65 degrees and cloudy. I rode 8.1 miles and it took me 35 minutes. The ride was great, except I forgot my iPod at church, so I didn't have any tunes. Body count: 4 Possums and 1 crow.

One Thousand Mile Quest

I want to ride a thousand miles by the end of this calendar year. Since June 10 I have logged 175 miles. Once Nichole starts working at church I plan on riding every morning, which will significantly increase my weekly mileage. They just chip sealed the roads around our house so road riding feels very offroad-like right now.