The Murrays: August 2005

Once she discovered using her tongue as a counter weight she was on the go

Eating daddy's cell phone

Heading out on a trek around the block

Reagan's first and last biter bisquit

Candy Making 101

Although normally a great baker, Kristi�s first attempt at fudge was a little off.

Hmm, I'm not quite sure what happened here. I was inspired by my friend Natalie, who had entered her canned fruits and sauces in the OC Fair and had won several ribbons. I got the bright idea to enter my grandfather's fudge recipe in the fair next year. Unfortunately my grandfather passed away and I don't exactly have the whole recipe. I also don't think my candy thermometer is working. In addition to replacing that candy thermometer, I think I'm going to have to replace this sauce pan (which happens to be one of Chris' favorites), and my special Williams Sonoma heat resistant spatula. Apparently heat resistant is not the same as fire proof.

We had tried to lure Noah and Sarah over to help us get our wireless internet up and running with the promise of fudge and beer. Thank goodness they were busy! Chris was able to get the wireless going on his own, so I think I'm off the hook for the fudge (or at least I will be after they see this picture). Now Chris tells me that he really doesn't like fudge that much anyway. I'm not sure if that's really true or if this 1st attempt scared him a little. Now I'm going to have to start using the neighbors as guinea pigs.

From 20/1500 to 20/20

It's Kristi's trun to go under the laser/knife. Kristi and I are going to use our new Lasik goggles to climb Mt. Everest... or just lay around the house thinking about it. Kristi had Lasik this morning; all reports are good and she will hopefully be without her glasses for the first time in 30 years by Sunday. I had Lasik two weeks ago and am at 20/15 and improving. I still reach for my glasses in the morning and try to take out my contacts at night.

Well, since Chris didn't go blind or anything, I decided to go ahead and do the surgery. I drove to my post-op appointment without contact lenses or glasses for the first time ever. I got my glasses when I was 7 and my conacts when I was 10. I went from not being able to see the big E on the eye chart to 20/20 in one day. It really is incredible!

Reagan in her Howard Hughes inspired shopping cart protector

Costco baby

We've had this Costco card for a while and hardly ever used it. suddenly we seem to be going through a suprising amount of laundry detergent, paper towels and Clorox Cleanup. I can't imagine why.

John, Diane, Rojo and Scooter are backing out to head home. Jace and Lissa are next on the Beaver in the fore ground and Kris, Reagan and I are later that day.

A Long Way From Home

Load up. We flew on a 72 year old Beaver on the trip out but the ride home was this turbo prop that amazed me by backing away from the dock

Here we are getting onto a bigger sea plane for the ride home. This plane was a little more comfortable and the flight wasn't quite as long. The San Juan Islands are a very animal friendly place. We had a dog on this flight with us, a very nice Airedale Terrier.

Once we landed in Lake Union we took a shuttle back to the airport. We were so far away from the gate at Seatac we had to take a train to our plane. Then one more cab ride and we were finally home!

Strolling the docks before the boat open house

Reagan was a big hit at the parties. She was so good! The only time she cried was at 2:00 in the morning.

Reagan was suspicious of the Canadians behind us.

Planes (Sea Planes), Trains and Automobiles

We're off to the Rendezvous. Roche Harbor, WA

Reagan is becoming a well-traveled baby. She's been to Tempe, AZ, to cheer on our friend Noah as he finished his second Ironman. She's been to Maui, HI, to check out a time share and see yet another triathlon, and most recently, the San Juan Islands in the Pacific Northwest. We traveled yet, again on August 1st, for the 9th annual Offshore West Rendezvous. We left at 7:00 am and took a taxi to the John Wayne Airport. We then flew to Seattle, took a taxi to Lake Union and hopped on a sea plane (a tiny little plane with 4 seats). Reggie was a real trooper until the sea plane and I blame that on the rather rude woman who was on our flight. She was traveling with a large party to Deer Harbor and had apparently brought an additional person. Because all the planes are loaded by weight (you and your luggage), they could not all fit on the same plane. They put her on our flight and she held us up because she kept arguing with the ticket agent at Kenmore Air. Then we had to go out of our way to fly to Deer Harbor, extending our flight and making an additional stop to let her off. After getting off the plane, she wanted the pilot to call and find out where the rest of her party was. They argued on the dock for a few minutes and as it turned out the pilot's cell phone couldn't get a signal. We left her on the dock looking really annoyed. By this time Reggie was getting fussy and so was I.

The hotel restaurant

This is the road to the house we rented. It was only 100 yards from the water but I think 1000 feet higher in elevation, my legs are killing me.

The house we rented was beautiful! It had two bedrooms, a full kitchen, a porch and a fireplace (and two full bathrooms)!

The Hotel De Haro, although beautiful only has a few rooms with private baths so Kris and I rented the house in the background.

As beautiful as this hotel was, I refused to stay here (and so did Chris). The hotel was built in the late 1800's and keeping with its historic roots, it had only one bathroom per floor. Let me say that again, one bathroom per entire floor!