A family health update...

I am here before you with some good news to report and feel enormously fortunate!

Patty
Many of you have been concerned about her health and praying for her. Before her big surgery, things looked very grim. We were even worried she wouldn't make it to the surgery. Her poor body just was giving up on her. Her spunk was gone and she was very weak and couldn't eat much, if at all.

I can't tell you enough how grateful and astonished we are to see her turn around for the better. It was rough in the beginning, but you can literally see she's back, and she's looking fantastic more and more! It felt so good to see this turn around after everything she has been through. Truly a gift long overdue! Thankfully, she is enjoying food now (yay for nourishment!), and the pain she was in—as well as the variety of medications she was on has greatly diminished.

Leah
On 12/11, you'll recall she suffered an eye injury (as reported in a previous post). From her last checkup, what they thought was a retina detachment then, isn't! With her healed a bit, they can see more clearly that there is viscous fluid build up and blood that will go down as she continues to heal.

She will return in a couple weeks for another follow-up. Her surgery to repair the injury was done beautifully, and the surgeons should be proud of the great work they did. These doctors aren't trained specifically for these types of scenarios... I mean, come on, a pitchfork accident? Their mastery is truly an art form and is clearly attributed to her success so far. Her sight in this eye is obviously affected, and she's relying on her left eye for now. We'll learn more about the vision part in her next checkup.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year!
I think many of you will agree, that this has been a difficult year for a lot of people. This family, in particular, has a lot to be thankful for. We hope 2009 will be a great year to reflect upon with many fun adventures and memories to recall.

Hugs!

Christmas at home...

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!
Included is a small collection of pictures from our Christmas Day.

Patty, Dave and Leah came over for dinner and it was a great highlight to share this special time with them. We've had some health scares this year and it was so nice to see everyone in good health and happy (and pain-free!) — that was a gift in of itself for us!

2008 Christmas Newsletter

Happy Holidays!
The theme these days is "going green" and we're doing just that. The Christmas newsletter we produce annually, which summarizes highlights of the year, is being delivered online through our blog now.

We're encouraging folks like you to come to the blog to keep in touch.

Access the 2008 newsletter now>>

Winter's arrival

Better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick...

I am sure most of you have heard that phrase before, but this time, I'm afraid it's actually a fitting one given the recent events.

This is sort of a long story, so sit back, relax, and imagine.

I received a call from the hospital while at work. A nurse informed me my mom was there and had injured her right eye.

In haste, I wrapped everything up at work, grabbed some items, and fled to the hospital to get more details on just what happened.

As it turned out, mom was in the backyard doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing, AND with a pitchfork.

Well, the pitchfork wound up winning the fight when it hit her in the eye.

You got it, the pointy end. Ouch, right? You betchya and then some. Let's just say it didn't tickle one bit.

My mind wandering in a crazed drive to the hospital, I was trying to get a grasp for what could have possibly happened and what sort of shape she's in.

I knew that:

• It couldn't be life-threatening (I had to keep things in perspective)
• She drove herself to the hospital
• I would take care of whatever she needed and see her through recovery

I arrived quite quickly despite not remembering the drive there (again, my brain was in a flurry) and found her in a room on a bed with a styrofoam cup over her eye. I don't know what I would have done if I actually saw the eye at the time.

They had her on pain meds, but it was understood that they don't specialize in this sort of thing.

(Maybe the cup gave this away, I don't know.)

They told us she was going to be transported by ambulance to Harborview in Seattle.

While they proceeded to transport her, I had some running around of my own to do. Go home and feed the "fuzzy family" she has; drop off jewelry; find her wallet; drive out to get Brett from work, and then drive back to the hospital to change cars and then off to Seattle I went.

Enroute to Seattle, I made calls to family members to notify them what occurred. I don't like talking on the phone when I drive, but didn't have much choice. I had great directions to follow, and was grateful to have them. I entered through the emergency room entrance and saw a variety of people from different walks of life. Some injured and waiting, some sick, some bored and most of them tired of waiting. I had about a 5-minute wait when they called me back.

She was on the hospital bed in a shared room. On the other side of us we heard a story about a guy who was assaulted with a hot Cup O' Noodles.

You know you're in a big city with a real "gangsta" who's been assaulted with soup!

Who would have thought that the "cup of salt" you occasionally enjoy doubles as a dangerous weapon? Not me, that's for sure!

All joking aside, it was a really frustrating night. I had to do a lot of nagging to make sure they'd give her an IV to receive liquids. She hadn't eaten since the day before. If you are ever at a hospital alone, that's it, you are alone. When you're not feeling well, you can't necessarily fend for yourself. That turns into neglect. The squeaky wheel always gets the oil, and I did my fair share of squeaking.

It was an eternal wait.

No, I am not whining.

Really.

It was eternal... you had to be there to believe it!

A young Ophthalmologist arrived to evaluate her and had her sit up at a machine to look at what was in store.

He poked and prodded and then prodded and poked at her eye. His doing this set a condition I'm sure he didn't realize. That his presence meant pain every time he entered the room. Mom did not like him.

All of this evaluating he was doing was just causing her to feel sick to her stomach -- a common symptom of eye injuries. He did not want her to get sick because it puts pressure on the eyes. She wouldn't have felt sick if he wasn't poking at her eye... and so on.

Hours ticked by and all I wanted to know was if I had his blessing to go home. It was so late by that time and I was worried about the long drive ahead of me. I knew she was not going to be released that night but they kept me hanging.

At around 12:30am the next day, we were told she would go in for surgery (ah, finally - a decision!). But wait... I knew this hours ago (sigh)...

There's something about health care that frustrates the hell out of me. We are at their mercy, and we have to accept the lousy service they are so good at giving.

That's it. Just take it.

There were times I needed to interrupt their casual conversations among nurses to let them know we had something that needed tending to.

I work at a place that demands service, so it's hard for me to grasp when it isn't reciprocated. I wonder what their experience is when they are in this situation and have to go to the hospital? Ah, the mind boggles oneself.

This isn't to say that I am not grateful. I am! I am grateful of the first hospital's judgment to transport her to Harborview and have her seen by the top experts in the field.

Mom's surgery was scheduled early that morning. Dr. Chen repaired the laceration from the pitchfork caused. Dr. Chen is a different doctor than the one that was poking at her eye. He was an expert in his field with over 25 years of experience under his belt, despite his youthful appearance — he looked like he was 25!

We had an exciting drive home, as our first snow storm started and we were in rush-hour traffic by that time. Thankfully, we were safe.

So she has been recovering and has lots of eyedrops to take frequently.



We learned that her retina is detached and once she is healed from this, will need to have another surgery to repair the detachment. She will be seen by a doctor who specializes in the retina specifically, so I know she'll be in good hands there.

I have been working remotely ever since, and now we are socked in with snow as evidenced by the photos you're seeing. Gorgeous as it might be, I didn't necessarily bring with me, snow-friendly apparel. It's okay, I guess. What am I going to do outside but fall on my butt, right?

Brett and Connor visited to us yesterday, and it was so good to see them. Grandma showed Connor a Yahtzee! game on her computer, so he had that to entertain him for a while. Their stay wasn't long as we had another snowfall hit, which meant they had to head home before it froze outside and got worse. A trip that normally takes 25 minutes took them 90, but they were safe!

We hope your holidays are going more smoothly for you and that you are safe and sound!

Family update and an outing in the woods...

:: View the slideshow ::

We hope that your Fall weather hasn't been too hard on you. With the fires in California and the flooding in some areas of Washington, the timing couldn't have come at a worse time given the economic climate these days. I feel for those who have been dealing with these trying times and grateful at the same time that we have been spared (so far), but certainly have my guard up.

Recently, for us here, it has been "surgery central." Patty (Brett's mom) had a procedure on 11/7, and then Leah (my mom) had surgery as well on 11/11. We are happy to report that both surgeries went great and we are now looking forward to their strong recoveries. We will definitely have something to celebrate as the holidays approach, which isn't that far away now.

The pictures above are from our visit to the woods this afternoon. The weather has calmed down a bit and the sun has been out -- we even found 60° temperatures in the mountains, which, for this time of year is rare. The mountain was stunning though, so I hope I don't bore you with a few shots of it from when we were out. Oh, and yikes, you'll see me without makeup (cringe)!

Keeping our fingers crossed for all...

Halloween... the new Christmas?

:: View the slideshow ::

Number of Trick-or-Treaters at home: 77 kids

Over the years, I've observed how celebrated Halloween is, and it's quite interesting. Today, it seems more money is spent on decorations than ever before and the neighbors really get into it. From blown up caricatures and lighted ornaments — to dressing up and staying outside to greet the trick-or-treaters — it's in a way, like a demented Christmas!

What fascinates me more is that in school, they can't refer to Halloween as Halloween, nor are the kids able to dress up like we did in school on Halloween day. They can participate in "crazy hat day" that takes place a week prior to Halloween and that's it. The "H" word is instead referred to as "harvest" or "Fall" in order to not offend folks who are Wican. Personally, I find it utterly ridiculous the time that is spent on being politically correct all the time. Enough is enough already. Perhaps this suppression is why adults these days go all out to play up Halloween at home? All in all, it's another "holiday" that's a big marketing opportunity for stores who sell the decorations, etc.

The slideshow (linked above) highlights my co-workers' kids, who showed up at the office to trick or treat around the building. The nighttime pictures in the slideshow are not great — but at the least, it will give you an idea of how spirited the neighbors are with it.

Next year I should be able to get better pictures with any light situation. Well that's my aim anyway!

Hope you all had a great Halloween too!

Pictures from The Office (well not the show)...

:: View the slideshow from the party and more ::

Posted above is one of the pictures taken at Patty's retirement party. She retired from the school district after 30 years of dedicated service. Several recent and past colleagues turned out for the event, which was great. Connor loaded up on all the homemade baked goods (too many) that were brought, while the crowd laughed at the stories being told around the room of past antics that had taken place over the years. It was fun being a "fly on the wall" to hear all that had to be said about her.

On a different note, Patty needs all of your positive thoughts and prayers as she enters the hospital this coming week (11/3) in order to prepare for surgery. We want her to regain strength for the upcoming surgery so that she can recover fully and be pain-free. Thank you in advance!

The slideshow also contains some pictures colleagues in my office.

Fall. A season of color...

:: View the short slideshow ::

Note: There are no people in any of the photos in the slide show above, so if you're not interested in viewing it, it's okay, I'll understand. (c;

With my camera pack at the ready, I set off on a small adventure surrounded by Fall all around me on what was a picturesque, sunny Sunday. I wound up walking to a medical campus I've grown fond of for it's great landscaping and water features. I'm sure I looked weird taking pictures of a snail on the sidewalk, or grasshoppers, but I was in my own world at the time. I hope you've been enjoying Fall outside too.

Oh, for the love of... minis!

:: View the slideshow that captured the excitement ::

Mom ordered a brand new Mini Cooper S, and photos captured the excitement as the car was unveiled at the dealership!

By ordering it, she was able to pick the color and options she wanted her car to have. Aunt Gayle and Carolynn were both there to share in the excitement, and even Jim stopped by for a short time too! This was, after all, was the first brand new car mom has ever bought, and it couldn't have been a cuter car to get! I love the color choice that she went with. It's sort of a golden silver (like a champagne) with a black top and black stripes on the hood.

Carolynn picked her new mini up a couple weeks prior and I would have taken pictures of its unveiling, but had other commitments. She ordered a red one with a white top.

Aaron, the salesman that they worked with was a really nice guy. He was so nice in fact, mom even brought him a gift—some of her homemade caramels; YUM!

These are downright fun cars, and it was such a treat to be there to join in on the excitement. Mom was just grinning ear to ear—I loved it! (c;

A trip to the pumpkin patch...

:: View pictures on Shutterfly, here ::

It was a beautiful, sunny October day, and we ventured out to Buckley to visit a large farm popular for their pumpkin patch and a whole lot more we were surprised to learn. The Fall colors here are popping with the leaves and the pumpkins everywhere——it's definitely one of my favorite photo opps.

We met up with the Olson family -- Kevin, Monique, and their 3-year old twins, Andrew and Allesandra. I saw the twins last year for Halloween and I was surprised to see how much they've grown! I'm sure folks think the same thing of Connor though. (c;

Among the usual attractions of the pumpkin patch and corn maze, they also featured:

- Monster truck rides (see slideshow above for a picture of the truck)
- A live band
- Jumping pillow for the kids
- A large "mine shaft" slide
- Pig races
- An overhead goat track
- Pony rides, face painting and more...
- Fresh roasted corn, apple cider, funnel cakes, lemonade, hamburgers, hotdogs, kettle corn, caramel apples and more.

It was a nice day to get out and enjoy some sunshine and see the sights in the company of friends.

You CAN comment...

It occurred to me that we haven't had any comments on the blog which is pretty unusual. Upon researching this further, wouldn't you know, I had the comment functionality set up in a fashion that wouldn't allow you to post. I am so sorry for that!

Commenting through the blog is now available if you are so inclined. Thanks!

Doin' the Puyallup...

:: View the slideshow ::

Our Western Washington fair is going on—the Puyallup Fair. On the school's fair day, we cut the work day short, picked up Connor from school, and swung out to get Patty and headed off to enjoy the day there.

As some of you know, Patty, understandably has not been able to get out of the house much. We were so happy she was up for coming along. We borrowed a travel chair of my mom's, which worked out wonderfully for her. It allowed her to let us (mostly Brett) push her around the fairgrounds from A to B comfortably.

Connor and I split off and rode some of the rides. He's a bit reserved about his choice in which ones to go on—he's not as adventurous and risky as me, which is just fine; we still had fun! Our last ride was The Monster. This was a real spinny ride, so needless to say that one did me in.

The fair is mostly about the food. The scones are always popular, along with the burgers, Krusty Pups and Cow Chip cookies. Every year it is pretty much the same, except for the cost... it's always going up! Then you have the usual peddlers selling their wares, wheeling and dealing some product they're trying to reel you in on that you can't live without. While we didn't get to see the rodeo (maybe next year) we did catch a little side clown show that was kinda cute, so I have some pictures of that in the slideshow.

I will be heading out the fair again with my colleagues from work. This trip is good for me because I can go on the scarier rides. Look for more pictures on that trip to be posted soon...

REVISION 9/20/2008: The fair visit with my colleagues was canceled due to the market crash on 9/16. Completely understood, but that's what happens when you work in the financial services industry.

Mossyrock and St. Helens tree farm...

The guys were drawn for cow elk this fall so to prepare, Brett, Connor and I took a drive out to the Mossyrock area to do a little research. This location was completely foreign to us.

It was a beautiful early fall day. With Mount St. Helens and Mount Adams in the scenic backdrop, we managed to see lots of deer and elk trails/signs, so we feel hopeful they'll have success there when the season arrives.

Right now, the bowhunting season is underway. It was bustling with people here and there. Brett managed to talk to one of the locals familiar with the area, who directed us to some points of interest.

Schooltime returns...

:: View slideshow of pictures ::

I love our seasons here, so despite summer taking an exit, I think I am ready for Fall.

School is now in swing and for us, this means crazier traffic and crazier schedules to manage. For the day before school, an open house was held. It's an opportunity for families to meet teachers, visit the classroom and drop off school supplies and whatnot. I (of course) donned the camera so some pics of the visit are included, along with a couple from his first day of school.

Time together...

We had some birthdays to celebrate! My mom, Leah, my aunt Gayle, and a dear and close friend of the family, Belle.

Plans were set out to meet up at a local restaurant in Puyallup. Added to the guest list was Carolynn & Jim, Lysa & Greg and their son Drew, Belle's significant other, Gordon followed by me, Connor and Brett to round out the list.

It had been way too long since we were last all together, so we'll make plans to get out again soon.

Fun in the sun...

:: View pictures from the trip here ::
(For best results, we recommend viewing the slideshow)

We hope you've been able to take in some great trips and outings over the course of the summer. We can't believe it's all coming to a close. Connor starts 4th grade September 3!

We took a trip out to Eastern Washington to enjoy some much-needed sunshine and what we like to call "flat-lining." This is mom and dad's time to think about nothing. No timelines to manage, no stress, just chillaxing the days away.


Some crazy weather—
When we arrived the weather was HOT. We're talking 108° F in some instances on the drive there. We thought we'd be in for a scorcher the whole time, but the weather changed the next day. We had clouds and cooler temperatures than what we're used to, and we even had two days where we didn't get out because of rain. The winds were really rough on the water as well, so we entertained ourselves by going on hikes and taking a drive to a nearby marina for the day.

A party takes place—
One night (Friday) we had returned from a drive we took and noticed some new neighbors in the camp across from us. Two guys sitting at a picnic table with a bunch of empty beer bottles sitting among them. A little while later, one car full of college kids show up and the campsite just grew and grew. They partied all night up until the wee hours of oh, 5AM! The next morning in total, there were 7 cars that had showed up and all of them were full of students there for the last blowout before school begins. They didn't look as good as they did when they arrived the night before. (c;

Harvey the owl is seen again!—
We've been coming to Lake Roosevelt now for 3 years and we've seen an owl fly near us in past trips near camp. This time, I was able to get some pictures of him and it was so cool. I had never seen an owl in the wild like this before. He's a great horned owl that we named Harvey. Click on the link above to view pictures of him.

Hope you were able to fit some fun into your summer!

—Brett, Jodi & Connor

Californians come for a visit...

:: View the slideshow of their visit ::

Brett's cousin, Chuck, his wife Becky, and their son Seth came out for dinner during their visit from California. Patty and Dave came out too and it was good to get together again. The Cornmans have been living in Orange County for a little over a year now and we hadn't seen each other since 2001 I'd guess.

This slideshow includes photos of this visit and some shots of our birds in the backyard.

A complete weekend...

:: View the slideshow here ::

Our past weekend was a real delight, sunny weather and all. We visited my mom and helped her around the house and yard. I managed to fit in some pictures of her flowers there. While there we also took in the airshow that was going on. Next, we headed over to the Morgans, where Patty's sisters, Sherry & Karen, from Iowa and Arizona were here for a visit. Dave had tickets for a Tacoma Rainiers ballgame that he treated Brett, Connor and I to later that evening.

A day in paradise...

:: View the slideshow from this spectacular day ::

Brett, Connor and I went out in the wilderness on Sunday, and I must say, what a spectacular day. Just awe-inspiring... gorgeous! Perfect conditions for photography, so I went to town and then some.

We hope you enjoy this!

Went to the movies today: Hancock

We don't recommend it. It's rated PG-13, but they dropped the F-bomb and had a lot of other cussing in it. We felt a little bad that we brought Connor to it. The special effects weren't that special either. Definitely a Netflix one you should consider. )c:

Should have gone to see WALL-E instead. Oh well!

Connor catches a big one

Connor has really learned the hang of things on the boat, and if you've ever fished in the fashion we have (it's dangerous), you can understand the importance of this.

He caught a 16 lbs. Chinook all on his own! Grandpa helped net it for him and had to pay him $5 for a bet he made: whoever catches the biggest salmon that day would get the dough!

The fishing this year was really poor—the Chinooks (and Coho) just were not in yet. Fishing numbers for everyone was low and on most days there, there weren't any fish counters from the state even. Furthermore, this had to be the lowest turnout we've ever seen. Normally the marina would be packed and as you may have seen in previous pictures, the marina isn't full. We suspect it's due to the inflated cost of fuel.

With the difficulty in catching salmon, we did manage to catch some bottomfish, like sea bass, lingcod, and cabezon. Connor loved it! All in all we had a good time and will look forward to going there again.

Take a look at more pictures we have>>

Hiking the Ozette Trail

:: View the slideshow from this adventure ::

Well, what I had been waiting for in anticipation arrived—the Ozette Trail hike. We gathered up our lunch and snacks for the trip and headed out. It was a gorgeous day—we couldn't have picked a better day to do this.

The trail is a boardwalk that meanders through a lush forest for 3.1 miles where you wind up at the beach.

As we neared the beach, we discovered a few deer snacking on some nearby trees. It was a real treat to be able to get pictures of them as I am used to most deer getting spooked and taking off.

While on the beach, Connor busied himself searching for rock crabs and sea life under the rocks. It was pretty cool for him to explore about.

The drive up...

Not much to say other than we headed out early with Brett, Connor and I in the truck with the camper and Dave with his truck to tow our boat. We normally would do this ourselves, but this did lighten the load for us and in these days with the cost of fuel (diesel being the highest), it was especially helpful!

Along the way, we stopped in at Gwennie's, a local restaurant in Sequim, WA to fill up. On the road again, I was able to get some shots of Crescent Lake.

:: Here are some pics from the drive up ::

The birth of The Morgan Chronicles begins with our annual journey to Neah Bay...

Me and the boys will be heading off for Neah Bay first thing in the morning tomorrow!

This is one of those trips we all look forward to every year. We appreciate it for the ocean air, the picturesque views, the spectacular sunrises—as well as the physical toll it takes on us if that doesn't crazy enough! All this makes the salmon fishing there as one of our cherished traditions.

Our journey will begin with a 5-hour drive. Brett, Connor and I with the camper and Dave with our boat in tow.

Our agenda will include a hike on the Ozette Trail, where we'll walk through a lush forest to the beach.