Girl's Getaway

Many of you are well aware that I am an island junkie and that if given the opportunity I will extoll the merrits of Salt Spring Island to the extent that I might even plan the vacation for you. In fact, I like that little gulf island so much that I helped send the Gerlach's there for their honeymoon seven years ago, before I myself had ever been there. And they liked it! I'm sure their approval had nothing to do with the rose coloured glasses of recent matrimony.

So since mom had a birthday and we are both having a crappy year worthy of escape, I stole her away for a little r & r. Actually, make that just r. No boys, no laptops, no phones and best of all, no blasted basal digital thermometer at 6:00 am precisely. God I hate that thing. (really, God, I hate that thing!)



Now I know there are other points of view regarding Salt Spring. One of them came from my lovely (and now I know crazy) friend Michelle a week after my return. Having perused Facebook she realized to our mutual horror that we were BOTH on Saltspring with our MOTHERS on the SAME EXACT DAY. We even did the same things that same day including visiting the farmers market, driving to the summit of Mount Maxwell and hat shopping and somehow we completely missed each other!!

If you know Michelle you know that she is a hard woman to miss, especially when you consider she had her mother, husband, five children and Japanese inlaws with her. Being that Salt Spring is such a huge place I might have been the only person on the island to have not noticed her;) Michelle's crazy came when she told me she didn't think the island was all that great. Boring actually. Maybe I heightened her expectations too much.



Maybe I like boring.



So mom's and my adventure started with the outdoor woodfired bread bakery. Yum! This was a beautiful attraction Royden and I missed last time due to the bakery's weekday only hours.



While bread is great, cheese is better and we thought maybe some day this little one could help us out.



Mmmm cheese. It was hard to pick just a few flavours to take home, and harder still not to open and sample them all (again!) before giving them away. Of course the next logical item one might need to complete this trio is wine, but we didn't like it much. Cute winery, not so great wine. I am losing my taste for it though so I may not be the best judge. Wine gives me heartburn. Margaritas don't.



A lot of driving was done, and even a little getting lost. I didn't think we'd need mom's new GPS but it actually came in pretty handy. We're such a couple of girls. The island is beautiful with plenty of beaches, ocean vistas and pastoral landscapes. There are also several beautiful old restored churches to see along the way.







During our adventure mom and I discovered we share a love of California poppies and old wooden fences.



Our next stop was Martinus Jewellery. How we missed this shop the last time we were there is a mystery that I suspect only Royden could solve. Mom and I found many items to our liking. This I thought particularly cool. Martin (the jeweler) took a branch from a pine tree, peeled the bark, cast it in wax and then made a mold for the gold.



Good times were had. Eating, shopping, reading, beachcombing and of course sleeping. We also got to catch some really great outdoor live music and drank a number of yummy lattes (thanks mom!). We relaxed and were entertained and got to catch up with some much needed mother daughter time.






Happy Birthday Mom!



Thanks for taking a fabulous vacation with me. I love you very much and am looking forward to planning our next fantastic exclusive adventure together.

Kudos to mom's little digital powershot camera for all these pics. Royden graciously offered to let me take the Rebel but I told him I didn't want to be responsible for it. He laughed when recalled that our last Rebel met it's fate in Salt Spring waters...something I had forgotten!
http://roydenandruth.blogspot.com/2007/07/saltspring.html

Volkswagens, Snakes, and Marriage

Oh and hawks. Red tailed hawks. Because let's face it, they're all pretty important to the planet.

If there were no Volkswagen's, Honda wouldn't have any competition at all and would become a monopoly. If there were no hawks we'd have too many snakes, but if there were no snakes we'd have too many mice, rats and rabbits. And marriage is important so that men like me don't waste their money on BMW's and pet snakes.


Let's cover the normal topic first.

One of my best friends, Shaun...


He just got married. And I never thought I'd see the day. I used to be in a band with Shaun when we were in high school. When I started dating Ruth, he promptly nicknamed her 'Yoko'.

I had the honor of being Shaun's best man. Shaun is one of the friends I can meet in Salmon Arm and when you're together it's as though nothing has changed. We're nearly 30, and it feels like high school is simply a place we don't hang out at anymore, as apposed to the distant past that it is. I miss having friends like Shaun.

Haley is a lovely woman, more then Shaun deserves, but I'm one to talk.





Congratulations Shaun. Just between you and me;
I thought it was craze when you told me you had found a wife. I hope your love is for infinity. Salu! Saarbrucken! The most intimidating thing you could ever say to an evil villain is 'Not so fast sauce head!' When I was at your wedding I kept thinking to myself 'this is the highlight of my day!'

If I was superman, I'd never be late for class again...

Okay..Sorry about that everyone. That was practically a yearbook entry.

On to the next topic; Volkswagen's. More specifically..bugging!


'Bugging' is the term used to describe off roading in a Volkswagen bug, specifically outfitted for off roading. In Salmon Arm the hill to climb is Mount Ida. Mount Ida burned down to the soil over ten years ago. It was nice to get up close and see a forest in the middle of regrowth.

And it was nice to slide on all four around corners.

First we gas up in town, gotta remove the whole hood for that.


Lower the back struts...



All systems go?...



Hit that rocker pedal we're burning daylight!!



We also found some caves, and took in some great views of our home town.



Alright. I'm leaving the crazy stuff till last to keep readers hooked (I'm in the storytelling industry I know how this works).

What's wrong with this picture?..


I guess that was easy. "Reptile barbecue" is the name I've given to an annual barbecue that a friend of mine in Woodinville hosts. I like to call it the reptile barbecue to make people think that we're getting together in someones backyard to cook up iguana's or something. What we actually do is get together with people who share the common interest of keeping 'non-traditional' pets. This year my friend John brought Ruby, his 9 foot, 45 lb Boa constrictor. I tried her on to see if she fit.




I thought she fit great, but Ruth disagreed. John's son is a fan of chameleons so my own Yoda made an appearance.



Another friend brought his red tailed hawk that he is doing falconer training with. I love this city. You meet the most interesting people :)






That's all for now folks!

Tiny widdle toes...

Change.

We've been experiencing a lot of change this year. One of the big changes was my parents changing from parents to grandparents. Amy and her husband Abraham brought little Vincent into the world recently. It's very strange looking into the face of a baby and seeing family. I remember looking at Amy's ultrasound pictures this fall and realizing that this was an image of a person I would know for the rest of my life. Pretty cool. Amy and Abraham's lives have changed dramatically since Vincent arrived. They came over last week for a little photo shoot.

What else has been going on? Ruth and I have been having car problems that required filling the car with water everywhere we went. We've had it fixed since but it makes us realize how much we rely on our cars.

Bikini/Lingerie Coffee huts have arrived to Bothell! How crazy is that? I know these places exist in other parts of Seattle, but Bothell? really? In a town where Ruth and I feel like the young people..bikini coffee? That's crazy. It's crazy anywhere. In case you are unfamiliar with this business practice, in Seattle there are little Latte huts everywhere that are drive through-only coffee shops. I have heard these referred to as "hottie huts" since they usually employ young attractive girls as barista's. But then some take it one extra step.

And so...

Maybe it would be good to have coffee at home if that's the way the world is going. Which is fine because we make a pretty dang good cup o' jo. Especially when my lovely wife compliments coffee with these tasty things.

Yuh-umm!

My Mom came south of the border for a few weeks to help Amy and Abraham with the new baby. It was good to have her around town. She came to church with us and sat up in the booth with us where Ruth and I serve.

I also need to mention the passing of my Uncle Lloyd. My Mom's brother. Ah Lloyd. Lloyd deserves a post all to himself. Lloyd was born with a condition that left his mind stuck at 8 years old. Even as a 60 year old man he was really a child stuck in the body of an aging man. God counted his days and decided that he was ready to be with Jesus. It was sad for my Mom and her family, but also a relief as we saw Lloyd age these past years, wondering how his life could remain normal. Lloyd was nearly deaf, and was often heard singing old hymns up and down the stairs or in the bathroom or in the kitchen when he thought nobody was listening.

At his funeral, my Uncle Curtis, Lloyd's brother stood up to talk about Lloyd. He started by saying, "my mother had two sons; one was challenged and the other was Lloyd."

Looking forward to hearing your singing again one day Lloyd. We will miss you until then.

We also had the privilege of hosting the Tamashiro's again. Some of you old time readers will remember their last visit. http://roydenandruth.blogspot.com/2007/05/childhood.html It was a real adventure and we had a ton of fun. And we had fun again. These girls make me want a home full of daughters.

Dancing, followed by crashing...

What a joyful bunch. Thanks for the visit guys! Come back soon!

More change... I recently lost my job of 9 years. This topic alone could also get it's own post, but instead I'll just mention that I got to work at Microsoft for a month as a part of my transition to a new place. Everyone in Seattle's gotta do it once.

Also...

Today is Mother's day. So here's an ode to the young lady from Frisco who married the pilot from Manitoba. The lady who made my lunch's for me right through highschool. The lady who grounded me for being out late with my future wife. The lady who let me keep a free roaming iguana in my bedroom. I love you Mom!

And for those of you reading this that talk to the Lord often, please remember to pray for my Dad who's having surgery tomorrow. And if you live near him, he could use a visit in the hospital this week because he will be bored.



Alright, time for bed here in Bothell. G'night all!

Amy-there's a Jarju in you!!

Something tells me that by the time Amy reads this the above statement will be false. Or at least she'll likely be hoping it's false. Vincent only needs to stay in there until tomorrow afternoon when grandma is scheduled to arrive. He must know grandma's arms will be a fair exchange for mom's comfy womb. Her rocking abilities are legendary...



We had a busy weekend when we were home back in March. Birthdays, showers...we Lepps like to party. Royden and I had lots of fun devising party ideas...



...and thinking up party food. The majority came thanks to Costco given our time crunch, and I think Costco did a mighty fine job. As much as I like to cook, I may be using their services in the future. I had no idea I'd become such a cheater. The cupcakes however, all mine. Well, mine and a box of cake mix. Take that Trophy Cupcakes! These were my first foray into food colouring since I was a kid...and oh the fun I had. I wish I could have eaten them without the guilt adulthood brings though.



The boys avoided the estrogen/progesterone/hCG fest for as long as their stomachs could bear. (sorry couldn't resist a little nursing humour there...) Well, I think Royden came for food and dad came for the hugs.

You will see that the following rabbit trail is actually relevant. Most of you know that Royden is not afraid of shopping. In fact, he likes it quite a bit and I like to joke that he is my stylist. I like to report that the only bad thing about marrying a fashionista (and don't you dare call him that or I might lose my best shopping buddy) is that he pretty much requires the same clothing budget that I do. I don't mind so much 'cause he's pretty easy on the eyes. But you already knew that.

What you don't know is that he hates hates hates shopping for kids clothes. Hates it. So the only place we found baby clothes to his liking (read: actually had an opinion about) were in a boutique in Fremont. Of course. The shop had funny onesies priced at oh...thirty bucks a piece. His taste is about as expensive as mine! So his (sometimes) cheap wife said "nu-uh" and picked his comedic brain and exploited his talent to come up with these: (feel free to click to enlarge...)

Date night gets interesting around here. Ink jet printers, iron on transfers...oh baby! We had a lot of fun and wondered how we could market our onesie company and become profitable. We are so American. I had to laugh when I was reading an unemployment website last week and one of the tips for making extra money was to make and sell custom t-shirts. Really?! I think onesies qualify.

Well enough about baby clothes. Let's talk about the baby. Vincent, you wanna come out to play tomorrow? We are sure looking forward to your arrival and are also excited to watch your mom and dad step into their new roles. It's about time your mommy had her own baby to tend to since she's had so much practice with everyone else's! She's going to be a great momma and if you make her laugh half as much as your daddy does...she's going to have a lot of wrinkles some day!

We're also pretty darn excited to become an aunt and uncle. I'm suddently feeling a little old now...I didn't know that till I wrote it. Especially when I think that Ames was about twelve when Royden and I started dating. Time flies!! Aunty Ruth. Hmmm...makes me sound about 80 I think. Auntie Ruth? That's better!

Grandpa with his baby...

If Only We Could Photoshop Life

I love how blogs can make life appear so perfect. Sometimes while surfing I ask myself in disbelief 'is their life really that good'? Then I remind myself that we don't write about the bad stuff either. So in keeping with that tradition I won't tell you that I'm posting this at 2am because lately sleep doesn't come so easily. We won't discuss that my parents are getting a divorce, or that dad L has cancer or that we can't seem to get pregnant. We also won't divulge that Royden lost his job on Monday. Instead, we'll throw some photoshopped pictures up and fool you all into thinking that everything is a-ok.



Smiling happy people. Well, truth is we did have an good time together despite some of the details. I love how when the boys are together Nathan starts telling stories and Royden becomes more audience then comedian. I'm not sure if Amy was too into the calving stories though...she is due April 5th after all.



To celebrate dad's birthday we took him to Quail's Gate Winery in Kelowna. It's a beautiful property with a great view of Okanagan Lake. Royden and I celebrated our anniversary there two years ago and in May the grapevines are in full bloom and the lilacs make it smell like you died and went to heaven.



Our chilly family, minus 1.5. People that is...not celsius (but maybe that too!)



So, Happy Birthday dad. I'm thankful for you for many reasons and pray that we have many more celebrations together. Your life has allowed me the love of mine. You have been an excellent father to your own kids, and to me. Your love and compassion help to remind me that we have an even greater father in heaven, even when I'm tempted to doubt it.

Deuteronomy 1: 29-31 Then I said to you, "Do not be terrified... The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt before your very eyes, and in the desert. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place."

Hebrews 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

Matthew 7:9 -11"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!"

One other thing I'm thankful for right now is Red Letter. I can't resist posting the link:
http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/red-letter
If you only listen to one song listen to 'What Wonderous Love is This'. Maybe life isn't so sucky after all.

I <3 My New IPOD

Since I read in the Times today that ipod sales have declined 16% in the past year, I thought it was high time to plug the product. Since we have been the proud owners of four ipods over the past four years and we're still hooked we're either idiots or the ipod is awesome. I say awesome, so awesome we've even bought one (or two!) for our parents.



Now I did complain to Royden upon the death of my old ipod last week that both my cassette player and cd player from my teenage years still worked fine and were each at least half the price of this new fangled device. He quickly came to Apple's defense and said "yeah, but those were nothing like the ipod". After getting generation...four??...I suppose I agree.



What's so cool? It's hot pink. Yes, take note people. I did not buy black. For once. Cool functions of the new ipod include: 1) A video screen on which I can play any movie or tv show I want (uh, if I'm willing to pay beaucoup bucks for said moving pictures) 2) The ability to plug the device into the eliptical trainer at the gym and watch these images on the bigger tv attached to the trainer (I am going to be so buff...and so broke!) 3) The genius playlist. How the heck does Apple know that a playlist featuring The Thieves, Massive Attack, Portishead, M83, Radiohead, Bjork & Rinocerose will make me feel like I died and went to heaven? So happy am I. 4) Shake to shuffle. Not sure if it's any easier than pressing 'next' but knowing my machine has a built in gyro makes me feel really techie.

My favorite old feature is of course the ability to podcast. This American Life, John Piper sermons, Radiolab and of course missed Mars Hill sermons top the podcast list. Perfect for the gym, weeding the garden or long drives home.



Hot date night tonight included coffee out (of course) and Royden giving me a lesson on how to shoot product photography with his fancy schmancy camera and flash. I am not so patient. Fingerprints, lint, bad angles, short cords, an illumination screen that keeps shutting off...geez!! Royden said I should try shooting reptiles that keep walking out of the shot.

The flowers are courtesy of my lust for spring. Instant gratification in pot.

Mandalay Bay is bigger then Bothell

No seriously. Mandalay Bay, the hotel and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas strip is very likely the square footage of our small neighborhood here in suburban Seattle. I think you could fit most of the houses in downtown Bothell..inside Mandalay Bay. You could live inside the Hotel! Restaurants, games, shows, Starbucks...the only reason to leave was to see what time it was!



My lovely wife turned 30 this week. The big three-oh. She wasn't especially excited about 30, so I decided to take her away to a place where they say you can forget your troubles. Your "routine life" fades in the lights of that vast city. And it's true, you do forget your troubles.

But I believe they are replaced with new troubles such as: How the heck do you get out of this casino? And: Is it appropriate to politely refuse porn handed to you on the street? And: Why is there nothing under $10! Bottled water- $10 Seriously? And: How is it that the timeshare thieves can smell me? And: How do I avoid the porn when it's on the billboards AND on the taxis driving by AND on the flyers on the sidewalk?

We enjoyed our first Las Vegas experience despite these new troubles.



Mandalay Bay is a great hotel. We highly recommend it. They have a world famous pool/man made beach..... that is closed in January...just so you all know...

world famous,
closed in January.

Oh well. It was still fun.



The main activity for us was just wandering the strip and visiting several of the hotels to see the sights and the shows they offered.

There was of course the Paris Hotel.


And the famous Bellagio, across from Paris.




Then there was the Excalibur. A mildly family friendly hotel that was kind of a version of the Disney castle full of slots and comedy shows.



The Mirage, with it's incredibly cheesy fake volcano show. Still..entertaining enough to hold our attention for a minute and a half.



And then there's Treasure Island where you can watch the pole dancing pirate strippers get their boat blown up every night around 6:30.



Apparently the show used to be a bunch of male pirates attacking each other, and then last year someone upstairs in marketing woke up and smelled the 'skimpy-clothing-on-girls-makes-people-buy-stuff' strategy.



Caesar's Palace of course.



And then there was the Luxor..which Ruth and I fondly referred to as "the Lustor". The Luxor seemed to be the home of the topless shows as well as the famed Bodies exhibit. Which was hilarious actually..seeing huge billboards inside displaying half naked women..right next to a billboard for Bodies displaying dissected human bodies. Somehow appropriate. I don't know how.



Here's a shot of the Luxor from Mandaly Bay's Oasis. (This is my first attempt at a high dynamic range photograph for those wondering why it looks a little weird)



There really is nearly something for everyone in Vegas.

There is of course gambling...

...not our thing.

There are restaurants...


...very much our thing, and they work the same as gambling does: you walk in with money and walk out with nothing.

There's shopping...

... that's right..that's the inside of a mall.

There's pure opulence...


...and there are of course great shows...

... also our thing. We saw our first Cirque du Soleil show. It was fabulous. I highly recommend 'O'. This was the entrance to the Beatles' show at The Mirage.

Then there was Mandalay Bay's Shark reef. Me and a camera and a tank full of cool looking creatures? Very much our thing. We found it very relaxing to step out of the wonders built by man and observe the wonders built by God.

Ah Vegas..the place where you can buy your alcoholic drink from a slurpy machine off the street corner. For how much? Oh..you know..$11!!

A trip to Vegas isn't complete without one Elvis sighting.

All we have to say about the casino carpets is...

...what the?

I don't know what they were thinking or why we were studying the carpet so intently..but it was crazy-ugly!

Finally, my two favorite photos from the whole trip that I think describe this crazy city well without words. The beauty of the statues juxtaposed against the overwhelming questions of their context...

So many questions.

That's Vegas folks! As seen through the eyes of the Lepps! Vegas is an amazing place, you can go there without a time change at all, lose $1.75 on a slot machine..share a mango daiquiri between two people..and still leave feeling incredibly hung over! How is that possible?!

Happy Birthday babe!

My not so little sister

Not saying that she's large.

I'm not saying that at all.

I'm just saying that she's my little sister who's grown into an adult over the last few years. Well..It's been more then a few years I suppose, but it seems like just yesterday that we were building forts in the basement out of couch cushions and blankets. It seems like it was just yesterday that we were walking out to catch the bus for Amy's first day of kindergarden and Mom asked us to turn around in the yard for a photo.

Amy just got married. So long couch cushion forts and rainbow bright lunch boxes. My little sister is an adult and has been for a while now.

So ...

Let's start this post with my favorite photo of the whole wedding day...

Alright, now that we got that out of the way I just wanted to acknowledge that this is old news, Amy and Abraham were married this summer but I am a bad blogger. I blogged halloween before my sisters wedding. Oh well.

Here we go!

I have a guilt I carry around with me about growing up with Amy. Even after a full confession and request for forgiveness from her I still can't get the guilt off my shoulders.

Amy used to love the wheel of fortune board game. She..loved... the wheel of fortune board game. I did not enjoy it as much.

I still remember to this day, playing with my little toy men, soldiers, GI joes, legos. And then watching Amy walk into my bedroom holding the wheel of fortune board game in her arms.

Even though she pretty much knew the answer to her question, she'd still be holding the game, and she would even address me, "Hey Royden, do you you want to play wheel of fortune?"

"Not really."

"Okay," she would say and disapear from my bedroom door, disappointed.

In my memory it's cut up and edited like a movie. I see multiple cuts of different answers to the same question. Different questions but the same answer. She would always ask..I would never give her a minute of my time.

"wheel of fortune?"
"no.."

Sometimes I'd walk by the livingroom on my way to the kitchen for a glass of milk and see Amy trying to play the game on the floor by herself. You can't play wheel of fortune by yourself.

My final memory of this is seeing Amy appear in my bedroom doorway, sad and defeated, looking at the floor, mumbling the question for the last time, "..do you want to play wheel of fortune?.." waiting for the expected answer without even looking up at me. And she got it, and walked away.

I don't know why this blog just turned into a confessional. I'm totally off topic, everyone's looking at wedding photos and wondering what the heck this blog is about. Maybe I'm trying to get it off my shoulders for the last time. I'm sorry Amy. I haven't always been the best brother. Please forgive me. I need to find that dang game on ebay so I can sit down with you deal with this guilt.

We'll play wheel fortune all night.

Okay, back to photos...

Back on topic. After these pictures in the barn, we danced. At Lepp weddings there are lots of relatives, little cousins, food, and sometimes even a little two stepping.

It was a fun wedding. Abraham, welcome to the family! Congratulations and prayers for you both.