Back in April, we were privileged to visit the Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad located near Deadwood, Oregon. This fascinating hobby railroad project is the subject of a protracted land use battle in Lane County. Its owner’s past is also the subject of a separate controversy. But to expound on either of these topics would only detract from the truly outstanding achievement that is the Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad. Here’s a little video I put together:

Links:

• Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad (official site)
• Save the Meadows & Lake Kathleen Railroad
• Deadwood Weather (live webcam of railroad property)

Evan and Erin’s Friday play group arranged a visit to a nearby Eugene fire station today — Sheldon station 6. The older kids in the group are all just about to turn 4 years old, and the younger siblings range in age from 16 months - 2 years old. The kids — and Jen especially! — had a great time. And the crew at the station did a great job interacting with them.

In the middle of their visit, the ambulance got a call and had to leave. And then right as their visit was wrapping up, the engine got a call. The group had been instructed that in the event that the engine gets a call, they were to immediately gather up their stuff and show themselves out — which they did. They watched the engine from the grassy area in front of the station.

You don’t want to miss the heart-pounding action in the video below created from a series of still photos Jen took as the engine was leaving the station:

Finally, I’m keeping the photo album private since it has photos of several of the kids in the play group. But all you have to do is log in to the gallery to view it. (If you need a username and password, just register.)

Some cool video of the resident wolf eels and octopus at Hatfield Marine Science Center:

We wish you the happiest of holiday seasons, and may your new year be filled with peace, love, and joy.

One year ago, Erin was born at 7:39 AM PT on December 18th. A week before Christmas we were given a beautiful little baby that has grown to be a sweet little girl.

Although Erin doesn’t appear in our blog often, she is a very active member of our family. She enjoys crawling all over the house and finding new places to explore. One of her favorite places to crawl to is the play room where she finds unattended trucks, trains, and various other toys. She tries out every lever and button that she can find before Evan can move his toys to safety. It will be interesting when she starts walking and moving faster.

In addition to her explorations, she likes to play “flying butterfly” with her dad. He makes a butterfly with his hands and flies it around the room. It then lands in various places, and then they blow it off its perch. She giggles and smiles when it lands on her head. In the last couple of weeks, she has started playing the game with Mom, except Erin makes the butterfly with her hands and lands it on Mom’s head. Great fun!

Erin is a busy little girl and full of smiles. She brings us lots of joy and happiness and we are very grateful that she is part of our family. It’s hard to believe it’s been a full year!

Happy Birthday, Erin!