So ima guessen he likes the fishes ?? ;)

Good things are worth worken for ,,,
Good on him and good on ya'll for helpen him !!!

Congrats to all of you Lamp.

Woot....Wooo...Woot
Sam leaves Tues morning for his first job with Oregon Fish & Wildlife !!!

It's a "temporary" position, but his foot is in the door.
He will be stationed mid-way between LaGrande and Enterprise, OR.

That's a-waaaayyyyyyy....... out there in the eastern boondocks of Oregon,
near the Washington and Idaho borders.
No cell phone and no internet :eek:

That's a very nice area.

Good for him. That disconnect from the virtual world will probably lead to some very interesting insights. I hope. I'll be interested to hear his take on it. How long will he be there?

Me too !

It's classified as a "temporary" position --- through the end of fishing season;
but can be extended or transferred as needed by the ODFW and their budget.

I guess he should have a blog, then, eh?

Today, Minifob dove in and swam half the length of the pool all by himself!

This is after only 3 lessons with the most awesome swim teacher ever. Prior to these three lessons (that is, a week and a half ago,) Minifob had severe anxiety about any water higher than chest level, and wouldn't willingly put his head under water.

That's awesome.

My daughter's 7th grade class had an end of year pool party yesterday, and every kid had to pass a swim test before they were allowed to use the big deep pool. She said most people passed the easy test, but there were a handful who struggled and failed and were stuck using the kiddie pool. (Some didn't even try to take the test and just jumped into the kiddie pool.) It's got to suck being in middle school and wanting to join the fun at the big pool and being publicly shunned like that. I'm always pleased when parents teach their kids to swim. You don't need to be a Hebe or a Phelps, but you should be able to swim a lap or two if need be. It's a life skill.

Yeah, I grew up in a pool (we didn't have one, but my best friend across the street did and we saw each other literally every day.) Being a strong swimmer is a basic safety issue, in my mind. I don't need him to do the butterfly, but I do need him to not panic and drown in water that he could have stood up in if he'd just tried to put his feet down. Of course, if either kid does want to be a Hebe, I wouldn't mind one bit. :)

It really is all down to this swim teacher. His specialty is kids with anxiety or other special needs. He just started his own swim school, so we got in early--in another year he'll be charging twice as much, I'm certain.

I'm going to be an interloper amongst the parents now :p

I am a very, very proud auntie :)

On Friday we went to see the finals exhibition for Amelia's art&design course at college. She's passed all her modules and exams with flying colours and distinctions all round and is off to one of the best design courses in the country (at Uni of Northumbria).

Her exhibition won 'Best in Show' for her course, and took the prize for 'Most Creative Display'.

Unlike most of the students who placed their work on the walls and tables, Amelia elected, with the help of her Dad, to build proper exhibition falls to hang from the ceiling. It looked really professional.

Here she is with her display. Can't do the lamp justice I'm afraid. I am not a great photograhpher. Take my word for it, it's bloody lovely. Wouldn;t look out of place in a high class design studio. It twists around and plays with light and form. I'm so impressed. I knew she was talented, having seen odds and sods over the course, bt seeing it all laid out and her design boards and such. Wow. Dead impresed. And dead proud :)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8162/7...5ef508a3a3.jpg
IMG_0643


[eta] the little piles of gambling chips on the display are actually her business cards. I grabbed a few, so at some point I'll take a proper pic of them.

Last Sunday, Sam drove down to meet us in the small town of Wallowa.
We spent the weekend sightseeing the Wallowa River canyon and valley on down through Enterprise and Joseph.

It was good seeing my G-son as a young man on his first real job,
and he was very happy showing off his ODFW rig and telling all about what he has been doing.

It was a very good thing...

Awesome.

Really great. I envy his career!

Dana - wow.
Makes me a little sad to think she is a year older than Abigail, but then Abs never had her flair anyway.
It's so obvious she is good at what she does and delighted with it too. And lucky to be in a family that doesn't suggest she goes and gets a nice office job and stops messing about ;)

She does your whole family proud - and you are right to be proud of her.
Looking forward to great things in future.
(And yes, she is beautiful, but her talent will last longer)

Lamp, good for him.
Some people need to feel their way round the edges of life. He's worked out where he is now.