Amy and Prom 2008

Last night was Amy's prom night. Amy and Donna got her prom dress back in February after only 15 minutes of shopping at Macy's. That has to be some type of record. Before Prom, Amy was hit pretty hard with the news that she was going to have back surgery again. Her boyfriend, Justin, went to the build a bear shop in the mall and made up a teddy bear with Tux and a voice box that said "Amy will you go to the prom with me?" and delivered it with a dozen red roses. Talk about points. Justin's dad is a chef and he had a friend of his, also a chef, do dinner for them. Amy had a beautifil dinner dress. After dinner they both ran home an did a quick change and then the dreaded parent photo session. Then they were off in a town car with two other couples to the prom down at Portland State University. Why is it that most proms don't have air conditioning? How can you possibly get that many warm bodies in one place and not expect to impact global warming?I'm not sure how anyone stayed on their feet after a while. After prom, Amy went over to one of her friends house where they all had breakfast. She ended up back at home at 2 am. It is really hard seeing your daughter grow up and realize that in a few years she will likely be off on her own. It was very hard when Bethany left, and it will be equally hard when Amy leaves. Dad just might not let her go. Well enjoy the photos.

News for the Family

Amy has had a rough time with her back since the rods were removed over a year ago. The doctors finaly found out what the problem was; two cracked vertibrae. This means she will have to go back in for surgery and have the rods installed again with all the associated hardware. I know how hard this would be for me to do, but to ask a seventeen year old to do it again is a lot to ask. Amy has been dealing with it as best one can, but it is still quite the burden. Since she already had her prom dress we told her she could wait until after prom. She wants to have the maximum amount of time to heal so she can be ready for her senior year, so surgery will be on June 9, 2008. It is hard for a parent to see their children suffer, and we would gladly trade places, but we all have our own roads to travel. All we can do as parents is to stand by the side of the road and offer encourgement along the way. Keep you posted as things develop. Amy and Donna probably made a record for the shortest amount of time to find a prom dress. They walked into the store and found one in less than 10 minutes. Will post some pictures when the time comes.

Alaska

I sometimes feel like Alaska has become my second home. Last year I had two hydroelectric project under construction to keep an eye on and went up to Juneau about once a month through the summer and fall. My most recent trip was the week of April 14th to Juneau and Skagway when I thought that most of the winter weather was over. The first part of the week started off wet, then dry, then snow, and then clear and sunny. There was no snow at sea level when I arrived, but all that changed on Thursday when I woke up to 10-inches of new snow. It covered all the landscape and painted a wonderful landscape everywhere. See the photos.

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My first Blog post

I am a civil engineer and have spent most of my life looking at things in an analytical manner. As I have passed down the road of life I have often been reminded that how we view or solve a problem depends on where we are, what we know, and what we hope to be. This can be looked at in the realm of so called cold hard facts, or with eyes of understanding and compassion; A mountain peak can be granite diorite or El Capitan.

Judy Collins said that she had looked at life from both side, what if there are more than two sides to a problem or issue. Life is not just 0's and 1's; black and white; it is an infinite variety of color. As in most things in life, balance is often required or desired. Some colors balance or complement each other, others clash. Each, however, has a role.