Welcome Sophie and Amelia! Aren't they just precious?!? Sophia Rosalie, born to Shelly and Jim Driscoll (my brother and sister in law) is on the left. She spent the first 10 days of her little life in the hospital with pneumonia, but is now doing well. She looks so much like her Grandpa Tom it is unreal! Sophie lives in Mosinee, Wisconsin with her parents and her FOUR older brothers. Amelia Sarah, born to Erin and Austin Henderson (my sister and brother in law) is on the right. She also had a battle to fight in the hospital (jaundice), but it was a little bit shorter than Sophie's. Now she is at home with mom and dad in Clovis, New Mexico. More pictures to come from this proud auntie when I get them!
New job for Jeff After two years of working at CBCC, Jeff is moving on to a new adventure in finish work carpentry. Yes, the wood shop in our slanted garage has paid off, as well as the remodel in our living room. Jeff met with Henry Schacher, a finish work contractor, who hired him to come on his team. We are very excited for this for a bunch of reasons: it is a chance to Jeff to get paid to do his passion: wood working! And he will get a pretty substantial pay increase which will help us pay off some debt and save for a house. Oh joy, oh bliss! The thought of owning a house is just too much to think about! :) Of course, Jeff leaving CBCC will be a bit sad. His best friends work there, and we have a very strong family there. I will still be working at CBCC...in fact I have a bit of a job change as well. Instead of making a menu and cooking quesadillas for the Coach House, I will be making paint color and carpet swatch choices. Along with my Human Resources duties, I will be shifting from working in the Coach House to working on the Decor Committee. Today, I went and picked out carpet samples for our Pacific View Lodge dining room. I am used to making $200 decisions...this decision will end up costing about $10,000! Yikes! But I am very excited about this job shift; it fits me well and I really enjoy it.
One more TRI...for Tom Hall The Escape from the Gorge Triathalon was a lot of fun. Tom Hall, Pepper Woolsey, and I all did it together. We jumped off the sternwheel boat (see picture), swam in, biked, and ran together. It was all about RELATIONSHIP! Of course, we could not have done it without the support of the fam...Eileen, Tessa, Missy, and Steffany were all there cheering us on. My Jeff was having a blast at Men's Roundup...otherwise, he would have been there too. Now, what do I do all winter long without a race? ARGH!    
Riding the Bull, or going to the bathroom? This video definitely needs explanation. This summer, we had a talent show, and at the end was a camp skit that i was volunteered for. We were taken out into the hallway and told to act out a particular scene. i had to act out riding a bull. Meanwhile, inside, the audience was told that we were coming in to act out going to the bathroom. and so, here it is: me going to the bathroom.
Summer is over! can you believe it???  It is unreal that the summer went by that quickly. My manager, Paul, and I are kind of in a daze. Are we imagining this? Are we in a dream? All the work we have put in over the past 8 months has come to an end? Just in time to start working on it again? Unreal. We had just an amazing staff this summer. Paul mentioned, "They just GOT IT." They got what the Cannon Beach Christian Conference Center is  all about. They understood the mission: To provide a place where Biblical instruction and recreation go hand in hand. Talk about a staff that kept going all summer long. Fun, encouragement, prayer, SNL, Moonshadows, Bible Studies...oh they were probably the best summer staff I have ever worked with in any "camp" type place. What a blessing they were to us as supervisors, and a staff in general. But now, they are all gone...Part of me cries out, "Where are my running partners?!?" (Sherri and Ruthie!) and who is going to do special projects for  me in the Coach House (Lisa and Katie)? And the other part of me says, "Now is the time to breathe deeply. Before you know it Dana, it will be summer again!" That's just fine as long as it is a staff like this summer. Praise the Lord for his goodness, faithfulness and amazing provision! He is so good! 
 H2C Champion!!! Well, actually, we finished 597th out of 1032 teams, but we sure did feel like champs!
HOOD TO COAST 2006 What an amazing event to be a part of! The Hood to Coast Relay is the world's longest and largest relay race. With 197 miles to cover, and over 17,000 runners, it was absolutely crazy! I jumped on a team last minute that lost their very best runner...and I was their replacement?!?!?!? Regardless, what a blessing to be a part of this team. 10 of the 12 of us were Christians, so instantly I felt at  home with them. My van of six included myself, Josh Rosen (team Captain), Heidi and Adriel Gaines, Bryan Rowe and Ben (oh, sorry, i can't remember his last name). The other van had Ted, Stephanie, Jenny, Taylor, Wolter, and Patrick. If you don't know how the H2C works, here's a quick recap: Van 1 starts at Timberline Lodge, the starting line. Each of the 6 runners takes their turn running down the mountain while the van drives to each of the exchange points to drop off the next runner. The vans also provide water and encouraging support to their runners. Once  the 6th person in Van 1 is done, Van 2 (my van) takes over and runs legs 7-12. Van 1 then gets a 4-5 hour break at the 12th exchange. Each person runs 3 legs (my legs were 6.05 mi, 6.8mi, and 4.1 miles long) over the course of about 29 hours. what is crazy is the fact that you really don't get any sleep at all, and you are crammed in a van for the entire race. talk about a breeding ground for getting to know your teammates really quick! After running through the mountains, downtown Portland, and the back country roads of the coastal range, we finally hit the coast, with Heidi finishing the last leg at the beach. 197 miles of blood, sweat, tears, Clif bars, jelly beans, bratwursts, double bacon cheeseburgers, apple crisp, "van 1, van 1, where are you????", endurance, survival, encouragement, respect, and glory to God. it was amazing.
 Our Maxwell Of course, what blog would be complete without a picture of our 4 year old son, Maxwell Jackson. This is max on his first excursion to the beach 2 years ago. He's such a great dog. Last week, he was thoroughly entertained by a 9 month bull mastiff that we were dog sitting. Kita, the mastiff, kept jumping on max, biting his neck and back heels. Max was patient with Kita, but showed his frustration after being in the kennel with her for 6 hours by peeing on my cordoroys. i don't think it was an accident...i think he really wanted to show me how frustrated he was. ugh!
Whitewater Rafting on the Deschutes!  Jeff and I got a chance this summer to go whitewater rafting with our favorite rafting outfitter, DISCOVERY. Here's a pic when we were getting ready to scout "Boxcar" rapids. (Scouting a rapid is another name for "making the trip longer"). Hee Hee!
Our 29 and under swimming heat.   Transitioning into the 12 mile bike.  Finished with the bike, now on to the run!  Almost there!
 Oh man, was this the most amazing day ever! after training for 5 months and losing 36 pounds, i was ready for the TRI! I could have never done it though without the help of many people (my husband's encouragement, Nikkol's introduction to the sport), things (Nikkol's gear and Chris's bike), and one cute dog (max, who's begging eyes got me out running every day!).I ended up finishing 57th out of about 500 women, and 16th in my age division. not bad for a 1st TRI, and i am very hopeful that it won't be my last.i am hoping to do "Escape the Gorge" on September 10, 2006 if anyone wants to join me!
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