Ileana and Sofia arrived at 10:30 last night. After such a late night we started the day with potatoes, sausages and eggs. A quick tour downtown and the requisite picture at Kerry Park.

A view from Kerry Park. Steve Judy Ileana and Sofia. Down the street we got a view of Nieuw Amsterdam and a superyacht in the background.

At 7 AM I dropped Étienne off at the camp bus. He had an hour and a half ride to the ferry terminal that took them to Orcas Island. Carl's bus did not leave till 9 so we headed off for a little coffee and breakfast.

The boys made it to camp!

As the camp Smugmug page is updated, I will add pictures to this blog. Étienne has one week of traditional camp, Carl is there for two. His first week is kayaking between the islands. The second week will be back at Camp Orkila in a more traditional setting.

New Pictures uploaded Thursday:

Finally a picture of Carl the day he arrived.

And Étienne on the zip line! Here he is taking a bit of a mud bath.

July 5th update:
Étienne is home now. He was flooded with messages and mail at Orkila. Thank you.

After a long hot bath he is clean and excited to meet Ileana and Sofia. I will keep looking for pictures of Carl. This starts his second week at Orkila and he should be done kayaking and back at camp.

Yesterday, Hamilton International Middle School promoted their 8th grade class. Carl asked to wear an old suit of mine.

Next year he will attend Ballard High School with Veronica. This year was my last year of three kids in three different schools. In other firsts, Carl is the first Redpath to complete all grades in one school. Until now, we have moved enough so the kids all had two different schools for Grade School and Middle School.

The ceremony was held in the gymnasium. Parents filled the bleachers to capacity and lined the edges of the room. After a few introductions and formalities, 380 names were read. Only a couple of the families ignored the principal's instructions to not cheer until all the names were read, so the whole ceremony took just over an hour. Which was good since we were all started to overheat!

Here is Carl in the ceremony and a view of half the 8th grade class to give a feel for how large and full the room was.

Way to go Carl! See you in High School!

On Sunday May 28, Cascade Bicycle Club hosted the Emerald City Bike Ride. Erin joined us for 27 miles of wide open highways and fun. Carl stayed home with two Japanese students we were hosting. Cousin Jane joined Carl and the students for a tour of the Boathouse at University of Washington.

We rode from the football stadium, over Lake Washington and back. We used the interstate 5, 90, and highway 520 for most of the ride. This is the second year for Emerald City Ride. Last year was just a short ride on the unfinished 520 bridge with a mile or two on Interstate 5. This year was fantastic! The vistas from the Interstate are so incredible. The only way to enjoy them is on a ride like this where you can stop to soak up the scenery.

In this graphic, we started the ride from the lower left corner and rode clockwise.

Judy wore a helmet cam. I am still learning the system and only captured the first hour of the ride. Here are two sections of the video.

This was at the entrance to I-5 Express Lanes from downtown Seattle. The two unicycles made the full ride. Up ahead is a hand cranked tricycle.

Heading North on the I-5 express lanes, Étienne and Steve "put the tandem in the big ring" and took off looking for the carpool lane.

The riders coming North on interstate 5. The second shows Steve, Judy, Veronica, and Étienne standing on I-5 with Lake Union and Seattle in the background. The third is looking West from the Interstate 90 express lanes about to cross from Mercer Island back to Seattle.

Carl had a great birthday this year. He is 14 now and started fencing at the local community center. The instructors encouraged Carl to sign up for the intermediate class. We just purchased proper gear for Carl. Below he is sparing with Anika. The instructor told Carl to quite treating Anika like spun sugar and attack!

On Feburary 19th, we headed to Southern California for some sunshine, beaches, USC tour, and Disneyland.

Veronica, Carlton, Étienne, Judy, and Steve
Here we are on day one of Disney in California Adventure. For two days we opened the park, including an hour early for hotel guests, and at least Veronica and Carl closed it. Yes, two days in a row the two of them were at the park for the opening and also some of the last guests to leave!

Étienne is enjoying his new stuffie, hat, and is too excited to be driving on Autotopia.

Étienne really knows how to vacation. He is finally old enough to enjoy all the rides and has the stamina to last the day. This trip we let Veronica and Carl have the run of the park on their own. It warmed our hearts to see the two of them getting along and enjoying themselves. They returned each evening with great stories of all the adventures they had that day.

In the background is the original Disneyland sign that used to be at the parking lot entrance. Judy and I grew up seeing that sign everytime we drove down Harbor Avenue. Now it adorns the pool slides of the Disneyland Hotel. On the right is my photographic proof that Carl and Veronica are not taller than me! You be the judge.

Tuesday was our day at the beach. This is Huntington Beach, half a mile from the first house Judy and I bought after getting married. Veronica was born while living there, and Carlton was actually born in the house!

Here are just three facets of our California Girl enjoying the local sun, sand, and yes, a pelican.

Roni offers to take a photo for some park guests. They return the favor for another complete family shot.

Here is the rest of the family, it is hard to shine under the shadow of Veronica. This is Carl, Étie, Judy and Steve.

One of the family favorites is the hamburger.

This is the Carl technique.

Keep all fingers away while Veronica is eating.

On our final night at Disney, we decided to watch fireworks from our hotel room. I called ahead and ordered champagne and strawberries to enjoy during the show. We turned on the television to hear the fireworks music and naration while sitting at the large bay window with its spectacular view.

Veronica and Étienne have been running the Club Northwest Winter Grand Prix again this year. Today was a two-mile track race (eight laps) at Nathan Hale HS.

Runners were grouped in heats based on their previous times, so Veronica was in Heat 4 and Étienne in Heat 5. Veronica ended up with a season PR of 13:44!

Étienne got lapped by the leader just as he finished his sixth lap (you can hear the final lap horn go off in the video), so he mistakenly ran into the finish chute after his seventh lap and even got a place card. But Ballard HS track coach Bob was on the track & called to him to do one more lap. Étienne gave back the place card & finished the race. It probably cost him 15-20 seconds, but he out-sprinted the final runner to many cheers. Bob pulled him aside afterwards and told him how proud he was that he had run the entire race. Four more years & Étienne will be on the Ballard team!

One more race left in the series!

Today, Veronica served as Assisting Minister at Ballard First Lutheran. She sang the Kyrie, led us in the prayers of the day, and just all around shined happiness adding a new voice to our worship. Thank you Veronica.

The family was well represented. Veronica is at the lectern while the right picture shows Carl lighting candles.

I am late with this pic of Veronica leaving for the Ballard High School Winter Ball held at Paul Allen's Museum of Pop Culture. She tells me the dance was great. After the dance they hit Dick's Drive-In for the requisite midnight burger, fries, and a shake.

Nativity Service at Ballard First Lutheran!

Veronica played "What Child is This" before the service started.
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The BFL Youth Choir is new this year, for middle and high schoolers. Both Veronica and Carlton sing in it.
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A congregation family with a new baby plays the Holy Family. The elementary school students are the shepherds and angels, so this is Étienne's last year in the Nativity. He was particularly festive this year in green!

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Merrry Christmas from Ballard!

Yes, it is a blue day in the emerald city. We had about three inches of snow last night. Schools are on a two hour delay so the boys headed out to enjoy some winter weather.