Brett and Debbie tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011-04-18:/blog//1 2012-03-23T05:50:42Z A little slice of our adventures Movable Type 5.04 Some photos from March.. tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2012:/blog//1.353 2012-03-23T05:48:10Z 2012-03-23T05:50:42Z Simone is growing and changing every day, at her 4 month checkup (actually at 4.5 months..) she is 15 lbs! She's starting to stand with assistance, and getting close to sitting up on her own. She is so interactive, chatty, and fun it's really hard to show through pictures, or even video. Check out these photos which attempt to capture... Brett
She is so interactive, chatty, and fun it's really hard to show through pictures, or even video. Check out these photos which attempt to capture it..

https://picasaweb.google.com/112618580057210727894/March2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink


]]> Standing with a little assistance tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2012:/blog//1.352 2012-03-12T01:05:07Z 2012-03-12T01:06:00Z Simone is now standing with some balance assistance! Check it out!... Brett
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]]> Finally, some Christmas pictures tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2012:/blog//1.351 2012-03-01T12:06:55Z 2012-03-01T12:17:03Z Brett
Simone was a little less than 2 months old for these photos.

https://plus.google.com/photos/112618580057210727894/albums/5714896895255896193

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]]> Pictures from February tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2012:/blog//1.350 2012-02-28T15:58:09Z 2012-02-28T15:59:28Z Sorry we've had so few posts lately, but here are some late-breaking Photos. I'm trying to get around to posting the Christmas photos too..https://plus.google.com/photos/112618580057210727894/albums/5714210468984138833... Brett
https://plus.google.com/photos/112618580057210727894/albums/5714210468984138833

]]> Merry Christmas! tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.349 2011-12-22T19:49:40Z 2011-12-22T20:14:37Z Brett
Simone is growing fast, and is over 9lbs now! She started smiling at ~5wks and is now distinguishing between day (often awake, eating & sleeping in short cycles) and night (3-4 hour sleep cycles, little awake time). She's got a mild cold right now, but it seems to be getting better. Actually, we all have a mild cold which we hope gets better before the holiday travel.

Here's a short video clip..

And some pictures

We're looking forward to our east-coast tour and some holidays with family! Merry Christmas everyone!

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]]> ]]> Baby Furniture tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.348 2011-11-21T21:14:15Z 2011-11-21T21:25:25Z Brett
We are so grateful for family & friends who are helping support us in this life transition! And a special thank you to Brett's Mom, who is here helping us adjust to the new schedule..

I'll post some more photos soon, I hope!
]]> Big news! tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.347 2011-11-10T22:22:08Z 2011-11-10T22:29:45Z Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} Debbie and I are incredibly pleased to announce that we adopted a baby girl yesterday. She... Brett Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 Debbie and I are incredibly pleased to announce that we adopted a baby girl yesterday. She was born at 6lbs 4oz, and brought her home Sunday, Nov 6th after a couple of whirlwind days preparing for her arrival. She is in perfect health!

The past 6 days have been an absolute whirlwind, from first getting a call about a possible adoption to driving home with a newborn 2 days later. We're all healthy and happy, and now trying to figure out work, and sleep schedules that work for everyone.

Here are some pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/bretthall/OurBabyGirlSFirstDayHome?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCISb9rC-hNKX7wE&feat=directlink
]]> Cider! tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.346 2011-10-21T16:32:45Z 2011-10-21T16:44:11Z The pace of life has picked up lately! Last weekend we held our now annual cider pressing weekend where we juiced 800lbs of apples with the help of many friends. Even some family was able to come by, we've recently discovered one of Debbie's cousins lives in Portland!. With all the extra hands, we finished juicing the whole crate of... Brett
Debbie's also starting a new job on Halloween, and Brett's work continues it's accelerated trend. We're continuing some more house projects, painting the upstairs, replacing one of the electric heaters upstairs, and changing the water filter for the kitchen sink (which involves installing a new filter housing due to the stuck-ness of the existing one).

Charlie had a friend visit for a couple weeks, a white Jack Russell Terrier named Gigi stayed with us. Although Charlie and Gigi have completely different personalities, they are both gentle, don't like to walk in the rain, and seem to enjoy eachother's company.
  ]]> Refinishing the deck tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.345 2011-10-03T05:28:05Z 2011-10-03T05:30:30Z Our latest project was to sand and refinish the front deck. The sanding was hard work, and we just barely beat the rain (which has just returned to Portland with the familiar damp drizzle meaning it's Fall). But, it looks great and the water is beading up as I type! I'll post a picture someday soon.... Brett
I'll post a picture someday soon.
]]> Pacific Grove Triathlon tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.344 2011-09-16T18:10:21Z 2011-09-16T19:23:03Z Brett Brett and I just returned from the Triathlon at Pacific Grove Sunday evening.  We had a great time with the entire Oregon/SW Washington team - everyone did an amazing job and finished the race strong. In addition to cheering us all on, Brett took great photos and videos, the best of which are now posted on our Picasa site.
 
The weather was perfect for the triathlon - overcast and low 60s - and the water temperature in the Monterey Bay was a slightly shocking 58 degrees.  The kelp was out in full force and made for an especially interesting swim!  The views of the ocean during the bike were priceless - my legs were tired after 4 laps on the bike, but I never tired of the view.  The run this year was about a thousand times more enjoyable than when I did the same race two years ago thanks to great coaching and lots of practice at the track.  I wound up finishing in just under 3 hrs and was ranked 4th of 36 women in my age group.  Whoo hoo!
 
At least as inspiring as the triathlon experience was the team's contribution to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  Our team raised almost $40,000 for LLS -- $300,000 if you include all 95 Team in Training participants at Pacific Grove this year!  A special thanks to all of you who supported the mission and helped me achieve my fundraising goals.
 
Thanks to all of you for your encouragement throughout the season and especially this past weekend.  I loved the facebook messages, emails and positive energy you were all sending!!!
]]> Kite flying & bike rides at the beach tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.343 2011-07-11T18:30:41Z 2011-07-11T18:43:54Z Brett
The bike ride around the three capes loop was particularly beautiful, even though it had some significant headwind and sizable hills.


]]> Beer season.. tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.342 2011-06-24T17:11:06Z 2011-06-24T19:28:43Z The weather's improving, and it's beer season! For the first time, I'm brewing one of my favorite styles: Belgian Saison. Popular opinion among those who have tasted it indicates success, and I'm quite happy with it as well. More batches are on the way..I brewed another batch last weekend for a certain July 4th party, so I'm hoping it ferments... Brett
I brewed another batch last weekend for a certain July 4th party, so I'm hoping it ferments fast to be ready. I'm exploring how best to use our new refractometer which is a much handier way to take gravity readings, however since it needs correction based on alcohol already in the beer I'm using a spreadsheet.

For any other homebrewers out there, I'm using a formula that Sean Terrill has pioneered with greater accuracy than the standard formulas, you can read about it here if you're a beer geek. I've made my own version of this spreadsheet that is a little simpler: refract_blank.xlsx

I hope you are enjoying the summer!
]]> Photos from PPP tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.341 2011-05-24T04:44:25Z 2011-05-24T05:18:10Z Here are some of the snapshots of the better photos we took from Pole Pedal Paddle. You can see the rest of the photos and videos here.... Brett photos and videos here.

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]]> ]]> Pole, Pedal, Paddle 2011 tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.340 2011-05-23T17:04:03Z 2011-05-23T17:09:51Z We spent the weekend in Bend in a house with some friends while attending for the Pole Pedal Paddle relay race Debbie and her team were in. They were called the "Fab Five" and were in the Coed 40-44 age group, you can see results here but they tied for 9th place! It was mostly warm, and sunny, although being... Brett Pole Pedal Paddle relay race Debbie and her team were in. They were called the "Fab Five" and were in the Coed 40-44 age group, you can see results here but they tied for 9th place!

It was mostly warm, and sunny, although being a supporter involves extra driving. I enjoyed trying Bend Brewing beers (and food..!) while watching Tonya brew above us as we ate. Growlers provided sustenance for the weekend.

We enjoyed the soaking pool at the Old St. Francis School, great meals on a small grill, and many, many sled dogs joining Charlie and the rest of the team. Pictures to come..
]]> Spring! tag:www.brettanddebbie.com,2011:/blog//1.339 2011-05-20T07:03:16Z 2011-05-20T07:09:53Z We posted some of the photos from our trip to NC to see Zane and Matthew and Andrew, and some photos of the house in spring over on picasaweb for your browsing pleasure. Happy Spring!... Brett Zane and Matthew and Andrew, and some photos of the house in spring over on picasaweb for your browsing pleasure.

Happy Spring!

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