Looking back on 2006

2006 was an eventful year for our little household.

Anastacia finished her didactic year in the University of Washington Physician Assistant Program. To say that she was stretched in every way possible, is an understatement. She finished with great grades. The summer was a welcome respite for her, and a chance to visit family back East.

I took up mountain biking and had the great opportunity to ride with my friends Ray & Mike. Mike was headed overseas mid-summer so, we hit as many rides on his "list" as we could. Ray and I hit some great rides down off of 410, near Mt. Rainier, and over the pass near Lake Wenatchee, as well as some good local mid-week riding.


June 29th, we picked up the latest addition to our family: MARJAN's Happiness is a Warm Gun, aka "Reagan". He was 18# of joy when we brought him home at 8 weeks; at 9 months he is pushing 70#, and still growing. He has been a joy for me to train, as he tries hard to learn and responds very well. I've taken a more serious, comprehensive approach to training Reagan than I did with Sasha; partly, because I am more serious about birdhunting, and I also see the value of skills that I didn't train in Sasha. It has been a challenge having two Chesapeakes in the house, but we love them both, and wouldn't have it any other way.

In July, I had a wonderful opportunity to travel to both Romania and Michigan to work on some incredible projects as an International Trainer for ECO-Block, LLC. In Romania, I worked with ICF ECO Construct (Bucharest) to build the first ECO-Block house in the country of Romania. It was an interesting challenge to work with a non-English speaking crew. However, I found that the fundamentals of construction are universal (and they gave me a wonderful translator, Oana Valeria Jancu). My clients were wonderful hosts, showing me the sights of their beloved country, of which they are so proud. Their hospitality worked: I fell in love with the country, the people, and the food! I left feeling like I had made some great new friends. On to the U.P. of Michigan for a week working with a crew on 16" thick walls at the Bay College, West Campus Building in Iron Mountain, MI. We poured on the fifth day, and I considered the training a success, not without challenges.

Over Labor Day Weekend, we found ourselves winging to Springfield, MO, for the Howell Family Reunion. This was my chance to meet many members of Anastacia's extended family. It was a fun-filled weekend with family; a great chance to meet some of the characters Anastacia has told stories about.

In September, Anastacia and I celebrated our one year wedding anniversary, happy as ever was. Soon after, Anastacia started her clinical year of her P.A. program. To date, she has worked a month each in hospice, emergency medicine, psych., general surgery, and (of this writing) is in neurosurgery. This fall also held new challenges for me. I have been working on a $4M renovation of the Mercer Island Country Club as the Project Engineer. The superintendent I had been working with decided to relocate his family to Colorado. Looking at my career goals, my boss and project manager decided to turn the remainder of the project over to me in the field. So, I am the project superintendent now; it has been a great challenge, and a wonderful learning experience.


Sasha and I did some pheasant hunting, without much success. We got our first bird in Goldendale. Reagan got to tag along on the hunt, as well. Pheasant hunting in Washington can be a somewhat frustrating affair, as the bird populations are declining and the planted birds can get harvested rather quickly. Late in the season, it really struck me that duck hunting would be a fun activity, and a lot more productive. Besides, I own the hardiest breed of waterdog on the planet: Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.

Thanksgiving saw us in elk camp outside of Seneca, OR, again, and we had a nice, quiet Christmas at home with our friend, John. At the end, it was a great year.