The Ueckert Project

Snowmen!

2012-01-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

We got a lot of snow last night so we had to build a snowman (or snowbear). We also went for a walk and saw a pretty cool snowman with his own snow shovel.

Christmas lights are up!

2011-11-30T22:10:00.001-08:00

Our Christmas lights are up and we are very happy with our new red lights on our deck. They were a great find this summer at a yard sale and worth every penny.

Movember

2011-11-30T22:01:00.001-08:00

It's the end of the month and this is my final result of my mustache for Movember. I hope more awareness and money has been raised to help cure prostate cancer.

Flight Simulator!

2011-11-29T10:42:00.001-08:00

Heather and I had the opportunity to be pilots in one of Alaska Airlines flight simulators for a 737-800. We were able to take off and land the plane at JFK airport in NY. Heather was close to losing control when her pic was taken, but she pulled out of it. It was very realistic and super Fun, hope to do it again.

They finally ripened!

2011-09-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

All at once, and just in time...

Cantaloupe!

2011-09-25T13:50:00.000-07:00

Early in the year Heather bought some surprise plants for Fred- he didn't get to know what they were until they showed themselves. Turns out Heather got a surprise too- even though they were supposed to be watermelons, one of them was a cantaloupe.

Sadly, this was the WORST-tasting cantaloupe either of us has ever eaten.

The Garden

2011-08-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

Cucumbers- a few Japanese/English (long and skinny),

a few Persian (small and cute)

Only teeny-tiny infant cucumbers so far

Tomatoes- getting some fruit on the vine, but nothing close to red yet

Sunflowers are doing well- they finally opened last week when

Sally came to town, bringing her sunshine

Expanded the garden to the berm this year- all an experiment.

Got 3 zucchini already, but slow to produce more

The watermelons were a surprise for Fred- he didn't know what kind of plants they were until the fruit started to grow. They're golf ball sized so far, and getting measurably larger each day.

Sister Camp Projects #14-21

2011-08-10T22:55:00.000-07:00

Adventure Day

2011-08-10T22:54:00.000-07:00

Hanging out with Uncle Butch

Then we went to Sky High Sports for a few hours of bouncing

Dodgeball court

The Foam Pit

Sally's first sushi!

Sister Camp Project #13

2011-08-08T20:57:00.001-07:00

Carrot/pineapple muffins

Sister Camp Project #12

2011-08-08T15:01:00.001-07:00

Sister Camp Projects #6–11

2011-08-07T22:45:00.000-07:00

Sister Camp Project #5

2011-08-07T14:39:00.000-07:00

Butternut-Bing-Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Sister Camp Project #4

2011-08-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

Zucchini 'pasta'

A Day at the Track

2011-08-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

Look. Look.
Look at the horses.

See Sally.
See Sally look at the horses.

See Sally.
See Sally bet.

Look. Look. See Sally.

See the horses.

See the horses run.

Sally's horse lost.
Sally is sad.

See Sally drink.

See Sally try again.

Run, horses, run.

See the horses.
See the horses run fast.

Sally's horse won!
Sally is happy!

See Fred.
Fred's horses all lost.
See Fred mad.

See the winners smile.

Sister Camp Project #3

2011-08-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Soufflés & fruit salad

Quest for supplies

2011-08-05T20:42:00.000-07:00

Today we traveled far and wide for needed craft supplies

Sister Camp Project #2

2011-08-04T21:09:00.000-07:00

Sal made dinner:
Chicken breasts stuffed with chard and parmesan (delicious)
Fingerling potatoes (delicious)
Green beans (delicious)

Sister Camp Project #1

2011-08-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

Sally's in town!

Project #1: a new card wallet

Great American Backyard Campout

2011-06-27T17:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend we took part in the Great American Backyard Campout.
More information on Family Adventure resources at REI.com/family-adventure.

Peyton's Graduation

2011-06-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

My cousin Steve's oldest daughter Peyton graduated HS over the weekend,

a few pics from the day.

Tripp's Bday & Monster Trucks

2011-06-14T10:16:00.000-07:00

Cut the cake already!!

Motorcross freestylers in between races

Athens - Day 8

2011-05-21T15:48:00.000-07:00

We started the day with a segway tour:

'Panathenaic Stadium', the stadium which held the first modern Olympic Games (and the finish for the annual marathon)

segments of the segway tour

(part of which went through the National Gardens)

the changing of the guards, in front of Parliament

Parliament

The best meal of our trip, at Taverna Platanos.

Fred had cucumber salad, veal and potatoes.

Heather had roasted, rice-stuffed tomatoes and sauteed spinach

On to the Acropolis; the view from Areopagus Hill

Odeon of Herodes Atticus

Athens in the background

the Parthenon

the Temple of Athena Nike

Parthenon

Erechtheion

Temple of Zeus (from the Parthenon)

Temple of Zeus

Santorini > Athens - Day 7

2011-05-09T22:13:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Santorini we explored the maze of paths and shops in Fira

Leaving Santorini, on an 8-hr ferry back to Athens

Santorini Day 6

2011-05-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Back to Oia

Fred goes for a swim.

Lunch in Ammoudi, a tiny port 300 steps below Oia

Grilled octopus (tasted like a cross between calamari and chicken)

Sunset from Fira

(the bottom of a cloud was hovering just above us, at the top of the island)

Santorini Day 5

2011-05-09T20:56:00.001-07:00

On our first full day in Santorini we rented a car and drove all over the island

'Traditional Homes' in Oia: an incredible cluster of concrete homes perched here and there in the cliff, connected by a random series of winding paths and steps

Red Beach

Lunch: Moussaka

On the south side of the island, near Akrotiri

Cape Akrotiri

Sunset in Oia

Mykonos-Day 3

2011-05-08T17:19:00.000-07:00

The early phase of house construction: concrete/rebar foundation.

Later comes bricks to fill in the walls and form smaller window and door holes. Then everything is covered in plaster. We saw a LOT of these.

Lunch: Greek salad, saganaki (fried cheese), meatballs with rice in tomato sauce

Kalo Livadi Beach

Kalafatis Beach

Our hotel room

Sunset from the pool

Mykonos-Day 2

2011-05-08T17:13:00.001-07:00

Lunch on the water's edge in Little Venice.

Fred: calamari linguini, Heather: chicken souvlaki

Hora (the capital of the island) is a crazy maze of winding, sloping alleyways. Our waiter at the hotel said it was built this way to block out the strong north wind.

Sam, Mykonos' mascot pelican

We were constantly amazed by the ability to squeeze any kind of vehicle through any kind of tight, narrow space.

Athens > Mykonos

2011-05-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

An early morning transfer to the ferry dock prompts Fred to drink coffee (!)

1st island stop on the ferry

view from our hotel room on Mykonos

Mykonos windmills

dinner with a view of the sunset

A Frankfurter in Frankfurt!

2011-05-02T09:33:00.000-07:00

10am, Frankfurt Germany: time for a frankfurter

Photo of the flight path video from Dusseldorf to Athens

minutes from arrival in Athens

Our first Greek meal:

meatballs with fries, and sausage with fries;

both came with half a lemon

Greece Baby!

2011-04-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

We are finally on a real vacation...in Greece!

Currently on a ferry from Athens to Mykonos enjoying the water of the Aegean Sea (Mediterranean). Will post pics when I have a faster internet connection than the one on the ferry..very slow.

Happy Rhubarb

2011-04-25T07:43:00.000-07:00

The brick wall/planter behind the deck is finally finished:

And the garden is planted: tomatoes, basil, lettuce, chard & beets

Uncle Butch brought over a rhubarb start from one of his plants,
and it seems to be very happy in its new home

Fred's 40th Bday

2011-04-10T16:52:00.001-07:00

Heather and I

The Brazilian Steakhouse with dancers

The Capilano Suspension bridge

Furry Creek Golf, my favorite course

Signature Hole #14

Had a great time in Vancouver, BC for my 40th birthday. Great golfing with friends (the girls had a spa day), some 5 pin bowling and billiards, Brazilian steakhouse, suspension bridge and the treetop adventure (no zip lines this time). Great to see Shane and Tricia, Brad and Nicole, and my buddy Mike; glad they all could make it.

More snow in Seattle!

2011-02-25T19:18:00.000-08:00

We got a couple more inches of snow the other night here in Seattle, I guess winter is not over here either. Today it was in the 20's and quite windy, almost felt like North Dakota.

Glass Flowers

2011-02-20T11:04:00.000-08:00

We took a 'Blow Your Own' glass class at Uptown Glassworks and made glass flowers:

Fred's flower

Heather's flower

Fargo Blizzard

2011-01-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

Got to experience a good old fashion North Dakota blizzard during our stay in Fargo for the New Year. The top photo is New Years Day after the 2 days of blizzard. The second photo is a look at the roads on new years eve morning, and the video is a look out the window on new years eve day. Happy New Years everyone!

Xmas in Fargo 2010

2010-12-28T09:39:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas eve at Brad & Nicoles and Christmas day at Andy & Brigets where we had a little fun in the snow with the 3-wheeler towing us on a sled (as seen on the video).

Flying Trapeze!

2010-12-07T22:40:00.000-08:00

We ran away and joined the circus and started training with the flying trapeze.

Below is a little video to show our stuff. Cirque de Soleil here we come.

End of Movember

2010-11-30T13:52:00.000-08:00

Well, Movember has come to an end and I realize at the age of almost 40, I can still not grow a mustache. As long as more awareness has been made for prostate and testicular cancer, it was worth it.

Snow in Seattle!

2010-11-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

Well, we got about 4-5 inches of snow Sunday night and Monday. I am guessing that is pretty rare here in November. As usual, the city pretty much shut down and everyone stayed home on Tuesday. It sure is fun to drive in though.

Movember-after 3 weeks

2010-11-24T17:35:00.001-08:00

I would love to say it is getting better...but its not..

Movember - after 2 weeks

2010-11-16T12:34:00.001-08:00

Looking a little better, but not much..

Movember - after 1 week

2010-11-08T18:34:00.000-08:00

One week into growing the mustache and it is not a pretty sight. It still needs a lot of help and a lot more time, good thing I have a few more weeks of growing. It can only get better..

Fred and Movember

2010-11-02T16:55:00.000-07:00

It is Movember and the new way to raise awareness for Prostate cancer is to grow a mustache, starting fresh on Nov 1st. I am not exactly sure where this started (I think somewhere in Australia), but it sounds like fun and something I can do to raise awareness for a good charity. The odds aren't good out there for men and this cancer, and it recently hit close to home with my Father-in-law Ted. Outlook is good, but my thoughts and prayers continue to go out to him. Time to grow the stache for a cause. Update pic will follow at the end of the month.

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

2010-10-21T09:17:00.000-07:00

Us with the bridge we are about to walk across in the background.

Heather had to find out what the guys were doing and why they were painting the cables.

Apparently a lot of caulk and flexibility is needed??

You can imagine how high these guys are..crazy.

We had a little fun on the new bridge on a beautiful day. They built it right next to the old one to add more lanes. It was a lot scarier walking on the old one watching them build the new one seeing the gap get smaller between the two spans and finally meeting in the middle.

5 years

2010-09-27T22:02:00.000-07:00

We spent our 5th anniversary last weekend on the western peninsula.

This is a photo of us on the ferry - facing the sun (obviously).

New Boots!

2010-09-26T19:28:00.001-07:00

They're Keens! Too bad we don't sell them (yet) at REI.

The garden: the tomato plants are twice as high as shown in this photo

Too bad even though the tomato plants seem
to be doing so awesome, they're not red yet...

The bamboo in the front yard

Fred - Bubbleboy

2010-09-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

The Puyallup Fair had a fun little "ride" this year that Fred just had to try...

It could be torture, a good workout, or maybe just a little fun.

Big Fish

2010-09-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

Heather's boss took her fishing bright and early this morning:

And it was quite tasty for dinner.

21614

2010-09-07T09:21:00.001-07:00

Almost a full year later, we finally painted the number on the house:

August Family Vacation

2010-09-07T09:01:00.001-07:00

We got to spend time with both families in August:

-----

photos from Amy's wedding in North Carolina

First Beets!

2010-06-23T14:13:00.000-07:00

Heather's garden is doing very well. We have plenty of lettuce, the carrots are coming along and Heather is super excited about her first beets, which she says are tasty, but I don't believe her.

Jimmies 75th

2010-06-03T18:08:00.000-07:00

Today would have been my Dad's 75th birthday. To honor him, I thought I would post one of my favorite pic/memory of him. Dad had the uncanny ability to ride bikes backwards, which was funny because I don't know if I ever saw him ride it the normal way. This pic always puts a smile on my face...wish you were still with us Dad, I love and miss you. Tonight is pizza and beer(with salt in it), just the way he liked it. Cheers Old Man!

Summer Rolls

2010-05-30T20:43:00.000-07:00

We made summer rolls for dinner.
Our wrapping technique definitely improved by the last one.

The garden

2010-05-18T19:10:00.000-07:00

Sun, warm temperatures and rain seem to make the plants in the garden happy. We planted tomatoes, chard, beets, carrots and 2 kinds of lettuce.

New lawn edge

2010-05-03T17:52:00.000-07:00

Grilled Pizza!

2010-05-03T17:45:00.000-07:00

The Peepettes

2010-04-04T21:27:00.000-07:00

Heather's department at work had a 'Peep Art' competition,
similar to what the Seattle Times does every year.

Here is what we created.

Introducing ... the Peepettes!

Heather won First Place, and a fabulous trophy:

Vancouver Olympics

2010-02-23T08:06:00.000-08:00

We decided we had to go check out Vancouver and the Olympics scene, since it will never get closer than 3 hours away. We weren't able to go to any events, but just being among all the people there was fun. Also, being able to watch the US vs Canada hockey game LIVE was nice...and they were not happy about us beating them.

The Olympic Torch was pretty amazing, you just couldn't get very close to it. There was a tall chain link fence around it.

There was a lot of Street entertainment and Fred got pulled into one of them when the juggler saw me taking this photo high in the air attached to my monopod. The juggler though it would be fun to balance the extended monopod, with camara attached, on his chin and lower himself down to laying on the ground. But, got a crazy pic of Fred holding the juggler.

Downtown, on Robson and Granville St, they had them blocked off and there were people everywhere, dressed in their country's colors and wearing flags.

The city and huge, batman-like spotlights.

BACON

2010-02-07T20:10:00.001-08:00

The Super Bowl Party we went to had a Bacon Theme.
Fred's entry into the 'Appetizer' contest was
mini twice-baked potatoes with
a horseradish/cheddar/bacon filling
and a bacon 'nugget' on top.

YUM.

Heather's Film Debut

2010-02-03T17:08:00.000-08:00

Check out the video on this page, supporting an Expert Advice article for the Ten Essentials on REI.com:
http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/ten+essentials.html

Heather does #8-Hydration

Polar Bear Plunge 2010, Milwaukee

2010-01-01T11:30:00.000-08:00

AIR: 18ºF (wind chill 6ºF) / WATER: 34.7º
January 1, 2010, NOON

Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Our first game at Lambeau

2009-12-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

Where else does anyone in their right mind leave their house with the car loaded at 7am, open the tailgate in a frozen parking lot at 10am to drink beer and eat chili and sausage, dress in layers and strategically placed hot packs to sit for several hours on metal bleachers in 20º weather?

Our first game at Lambeau was awesome.
Packers 48, Seahawks 10

New Artificial Tree

2009-12-11T17:11:00.001-08:00

With limited storage space and the wish to simplify holiday decorating,

we decided to create a flat artificial tree.
2 yards of tan cotton,
1 yard of green fleece,
two 36" dowels
and about 100 green buttons later...

Per tradition, the 'ugly ball' was of course the first to go on the tree

Artificial trees just aren't the same without that fresh pine scent,
so I crocheted an ornament holder for a 'Scentportable' refill from Bath & Body Works. The how-to is on hdwu's blog.

Christmas is almost here!

2009-12-09T19:27:00.000-08:00

Paint is (almost) done!

2009-09-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

We still need to paint the house number on the front
and choose an interesting color for the front door.
But the painting is mostly done:

Red House, Wrong Trim

2009-09-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

The house is red!
Unfortunately they used the wrong paint for the trim,
which makes the house feel really dark and depressing.
The painters will be back today to fix it...

Primed!

2009-09-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Forecast for the next few days is 'partly cloudy',

with 60% showers on Saturday.
Hopefully the rain can hold out for just a few more days...

Paint colors:

(brown for fascia, red for most of house, gray for trim)

BEFORE New Paint

2009-09-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

After 5 years of waiting,
the house will soon no longer be dirty pink & cream!

BEFORE:

142 Miles

2009-09-15T21:44:00.000-07:00

Heather participated in the Bike MS ride this weekend- an organized bike ride benefitting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. 74 miles (~3,500 feet total climb) on the first day, 68 miles (~2,300 feet total climb) on the second day, camping at the fairgrounds in the evenings.

Update-8/17

2009-08-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

After a month of heat, lots of watering and lots of pruning back the crazy tomato plants:

Finally- a few are turning red

The new monkey sculpture has found a home

Fred installed the new lights on the front of the house

Garden-7/13

2009-07-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

WHOA! Watering + sun + 'suckering'= huge tomato plants.
Just as we knew we would, we planted way too much.
It seemed like so much space when it was just dirt and tiny little seeds...

Fred's little cucumbers finally getting bigger...

Garden-7/6

2009-07-13T20:54:00.001-07:00

Progress! Tomatoes staked and growing, and all the seeds have sprouted.
Heather's zucchini sprouts are growing WAY faster than
Fred's cucumber sprouts.

Herbs all seem pretty happy- the cilantro and dill took off.

Fred's cute little baby cucumbers.

Garden-6/21

2009-07-13T20:47:00.001-07:00

Garden planted 6/20

2 lettuce + 8 tomato plants started by Uncle Butch, 2 eggplant plants, 2 sugar snap pea plants, 3 peppers (in the smaller pot at the back) and lots of seeds: cucumbers, lettuce, marigolds, carrots, beets and zucchini

Herbs planted: basil, cilantro, dill, oregano, thyme,
parsley, stevia, mint and rosemary

Sunscreen for the Upper Deck

2009-07-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

We've been eating dinner a lot on the upper deck.

Too bad the sun at dinnertime shines directly into Fred's face.

Terrace Almost Complete

2009-06-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

We have plenty of landscaping yet to finish, but the terrace itself is mostly done.

Trying out the potential house color on the shed first

The garden

2009-06-15T18:08:00.001-07:00

Drilling drainage holes in the new 8' x 3' x 2' galvanized trough which will be our garden.

Filling it with a ton of dirt (literally), one 2-cubic-ft bag at a time...

Installing the decking

2009-05-21T17:07:00.001-07:00

(From the upper deck)

Progress on the Boardwalks

2009-05-20T12:57:00.001-07:00

creating the frame for the second boardwalk, under the upper deck

Cutting decking (composite material)

Installing decking. Using the drywall T-square as a spacer.

Boardwalk to the shed (almost) completed!

Terrace Frames

2009-05-04T17:10:00.000-07:00

Posts set in concrete, support beams attached

Outer frames constructed

Landscape fabric and cardboard laid down,
some of the lava rock spread out. Joists added.

Removing previous step surface from shed
(to be replaced with decking to match everything else)

Boardwalk to shed built

View from the shed

30 cubic yards of gravel

2009-04-23T17:49:00.000-07:00

We had 30 cubic yards of gravel delivered last Saturday morning:

10 yards of lava rock, for the back yard around the terrace

20 yards of '1-1/4 minus' for the driveway (it came in 2 separate truckloads)

The piles, with the beginning of landscape fabric and cardboard laid down to (try to) prevent weeds from poking through

After the first spreading- Fred moved it around in piles with the Dingo, and Heather roughly spread it out with a rake. Still pretty lumpy.

After a few more hours of spreading with the rake,
it's smoother but still smooshy.

Terrace Site Preparation

2009-04-21T12:34:00.000-07:00

We rented a 'Dingo' to make the digging and gravel-moving easier.
Lots of dirt and weeds and debris to move around.

View from the upper deck after Day 1

Drilling with the Dingo

Placing the concrete forms in the holes

View from the shed, after Day 2
(those piles are of lava rock, which will be spread out later)

View from the upper deck

The Terrace - BEFORE

2009-04-20T13:09:00.000-07:00

Our first project this season- creating a Terrace in the backyard.
Here's the mess we're starting with:

View from under the upper deck

View from the shed

View from the berm

The layout plan

Finally! Flowers blooming

2009-04-20T13:07:00.000-07:00

Flowers finally blooming on the berm in the backyard

Happy New Year from the Polar Bears!

2009-01-05T21:14:00.000-08:00

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

2008-12-15T08:03:00.000-08:00

Snow!

Busy making lots of holiday goodies

Fred dominated at his company's holiday bowling tournament-

highest score in game 1 (194) and highest all-around score.

paper snowflakes on the window overlooking the backyard

Wrought Iron Fence

2008-11-09T20:46:00.001-08:00

Fred putting together new fence

New fence is in

Heather geared up for her ride to work in the rain

New Shed and Lawn

2008-11-09T19:00:00.000-08:00

Old Backyard overgrown with weeds

Old lawn from window

Building the shed floor

Weeds are gone!

Old shed coming down, new, bigger shed going up

Floor going in

Floor primed and first wall up

Walls going up

I think Heather likes it..

Siding begins

Small box behing the Big box

From above

The roof comes next

We decided to paint our new lawn in

Preparing new roof with some skylight

Roof is complete and lawn coming along nicely

Doors for the shed, borrowed from old shed

Shed complete, just needs a paint job, as well as the house

One tree out, Three trees in

2008-10-21T09:07:00.000-07:00

Our biggest Birch planted
Half the hillside filled
View from deck of new trees
Everyone can see our house now

Big Tree gone!

Big branch falling

This guy was good at what he does

Almost gone
We can see the neighbors house now
Tree cutter at work

Large tree before

Nearing Completion of deck

2008-10-13T08:28:00.000-07:00

New deck 95% complete.

Our bathroom window is finally enclosed, and a new ledge for our grill.

Some new siding and my ladder to the roof.

Finally, a place to sit on our deck.

The new cubby for the freezer

The new deck looking down on the old deck

You can't see it because it is hazy, but we can see Mount Rainier just over the trees.

A new roof for the deck

Deck continues.

2008-10-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Upper Deck - Reconstruction

2008-09-24T18:25:00.001-07:00

Reconstruction started 2 weekends ago- we're slowly getting the blog caught up to real-time.

Who can be creative if everything is put away and orderly?

You'll notice the tarp suspended in the background- the rainy season has started...

New stairs!

Upper Deck - DEMOLITION

2008-09-23T09:13:00.000-07:00

The Upper Deck - BEFORE

2008-09-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

I guess when you have THREE rotten steps it's time to replace the stairs. And why not just rip out the whole thing and make it bigger and better?!?