Decorating Our Den

I love the den in our Enumclaw house. I spend more time in there than I do any room but our bedroom. I go there to work on the computer to read and listen to great music. The windows at the back of the room always provide a great view as they look out on some of Rosie's gardens and the majestic pines in the back of our house. The natural light those windows provide and the cherrywood trim give it a very warm feeling.

The two big bookshelves on one wall contain many of my favorite books. A few years ago I took one wall and made it my Kilimanjaro summit wall with Aunt Melanie's great oil painting of Kilimanjaro in the center and 11 X 14 photos on the summit with Steve, Julie, Emilie, Marc and Paul. But the main wall in the room had only 3 randomly placed photos and a map of the world on it. For a while I have wanted to upgrade this wall and over the last couple of months I have had 11 X 14 prints made up of some of my favorite pictures from our trips and adventures over the last five years.

Rosie bought some matching frames (25) and Andrew and I spent the afternoon putting the wall together. We had to get the pictures in the frames, nail the holder on the back of each frame and then figure out how to hang them so they looked all right. He was able to use his math to figure out where to put the nails in the wall and we had a nice time together.

As I look at that wall I experience a flood of memories from some wonderful times with my greatest asset -- my family. Those memories include:

- Standing above Machu Picchu and feeling a reverential feeling for that sacred place that is a dream of every adventurer.
- A few great trips to Switzerland. There is wonderful shot of all of us (except Melanie, Marc, John and Xavier) at the Faulhorn on my fiftieth birthday. There is no more beautiful spot in the world and what a place to celebrate a milestone birthday.
- Our climb this summer of Mount Olympus. There is one of us on the summit with our arms raised in triumph and one of that most memorable evening when we hiked to the surrounding two peaks before the full moon came up. Another as we hiked from Refuge C with Zeus' throne in the background.
- Canoeing on Moraine Lake in Banff-- perhaps the most beautiful lake I have ever seen and another of us in the valley of ten peaks after our memorable lunch.
- Marc and Emilie on the summit of Mount Adams on a perfect July day with Rainier looming in the background.
- Watching the sun set on Delicate Arch in Arches National Park just a month ago with Steve and Marc.
- Angels Landing in Zions with its incomparable view with Julie, Emilie, Steve, Rosie and Marc.
- A hike at 10 PM on an endless June day in Alaska above Turnagain Arm with Paul.
- Visits to three of the most iconic sights in the world -- Stonehenge, the Eiffel Tower and the Parthenon in Athens.
- A perfect day in Zermatt after so many days of rain on our last trip to Switzerland. That morning as we hiked to the Gornergrat I took the best picture I have ever taken. Paul, Andrew, Rebekah, Julie and Rosie are hiking with the glorious Matterhorn covered in snow as the backdrop.
- Some great days in Mount Rainier National Park.
- A hot afternoon at the Temple of Poseiden and a wonderful picture with everyone except for Melanie (We even have the X man and John in that one).

I included a couple of pictures of the wall to give you a feel for what we did (If you click on them you will get a much better view and will be able to see some of the photos). I'm excited to show you the wall when you come home for Christmas. But I'm more excited as I think about new adventures we will take in years to come and of course new additions to this wall.

I have often said, "I am in the business of making memories" and there is no other place I would rather spend my time and money than making great memories with my family.

Dad