The Safts

While we were in NC, Jay made a side trip to Asheville to visit our friends, Aaron, Beth and Keagan. Keagan is getting so big and he has turned into such a handsome young man. Sorry I missed you guys, but I am glad to hear that everything is still well in western NC. Hope to catch you on the next trip.

Herb & Diane Visit

Jay's mom and dad made the voyage down to Clute for 8 days in early October. We spent the first few days hanging out in Clute and catching up. Over the weekend we decided to explore some of Southern Texas, so we headed to Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg is about 5 hours from Clute, just west of Austin it is a very historic town, largely influenced by the early German settlers. The area is also very popular for the outdoor enthusiast as there are a large number of state parks, we visited two of them. Perdenales Falls and Enchanted Rock. We also stayed at a really nice B&B in Fredericksburg, called Queen Anne.

Laura & Jay at Perdenales Falls...who knew there was water that blue in Texas!

Herb & Diane at the Auslander for dinner
The Johns Family half way up Enchanted Rock


Heading Down into Enchanted Cave

Yes, this photo was taken in Texas....

Gran Tetons National Park

Yellowstone National Park

Glacier National Park

Relatively Unscathed....

We finally got to fly home late Monday night. Jay's car was fully intact in the long term parking lot and we had no issues getting home. Even better than that, we already had power and water at our house. Some trees in our yard took a beating and our landscaping for sure. Our friend John came over on Tuesday with a chainsaw and my friend Matt pitched in as well with cleaning up debris and limbs. Now our yard is as good as new. Grocery stores are finally getting up and running again, along with other stores and gas stations. There are still 60% of people from Houston south without power and they anticipate it will be several weeks before it is fully restored. Please keep the people of southern Texas in your prayers, some were left with nothing and it will be a long recovery.

Vacation or Evacuation???

As many of you know, Jay and I just returned late Monday night from our Vacation/Evacuation!! We headed out on September 4th for a tour of Grand Tetons (Wyoming), Yellowstone (Wyoming) and Glacier National Parks (Montana). We left on a Thursday and spent 3.5 days exploring Jackson hole and the Grand Tetons. Including a 10 mile hike (round trip) to Amphitheatre Lake. It wouldn't have been too bad, except it was 5 miles out and 3,000 feet up!! Not to mention I had already run 6 miles that morning. Needless to say I could barely move when we got back.

We took it easy the next day as we headed into Yellowstone. We toured the Old Faithful Geyser basin. We got to see Old Faithful erupt right on time....and Grotto Geyser just happened to erupt as we were hiking by as well. The area was so different from anything I have ever seen, the geothermal activity there makes you feel like you are on another plant. The Hydrogen Sulfide makes everywhere you go smell like boiled egg yolks and water rapidly boiling out of the ground is incredible. The colors of the hot springs are so vibrant.

From Yellowstone we headed to Big Sky, Montana for a night. In the winter it is a Ski Resort. In the summer they open up the trails to hikers and mountain bikers. So of course we hit the trails for a run before heading on to Glacier.

Somewhere between our time in Yellowstone and arriving in Glacier Jay and I both turned on our cell phones. We each had one message from friends back in Clute. They were calling to let us know that Hurricane Ike was headed right for us and everyone was evacuating. We immediately made sure Scout was taken care of. He had been with Julie and Chris in Clute and Julie was such a trooper, she evacuated Scout along with her three kids and her dog. They all headed to Houston to hunker down with Mike and Kelli and their kids. So three dogs, six kids and three adults. Needless to say, it was a full house. And our friend Jenny patiently took notes as I dictated the things I wanted her to take with her when she and Wes headed to Tennessee. So, with all of that taken care of I felt better....temporarily. Until I saw the weather channel and realized it was really heading RIGHT for us. So, we called our landscaper and asked him to board the house for us. He had it all done not even 3 hours after I talked to him!!

We had done all we could do, so we headed out to enjoy Glacier. The first day we did a few small hikes and took in a lot of the sites along the "Going-To-The-Sun" Road via the car. The second day we headed to the other end of the park, to an area called Many Glacier. We had heard so many stories about all the Grizzly Bears on that end of the park, I was a ball of nerves for about the first mile of the hike. But I had my "bear pepper spray" (no jokes please) and I was walking through the woods saying "Hey Bear" from time to time. Jay didn't take any bear spray, most likely because he knew he could out run me. I felt like I was fresh out of an episode of Man vs. wild. We didn't encounter any bears, but we did another 10 mile hike. However, this one was only 1200 feet up, with much easier terrain. And the views at the top...well, you just have to see the photos.

Friday we checked out of our cabin in Glacier and headed down to Missoula, MT. We were scheduled to fly out of Missoula on Saturday but we ended up hanging out there until Monday. I sat up watching Mike Siedell from the weather channel broadcast from Clute all night. I was pretty stressed. After seeing Surfside beach (8 miles from our house) under water by noon (12+ hours before Ike made landfall), I was sure we were toast. We were preparing ourselves mentally to see water in our home. But the big guy was looking out for us, the next morning Mike was still in Clute and we could tell the damage was minimal!! My prayers were answered.

Scout turns 9!!

The Birthday Boy!!

Dad...give me my burger already!!

I can always count on my mom :-)
My little buddy turned 9 on August 31st. We celebrated the same way we always do, a hamburger for the b-day boy, a new toy (a ball of course) and a treat. And of course cake and ice cream for the adults :-)


I can't believe it's been nine years. It has gone so fast. Scout's birthdays seem to mark the course of my adult life, adult life being that after college. I graduated in August, moved to WV in September and brought Scout home in October of 1999. To those of you that don't know us well, it may seem a bit silly to celebrate your dog's b-day each year. But those of you that know us and know our story know that Scout beat many odds as a young pup to even make it past his 5th birthday. Not to mention, when I was all alone in WV he was my buddy, through all the major changes in my life he has been the one constant. He loves his new daddy and is a very happy, healthy, ENERGETIC pup. All my love Scouters.


Oh...and Scout says he expects a visit from his grandpa soon, he has a brand new ball ready and waiting!

Scout's friends...Luke and Jaden come over to help celebrate with Cake, Ice Cream and lots of running.

Mom and Kristen Visit Tejas

Jay and Scout were out numbered this weekend as the ladies ruled the house. Mom and Kristen came down to spend a long weekend with us to unwind after a busy summer. We spent lots of time catching up, we did some cooking, visited with friends, spent a day in Galveston and an evening at the beach. But mostly we watched A LOT of olympics. It's been an awesome weekend and I have LOVED having them here. I only wish we could keep them here longer.

Below are some photos from our adventures and also a video of Scout's trip to the beach. When we first moved down here he wouldn't have anything to do with the water, he was used to creeks where the water didn't move. He was never sure what to do with the whole wave concept. But as soon as he saw his friend Ollie bounding through the waves you could almost hear him thinking, "maybe that wouldn't be so bad", and now you can't get him to stop!! Hope you enjoy watching as much as we did.

Scout's Play Date at the Beach