The Montana Raibles

What if we had a wedding and no one came?

2009-09-23T11:18:10-06:00

Well, so far so good...until now. I woke up early this morning all sweaty. I had a dream that I had thrown a wedding and nobody came. It was Kalin, mom, her parents and I with the band in a big empty hall. I can laugh about it now, but at 4 am this is not funny. I made Kalin get up at 8 am and print out the guest list just to be sure. I had been confidently going planning along and now this. What is next? Dreaming of walking down the isle without my pants? I guess I am a little more concerned than I thought.... It seems to be all I can think about, much to the chagrin of my boss. So you ladies who have gone through this let me know if this is how it goes. I think next week I will be better as people start to arrive. And once my mother ( her highness, will now simply be referred to as HRH) arrives I know things will settle. Now I am going to call my caterer and make sure all is well. I wonder if he knows I have him on speed dial?

17 Days and counting....

2009-09-16T13:29:07-06:00

Mya and I had a meeting again this afternoon. We are 17 days out!!! Wow! This is getting closer and closer. Made it to the Farmer's Market in Manson this morning to look for earrings to go with the necklace I am borrowing from Mom (there is a missing earring...). Betsy does such beautiful work... www.eyecandybeads.com

Now, we are just double checking our list to make sure everything is coming together... so far so good, although I think I am forgetting something.

Adding a Registry... Culinary Apple

2009-09-16T13:26:02-06:00

After much discussion, Mya and I have decided to add the Culinary Apple in Chelan to our registry.

Invitations

2009-08-25T14:33:07-06:00

After 3 cups of tea and 1 very strong cup of coffee, we have finally managed to convince Excel to Mail Merge into address labels... So watch your mailbox for your invite.

Registered!

2009-08-23T11:36:23-06:00

After repeated questioning, we are finally registered! Mya and I are new to this sort of thing and we registered for 2 of the 3 places online which was not the experience that we wanted but c'est la vie.

We are registered at the following places:

REI

Target

Macys

Please do not feel obligated to get us anything. We are just looking forward to seeing everyone!

Kalin has found her dress!

2009-08-23T11:31:04-06:00

Motivated by a $100 bet with Mya, I was successful in finding my wedding dress . I visited my Mom to go fabric shopping for the attendants dresses. Mom was still at work on Thursday so I went to Lancaster Mall.. didn't find anything but AVVA CIGAR & WINE ... excellent selections! http://www.avvacigars.com/

I crossed the street to Academy Square and went into Bridal Exclusives www.BridalExclusives.com. The bridal consultants were very helpful and helped me find dresses and then left me alone to try them on!

So the the dress I desired was a cream/champagne/oatmeal color, no train, with shoulder straps that fit well. The dress I found fits well and doesn't have a train!

Weddingville

2009-08-19T11:43:03-06:00

When you are answering text questions from your caterer while on the fire line and your mother calls first thing on your day off with cake decorating ideas you have arrived in weddingville. When California is burning and all you can think about is getting the invitations out, you are in weddingville. When you think, sure, whats another 500 bucks you are definitely in weddingville.

Not that it is a bad place to visit. I just never thought I would. I remember Toni sweating over her website and making coleslaw by the barrel for my mother's wedding. I was laughing then...and fortunately I am laughing now. You have too when you are trying to land a helicopter every two minutes and you wedding planner is sending pictures on your phone of unity candles. (we are having a unity candle?!). Or when your fiance faxes to fire camp the wording for your invitations. "Hey, Dude' this must be for you". Yup weddingville it is.

My mother now refers to all things as AW or BW. That is after wedding or before. You gotta love it.

So if all my readers ( both of you) have any questions about lodging, food, pirate decorations for the barbeque or how many pairs of pants I have tried on for my wedding suit please call or email. It will improve my stay in weddingville to talk to other visitors.

Planning, Guessing and Hoping

2009-07-22T10:54:53-06:00

After 21 days of work and a trip to Montana on the Harley we have finally found some time to start really planning for the wedding. As the time has grown closer we have suddenly become more interested. What we had put off until July has now become a reality. Meeting with the florist? How about tomorrow? Meeting with the caterer? How about this afternoon? Althought I bet Kalin a hundred dollars that she would not have purchased her wedding dress by Labor day. I may soon be a hundred dollars richer. Nothing like a little side betting to hold her interest. So things are ratchiting up as the big day approaches. It is a good thing it is a slow fire year or I would be blogging from the hotel room in Winamucka, Nevada ( the armpit of the world ) instead of my living room. So until the next time my little wedding attendies, keep the rubber side down on the engine and I will bring more news as events warrent. Mya Papaya, bride.

Montana Spring Rains

2009-05-14T21:05:58-06:00

Lots of rain today. I'll bet it never got to 60.

Picked up two year old tops for firewood in the morning. They felt pretty wet.

Luckily I worked in the barn during the rain straightening it up for woodwork. Started a shoe rack for the bedroom.

Laundry Day tomorrow including a couple loads from a couple of previous visits.

Another headache

2009-03-07T12:12:04-07:00

Wish I knew where they came from. I did travel a lot last week.

Grandpa Ollie said that he used to get headaches from canned beer; so, only drank whiskey or bottled beer. I did have three beers yesterday; but I sure hope that wasn't the problem. Barbara and I watched a "Body of Lies" DVD until 11. I hope that didn't do it either. Maybe it was the plan to take the Dodge in for new front calipers because I couldn't figure out what tool to take them off with and as Barbara reminded me we were heading up to Chelan for Kalin's birthday this weekend with it. There goes my other solar panel.

Speaking of Solar Panels I picked up a new one off of E-Bay and waiting for it to arrive. I'm not familiar with the manufacturer; so, I hope it works according to it's specs.

I just wrote Dave Owens about when he expected to close the road for Breakup. Willams is thinking about clearing for a fire break that section between Johns and our place for Salvage and just leaving the big trees. We asked him to do this a '08.

Back from my last junket

2009-03-05T22:28:27-07:00

I'm catching up on my e-mails today after a trip to Medford for a workshop and a trip to Eugene for a meeting, today. Both visits involved a retirement toast. It is always good to be with old friends and reminisce about the good times. Even the bad times seemed funny, now. Lots of questions about the retirement home. It will be a retirement home in the sense that it will give us something to do in our retirement.... remodel until our last breaths.

Getting familar

2009-02-25T20:28:24-07:00

9 weeks until I can get up back there. It will be interesting to see if working up there gives me headaches like the 15 years here have.

A Fall From Grace

2009-02-22T14:14:15-07:00

Hello my children,

My nights at the gym have paid off. While beginning to remove the solar panels I lost my situational awareness and stepped backwards off of the dormer. I'm bruised, but not broken anywhere. I can forget about this bone spur and rotator cuff healing real soon because that's the side that hit first.

I have a natural ability to land on my elbows without breaking them when I fall; so, that's what took the brunt of it. When falling at 32 ft per sec. for 8 ft. I didn't have much time to think about it and prepare for a hard landing. I did notice after the side of my head hit the roof and my glasses and hat headed for the gutter that I was apparently doing the same.

As like the time I started to slide down a steep snow bank on Lion Creek working on the Trail Crew early one spring I was looking for an anchor. There happened to be a vent pipe sticking up that I was able to grab with the inside of my knee.

While I was wondering what I broke I heard a voice say from below "Are you alright?" It was my neighbor who was out on her porch kitty-corner from us having a cigarette when she noticed my fall from grace. I asked her if I bounced and she said that it looked like I hit pretty hard. Later, I considered myself lucky that I didn't impale myself on either of the vent pipes sticking out of the roof.

Figuring that I wouldn't be able to walk the next day I decided to finish the job. It went fairly well and I shouldn't have to go up there anymore; altho, the moss will need to be removed when we try to sell the place. Maybe my fears of early onset are grounded as I will be for the next month. I am sore; but can walk. Later this afternoon I'll see if I can carry any weight on my left side.

Love,

Dad

Happy Birthday Abbie!

2005-11-05T13:37:21-07:00

Today is Abbie's 3rd birthday. It's hard to believe how fast she's grown up. On one hand, I'd like to say it feels like just yesterday that she was born - but it doesn't. A lot has happened since she was born: Jack, a new house, new cars, the bus, speaking at conferences and writing books. Phew, I hope life slows down a little soon.

Happy Birthday Abbie - I hope you enjoy your birthday party as much as we will!

Disney World

2005-10-15T18:12:47-06:00

It's been a while since I posted a family picture - here's one from last week at Disney.

Happy Birthday Jack!

2005-08-28T15:05:30-06:00

Happy Birthday Jack!! It's hard to believe it's been a whole year since Jack was born. He's quite a guy to hang out with now - he's walking, laughing and smiling like you wouldn't believe. He always wakes up with a smile on his face too - quite the opposite of his big sister.

I'd post a recent picture, but I killed my PowerBook last week, where all our pictures are stored. In the meantime, here's a video of him walking from last week.

Happy Birthday Julie!

2005-05-14T08:57:11-06:00

Happy Birthday Julie! Today we're loving life: Julie got to sleep 'til noon and now everyone is relaxing in the pool. Tonight the party starts at 7:00. Florida is beautiful this time of year.

A weekend of fun

2005-05-08T20:00:01-06:00

After working long hours last week, it was nice to have a weekend of relaxing and playing with the kids. Julie to Vegas on Friday night and returned Saturday night - so I had the kids solo for 24 hours. Saturday morning, I took them to Tiny Town where fun was had by all. Today, we took Jack on his first bike ride. Below are some pics from the events.

Jack is crawling!

2005-05-05T23:07:12-06:00

Jack's been scootching around for a couple of weeks now. Tonight he decided it was time to start using his knees - and lo and behold - he's now a crawler! Good stuff little man.

Jack in his scootching days

On related note, I showed Julie that today (05.05.05) only happens once in 7000 years - she responded with "yeah, well Jack will only crawl once ever."

Katherine Moore Patterson

2005-05-02T14:05:14-06:00

Aunt Kay was a wonderful woman that we all loved and admired - she will be missed.

Katherine Ethel Raible Moore Patterson, age 93 of Joplin, passed away at 7:20 p.m. Friday, February 25, 2005 at Joplin Healthcare Center.

Born September 19, 1911 in Joplin, she was the daughter of the late Joseph E. and Elizabeth Cronn Raible. For a time she attended Ozark Westeyan College in Carthage. She was an active member of the First Presbyterian Church.

She married Fred R. Moore on October 16, 1943. He preceded her in death on June 23, 1971. While they lived in Bisbee, Arizona she worked at the Bank of Bisbee. There in Bisbee she enjoyed horseback riding and tending to her flowers. From Bisbee they moved to Watsonville, California where she was employed by the Ford Department Store for 10 years.

She married Robert Patterson on April 10, 1986. He preceded her on March 11, 1987. Kay and Robert first met when they were students at Galena High School.

For 5 years she lived with her brother, Joseph, in Beacon, NY where they donated time at Castle Point Veteran?s Hospital. She was also active with the Beacon Hospital Auxiliary.

Survivors include a niece, Mary Cooper of Beacon, NY; two nephews, James Raible of Wappengers, NY, Joe Raible of Salem, OR; cousins, Betty Townsend of Salinas, CA, Helen Marlo of Bisbee, AZ, Mart Christie of West Hills, CA, Sue Pench of Ventura, CA; stepsons, Robert E. and Richard E. Patterson.

Funeral services will be held at Parker Mortuary Chapel at 1:30 PM on Wednesday March 3rd with Leonard Moffett officiating. Interment will be at Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery. Please send donations to the National Breast Cancer Fund.

Baby LumberJack

2005-02-21T11:58:59-07:00

What a cutie, eh?

Flickr

2005-02-21T11:57:48-07:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

Christmas Pictures

2004-11-26T11:40:56-07:00

Just like last year, we went and had Christmas pictures taken this week. Here's a snapshot of the whole family. Kiddie Kandids is the place to go - you can actually pick out and leave with your photos 15 minutes after they're taken. You can also order copies online.

Indian Summer

2004-09-26T23:35:07-06:00

It's Indian Summer in Denver. Read the full story or click on any of the pics below to zoom in.

Our little boy has arrived!

2004-09-05T22:43:15-06:00

We've all make it home safe and sound. This birth was pretty easy compared to Abbie's. We left for the hospital at 8:15 pm and Jack was born shortly after midnight. Julie was a champ - two pushes and he was out! Julie's mom and sister flew in so we've been having a great time with all the family around. Life is great in Denver right now.

The Whole Family

Abbie goes on a hike

2004-08-22T18:22:45-06:00

Yesterday, Abbie I went on a hike in the Denver foothills. Here's a cute picture from my new little hiking buddy.

You can read more about our trip on raibledesigns.com.

Happy Father's Day!

2004-06-20T21:52:01-06:00

Thanks for being such a great friend and father Pappy! You continue to amaze me with your knowledge of history and your perception on life. Our trip back from San Diego was a blast and I can't wait until you, Mom and Kalin come out to Denver for my birthday next month.

Below is a recent picture of Abbie - I sure am a proud Papa!

Happy Anniversary Julie!

2004-04-22T15:59:58-06:00

Today is Julie and I's 4-year anniversary. It's hard to believe that 4 years has gone by so fast. That's part of the reason I started this weblog - so I'd be able to document my life and know exactly what I was thinking on a certain date. Unfortunately, if I look back, I'll probably just see that (most of the time), a new Hibernate release came out. ;-)

I couldn't ask for a better wife or mother of my children. She really is the one for me and I couldn't be a luckier guy. Just for kicks, here's a picture on our wedding day. The funny thing is the picture is from exactly 4 years, 15 minutes ago. We got married at 5 p.m. EDT, and I suspect this picture was taken around 5:45. We'll be celebrating tonight with a babysitter and a nice dinner out.

Happy Birthday Kalin

2004-03-17T10:34:32-07:00

Happy Birthday sis!! Make the Luck o' the Irish bless you all day long...

Pictures from our visit to Mary and Judy's

2004-02-27T22:47:24-07:00

Last weekend, we headed to Tucson, Arizona to visit Mary and Judy. Here are some good pics from the trip - and one of Abbie with her new kitty.

Cool Trainyard	El Charro
Saguaro National Park	Abbie giving Zoe a kiss

Dad's headed to Africa!

2004-02-01T20:55:49-07:00

My Dad is heading to Tanzania (Africa) for two weeks on Friday. He works for the BLM as a Wireless Engineer - here's what he described his trip as:

I'm going to do a Radio System Assessment for the Ugalla Game Reserve for the Division of Wildlife of the Republic of Tanzania. I will be working with the Division of Wildlife and Africare to determine a radio system that will best allow the anti-poaching patrols to more effectively do their job and to enable other Game Reserves to comunicate with Ugalla. Ugalla's base station will be located in Tabora which is in western Tanzania. The asessment trip will allow us to determine the best communication solution for their needs, to develop guidelines for the purchasing of some of the equipment, and to haul and install what equipment we do purchase at a later date.

Pretty cool, eh? Good luck Pops!

My Best Christmas Present

2003-12-31T05:12:58-07:00

My best Christmas present was finding out that Baby Raible #2 is on the way!

Christmas Pictures

2003-12-13T13:35:05-07:00

We started a new tradition this year - annual family pictures. Here's some we had taken last weekend. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Abbie Loo

2003-11-05T20:36:48-07:00

One year ago today, early this morning at 12:52 a.m. - the best thing that every happened to us was born. Abbie Loo - what a cool kid. I never thought life could be so much fun as a Dad. I knew it would be good, but I never thought it would be this much fun!

Father and Son Weekend

2003-07-19T21:58:04-06:00

Forest Lake - nice fishing, didn't catch anything.

Cousin Jonathan

2003-07-15T10:32:47-06:00

I got a couple pics (from uncle Dale) of Abbie's cousin Jonathan. He was born a mere 3 weeks after Abbie. They're too cute to just leave them in my Inbox. It's so much easier to post them here and know that they'll always be here. Grandpa Dale is in Montana for a few weeks - which explains the missing you sign.

I don't know what the exact relationship between Jonathan and Abbie is, but Jennifer (his Mom) is my first cousin. Her mom, Donna, is my mom's sister. Any geneology wizzes, please help me out!

4th of July at the Cabin

2003-07-09T05:54:51-06:00

We had an awesome time at the cabin this 4th of July. We were delighted to be joined by the Alonzo's (Chris and Mary), Michael Lang, and we even saw Jarvis. Lots of fun was had by all. Click on either image below to see all the pictures from our trip.

Abbie Loo

2003-06-28T09:31:52-06:00

Abbie Loo - at seven months. Should be a great weekend with the little one.
We might even do some reading - a new nightly tradition.

Happy Father's Day

2003-06-15T09:39:06-06:00

Happy Father's Day Pappy! You're the best Dad in the world! I hope I can live up to the high standard you've set. Enjoy your day and drink one for me. I'm looking forward to our Father & Son weekend in July!

Family Golf Tounament

2003-05-23T09:38:03-06:00

Grandpa's Wake

2003-05-23T09:24:27-06:00

Joseph E. Raible, LTCD, Ret.

2003-05-19T10:06:44-06:00

Mr. Joseph E. Raible Sr., joined his wife Margaret in death, on May 12, 2003 at Wingate at St. Francis in Beacon. He was 86.

He was born on March 7, 1917 in Galena, Kansas where he was raised by Joseph Ernest and Elizabeth Cronn Raible. He grew up there and as a young man attended Drury College and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville majoring in Civil Engineering.

In January of 1941, he joined the U.S. Navy as a Naval Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD). After receiving his wings in Pensacola, Florida on December 12, 1941, he was immediately assigned to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He met his future wife there and married Army Nurse 2nd Lieutenant, Margaret Catherine Coyle of Beacon on the island of Maui on Oct. 17, 1943. By 1944, he had become the Executive Officer of the Naval Utility Squadron VX-1. He was stationed aboard USS Coral Sea during the Bikini Island Hydrogen Bomb Tests in the early 1950s at the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. He was the first pilot to fly a decontaminated F-6B Bearcat that had been remotely flown through the mushroom cloud. During his Navy career, he had flown for more than 2000 flight hours in many types of military aircraft. In June of 1962, after 22 years of distinguished service in the U.S. Navy as Fighter Pilot, he retired as a Lieutenant Commander at the Glynnco Naval Air Station in Brunswick, Georgia. He and his family moved back to Beacon in 1962.

After moving back to Beacon and after a brief sales position with Schoonmakers Department Store, he joined IBM World Trade in East Fishkill where he worked for several years. After retirement from IBM, he was active with the Stanley ODell Democratic Club in Beacon. His free time was spent working on his garden, his 1965 Ford Mustang, taking Sunday drives in the country and vacationing up at Lake Taconic, where he fished, swam and entertained members of his family. Mr. Raible was a member of St. John the Evangelist Church in Beacon for over 40 years and was also a member of the Tompkins Hose Fire Company. He thoroughly enjoyed eating out, golf, fishing and visits from his children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

He is survived by his sister, Katherine Patterson of Galena, Kansas; his daughter, Mary Cooper of Beacon; his sons, Joseph Jr. of Salem, Oregon; James Raible of Beacon; his grandchildren, Paul Cooper and Cathie Martin, both of Beacon; Matt Raible of Denver, Colorado; and Kalin Raible of Salem, Oregon; and his great-grandchildren, Alicia-Marie Platt of Beacon; Sean Martin of Beacon; and Abigail Raible of Denver, Colorado.

Visitation will be Thursday, May 15, from 4-7 p.m., at Halvey Funeral Home, 24 Willow St., Beacon.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered Friday, May 16, at 10 a.m., at St. John the Evangelist Church, 35 Willow St., Beacon.

Interment will follow in St. Joachims Cemetery, Washington Ave., Beacon.

Memorial donations on Mr. Raibles behalf may be made to Tompkins Hose Fire Company, Beacon.

Funeral arrangements under the direction of Peter T. and William J. Halvey, Halvey Funeral Home, Beacon.

On the golf course

2003-05-19T08:51:30-06:00

Dad and Jimmy

The Fam

2003-05-16T15:01:59-06:00

In Beacon

Kalin's Cider

2003-05-16T14:54:37-06:00

Stormy Mountain Hard Cider

2003-05-16T14:54:36-06:00

Dad on go-cart

2003-05-16T14:54:34-06:00

Grandpa's gravesite

The New Yorkers

2003-05-16T14:54:05-06:00

Mary and Sean

Grandpa Joe

2003-05-13T21:36:35-06:00

Grandpa Joe passed away yesterday. He always had such a great sense of humor and was an awesome Grandpa to me. A World War II Navy fighter pilot that raised a great hero of mine - my Dad.

Thanks to my Grandpa Joe for blessing me with a sense of humor, and for showing me that humor is life's greatest medicine. I'll always remember Grandpa as a jolly old man that cracked some of the best one-liners I've ever heard. You'll be missed by everyone.

Love,
Matt and Family

Grandpa in the Navy

Grandpa Joe and Grandma Margaret

Happy Mother's Day

2003-05-11T09:07:08-06:00

Happy Mother's Day Mom - you're the best! Remember this card I sent you way back in 1996?!