Happy 19th Birthday Collin

I celebrate today at a distance from you.

Thankful for all the smiles you have brought our way.

All through your growing up years you did things "Just for fun."

You hardly ever just walked.

You skipped.

You hopped.

You did strange wobbly combinations of the two...and when we asked why you were doing that you always said..."Just for fun."

We could always tell it was you coming across the house long before you got there.

The quick patter of goofy footsteps gave you away.

You had a sort of Maggie Simpson thing going on.

The pacifier was ever present.

And there was a wisdom far beyond your years.

We must have harrassed you to take it out for pictures cause I hardly found any where you had it in.






You were the easiest baby ever....easy shmeazy...

As long as we connected.

We called you our Velcro baby.

All was right and the world was a beautiful place if I was holding you.

If not... well not so much.

You thought that the world had just ended...abandoned and betrayed by your own mother...never to see her again....ever.

And how could I cause angst to that pudgy cheeked face?

I almost happily gave up dance classes and ...well anything that required me setting you down...for about three or four years til you got your bearings.

But like I said as long as I was holding you...or at least in line of sight you almost never needed parents at all...you were that easy going.

1992 workin on the futon.

Ya the tool thing started that early.

As soon as you could pick one up.

Every morning you and your little footie jammies passed right thru the kitchen and headed straight for the garage.

You shimmied up the leg of the work bench and sat on top til Dad built you your own tiny workbench.

You were the only 2 year old we knew who could handily weild a Makita Cordless.




Can you believe some parents do things this mean to their children?

You and Sean 1992 on Lopez Island




A Christmas photo shoot at Oceanside Harbor about to go South. I hand painted those shirts for you guys...hey it was cool back then...and you were in your Thomas the Tank Engine phase.

1992 I could probably spend all of December posting nothing but Christmas card photo shoots getting outa control.

I just might do that.










1992 Captain Collin on the tiller with Dad - Catalina Island- We used this little Sabot as a dinghy for our sailboat on weekend trips to Catalina.




This is one of my favorite pictures ever.

I have an enlargement of it on the wall in my studio.

I just love it. You were the sweetest thing.

November of 1994 so you had just turned four and we were in our new house in Brookings.



Nothing could ever put a smile on your face like a good take-apart day.

September of 1996 so you were amost six. You thought it was so awesome to take apart the dryer with Dad and fix it. "Just for fun."... Well not really but that's what you thought.





May of 2000 at Floras. You were nine.



Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. You put the Playmobil guys in there with their hands up "Just for fun."




You spent lots of time working on this little go cart that Uncle Dave had built using a dolly as a frame.

My favorite part is the "SIT HERE" you made on the seat out of electrical tape after wrapping the whole thing in duct tape. "Just for fun."... Well the duct tape was to hold the seat together...the message was for fun.


September of 2001. You are about to turn eleven.




You made some use of our insurance every now and then. Here you are after you got the bad end of a kick starter stuck in your leg.

July of 2003. You are twelve.




You and Dylan working on one of many motorcycles that came through our garage.

August of 2005. You are fourteen.


Your fish hatchery rehabilitation project on the Rogue River. It was pretty darn cool and you managed your crew well.

January of 2006. You are fifteen.




Our amazing trip to Maui. You guys windsurfed, snorkled and mountain biked the back side of Haleakela.

March of 2003. You are fifteen.



One of many truck lifting projects you did in our garage. "Just for fun".

August of 2006. You are fifteen. ....Wait you did this to your truck before you even had a license?? What were your parents thinking?





Ahh yes... this is what they were thinking.... You come from at least three generations of mechanics, engineers, and fabricators...not to mention race car addicts.

August of 2006. You are fifteen. You and your best bud Marc at Eagle Point acting as pit crew for Grandpa.




This kind of thing might be strange in some people's living rooms... not here.
In fact this might be one of the least strange things...there was the rollerblading,and the kiddie basketball...hey it took a while before we got a garage!

2008 You are seventeen.




This is another one of my favorite pictures.

Spring break at San Elijo. It was so much fun taking you and Dylan for a week.
This shot sort of sums up the easy friendship you guys have.

March of 2008. You are seventeen.





Happy Day! Nothing better than sharing it with your best friend.

June of 2008. You are seventeen.




We don't get to see as much of you as we would like right now. We take what we can get and smiles like this we treasure.

May of 2009.

You have so enriched out lives.

You taught us to relax.

You reminded us to have confidence.

And most of all you showed us how do things "Just for fun".


Love ya tons!
Happy Birthday Bud.

Mom