Twister Aftermath

In May a devastating tornado swept through the town of Parkersburg, Iowa taking six lives and wiping out a third of the town. Just a few months earlier my brother and his wife put an offer on a house in Parkersburg, but backed out after the inspection (providence?) My family drove to Parkersburg to see what damage the twister did. It was eerie to see one strip of the city bare of trees with only hollowed out basement remains. We were driving around trying to find the public high school until we realize it was gone completely! There was over 6 million dollars in damage and it was estimated that the tornado was 1 1/2 mies wide at the biggest part- crazy! These pictures don't really do justice, but give some idea.


This used to be an established, tree lined neighborhood


A pile of rubble on the outskirts of town

If you build it they will come

We took a road trip from Hudson, IA to Spring Grove, MN making a detour at Dyersville, Iowa- home of the movie site Field of Dreams. It was fun to see the famous field with a corn outfield. We ran the bases, "disappeared" into the corn and bought overpriced souvenirs. Interesting facts- the baseball field was built in only three days.

Is this heaven? No it's Iowa!

Josiah and I are having a great time visiting family in small town Iowa. My brother and his family live in Hudson, IA and I have many Aunts, Uncles, and cousins in surronding towns. We are enjoying the tall corn, thunder storms, and plenty of good food and laughter. Yesterday we visited the Hansen Dairy Farm. . . we feel very far from Hong Kong!

I miss you daddy!

Look at all the moo moos Naana!

We had to keep our hair out of the creamery, even baldy covered up!

Cousin Olivia is a beautiful ballerina

My brother's house, complete with two kidos in a red wagon

Family time is fun time!

Wedding Bells Are Ringing

August 2nd was a new chapter in Paine family history. My brother Michael got married to Jen Devlin (now Paine). It was a great day of celebration and a wonderful way to end the summer. Some of the highlights were the vows to read to each other. The best I've ever heard. Seeing my brother swinging those big hips of his on his first dance with Jen. I goofed on the toast to the new bride and groom by telling Jen I'm so excited she is going to be my brother!? Whoops, Oh well she felt the love anyway. It was also great to see so many old friends I hadn't seen in years and be together with family.

Summer Daze

We had a great time staying on beautiful Coronado Island thanks to the generosity of Aunt Christy. Josiah loved the beach and kept wiggling his feet off the towel into the sand!

Jungle Boys Reunion

We had such a great time this past weekend reconnecting with a group of our college friends referred to as the "Jungle Boys." Jason lived with these 4 other guys his last year at Biola and we have continued to stay in touch as we go through life stages together. What began as 5 bachelor guys has grown to families totaling 17 people. Although one family was absent we had a great time laughing, playing and sharing together. The gang all stayed in my (Christine's) parents house. With 3 newborns and 3 toddlers, some people thought we were crazy, but we loved the madness and noise level. We are so grateful for such good friends in our lives. If you are interested in seeing more photos and a video visit our Brian and Ashley's website at www.thenickfamily.com

High Sierra Trip

Who's better looking? hmm...I'll let you decide

View down from Hell For Sure Pass

If I could only bottle this goodness up and take it back to HK!

Mike before our 16 mile morning hike out back to civilization.

I'm always amazed at the size of these sequioas- they're enormous!

Nice meadow aka mosquito city

Mike next to a creek and meadow