Mackenzie Stevenson recently graduated from Quince Orchard High School with honors.

Mackenzie was a two year Indoor and Outdoor Track captain (Three years overall Varsity in Indoor and Outdoor, one year Varsity in Cross Country), Signature AP Program Distinguished Scholar, Latin Honor Society president, National Honor Society, National Merit Commended Student and had 260+ service hours.



I am very, very proud of my daughter.



She's off to Auburn in the fall. War Eagle!

Here's all the pictures.


.

With about three weeks left in my last year of high school, I decided it was time for some updates on what's going on in my life!

My final season of Outdoor Track & Field is coming to a close, with only two meets left- the County and Regional meets. Both the QO girls and boys teams finished second in their Division this year, each only losing one meet each!
Around the end of April, our sprint relay teams and several Seniors (including myself) traveled up to the University of Pennsylvania to compete in and watch the world-famous Penn Relays. Those two days of watching some of the best college and international athletes compete in the sport I love was an awesome experience! And yes, we did get to witness the incredible speed of Usain Bolt, who anchored his leg of the Jamaican 4x100 relay in 8.97 seconds to lead them to victory over the American team. There's nothing like experiencing 40,000 of the most enthusiastic track fans out there go crazy the second he walked onto the track and struck his famous "lightning bolt" pose.



My team and me at the 2010 Penn Relays


In other news, I have made my official college decision and will be headed to Auburn University this fall! My intended major is Zoology, with a Pre-Veterinary concentration.

Beth is going to be studying abroad in Costa Rica next semester, focusing on tropical biology and ecology as she expands her horizons even further. She spent two weeks in the Peruvian rainforest over winter break - http://theprogblague.wordpress.com/2010/01/07/okay-so-i-did-end-up-swimming-in-the-amazon/ and will be spending the entire fall semester abroad in the fall.

Give Beth a shout on the contact page to wish her luck and to offer any advice you may have about living outside the US.

.

If you wonder what backpacking is like when Jeff and Beth do it, imagine this:

You would hike 8 miles up a mountain, stopping occasionally for a break.


Sit on a conveniently placed tree and wait for Beth to finish peeing in the woods.


You would find a camping site in the middle of nowhere just as the last bit of light fades and the temperature begins its precipitous drop.

In the morning you emerge from your tiny tent, still cold from the 30 degree overnight temperature.


You make a breakfast that consists of dehydrated scrambled eggs,


You eat it with a sporknife that still has peanut butter from dinner, out of a bowl that has not only the scrambled eggs but also remains from last night's Shepherd’s Pie. Mmmm, tasty mix.


The good thing is that you get to look epic while standing bare chested in the sunshine while doing so.

After breakfast, you would shoulder your pack and begin another 8 mile/3000 foot climb up a never ending path to the top of Knob Mountain, meeting a hiker going the other way who mentions that he is using Knob and Neighbor Mountain (that you climbed yesterday) as training to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in the Summer. You would push on to the summit and collapse (if you were Beth, I maintained my dignity of course) in exhaustion.


Oh, did I mention that just prior to starting the 2nd day's climb you would cross a stream with a water temperature of around 40 degrees?


The best part, however, is that you would get to spend an incredible weekend with your amazing daughter.


Give it a try sometime.

All pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157623534992619/
.

MoCoRunning.com, the premiere Montgomery County track and field website has deemed Mackenzie Stevenson the favorite to win the Montgomery County Girls Discus event in 2010. Here's wishing Kenz luck in reaching her goal this year.

Here's the link: http://www.mocorunning.com/article.php?article_id=587

.

The type of IT consulting I do allows me the somewhat unique opportunity to work from anywhere and since I own the business, I need nobody's permission to do so. I decided that instead of working from Washington, DC during February I would take my laptop and join the other snowbirds for a month in balmy South Florida. I put the Triumph Sprint ST in the back of the truck and headed south.

On the way down I decided to stop in Beaufort, SC and see some old friends from when I was stationed there in the Marine Corps. Beaufort has changed quite a bit since I left nearly fifteen years ago. More people, more traffic and more buildings. Port Royal is actually no longer a dirty little town near Beaufort. The Marine Corps, with its two bases, Parris Island and Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, still dominates the local economy and culture but you can tell that a retirement lifestyle is creeping into the area.

Did I mention that Mackenzie was born here?

Beaufort Pics

From Beaufort it was down to West Palm Beach, FL to get some dives in to complete my Scuba Open Water Diver certification. While waiting for Beth to fly we drove down A1A to Miami/South Beach.

A1A Drive pics

The next day it was time to DIVE DIVE DIVE!

Wonderful diving with the guys at The Scuba Club.

It seems that no matter where I go, beautiful women find me:

My cousin Aerin was down to dive at the same time we were.

From West Palm Beach it was a quick 3 hour drive across Alligator Alley to Fort Myers, FL where Dad and Sally spend their winters.

I found a place to live on Craigslist and moved in. It was a nice little two-bedroom apartment that I shared with a guy from Boston who talked funny.

Apartment pics

While there I actually convinced both Dad and Sally to try sushi. Dad liked it...Sally, not so much.

Sushi pics

I spent most of my month in Ft. Myers working, working out (lifting and running), kayaking and enjoying the weather. The weather didn't allow me to ride the bike as much as I had anticipated but I did manage to get in a trip down to the Everglades where I visited Chokoloskee and Everglades City.

I managed to find a restaurant with a wonderful view and spent several hours chilling by the water.

Everglades City Trip pics

I also spent some time kayaking in Estero Bay near Lovers Key and the area around Sanibel Causeway and Punta Rassa Cove.

Kayaking pics

I left Ft. Myers after about a month, just as the weather started improving. I did get to watch the Super Bowl and some NASCAR with my father and was able to explore yet another chunk of America.

A quick drive back across the bottom of Florida to West Palm Beach for a final dive prior to heading north. After a wonderful 90 ft. dive I jumped in the truck and headed back, stopping just shy of South Carolina for the night. I got back into DC Wednesday evening and saw a bunch of white stuff all over the ground. Apparently there was a few snowflakes while I was gone.

Good to be back home to see my girlies.

Mackenzie and I went out today to enjoy the snow. The last flakes came down last night around midnight so it was great to be able to see where we were driving.

We ended up taking a hike in McKee-Beshers Wildlife Management Area, near the Potomac Rover.

On the way out we saw this, stuck:

All pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157623032797908/

Videos are here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3B8981902B5154E

.

The biggest snowstorm since we moved to Washington, DC hit this weekend, with Beth getting back from college just in time to go out and play.

We spent all day riding the backroads in the truck, occasionally getting out to enjoy the snow.

All pictures are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157623032797908/

Videos are here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=A3B8981902B5154E

.

The girls and I wandered down to Delaware for our Thanksgiving vacation and had a great time with my brother's family. It's always fun down there.

We rode the 4 wheeler, ate turkey, went shopping and shot some guns.

Beth and Mackenzie even drove a (little) motorcycle. Here's a shot of Beth's first time driving on her own:

I did tell her that she was supposed to sit on the seat instead of dragging herself along behind it but you know how kids like to do things their own way...

Here's a video of Mackenzie's first time shooting a 12 gauge shotgun:

Lots of fun.

All Thanksgiving 2009 photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/thestevensons/sets/72157622882798930/

All Thanksgiving 2009 videos are here: http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=51475CE70A02BD31

For her roomies at U of Md. She said they were practicing for when it "really counts".



We're going down to Chip and Tina Stevenson's next week for their Thanksgiving dinner.