Category Archives: General

Out with Sonora – 7/22/2020

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Sometimes you just have to get away! Everybody in the family has been getting out during quarantine for safe socially distanced activities except for Sonora. I decided to change that and take her out for some fun! We started by heading out to the confluence area. There is a large sunflower patch there and I though she would enjoy being among the large sunflowers.

When we got to the sunflower patch, we got an interesting surprise. There was standing water blocking the way. We both took off our shoes and socks and smashed mud between our toes to get there!

Lots of people brave the unknown muddy waters to get a look!

Yeah, Sunflowers are HUGE!

The season for them is almost over, but we managed to get a few that were still looking great!

I love the light shining on Sonora’s face. She is this happy!

I wasn’t done surprising Sonora. I took her on 2 ferries! And we explored while waiting for the ride across the river.

It was hard to get this shot as it was getting dark and most of the photos turned out very dark.

We’re never ones to be too serious!

I even managed to find some mud for the 4wd system to work through. This made Sonora laugh!

I consider this a perfect dad/daughter day!

Hogan Haake

June 2020

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Always cat photos. Since we’re spending more time at home with COVID-19 around, we spend more time messing with the cats! Brawndo is getting bigger.

Brawndo looks tiny, but don’t let that fool you, he is growing fast!

Sushi is our most normal cat, but we still give her attention as well!

 

Coatrack is becoming more lovely, sitting closer and being with us.

Danelle and I went out on a paddling date!

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Maybe date is a stretch, as we were on Joe Ringling’s boat Colter’s Run doing a test run for the MR340.

I got a new clown gator to cover my face. Perfect for me!

Hogan Haake

Meramec Spring – 6/28/2020

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I tend to be a creature of habit. I generally go the same way every time when going someplace. When I go to the river, I go to the same ramp and paddle the same stretch. While many will see this as boring and tedious, I find things that I’ve never seen before. By some counts, I’ve probably paddled from this ramp nearly 200 times. And this time, I saw something that I have never seen before! When the ground is wet, little springs pop up around the Meramec. While the river is primarily spring fed, most have never seen a spring this close to the end of the river.

I had my sister Hannah, and Sonora out with me in two boats. Here are some photos of the spring near the Kirkwood/Valley Park Missouri border.

With my legs firmly sunk into the mud, I can lean forward and not fall over.

Here is the spring we were playing in. If you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss it.

Hannah tries the leaning forward trick while Sonora looks on.

Sonora had just gotten out of her boat and is thinking about sinking in.

And a video of our madness.

Father’s Day – 6/21/2020

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I had a fantastic father’s day. For me spending time with the kids is the most important thing I can do these days. Today, I got to impart some knowledge on Corvin. He wanted to change the oil in “High 5”. Note the car’s name is High 5 because we often open the sunroof to give each other high fives!

So I gave Corvin instruction, but let him do the majority of the work. Being unsure, I double checked his work as he went. Like my first oil change, it was a mess. Literally he spilled oil all over the pace. But it was for the best as he was learning a new skill!

It took a while but he did finish and do a good job. One more change and he might remember all the steps!

Hogan Haake

Home Made Pasta – 6/10/2020

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After a fabulous hike, Hannah decided to make my birthday extra special and make home made pasta! We had a pasta machine, but had never used it before. Today was the day to try it out. Hannah started with a lemon pasta mix.

From there, Hannah, Sonora,  and Danelle took turns running the dough through the flattener and then finally through the splitter.

There is the pasta coming out split.

We were fortunate that this recipe doesn’t require drying the pasta much, so we were able to shortly put it in a pot and start a fantastic dinner!

Hogan Haake