Craigslist Christmas

So, Rob and I decided that we would put up Christmas lights outside only if we bought the lights on sale after Christmas was over.  It was something that we were planning for next year.  Leave it to Rob and his Craigslist obsession to get the job done this year…

Everyone in our neighborhood puts up lights, even the 70 year old couple across the street.  So we had to “keep up with the Jones” and do our part to make the neighborhood beautiful.  Thank you generous people on Craigslist for giving us free lights and thanks to Rob for putting his life on the line, climbing around on the roof, to make our house look festive. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Ornaments: zero dollars from my generous co-worker.

Christmas tree: zero dollars from my generous parents.

Having our first Christmas tree in our new home…Priceless!

Happy Holidays everyone!

Thanksgiving

We went to visit my parents in Rexburg, ID for Thanksgiving.  We left Wednesday after Rob got off of work and arrived back home just in time for me to drop Rob off at work on Sunday night.  He is a trooper for putting in the long, uncomfortable hours for me to have the chance to go and visit my parents.  I didn’t get a ton of pictures.  If you want to see more about our visit, see my mom’s recent post.

My parents cooked us a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. 

Mom treated me to a Pedicure and Manicure!

We took a picture with Santa. 

We spent the weekend talking, eating, and relaxing.  Mom and Dad wouldn’t even let me help with the dishes.  Thank you both for a wonderful weekend.  We love you!

Sleepover

I had a Friday off of work, so I invited my nephew Jayden over for a sleepover.  We had a great time going to the park, out to eat, and having a friend over to play. 

Jayden and I walked to the park near my house.  He loved the jungle gym. 

We continued our walk to the greenbelt behind the park.  We found this really cool tunnel. 

Jayden was impressed with Rob’s new, free motorcycle. 

We went to dinner at Zoopas.  We probably will never go back there again, but Jayden enjoyed the all you can eat macaroni, and the all you can eat dessert!

General Conference

Rob and I got tickets to General conference in October, so I took a Friday off of work and we made a long weekend of it.  We stayed with my sister Julie and her family and visited friends and family.  Rob got to attend Conference in the Conference Center for the first time.  It is always an amazing experience to be in the same room as the Prophet and Apostles.  It was a whirlwind trip but overall it was worth it. 

Warning: Lots of pictures below.

The message on the board in the room where Rob and I slept.

Halle and I at Connor’s football game.

The Vikings won and Connor scored a touchdown!

On Saturday afternoon we joined Mary and Seth Braun and their family for the afternoon session of conference at their house.  Here I am with Tillie and Finch.

At the park with Parker, Halle, Sherri, Crysta, Lauren, Olivia, Jeremy, Meg, Lexi, Brecken, and Julie (she took this picture).

The men getting home from the Priesthood Session.

Rob and I at conference.  Not the best picture but that’s the temple in the background.  Too many people to push out of the way to get a good one.

Thanks everyone who made time to spend with us.  It was a fun weekend. 

The Bark House gets its First Snow!

Today we got our first real snow at our house.  It has been falling all afternoon and the snow is now about triple that in the picture. Bellevue School District has already announced a 2 hour delayed start for tomorrow.  I’m hoping they just cancel it altogether!  As long as you are not stuck in traffic, there is nothing quite as beautiful as snow in the Northwest. 

Saturday Fun

Last Saturday Rob and I went to the “Snow Show.”  It was basically a big swap meet for snowmobilers.  Considering Rob is now the owner of two snowmobiles, we decided we should go and check it out.  It was fun to see all the gear and gadgets snowmobiler use. We now know we have a lot to learn about the sport.  We also collected a lot of maps of snowmobiling trails in the area.  It was a worthwhile adventure full of huge trucks, fancy trailers, amazing snowmobiles and hicks from all over the northwest.  We fit right in.

On the way home we took a few side trips.  As we passed the sign on highway 18, Rob wondered aloud, “What is the Flaming Geyser State Park?”  I had been there before and explained how there is a hole in the rock in the ground where methane gas comes out and it is lit with an eternally burning flame.  Rob was excited about the concept of fire coming out of the ground, so we took the detour.  As we neared the state park, Rob kept looking around saying, “Where is it?” and “I don’t see it.”  I explained that it was a small flame and in the trees.  Rob was more than disappointed to learn that it was only a 6 in high flame. :)

I think it’s pretty cool.  How often do you see a methane fueled eternal flame?  Rob wasn’t so impressed…

After our detour to see the amazing flame, we decided to take a trip to the pumpkin patch.  Rob had never been to one, but he did a great job of picking two beautiful pumpkins for us.

Notice the season appropriate orange and black cast!

We haven’t carved the pumpkins yet, but I will post pictures when we do. 

New Toy

He wouldn’t tell me what it was, just that we had to be there at 9 pm. It was another Craigslist free find.   So, we hooked up the trailer to the Explorer and headed north.  When we got to our destination, I wasn’t surprised.  There it sat, a 1972 Honda CB 360. 

The owner hadn’t started it up in several years.  Although it had a few years of dust on it, Rob was convinced it would run with just a little TLC.  Little did the previous owner know how much these little bikes can be worth, even when they are not running.

So we got it home, gave it a quick bath.  On his day off, Rob ran to the store and bought a gas hose for $1.78.  After replacing the hose, Rob kicked it a couple of times and sure enough, the bike was running.

It still needs some work, new front brakes, polishing of the chrome, maybe some work on the blinkers, but it runs.  It was another good free find off of craigslist. 

I’ve forbidden him from working on it too much until the cast comes off.  :)

Date night turned a night in the ER

WARNING: Graphic picture below

I was all ready for date night.  I got home from work and jumped in the shower.  I had done my hair and make-up and was waiting for Rob to get home.  We were going on a double date with some friends of ours.  Dinner, and then coming back to our house to play Kinect.  That didn’t happen…

It was 5:15 pm when I got a phone call from an unknown number.  I never answer the phone when I don’t recognize the number.  So, I ignored it.  The caller immediately called back, so I thought, I would see what they wanted.  It was a woman, and she said, “Hello, Cindi, here’s your husband…”  Rob then came on the phone and said, “I was in a motorcycle accident and I think I broke my arm.” 

I jumped in the car and went to find him.  He was only a mile from our house.  When I got there, he was sitting on the curb, holding his arm, and the lady who had called was holding a tissue to his bloody nose.  The paramedics were getting out of the ambulance just as I was getting there. 

The paramedics had to cut off Rob’s glove and jacket because he couldn’t open his hand.  They put him in a splint that provided almost zero support and took him on a very painful ride to the hospital.  I followed in my car.

We spent the evening in the ER with x-rays and traction.

After about 4 hours they decided traction wasn’t working and that Rob would need surgery because the bone was not realigning itself.  They whisked us off to the operating room.  Just as we were about to enter, another emergency bumped us and they sent us to a pre-surgery waiting room. We waited there for another 3-4 hours.  They finally took Rob into surgery at 12:30 am.  I saw him again at 3 am. 

He wore a post surgery splint for a week and today we went for his first post-op appointment where they took out the staples and gave him a cast.

We had a creative cast technician who gave rob a beautiful dark blue spiral stripe down his light blue cast. 

He will be in this cast for 1 week.  Then he gets a new one that comes below the elbow for three weeks. 

We had some guests come over tonight and decorate Rob’s cast even more.

Lauren and Isaac Ramos getting ready to sign

Mackenna Wheeler shows off her artistic abilities on Robs cast. 

Rob and I are grateful for all the visitors and help we’ve received over the past week.  We are very grateful that it was only his arm that was injured. 

If you’re in the neighborhood come on by, I’ve got the sharpies ready and waiting.

Visitors

Michael recently decided to move back to the Seattle area.  He is staying with Rob and I while he tries to find a place to live.  He is the first official “guest” to sleep in the guestroom.  Jaxon has come over to visit a few times as well. Here’s a couple of pictures of our house guests.

 

Before and AFTER!!!

This is what our front yard looked like most of the summer. :(

This is what our side yard looked like most of the summer. :(

This is what our front yard looked like on Friday

This is what we had planned for our Saturday fun.

And with a little help from some people we go to church with;

This is what our front yard looks like now!

 

and the side yard!

We still have some work to do, with edging, creating beds, and planting new bushes, but as you can see from the pictures, it is a HUGE improvement!