Our New Tree

Since we’ve moved in to our house a year and a half ago, Rob and I have looked and looked for the perfect piece of large art to put on our wall in our living room. We never found anything that we both agreed on. One day, Rob suggested that it would be cool if we had a tree coming out of the corner painted on the wall.  I agreed, but we didn’t know who we’d get to paint it, or what we wanted it to look like.  When talking to our friend Stephanie about the idea, she suggested using a wall decal instead of having it painted on.  So my search began.  I eventually found the tree I wanted through Etsy.com  by searching for tree decals.  They had HUNDREDS to choose from, but I narrowed it down and found the perfect one for our house.  This particular tree came from DaliDecals.

Last night we had some friends come over to help us decorate our wall.  The tree itself came in four separate pieces. And the leaves were all individually cut out and placed.  In the end we were all pleased with the results.  I was very grateful for the helping hands, as I never would have been able to get the tree lined up and placed as perfectly without their help.  Hopefully this is something that will last and we can enjoy for a while.  We’re pretty pleased with the way it’s turned out.  We still have a TON of leaves left over, so we may do some tweaking in the coming days, but this is what we have so far.

Whistler Bike Park

We took our first trip of the summer to Whistler to enjoy the Bike Park.  We convinced some of our friends to join us so they could experience the fun too.  We left on Friday, biked all day Saturday, and then made our way home on Sunday.  The trip was a success.  Everyone had a great time.  Those who had not been to Whistler before immediately fell in love with it just like us. 

One of the best places on earth.

Cindi, Rob, Jake and Rachel at the beginning of our day of biking.

Up, up and away.

Whistler wildlife. 

We saw several deer and bear throughout the day. 

Stopping for lunch

The scene from up top.

Jake showing off his skills on the container

An night out for dinner with Rachel and Jake Hoerman, Marissa and Michael Jarman,

Posing for a shot by the olympic rings.

Just look at the joy on his face.  What more needs to be said?

Thanks Rachel, Jake, Marissa, and Michael for coming with us and sharing in our love of Whistler!

Off-Roading

So  a couple of weeks ago, Rob finally convinced me to take a dual sport motorbikes off road for the first time.  We drove through Enumclaw to the town of Carbonado, WA.  A tiny little town right on the edge of the wilderness.  We stopped at the famous Carbonado Saloon.  I would put a link for it but I couldn’t find a website for it.  It was truly the real deal.  I think Rob and I were the only ones with a full set of teeth.  There was an interesting mix of people to say the least. One where it seemed that everyone knew everyone who walked in.  But in a town of 610 people, I guess it’s not to hard to know everyone.  The burgers and fries were delicious.  Rob swears they were the best he’s had in Western Washington.  And they gave us a punch card for buy 5 burgers, get one free.  What a deal!  Who knows when we’ll be back, but still, that’s a pretty good deal.

After our experience at the Saloon, we headed off toward the mountains and to find some forest service roads.  When the paved road ended and the rocks began, I was nervous but I persevered. Getting on the dirt was a much better experience.  I bravely hit a few potholes.  Eventually we got to a place where it was necessary to drive through a huge puddle.  I impressed Rob by masterfully remaining on the bike when hitting a hidden branch in the middle of the puddle.  I was nervous and scared, but I managed to escape the adventure unscathed.  I did find it much easier to drive on pavement once we returned to it’s safety.  Maybe I’m actually getting the hang of this motorcycling thing…

Here are a couple of pictures of our adventure.  Mount Rainer was huge and beautiful in the background.  Unfortunately, we only had our cell phones to take the picture so you don’t get the full affect.  Oh well, at least I have the memory.

Weekend of Fun

Friday, June 17^th was my last day of school. I decided to have a good kick-off to the summer with some pool time. As soon as my classroom was clean and I had checked off my end of the school year to-do list, I jumped in the car and drove up to Everett to get Jayden. Jayden and I then drove to Michael’s apartment and spent the afternoon lounging by the pool. We lucked out with a perfectly beautiful sunny day. Here are some pictures of the boys at the pool.

After we were done swimming, Michael, Jaxon and Sherrie came up to our house for a nice steak dinner cooked on the grill. Michael picked us out some delicious steaks and Rob did an excellent job at the grill. We then spent the rest of the night playing with all of Rob’s toys. The boys had a blast!

Jayden getting ready to do a daredevil stunt with the remote control car.

Jayden trying out his new motorcycle. We told him he can ride it on his own as soon as he learns to ride a bicycle without training wheels. I think he’s going to be pretty motivated this summer! His uncle Mike was more than happy to show him how it works!

Here’s a video of Jaxon walking around. I thought those of you who haven’t seen him in a while would enjoy this little clip.

Telus Festival

We went to the Telus Festival again this year in April.  This year we took our friend Michael Jarman with us along for the fun.  We enjoyed a day of great skiing.  We were also able to demo new skis.  Rob found some that he really liked, so we may be investing in some new skis before the start of the new ski season.  I tried several pairs myself but didn’t find any that I was crazy about.  Maybe next year.  Let us know if you want to join us next year!

Here’s a pic of Michael and Rob on the top of Whistler Mountain.

The weather was AWESOME spring skiing weather and by the end of the day we had all shed our jackets and had them tied around our waste.

Throughout the village we received freebies and promos of snacks and drinks.  The boys got stocked up with a full line of AXE products.  It was fun to be able to show Michael around the village.

In the evening, there was a free concert and of course the skiing competition.  We enjoyed watching the tricks as the best in the world wowed us with their jumps, flips and tricks.

Rob and I waiting for the show to begin.

One of the many jumps of the evening.