Motorcycle Rentals

Rob decided to start a business in which he rents KLRs.  We are just getting started.  Wish us luck!  Come and rent one if you're looking for an adventure! 

 

http://northwestadventureride.com/
Motorcycle Rental in Seattle, Washington

 

Rock n’ Roll 1/2 Marathon- June 2014

I signed up to run the Seattle Rock n’ Roll 1/2 marathon with some friends.  I had been training for months, but had a set back when I got really sick in April. I wasn’t excited to run the race, but figured I’d go through with it even if I had to walk the majority of it.  The Rock n’ Roll really is a fun race. There are bands playing music every mile.  There are tons of people and groups lining the race path cheering you on.  You get to run through the city, along Lake Washington, and up on the Alaskan Way Viaduct.  The views alone are entertaining and inspiring.  You start and end at Seattle Center.  This year one of the headlining bands was Presidents of the United States of America, whom I love!  Before the race there is also an expo where you pick up your registration and get to walk around and sample tons of freebies.

 

Kathi GIlman and I, at the expo, getting ready to Rock n’ Roll before the race. 

 

It turned out to be a great race!  I actually improved my time from two years earlier!

A New Addition to the Samsel Family- June 2014

 

Somehow I got it into my head that Revel needed a brother. So I began obsessively looking at the Seattle Humane Society website.  When I found I dog that was cute I would send it to Rob.  We even went once and tried to adopt a dog, but there were to many people ahead of us in line.  So I continued my search, not expecting it to actually amount to anything. 

One day, there were a couple of cute Husky mixes that came up for adoption.  They had just turned two months old.  I sent it to Rob and then went about my day at work.  Later that afternoon, Rob asked me to come by his office in order to bring home some items that he could not carry home on his motorcycle.  Little did I know that this little guy would be waiting for me!

Meet Kenai.  The newest addition to our family.

He and Revel were best buds from day one. 

 

Honestly though, how could you not fall in love with that face?!

Another new purchase- May 2014

We bought a boat!

The boat comes with a story.  Rob found a boat that we were ready to buy.  We went and looked at it on a Sunday evening and told the guy we would return on Monday evening, after work, with the money.  The man, however, sold it out from under us on Monday morning.  Rob was really disappointed. 

Within a week, he had found another one.  It was listed for $1100.  Rob offered a $1000 and they accepted.  We left after work to drive down south to pick up the boat.  As we were leaving our house we got a phone call from the seller.  She had taken the boat out on the lake to enjoy it one more time before we got there, and during their outing the propeller had fallen off the boat and into the lake!  She said not to worry though (um…) that she had a friend on the way to help her retrieve it and all would be fine when we got there.

When we arrived to the lake, they had found the propeller but not the nut that attaches it to the motor.  They made the boat work well enough to show us that it ran.  We were hesitant to buy it but Rob was able to talk them down and we ended up buying it for $800! 

Our New Boat!  1972 Fiberform

As a result of the new boat, Revel had to get a new Life Jacket.  Isn’t  he cute?!

We are looking forward to many hours on the water with good friends and family. 

New Motorcycle!- April 2014

Rob bought a new motorcycle.  Buying a motorcycle is usually not a big deal because Rob is constantly buying and immediately reselling motorcycles.  They cycle through our garage like a used car lot. This one however is different.  Ever since we toured around Germany on a BMW, Rob had wanted one of his own.  He found a great deal on this BMW R1150GS.  

When he first started riding it to work he was unsure if he actually wanted to keep it or not. It is a lot heavier of a bike compared to the KLR.  But he stuck with it and now actually really enjoys riding it.  It was a great purchase that will hopefully give him many years and miles of riding.  So far, this is by far the most comfortable motorcycle we've owned. 

Murder Mystery- March 2014

In March for a combined Young Men/Young Women church activity, we hosted a murder mystery dinner with a Rock N’ Roll Theme.  Everyone was asked to dress up as a rock star. The kids had a lot of fun finding clues and discovering who the murder was.  It was a really fun activity.

 

Ready to rock!

The whole gang.

Sounders FC- March 2014

The Cady’s came for a visit in March.  They came for the specific purpose of going to see a Seattle Sounders FC soccer game.  Rob found us tickets in the Rowdy general admissions section.  This section is on their feet the entire game shouting and chanting and jumping up and down.  It was a blast.  On the way inside there were people spray painting hair green a blue.  We decided to get out hair done.

 

Emily and Lisa                                                                  Rob and Cindi

 

 

Ready to enjoy the game.

Goodbye popcorn- February 2014

 

Over my mid-winter break, we were ambitious in thinking we could easily scrape the popcorn off our of ceilings in our bedroom.  We did succeed, but it was a lot more work than I was anticipating.  We sprayed, scraped, puttied, sanded, painted and added trim.  We also took the chance to paint the walls and put in new carpet.  It took about two weeks.  It was a much needed improvement, however, it has probably deterred me from scraping the popcorn off the ceilings in the rest of the house…

The not-so beautiful popcorn.

 

What our front room looked like during the project. 

The finished product.

Birthday Surprise- February 2014

 

Bishop Briggs and the Young Women from my ward surprised me on my Birthday by showing up with delicious cupcakes to share.  I’ve been working with the YW for 3 1/2 years now.  We’ve grown really close.  It was fun to be able to celebrate part of my day with them. 

Pictured: Cassi, Me, Andrea, Lauren, Samantha, Rachel, Lindsey, and Heather

Happiest Place on Earth!- November 2013

Rob and I had some Skymiles saved up so we decided to take a vacation.  If you know us, you know we are both pretty big kids.  Where do kids most want to go on vacation?  DisneyWorld of course!  We flew to Florida and spent the week.  We visited all of the Disney Parks and we also went to Universal Studios.  We had a great time.  The weather was perfect and the lines were short.  It truly is one of the happiest places on earth.

 

 

Woody and Buzz made out of Legos!

And Action! Rob was chosen to be part of the Live Action movie they created. 

Harry Potter World.  The Castle was incredibly well done.  The Butterbeer was just as delicious as you’d imagine. 

Jeremy and Meg come to visit- October 2013

Jeremy and Meg came to visit.  We were able to spend a little bit of time with them.  We love having people over to visit.  It’s always fun to watch their families grow!

Jeremy, Crysta, and I

Rob is giving a helping hand to Lincoln who is on Brecken’s shoulders.  I’m holding Liam and Tayden,  Lexi’s in pink and Olivia’s in blue. 

Happy Birthday Liam- September 2013

We headed over to Crysta and Ryan’s house to help them celebrate Liam’s first birthday.  Liam did a great job of making a HUGE mess!

Fishing for Salmon- August 2013

Every two years, the pinks run in the Puyallup River. The competition is fierce but Rob has had a lot of success in stocking up our freezer for the year.

 

Summer Fun- August 2013

 

Crysta and her family moved up to Seattle for a few month.  It was fun to get together with them for dinners and playing outdoors.  One weekend when I had Jayden, they came down to join us a Coulon Beach on Lake Washington.

 

Olivia getting messy in the sand.                        Jayden and Lincoln testing out the water.

 

Camping with Jayden- August 2013

Jayden came to stay at my house for a while.  We were able to go camping and fishing and of course exploring.  Revel loved having a friend to run around with.  We survived a night in the rain, but the day turned out to be perfect.  We went to one of our favorite camping spots near Salmon La Sac.