Adventures of Cindi and Rob

Happy Valentine’s Day!

2012-02-14T18:40:00.001-08:00

What more could a girl want?

Red Roses, a box of chocolates and motor oil!

There was also windshield wipers that went with it, but those went right on the car. A perfect Valentine’s if you ask me. I got spoiled with treats and didn’t have to go into a car store to buy what I needed for my car!

Thanks to my hubby for my Valentine’s gifts and my B-day gift. It’s been a great couple of days.

Ho Ho Ho

2012-01-03T18:45:00.001-08:00

Here’s hoping you had as Merry a Christmas as we did.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Test update:

2011-11-20T19:46:00.001-08:00

Many of you know that I have been working toward my National Board for Professional Standards teaching certificate. It is something I began in June of 2010. I finished my portfolio in April 2011 and I took my written assessment in May 2011. The scoring process takes awhile. Each portfolio entry (there are 4) is 20+ pages long. There are two videos and evidence that you submit to go along with them. The assessment is 6 prompts to which you have 30 minutes to respond. So needless to say, there is a lot to be graded. You are then given a score for each entry. If your overall score is over 275, then you pass. If not, then you have to pay more money, do redo portions of you entry to improve you overall score.

A week ago we found out scores would be released on Friday, November 18th. Friday morning came, but there were no scores. At noon, we received an email saying we would receive our scores by 2 pm. 2 pm came and went, with no scores. At 2:30 pm they said we would know by 4 pm, and of course, 4 pm came and went and still no scores. By 6 pm they sent another email saying they were having problems with the server and they had no idea when scores would be reported. Saturday came and went with no scores. Finally the scores were posted at 6 am Sunday morning. I found out this morning that I had received a score of 297. I PASSED!!!! I am officially a National Board Certified teacher. My certificate is good for the next 10 years. I couldn’t be happier and my relief knowing that I don’t have to worry about any of this for another 10 years couldn’t be greater!

Jaxon

2011-10-09T20:26:00.001-07:00

My nephew Jaxon came to spend the weekend with Rob and I. His mom dropped him off with me at work on Friday and then she came and picked him up on Sunday afternoon. We had fun with his visit. He kept us laughing the entire time. Thanks Sherrie for letting us have him for the weekend.

Our Summer Project

2011-09-27T17:12:00.001-07:00

When Rob and I moved into our house, we knew we were going to redo the yard. It was a complete barky, weedy mess. We had no idea what huge job it would be. Our first summer we tackled the front yard. It went fairly smoothly so our plan this summer was to tackle the backyard. SOOOOO MUCH WORK!

BACKYARD BEFORE

BACKYARD AFTER:

We built a retaining wall

We built a garden patch

We built a staircase

We built a rock path

We built a corner patio

We built a driveway and parking place for trailers

Next year we plan to decorate with flowers, plants, and bushes.

For now we’re looking forward to many Bar-B-Que’s, lawn games, and walking barefoot on our new lawn!

Sharing our Love of Whistler

2011-09-26T19:23:00.001-07:00

We had one more day on our Bike Park Pass so we headed up to Whistler again this weekend. We decided to bring along our friend Jared and his son Kimball. It was their first trip up there, and we all had a great time. I think Jared is already making plans to take his entire family up either for skiing or biking in the coming year. We had fun showing them the trails and we escaped the day only a couple of minor injuries (thank goodness for helmets)! The weather was perfect for fall day of biking.

Taking a ride on the peak to peak tram.

Thanks Jared and Kimball for coming along for the fun and to the bike park, we’ll see you next year!

To those of you waiting for pictures of the backyard, I lost our camera so I haven’t been able to take pictures. I finally found it, but it’s been raining and I want to take pictures when it is nice and sunny. Hopefully the weatherman is right and I will be able to take the pictures on Wednesday. Stay tuned…

Remlinger Farms

2011-09-18T20:02:00.001-07:00

A couple of months ago, groupon was running a buy one get one free for Remlinger Farms. I bought it, thinking it would be a fun afternoon for Jayden and I. I wasn’t really sure what to expect, other than a petting zoo, but I had heard people say great things about it.

Yesterday morning I picked up my nephew Jayden and we headed out to carnation. When we go there, I KNEW Jayden was going to have the time of his life. We did it all. Most things we did two or three times. Here are a few pictures from our day.

Here’s a quick summary of what we did: Park, Pony Rides, Canoe Ride, Train Ride, Driving a “real” car, Pedal car course, Hay Maze, Hay Jump Pit, climbing wall, a school bus, a fire truck, Petting Zoo, Roller Coaster, Merry Go Round, Ferris Wheel, Spinning Apple Barrels, and Flying pumpkins. And all for only $12!!! It was a blast. We both had a lot of fun. It is definitely something we will do again next year!

Salmon galore

2011-09-18T19:38:00.001-07:00

Over labor day weekend Rob went Salmon fishing with some guys from our ward. It was basically his first time and he had a great time and did his best to learn all the tricks. Then, over the last couple of weeks he has been out several times on his own and with others. He’s pretty much got it down now and comes home with his limit of 4 salmon each time. I made him give his share away a couple of times only because we don’t have any more room in our freezer!

The fish is delicious, but cutting them up is not. Too many little bones! It takes forever to get them all out. Rob had some friends over so we decided to try a new marinade and grilled them on the bbq. It turned out great. If you like salmon, come on over. We’ll gladly grill some up for you!

Finally

2011-09-14T21:00:00.001-07:00

WE HAVE A BACKYARD!!!!

pictures coming soon.

Trip to Rexburg

2011-08-16T09:33:00.001-07:00

I decided that I needed to visit my parents at least once this summer. So on Monday, I told them I was coming on Wednesday. I also told them that I had invited my friend Mary and her kids to come and stay as well. On Tuesday, I invited my nephew Jayden to join me for the trip. When Jayden and I left on Wednesday morning, we sent a text inviting my sisters to come up and join us. Julie and her two youngest said they would, so by weeks end, my parents had a houseful! It was great. The kids played, the adults talked. We had a great time talking, eating, swimming, dancing, playing outside, playing inside. It was great. Here’s the pics to prove it.

Thanks to my Mom and Dad for being such great hosts and letting everyone come last minute and all at once. Thanks to Jackie for letting Jayden come with me. Thanks to Mary, Tillie and Finch for making the drive from Salt Lake to spend some time with me. Thanks for Julie for rearranging her work schedule to come up and visit with us. Thanks to Parker and Halle for making the drive with their mom to come and play with us.

Rob’s Parents Come to Visit

2011-08-15T19:49:00.001-07:00

Bob and Sandy Samsel came to visit. They stayed for almost a week. While they were here they helped us a TON in the backyard. Rob and I were both amazed at how much we were able to get done in the three days the four of us worked on the yard (I will do a post on the yard when it is finally finished. We’re getting close). We were very grateful for all the help that they gave us. Hopefully we will have grass before the end of the summer.

While they were here, we did manage to have a little fun. On the day they arrived, Rob and I took Bob to a Seattle Sounders soccer game (tickets found free on Craigslist of course!). We had great seats and free food vouchers. The Sounders won which made it that much better.

We also went to downtown Seattle to the Crab Pot restaurant. Bob had seen the restaurant on the show Man vs Food and wanted to try it. It is a seafood restaurant and they are famous for bringing out bowls full of mussels, clams, crabs, etc and dumping it on you table for all to enjoy. If you are a seafood fan, this is a great place to eat. They give you a TON of food. Both Bob and Rob ate until they were stuffed. It was a fun experience.

Here we are all prepared for the Feast!

The concept of having food thrown on a table for you to pig out on is kind of disgusting if you think about it, but the food really was delicious. There aren’t many resturants in the US where it is acceptable to eat with your hands and wear a bib.

Rob annoyed that I never learned not to play with my food.

Thanks Bob and Sandy for coming to spend time with us and for all the great help in the yard!

Our New Tree

2011-07-17T20:32:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-11T19:30:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-06T22:08:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-04T21:02:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-01T15:33:00.001-07:00

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.

Tribute to Jason and Jimmy

2011-06-30T10:46:00.001-07:00

While we were in Utah, the family got together and went to the cemetery to help celebrate and remember the lives of Jimmy and Jason. Sherri bought us helium filled balloons and we each took time to write a message to both Jimmy and Jason. We then tied the messages to our balloons and sent them to heaven.

WE LOVE AND MISS YOU BOTH!

Jayden’s traveling companion

2011-06-29T10:02:00.001-07:00

Spending 26 hours in a car, for a weekend of fun isn’t necessarily a 4 year olds idea of fun. Each time I have traveled with Jayden he has done really well. As he gets older though, I am working on new ideas to keep him entertained on the drive. For our drive to Utah I brought food, drinks, new coloring books, “magic” markers, movies, new toys, etc. Little did I know, I didn’t need any of that. All I really needed to do was introduce Jayden to his new traveling companion.

These two were the best of buds for the entire trip. Mario provided Jayden with hours of entertainment as we traveled over 800 miles each way. Having Mario Kart on the DS was also great entertainment for Halle and Parker once we got to Utah. Racing each other is all they wanted to do from sun up to sun down.

As you can see, Jayden is hard at work here trying to get another win. He loved it so much his mom bought him one for his 5th birthday!

Skiing with Steph

2011-06-28T07:33:00.001-07:00

The main reason for our trip to Utah was to meet up with our friend Stephanie and enjoy a day of skiing with Stephanie and her fiancé Marcus. The snow wasn’t great, and the weather was windy, but we still managed to have fun. We decided to ski Snowbird. All in all it was a fun day. I tried my best to keep up with the great skiers that Rob, Stephanie, and Marcus are. Lucky for me, there wasn’t a ton of powder so we mostly stayed on the groomers. Here are some post skiing pics of Stephanie and I. Unfortunately the boys didn’t want to pose for pics.

I don’t really know what’s happening in this photo, but I’m sure it was really funny.

Thanks Marcus and Stephanie for making time to spend a day with us!

Children’s Museum

2011-06-27T09:49:00.001-07:00

In March Rob and I decided we wanted to go to Utah for a little skiing (I’ll talk more about this in a later post). We ended up bringing my nephew Jayden along with us for the ride. When we were in Utah, Rob and I took Halle, Parker, and Jayden to Salt Lake where we met up with my friend Mary and her two kids Tillie and Finch. We went to the children’s museum and then out to lunch at Rodizio Grill. Everyone had great time and of course it was great to see Mary and her kiddos. Enjoy all the pics of the kids hard at play!

Halle busy making music

Jayden using the crane to build.

Tillie and Halle measuring up to their block creations.

Finch was busy taking everything in.

Halle showing her climbing skills

Parker and Jayden working the water.

Everyone busy making “Green Eggs”

The finished product.

We loved the museum. There was a ton for the kids to do. If you live in the SLC area, I definitely recommend you buy a season pass to the place. You won’t be disappointed!

Tribute to David Bowie

2011-06-26T14:54:00.001-07:00

When we were in Utah, Wes was helping a friend out in a talent competition. He had the role of playing David Bowie. It took a couple of tries, but this is what we ended up with.

Snowmobiling at Lake Kachess

2011-06-25T14:03:00.001-07:00

Despite the promises that our La Nina winter would bring one of the snowiest winters ever, our January and February were pretty bleak, dreary and rainy. Finally in March the mountains got some good snow so we decided to check out some new places on top of Snoqualmie Pass.

We had a fun time and even I got a little daring and went up and down some of the steepest hills I’ve ever tried.

I did end up going up this hill and many more after that!

Of all the locations we went this winter, Lake Kachess was by far our favorite. We will be visiting again next winter.

National Boards

2011-04-03T19:12:00.001-07:00

At the end of the last school year, I decided was going to try and get my National Boards teaching certificate. This is basically a year long process, with a 4 entry Portfolio followed by an essay test, with six essay questions. Earning this certificate will certify me to teach in any state in the nation. On Wednesday I turned in my “Blue Box.” It was a great feeling to finally be done with my portfolio and submit it for grading. Many Saturday and evening hours were spent in front of the computer. Rob stated several times, “You’re Boring!” as I repeatedly ignored him and made him fend for himself in the kitchen and work around the house on his own.

The Portfolio consisted of 4 entries, with very specific directions. With each one I had to show how I was improving as a teacher and how what I was doing was benefiting my students. When I was all done, I ended up with the following totals:

2 video entries

20 pages of evidence/documentation

50 typed pages

16,000 + words

Needless to say, I was more than happy to finally be done and turn my box over to UPS to have it shipped off.

This is a picture of me with a few co-workers (me, Aylish Duff, Meghan Garner, Jessica Rydecki). We all got together after school on Thursday to pack our entries and make sure we got everything in the correct order and in the correct envelopes.

Next up: Essay test on May 7th.

I won’t find out if I passed until November. Wish me luck!

Good Eats

2011-03-05T09:03:00.001-08:00

I had some ripe bananas lying around this week, and I really wanted to make some banana bread. I was a little hesitant because the last few recipes I’ve used, my bread did not get done in the middle. So, I decided to try a recipe off the web. This is what I found.

Banana Bread Recipe

Ingredients

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

Method

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Makes one loaf.

It turned out perfectly. The crust was slightly crunchy, the inside was moist but completely done. It was delicious. Two thumbs up.

Also, last night Rob and I decided to try a new place for dinner. About a month ago, Ezell’s chicken opened up about a mile from our home. There are several locations in the Seattle area, but I’ve never been to one. Everyone talks about how it is the best fried chicken anywhere, now that we have one so close we thought we should give it a try.

We got the spicy chicken (which was is the best seller),rolls, and mashed potatoes and gravy.

My thoughts: The rolls were delicious, the best part of the meal if you ask me. The chicken batter was also delicious. Crispy with great flavor. Both Rob and I decided that the chicken was almost too juicy. And the gravy for the potatoes was bland.

Overall, the chicken was good, but didn’t completely wow us and it was too expensive for what we got. We probably won’t be going back anytime soon.

Poker Run

2011-02-21T17:11:00.001-08:00

So far this year, for the Northwest, La Nina has been a bust. Our mountains have had less snow than ever. Considering we just purchased two snowmobiles this season, this has not been good news for us. We’ve been snowmobiling twice this year, once in Montana and once up by Snoqualmie. Since the mountains close to us have not had snow in 6 weeks we’ve been looking for new areas we can go that are within a reasonable driving distance. Rob found an event put on by a the Lake Chelan Snowmobile Club called the Poker Run. It is a fund raising event for their club. We checked it out on the website and decided it would be a fun thing to try out.

We left on Friday after I got home from work and drove to Chelan. We checked into Cambell’s Hotel which we absolutely loved. Huge, comfortable bed, huge room, great views. It was great. We highly recommend it if you ever to to Chelan. After a great nights rest, we headed to the town of Manson to enjoy a community sponsored breakfast at their community center. I’m pretty sure everyone was over the age of 65, but the food was great! Then we headed up to the snopark to draw our first card.

I’ve never participated in a poker run before but it was a lot of fun. Everyone starts at the same place and you draw a card from a hat. You then drive to 4 other stops and do the same thing. You have sheet of paper that is stamped according to the card that you drew. The goal is to get the highest hand in poker and you win. It was only $5 to enter, they served us lunch, and we got to learn about a whole new snowmobiling trail system. I thought it was definitely money well spent.

Rob and I both got off to a great start by drawing Aces out of the first hat. There was plenty of time to check out the area and play around a bit in the snow. It was an area we really liked and we are planning to go back again. The third stop was at the club’s warming hut where they served us hamburgers and hot dogs. We met some really nice people who were already planning ahead and inviting Rob to come back and go dirt biking with them.

Rob had two aces to start, but his hand quickly lost steam. I ended up with the second best hand of the day by drawing Three Aces and Two Kings. I even won $75! WOOOHOOO!

We had a great time, and met some great people. We are hoping to be able to do it again next year. In the meantime we are hoping for a little more snow in our area so we can go sledding a little closer to home.

Rob Striking a pose at the top of the hill. The views all day were amazing. It was perfectly sunny and there were just enough trees to make it beautiful but not too many to block your view.

Even in Chelan conditions were a bit sketchy. We rode about 65 miles total on Saturday and 55 of those miles were beautifully snow covered. The first few miles in and the last few miles out were a little sketchy with not much snow in some spots as you can tell from the pic. Even still, the snow on top was great.

After a day of snowmobiling, we stopped at the Apple Cup Café . It was recommended by several local residents so we decided to try it. We weren’t disappointed. We both ordered Chicken Fried Steak. YUM! Service was great, food was great. Rob loved it so much we decided to go back for breakfast the next morning. If you ever go to Chelan you’ll have to check it out.

On the way home we stopped by Leavenworth to check it out. After our trip to Munich a few years ago, it was hard for us to be impressed. We did stop and get a hot chocolate and a German pretzel, which of course was delicious.

All-in-all it was a great weekend!

Happy Birthday Jaxon

2011-02-08T20:29:00.001-08:00

My nephew Jaxon turned 1 year old on January 26th. My brother Michael and Jaxon came over a couple of weeks ago so we could celebrate.

We opened presents

We played with toys

We laughed!

And of course, we enjoyed some cake!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAXON!

Nativity

2011-02-08T20:22:00.001-08:00

This Christmas, Rob’s parents bought me the Nativity set I have been coveting for a long time. I was totally surprised when I opened it. I can’t wait to use it next year when we decorate for Christmas.

I love this nativity for it’s beautiful simplicity.

Thank you Sandy and Bob!

Christmas Fun

2011-02-08T20:13:00.001-08:00

Over the Christmas break Rob and I went to Great Falls, Montana to spend Christmas at his parent’s house. On the way we stopped off in Kalispell, MT to pick up a Snowmobile and trailer that Rob had found on Craigslist. Our trip was full of adventures, some of them more challenging than they were fun, but overall it was a great trip and we had a wonderful time with all of his family. Unfortunately my camera spent more time in my purse then it did in my hand, so I will just have to trust me that we were actually there. Here are a few of the pics that I did manage to snap.

Rob and Alex gassing up the snowmobile.

One of our newest Craigslist purchases. We have a matching one we bought last year. Now we have two twin sleds.

Rob and his Cousin Colton. The jacket Rob is wearing was my Christmas gift to him. We decided after our day in the snow that it wasn’t the perfect jacket. After his motorcycle accident he is looking for one to replace the one the paramedics had to cut off. When he tried it on, we thought this one would, but after a day of use, we decided it was a no go. When we got home I took it back and bought him a Tool Cart instead to try and contain his ever growing tool collection.

Rob’s nephew Alex came out snowmobiling with us.

Me and our new sled.

After our day of snowmobiling Rob and I went skiing with Rob’s sister Lisa and her family. After a day of skiing we followed them to their home in Bellegrade, MT.

Rob’s nieces Abbey and Emily and I.

Rob’s sister Lisa and I .

Rob wearing my bright orange neckgator on his head. No he did not ski like this.

The night before we left to head home, it snowed over a foot in Bellegrade, MT. We went out that night and played around for a while. Rob even took the girls out for a snowmobile ride around the neighborhood in all the fresh powder.

Maya enjoying the snow.

Rob and Emily on the snowmobile. She even got to drive a little, even though she wasn’t very good at turning.

Rob and Abbey on the snowmobile. It was FREEZING that night.

Other adventures included:

Chrismas Eve looking at Christmas lights that never were. We blamed it on the recession.
Cindi blowing up an engine on one of the snowmobiles we were using (NOT HER FAULT!)
Cindi being pelted with flying snowball chunks as she was towed back to the trucks and trailers after the engine blew.
A flat tire on the trailer in the snowmobiling parking lot
A flat tire on the trailer after we got home from snowmobiling in front of Rob’s parent house
Driving all over Great Falls looking for a tire store that was open on Sunday
Alex Cady slamming into another skier, getting a bloody nose, a bitten and bloody tongue, and a black eye
The Cady family hitting a deer on our way home from skiing (Thankfully no person was injured. Sadly we can’t say the same for the deer)

We had a wonderful trip and enjoyed time with family. I big thank you to Bob Samsel for keeping us warm and helping with all of the trailer fixes we had to do. Another big thank you to Sandy Samsel for feeding us every time we turned around and making sure our every need was taken care of. Thank you to the Cady family for the countless games of Mario Kart on DS and Clue, and for letting us crash at their place for a few nights.

We hope everyone else had a Merry Christmas as well!

Craigslist Christmas

2010-12-13T21:42:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-29T21:08:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-29T21:04:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-29T20:54:00.001-08:00

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

2010-11-29T20:43:00.001-08:00

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!

2010-11-22T18:42:00.001-08:00

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

2010-10-19T20:08:00.001-07:00

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

2010-10-17T14:53:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-27T21:19:00.001-07:00

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

2010-09-26T17:17:00.001-07:00

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!!!

2010-08-29T15:12:00.001-07:00

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!

Jayden goes Camping

2010-08-16T16:25:00.001-07:00

Our ward had a camping trip this weekend and Rob and I decided to take Jayden along for the fun. We camped at Zion’s Camp which is a a church camp site on the peninsula. They have a ton of things for families to do there and Jayden experienced a lot of firsts. I, unfortunately forgot my camera, so you’ll have to settle for the not so great pictures taken with my cell phone camera.

Jayden and Rob set up a tent when we first got to camp.

Jayden was excited about sleeping in a tent and did great. We went to bed around 10:30 and he was sound asleep by 10:31. No joke! He asked me to zip him up, 30 sec later I asked him a question and there was absolutely no response. He was out cold. He slept through the night and loved it.

Rob taught Jayden how to fish. This picture was taken in the evening right after we got to the camp site. They also went fishing on Saturday morning. We even borrowed a paddle boat and took it out into the lake. Rob and Jayden even caught a small fish. The fish was on Rob’s line but he was nice enough to let Jayden real it in. Jayden loved it. It was a tiny fish (about 4 inches long), but still, it was a fish!

There was a great tree fort that Jayden played in, on and around for a couple of hours.

Rob and Jayden are at the top of the tree fort although it is really hard to see them. No zoom on my cell phone camera. :(

Jayden on the Rob swing

Jayden on the tire swing

Jayden on the teeter-totter

He had a great time and said he loved everything about camping. Hopefully we’ll get to take him again next year.

A Day at the Beach

2010-08-16T16:09:00.001-07:00

Summer weather has finally found Seattle and it is HOT. So, what do you do in a place where no one has air conditioning? Go to the Beach of course!

I took Jayden to Golden Gardens Beach in Seattle. This is one of my favorite places to take him because there is so much to entertain a 4 year old boy. There is real sand, rocks to climb on, a park, seagulls to feed, and a creek that runs to the Sound. It’s next to a marina so there is a constant parade of boats going by. There are all types of planes flying overhead and there are train tracks that go right by it with trains constantly coming through full speed with whistles blowing. WE LOVE IT!

The New Gate

2010-08-05T15:33:00.001-07:00

At the side of our house, we have the perfect spot to park the jet ski trailer. Unfortunately, our Home Owners Association won’t let us park it there without a gate. So, of course, we decided to build a gate. Our friend Jimmy Jones brought his welding tools over and he and Rob welded a medal frame together.

The boys hard at work:

Before:

After:

A few more pics for Rob’s Mom:

We’re both pretty happy with the way things turned out.

Indian Food

2010-08-03T18:59:00.001-07:00

Rob and I love Indian food. One of our favorite Indian dishes is Butter Chicken with Naan bread. Rob recently found a mix for butter chicken that we love to make a home and eat with rice. Unfortunately, store bought Naan, does not even come close to the Naan they serve in the restaurants. We have tried many store bought brands of Naan and tried to heat it, warm it, prepare it in a variety of ways, but still, its no good.

Today I tried a recipe for making our favorite type of Naan, called Aloo Naan. This is Naan stuffed with potatoes. The recipe I used was from manjula’s kitchen. The video is great and shows step by step what to do.

The Aloo Naan turned out great! Just as good as the restaurants. Both Rob and I loved it. Unfortunately, it takes 4-6 hours for the dough to rise so you have to be home in the middle of the day to start making it. I will definitely do it again, but during the school year, it may only be a meal we eat on Sundays.

Dough balls and potato stuffing. You flatten out the dough balls and place the stuffing in the middle and then pull the dough around the stuffing, similar to a dumpling.

Stuffed dough balls.

Rolled Naan ready for the oven.

Aloo Naan, fresh out of the Oven. Delicious!

We froze some of the cooked Naan. The recipe makes six Naan, which is way to much for Rob and I to eat. We’ll see how the frozen Naan turns out next time.

Mount Rainier

2010-08-03T09:03:00.001-07:00

A Sunny Day in Seattle is beautiful. When you are in a place where you get a view of “The Mountain” it truly is breathtaking. Rob has a friend named Shawn, who works at Microsoft. Shawn is from China, and working over here for a few months. He is the most eager to learn, experience, and try anything person that I have ever met. Rob and I got the idea to take him to Mount Rainier. Shawn brought a few of his friends along for the adventure.

We had a great time exploring the mountain, hiking through the snow, taking pictures, and enjoying an American Buffett. Here are some of the picks from our adventure.

I didn’t exactly dress for a hike through the snow.

Dustin, Rob and Shawn. With these three together, there’s never a dull moment.

Why We Love Whistler

2010-08-01T15:36:00.001-07:00

Rob and I have been to Whistler twice so far this summer. We are hoping to make it up there at least once more. The main reason we go is for the Mountain Biking, but there are many reasons why we love Whistler. Here are a few:

THE VIEWS. Everywhere you look there is another amazing view. Beautiful mountains, trees, lakes, blue sky. It really is breathtaking.

BIKE/CHAIR LIFTS. We load the bikes on the special lift built to hold bikes. We then ride the chair up directly behind the bikes. At the top, there are lifties who take the bikes off for us and then off we go to speed down another trail (Rob at a slightly faster speed than me. I’m working on it…). The lifts make miles and miles of amazing runs accessible.

THE TRAILS. Whistler is a Mecca for downhill mountain bikers. There are easy, intermediate, and expert trails. There are so many to choose from, you never get bored and always have the chance to try and learn something new.

THE SNOW. Even in the summer, there is still snow on the mountain. Whistler does a great job of getting all of the trails open as soon as possible, even if that means plowing paths through the snow.

THE MUD. A perfect day of biking is one that is overcast and has just rained. That way the trails are nice and tacky for the bikes.

THE FOOD. Sharing these delicious nachos is one of our favorite lunches. Whistler has a ton of restaurants to choose from.

THE BEARS. These guys had a hard time getting across the trail because there were so many bikers. We yelled at bikers to stop. Mom poked her head out across the trail several times to “look both ways” and make sure it was safe to cross. Once Mom realized it was safe, she and her cub ran across the trail to safety. We see several bears every time we go up.

One thing we don’t love about our trips to Whistler is the border crossing on the way back into the United States. Although it is beautifully landscaped, sometimes the wait can be hours long. On our last trip, the wait was killer. Rob decided to stretch out on the grass and play a little DS as I inched forward in the car. Even knowing we face long waits on our return trip, we still think going up to Whistler is worth it.

Whistler! We love it and we're glad we get several opportunities every year to go up there, whether its biking in the summer or skiing in the winter.

WPM

2010-06-20T20:38:00.001-07:00

Rob and I were testing our typing skills tonight.

I was pleased to find out that I’m a faster typist now than I was several years ago when I last took the test. My highest score was 74 wpm with two mistakes. I give credit to all of those IEP reports I have to write for my students

Give it a try and let us know how you do.

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php

Another way to seriously injure myself!

2010-06-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have found another way to get hurt. Last year I bought a dual sport motorcycle. It is essentially a dirt bike with blinkers and a license plate so it can be driven on the street. Last night was the first time I actually took it up the mountains and used it like its supposed to be used. I was a blast. I can say I came out unscathed....I can't say the same for the bike :-)

After several instances where the tires became less than perpendicular with the road the results are:

a) a front brake lever that requires a bit of hand contorsion to pull

b) a few nice new scratches on the plastic

and

c) a speedometer which only tells the correct speed when I'm at a redlight (its and easy fix!)

...but it was worth it and I'm ready to go again!

Just Like Auntie Anne’s

2010-05-30T20:56:00.001-07:00

My friend Emily posted to her blog about a recent experience she had making Pretzels. Rob LOVES soft Pretzels, so I was intrigued with her experience and wanted to give it a try. I didn’t want to waste an entire afternoon and not have them turn out, so I was hesitant.

Today, Emily came to visit us, so I took the opportunity to have her teach me how to make the pretzels. She was an excellent teacher and our Pretzels turned out really good. They look good and they tasted good. They even past Rob’s taste test, so I was pleased. Here are some pics to document the events.

We were really happy with the golden brown color we got out of the Pretzels.

Ummmm. Delicious!

Emily tries them out with different Mustards. Rob likes them best with the Hot and Spicy Mustard.

If you’re feeling adventurous, give it a try. The recipe Emily and I both used came from Paula Dean.

Boys will be Boys

2010-05-17T20:41:00.001-07:00

We had Stephen and Caitlin Wheeler and their daughter McKenna over for dinner on Sunday. After a great grilled BBQ chicken dinner, the natives got a little restless and found ways to entertain themselves. Rob and Stephen prove the fact that remote control cars never lose their appeal no matter how old you are. They used Rob’s Ultimate Frisbee cones to set up a race course on our deck and challenged each other to race after race.

Another project done

2010-05-15T16:37:00.001-07:00

Rob decided the Grill needed something a little extra. So last Saturday we went to Lowe’s, bought the wood that we needed and started to build. It was frustrating at times and we almost gave up, but in the end we both think it turned out pretty nice.

BEFORE

AFTER

Side View

Getting Ready for Summer

2010-05-07T15:01:00.001-07:00

We are slowly getting our deck ready for summer. Rob installed accent lights around our deck and he hung speakers outside. The speakers are connected to our main receiver in the house, so you can hear the audio of the TV and it is connected to the computer so we can listen to any music we choose. The sound is great.

Rob is a master at the grill and he finally convinced himself to buy the Grill he really wanted the Weber Genesis. We spent last Saturday putting it together. It looks great on our deck and we’ve already used it several times.

Our next purchase is a patio set. Make sure in all of your summer planning you plan a trip to the Northwest. We would love to grill you some steaks!

A Work of Art

2010-04-25T14:02:00.001-07:00

Decorating our new home has not been easy. I feel overwhelmed trying to choose something that is supposed to be cute, classy, warm, inviting, matching, etc. Having different colored walls all over our house makes it that much more of a challenge. I know when I like something I see, I just don’t necessarily know how to create it on my own. I have come to realize that decorating our house is not something that is going to happen instantly, it will take time to find what we like. Over the last few months, Rob and I have been brave and purchased a few works of art. Two of them hang in our bedroom and one of them in our guest bedroom. I have to give Rob props for having a good eye and discovering these. They really do go perfectly with the bedspread and with the wall color.

I had purchased this bedspread the week before. Rob found this print that looked like it came with the whole set. It really fits perfectly.

These two pictures hang in our bedroom. The blue green color in each matches perfectly with the paint on our walls. Both of them are framed in dark wood which matches our bedroom furniture perfectly.

We are still looking for one more piece of art to hang in our family room. We know it has to be Large and have Red in it. We’ll keep looking until something catches Rob’s eye!

All in a Days Work

2010-04-25T13:52:00.001-07:00

Last Friday night, for our date night, Rob and I went to the lumber store. The goal was to buy materials to build a deck box. On our way home we saw this

It’s not often you see a double rainbow. I was glad I had a camera phone.

On Saturday morning we woke up and got to work. We finished the deck box just before this arrived.

This is what we spent all morning working on. I think it turned out pretty good. We will use the deck box to hold the cushions of patio furniture.

Time to Make the Doughnuts

2010-04-18T15:47:00.001-07:00

Last Sunday we had some friends over. We made old fashioned doughnuts. The recipe came from a magazine I randomly got for free in the mail. I’d never made doughnuts without letting them rise so I wanted to try this recipe. They were pretty good when they were fresh, but I didn’t think they were that great on the 2nd day. I probably won’t be using the recipe again but we had a fun time with our friends Angela and Steve.

While we were making doughnuts, Rob was doing something a little more “manly.” The laundry closet door fell off the track and broke when I opened it to get the skillet. Good thing Rob is such a handy man and was able to fix it for me.

Another Craigslist Find

2010-04-13T19:32:00.001-07:00

A couple of months ago, Rob and I went to pick up a table and four chairs for our smaller back deck. It was free on Craigslist, but we saw the potential in it. Over my Spring Break, we finally got around to painting it and making it look a little nicer. Here are the before and after shots.

This is what the table top looked like when we picked it up. With a little painters tape and a few cans of spray paint this is what we ended up with:

Yard Work is Work…

2010-04-07T20:32:00.001-07:00

Over the last few days, I’ve learned that yard work really is work. Hard work. Rob and I have tried to start making improvements to our mess of our yard. The weeds growing through the bark are out of control. We’ve called several landscaping companies within the last few days to get estimates on getting us some grass. In the mean time, we’ve decided to make some minor improvements of our own. We have a nice planter box in the backyard that runs along the fenceline. Here are the before and after pics.

We planted Hino Crimson Azaleas on either end, with flaming torch heather at both ends next to the Azaleas. In the middle we planted a bright orange Flame Creeper Azalea. It is surrounded by Candytuft Iberis. We’re happy with how it looks now. Hopefully it turns out that I have a green thumb and can keep them alive!

Mission Flashback

2010-04-04T12:44:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago my phone rang at 4 am. I don’t know why I answered it, but I did. I was sleepy and confused when I said “hello". On the other line I heard, “Sister Buhrmester?” I was still confused when the person began speaking Portuguese. I was fighting to find the words when she asked what time it was. When I responded 4 am, she quickly said, “I’m so sorry. I’ll call back later.”

That was the end of our phone call. I had no idea who it was. Of course I assumed it was someone from my mission but I wasn’t sure who. Rob couldn’t believe that I would accept a long distance phone call, mutter a few phrases in Portuguese and then hang up with out finding out who it was. What can I say, it was 4 am!

Later that day, I received a phone call. It was from Eliete Lopez. A girl I served with for my last 6 weeks in Brazil. She is Brazilian but currently living in Switzerland with her husband. Her husband is an employee of Microsoft and they were coming to Seattle for a Conference.

Eleite and her husband arrived a week ago. Another friend of ours, Lauranne Turner, flew in from Bountiful, Utah for the occasion. We had a great time sight seeing, shopping and eating out.

On our first night together Eliete really wanted a hamburger, so we went to the oh so American restaurant of Red Robin. :)

On afternoon we went a my favorite Brazilian restaurant, Tempero do Brasil. The family that runs this restaurant is from Eliete’s home state of Bahia, Brazil.

The view from Kerry Park (our photographer did a good job of cutting out the Space Needle! What can you expect from a 15 year old boy! oh well).

It was a fun week of reminiscing of the mission and trying to remember Portuguese. I was glad they came for a visit. It made me remember how important the mission was to me and the good friends I made there.

A day in our life…

2010-03-28T13:22:00.001-07:00

One day, I arrived home early from work. I was hoping to finish weeding the rest of our front yard. Rob had been to the hardware store that day and bought a few things to fix his trailer. While he was fixing his trailer, he was struck with an amazing idea…

The lights on the trailer keep breaking because the gate opening in our fence is so narrow. You have to do it exactly right or you will rip one of the lights off. So, Rob’s great idea was to make the gate in the fence larger. I agreed.

Rob started to dig around the post, and quickly found out that the post was connected to about 3 feet deep of concrete. We discussed several options such as digging it out, using the chainsaw to just cut it at ground level, etc. Then Rob was struck with another great idea.

The streets in our neighborhood are currently being torn apart in order for Puget Sound Energy to place better cables underground. We’ve had giant trucks, backhoes, flaggers, every kind of construction tool you can imagine, beeping back and forth, up and down our street. Rob looked at the backhoe on the street near our home and said, “That thing could get it with no problems at all. It would take him less than 5 min.”

So, Rob walked right over to the boss and asked him if he would help us out. To both of our surprise the boss agreed to do it for us. He drove the backhoe over to the gas truck, gassed it up, drove straight into our front yard, and yanked the post and concrete straight out of the ground.

I must say, it was pretty impressive. The man was a master at driving and using the backhoe. Now if only we can convince them to come and get rid of all the bark…

The end result was perfect. Rob constructed our new gate perfectly so now it completely opens and is plenty wide to get the trailer in and out with no problems. As I frequently say, “Good Job Rob!”

A Day Off

2010-03-14T14:49:00.001-07:00

I decided to take the day off on Friday. Instead of working, Rob and I spent the day with Jayden. Here are a few pics from our adventures:

It was rainy and super windy outside so the park was out. So we made due by going to the Bellevue Square Mall and playing on the toys there. They have a great play area with TONS of things to climb on.

Jayden helped me make chocolate chip cookies. We made some for us to eat, some for my young women’s class and then we made some extra dough and put it in the freezer, that way, next time he visits, we’ll be ready.

I found a great Thomas the Train coloring book. Jayden and I spent a lot of time coloring several pictures.

Rob showed Jayden how to use our remote control cars. Of course Jayden LOVED them.

Rob also built us a nice roaring fire that he kept going all day. We roasted Marshmallows and made delicious S’mores. It was the perfect snack to end our day.

Taking a day off was the perfect way to start my weekend!

Happy Birthday Rob!

2010-03-01T05:58:00.001-08:00

I love you,

Love Cindi B.

Mid-Winter Break

2010-02-28T14:24:00.001-08:00

In Washington, we are lucky enough to get “Mid-Winter Break” from school I’m not really sure why it started, but in February, all of the schools get a week off. No complaints from me. For the past two year, Mid-Winter break has begun with my birthday. It’s a perfect way to celebrate my birth if you ask me!

On Valentine’s day, Rob and I took off on a Whirlwind driving trip to do some skiing and to catch some of the Winter Olympics.

We started by skiing at Schweitzer, near Sandpoint, ID.

Then we headed to Kalispell, Montana. Rob’s cousins, Rob and Heather Mackenstadt were nice enough to put us up for a couple of days. Together with their cute family we tried to make sense of the rules of Curling.

Rob and Heather and their children Keegan and Darby. Thank you for sharing your home with us!

While we were staying with them we were able to ski at Whitefish Mountain Resort.

Whitefish was our favorite day of skiing. The weather was nice, the views were beautiful and even though it hadn’t really snowed in a few days, it was cold enough to keep the groomers nice and fast. If Rob could find a job there, I’m sure we’d be moving to Kalispell. :)

On Thursday morning we left Kalispell and headed north to Canada. We went through Banff National Park. It was one of the most beautiful drives I’ve ever been on. We stayed in Revelstoke, British Columbia and Decided it is definitely a place we would like to explore more.

We then headed to Whistler, British Columbia. We hung out in the Village and enjoyed all the sights the Olympics brought with it. We were able to see the Medal Ceremony where Lindsey Vonn got the Gold. We were also able to see Bode Miller Ski in one of the Men’s Alpine Skiing events.

USA and Canada side by side :)

The Olympic rings in Whistler Village

Getting ready for my bobsled race.

Skiing in Whistler. The men’s combined was taking place the day we skied. You can see the start gate at the top of the hill.

After Skiing in Whistler, we decided to drive into Vancouver to watch the Canada vs USA hockey game with the rest of the nation. The streets of Vancouver were CRAZY. There were people every where, with 20 minute waits at every hot dog stand. It was fun to be a part of it all.

Vancouver crowds watching the Hockey game.

One of the TVs playing the game on the street.

The Olympic flame.

The Olympic rings.

We got home really late Sunday night. Four hours later I was waking up and getting ready for a new work week. We were both glad that we were able to go up and be a part of the Olympics.

For Stephanie…

2010-02-27T18:50:00.001-08:00

My dear friend Stephanie recently complained that she needs more people to post to their blogs so she can be entertained while she is wasting time at work. So here you go Stephanie…

What you did last weekend- Went Skiing at Whistler then went to Vancouver and watched Canada vs USA on the streets of Vancouver with a bunch of rowdy Canadians

Your latest cooking fiasco- Used Butter Flavored Crisco in my last batch of chocolate chip cookies. Bad idea. :(

Future vacation plans and hopes- We’re pretty much broke after our last adventure. During Spring Break we need to concentrate on turning our bark yard into a grass yard (or at least pulling all the weeds that are now growing through the bark). Anyone is welcome to come and visit, just know you will be put to work!

Latest impulse purchases big or small, cheap or expensive- We went to buy a leather ottoman with a lid for blanket storage. We bought that and art for our bedroom. Probably spent a little more than we should have, but the pictures look great in our bedroom.

Stories of your kids at their finest- My kids are my students…One of my favorite students recently wrote a college entrance essay. He asked me to proofread it. In the essay he talked about his troubled past and how he hated school. He then explained how much he had changed during high school because one teacher had taken and interest in him and showed him he wasn’t stupid. After reading the essay, he told me that teacher was me and thanked me. So Sweet! I love my job!

Something that drives you NUTS, makes you roll your eyes and even growl under your breath- Watching stupid people do stupid things and be on TV for it. There is WAY too much bad television out there.

What excuse you used today for not working out- “Working out?” What’s that?

Step by step on crafts and home decor tips that I will never make, never purchase, and never get around to but like to imagine I will- Before painting walls in a house a unique color, make sure you have art that will match the walls. I love our wall colors, but finding things to decorate with is a challenge.

A funny moment that made you laugh out loud- At ski lessons today, we were skiing next to a set up race competition. You could hear the racers names and times being called over the loud speaker. As we were coming down the hill one of my 4 year old students yelled, “I’m racing, do you hear them, they are timing me and I’m winning!!!”

When luck strikes and you win big and everything worked out perfectly- Rob one $5 in a Montana Keno Machine. It paid for our snacks at the gas station!

A few words about what's on your mind lately- Why there’s never enough time to get all the sleep you need!

I’m grateful for Rob

2010-02-07T14:50:00.001-08:00

Rob just complained that I use the blog to talk about myself too much, so I thought I would do a post dedicated to some of the things he’s done for me.

I love Rob very much. Recently I have been thinking of all the things I am thankful for. I realized that a lot of the great things I do in my life are because of Rob.

Since I have known Rob, he has shown great patience in teaching me to ski (this pic is from my first day ever on skis);

encouraging me to become a ski instructor;

teaching me to ride a motorcycle;

teaching me how to mountain bike, helping me find a great mountain bike, painting my mountain bike the perfect shade of orange;

taking me snowmobiling;

taking me jet skiing countless times,

and learning how to windsurf with me.

I’m excited to see what new things Rob has to teach me.

I have to admit, I have an amazing Husband. I love you Rob!

An Adventure with the Motorcycles

2010-02-07T14:22:00.001-08:00

After we were done with ski lessons yesterday, when we got back into town, the weather was nice so Rob and I decided to go on a Motorcycle ride. This is what I usually drive:

This is Rob’s Suzuki DR350S. It is dual sport. I like it because it is light and easy to turn. I also like it because you sit up straight when you drive it. It’s very similar to riding a mountain bike. The other great thing about this bike is that it is made to be banged around. If you lay it down, everything is plastic and it doesn’t cost as much to repair, or at least it doesn’t matter that much. With this bike, I had little fear of crashing.

Yesterday’s bike ride was different though. I must have been doing well enough on the dirt bike to have convinced Rob to give me a chance on his newer bike. So we took a drive to a church parking lot and I gave this bike a try:

This is Rob’s Kawasaki ZR7. Needless to say, it has a little more power than the dirt bike. Also, it costs a little more money. Also, it is a lot easier to break if you were to crash it…

I have to admit that I was nervous. I drove it around and around and around the parking lot until I felt comfortable. Then we were off. I drove the bike all the way home (15 miles) and even ventured out on the freeway for the first time. I was nervous, and at times I drove slowly (especially around the corners), but I did it! Who knows, maybe Rob will turn me into a biker chick after all. I’ll keep you posted…

Rob’s Dream Comes to Life

2010-01-11T20:38:00.001-08:00

The very first time we were shown the house we now live in by our real estate agent, Rob had a dream. It was truly a man’s dream. It has occupied his thoughts as he has fallen to sleep at night for the last three months. Yesterday, that dream was finally realized.

From the moment we drove away from this house for the first time,before we had even considered actually buying it, Rob had already begun planning what his entertainment center would look like. Over the past few weeks we have been adding speakers, laying speaker wire in the attic and crawl space, cutting holes in walls for new outlets, creating new Ethernet jacks, and been to the hardware store countless times.

Yesterday we put a huge hole in the wall that looked something like this…

Yes, that is Rob inside the garage, cutting and I am inside my living room taking a picture. I must say, I was a little nervous for what the end result would be.

For Christmas, Rob’s brother-in-law Chris, built us a cabinet for the now giant hole that we had cut into our living room wall. Rob and I were both relieved when the cabinet fit perfectly into the hole we had cut.

Rob and I are both really excited with the end result.

Now all of our entertainment gadgets and toys fit stylishly inside of our wall, with absolutely no wires to be seen.

It’s a pretty impressive set up for our little house. I must say, I’m glad I married a dreamer.

As, I’m prone to say, “Good Job Rob!”

Happy New Year!

2010-01-01T18:47:00.001-08:00

Per my mother’s family tradition, I made Rob eat his share of blackeye peas today. Tradition in the south (my mom grew up in Oklahoma) says that eating blackeye peas brings luck and prosperity in the new year. I’ve eaten them every January 1st for as long as I can remember. I even had them when I was on my mission in Northern Brazil. My mom was kind enough to send them with my Christmas presents. Rob, who hates all vegetables, and thinks these taste like dirt, even at a spoonful to humor me.

I looked it up online and found out that the tradition of eating Blackeye Peas dates back to 500 AD. That’s a pretty good tradition and not one I plan on breaking in any of my future years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-eyed_pea

Happy New Year to everyone. Rob and I wish you all a “lucky” year and hopefully a happy one!

White Christmas

2009-12-28T19:37:00.001-08:00

Rob and I spent Christmas with his family in Great Falls, MT. We had a wonderful time with his parents and his sister and her family. We enjoyed games, chatting, and of course lots of food provided by him mom. We also had the opportunity to go snowmobiling with a family friend, Ben, and Rob’s cousin, Colton.

On Saturday morning we suited up in our snow gear and headed to the hills. It was –5 deg when we got to the top, but the sun was shining and the snow was perfect. Here are a few pictures from our adventures.

Getting ready to go.

Rob was in heaven from the moment we took off. More toys to add to his wish list.

Colton shows his excitement.

Beautiful views from the top.

There were tons of trails that led to various open fields were we could play around on the snowmobiles.

Rob, Colton and Ben

Cindi playing in the powder.

Colton and Ben checking out the trail maps. I still have no idea how they knew where we were and going and how to get back to the truck, but they were great guides and got us around without any problems.

Rob and I decided that it’s time to sell the Jet Skis and purchase some snowmobiles.

Our Bathroom

2009-12-22T16:53:00.001-08:00

We finally finished our bathroom.

BEFORE:

AFTER:

THE RED COUCH!

2009-12-20T20:07:00.001-08:00

We finally went and picked up our new red couch. What do you think?

Mounted TV

2009-12-20T20:05:00.001-08:00

Rob and I finally mounted the TV on our Red Wall. In order to prepare we painted the wall red and we put in crown molding to frame the TV. The biggest project of all was mounting Rob’s center channel in the fireplace mantel. We took apart the existing mantel, and Rob craftily used his chainsaw to cut the all of the wood so his center channel would sit perfectly in the middle. This was our end result.

The project is not done yet. This is our halfway point. Eventually there will be no wires hanging down. They will all go through the attic and the crawl space to a recessed cabinet that holds the receiver, cable box, DVD player, etc. Stay tuned.

The Snowmobiles First Ride

2009-12-20T19:44:00.001-08:00

So, Rob and I decided that we would take the free snowmobile for a test run on the snow. We loaded it up on the trailer, got dressed in our snow clothes and took off toward the mountains. We towed it with my Toyota Corolla and we got a lot of looks and laughs from bigger trucks on our way up the hill. We especially looked funny as we pulled into the snowmobile parking lot and we were the only 4 cylinder in sight.

We ran into a little trouble getting it started. When Rob went to pull the pull starter, it came undone and wound all the way back up into the snowmobile. Rob borrowed some socket wrenches and tried to fix it and get it put back together again.

Eventually he got it running and off he went on the snowmobiles first ride one the snow!

I waited for him to come back. To stay warm, I sat in the car and played games on my phone. About 20 minutes later here came Rob, being towed by another snowmobiler.

The end result…

To Rob's credit, we got it home and after a little work on the snowmobile, he got it running again. It wasn't blown up after all. We still own a free snowmobile, and we will take it out again for another test run. Hopefully the next one will be a little more fun and a little less work.

Red?

2009-12-15T22:25:00.001-08:00

Somehow, Rob and I convinced ourselves to use Red to accent our family room. Our TV will be mounted here.

We also recently purchased a red sectional couch which we will be picking up on Saturday.

Stay tuned…

Rob’s Obsession with Sound…

2009-12-15T22:05:00.001-08:00

It is true, Rob has an obsession with sound. He loves or hates sounds depending on what they are. When he finds a good sounding song, he will obsess over it for weeks. When he finds an irritating noise, he will obsess until he figures out how to stop it. He is the first to hear every rattle in a car and will stop at nothing to make it stop. He hears noises in and around the house that sometimes I can’t even hear after he points them out. He also has a great ear and recognizes good music whether it is in the form of rock of Broadway musicals.

One of Rob’s biggest obsessions are with sound coming from the speakers in his house. From the first time we looked at our house, he was already planning how to create his ideal entertainment set up. With each time we returned to the house he came up with more ideas of how to make it sound and look just the way he wanted. I told him, as long as it looked good in the end, he could do whatever he wanted. When he told me he was going to put in in-wall speakers, I have to admit I was a little scared with this do-it yourself project, but I tried my best to keep my doubts and fears to myself. The plan was for the speakers to go in our ceiling, behind the couches.

We moved in and Rob wasted no time in ordering his first set of in-wall speakers. The day they arrived in the mail he was ready to get up in the attic and get to work. He got out his saw and started sawing a hole in my popcorn ceiling. I was scared and skeptical, but still tried to keep my mouth shut. He worked from the attic while I was in the livingroom scrapping “popcorn” from our ceiling to make the speakers fit just right.

After about 30 min or so, our project was done. I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised with the end result. Below are the pictures of our brand new “in-ceiling” speakers.

They look pretty good, don’t you think?

All I can say is, “GOOD JOB ROB!”

After this little project, I wasn’t as scared when he took a chainsaw to my fireplace mantel…

Hitting the Slopes

2009-12-06T11:29:00.001-08:00

Rob and I have decided to teach ski lessons on Saturdays again this year. Today was our first day of instructor’s training. On Friday night, as we were up late stripping the hideous wallpaper in the master bathroom, we were both wondering what we had gotten ourselves into. By teaching skiing, we had taking away our only free day to do house repairs.

But on Saturday morning we were both excited. It was the first time on the mountain for both of us this year. Before our training began, we took a few practice runs. Conditions were icy, but for being early December in Seattle, it is a miracle we even had enough snow to ski on (last years training was done inside because it was 50 deg outside).

After the first couple of runs, we were both feeling pretty good and ready for our training to begin. We had a good day, with a morning session and an afternoon session. With this only being my 3rd season on skis, I was very happy that I felt no apprehension. I think I’m actually starting to get the hang of this skiing thing.

This is me getting ready for our first run. The weather was gorgeous. It is not very often that we get to wear tinted goggles, but today we definitely needed them because the sky was perfectly blue and sunny.

Rob coming in at the end our our training.

One of the perks of teaching is Rob and I can do ski exchanges with other ski resorts in the Northwest. This makes our love of skiing a little more affordable. We are planning a trip to Schweitzer in February to celebrate my 30 birthday. You’re welcome to join us!

Black Friday and House Repairs

2009-11-27T18:36:00.001-08:00

What do you normally do on your day off? Sleep in? Lay around the house? Watch some movies? All of that would be nice, but that is not how it works when you are married to Rob… :)

We started the morning at 4 am when we woke up to our alarm. We quickly got dressed and headed to Fry’s an electronic SuperStore. We had one goal in mind. A 46 in Plasma Screen TV. We arrived at the store at 4:30 am. The Line was HUGE. It wrapped around outside the entire store. But I do have to give it to the Fry’s crew. They had everything very organized. There was no cutting in line, which kept the customer outburst to a minimum.

When we got into the store, Rob and I went separate ways looking for the TV line. I stood in line while Rob tried to inch his way a little closer. He quickly made friends with a man toward the front of the line and stood in line with him. It’s a good thing that he did to, because they quickly ran out of the TV we were looking for.

After we got our ticket for the TV, we had to stand in another line, to actually have a sales person place our order for the TV. After we stood in that line, we had to stand in another line to check out. But we did it. We got the TV we were looking for and an LG BlueRay player as well. We got amazing deals on both so I guess you can say that it was worth it.

Our new TV! Rob is sooooooo excited about it!

Eventually the TV will go above the fireplace, but we have some work to do before it gets there, like get a mount, paint, and install in wall wires for speakers, etc. This is Rob’s big project for the next couple of months. :)

After Fry’s, we headed over to Bed Bath and Beyond. They were offering 20% off your entire purchase. We had about $200 worth of gift cards, so we decided to make the most of money. We got a lot including a new garbage can that I have been wanting for the kitchen. I love it! I can throw stuff away with dirty hands and not get everything else dirty. It’s the best.

The garbage can fits perfectly at the end of my island counter.

After we got back from Black Friday deal hunting, we spent the rest of the day on house repairs. Fixing and cleaning gutters, fixing trim, putting up outdoor lights…the list of small repairs goes on and on and on. Owning a house is a lot of work! But so far we love it. :)

Viva Las Vegas!

2009-11-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

Last week, Rob and I went to Las Vegas for a few days. I had been there before, but I have never seen as much of the city as I did with Rob. We went everywhere, visited every casino, watched all the free shows and ate at several buffets (eating this way, one meal a day was more than enough!). Rob even talked me into playing the slot machines a little bit. I had some pretty strict rules. I never played anything that cost more than 25 cents to play and I never played more than $5 at a time. I would also cash out as soon as I doubled my money. It turns out that I'm pretty good at choosing slot machines and abiding by my rules worked out pretty well. I told Rob the key was waiting for the machine to choose you instead of you choosing the machine. I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm crazier than ever, but it worked for me! I did need a little coaching from Rob. The machines are crazy. Going up, putting in a quarter and pulling arm no longer exists. There are so many options. Half the time I didn't play because I had NO IDEA how to play.

Me at my first slot machine with my winning voucher. I played $5 on this penny machine and came out with $32! (it was really just dumb luck, because I had no idea what I was even playing for on this machine.)

We got free admission to a car show at the Imperial Palace. They had cars from all years and all types, including concept cars that were never actually produced. Some of the cars were worth $3,000,000. This one, for obvious reasons, was my favorite.

Rob and I also decided to check out Circus Circus. I had never been there, but he had childhood memories of begging mom and dad for money and being let loose to play all the video games and play all of the carnival games for prizes. He even one me a few prizes...

Prize Number 1: A teddy bear. Rob won this by rolling a ball in to holes at the end of a lane and making his horse move forward. He won on the first try!

Prize Number 2: A Horse. Rob won this by making 2/2 baskets in the basketball hoops.

Prize Number 3: A Monkey: Rob won this one by rolling a ball with amazing accuracy and accruing the right number of points. Anything over or under wouldn't have one. He won this one on the 2nd try.

Prize Number 4: The coveted Bob the Builder Pillow. This one took a few more tries, but he was bound and determined to win it. He won this one by scoring a certain number of points on Skee Ball.

I am the luckiest wife ever. I knew I was marrying an amazing man, but I had no idea that I was marrying a man with so much skill in winning carnival games. I can't wait until next fall when the state fairs return!

Boating in October... BRRRRR....

2009-11-15T13:23:00.000-08:00

Stephanie Bishopp is my friend who lives in New York City. She loves it out there, but misses being so close to a lake with access to a boat. In October, Stephanie turned 30 and with that, her insanity was multiplied. One day, in September, she called me and said tickets were really cheap from NY to SEA and she wanted to come home one weekend in October. We chose Oct 17th as the best date. The plan was to spend all Saturday morning on her family's boat, wake boarding and enjoying the Indian Summer that Seattle was experiencing.

We woke up on Saturday morning, not to a nice, warm indian summer day, but to pouring down rain. And I mean pouring. On the drive to the lake it was difficult at times to see the road ahead of you. It was really coming down. Stephanie was not to be deterred. She had come home to enjoy the lake and the boat and that was what she was going to do. Rob and I did our best to support her in her pursuits.

Here is Stephanie and I bundled up and ready for a freezing and wet ride. We did our best to dress warmly. I was dressed head to toe in my ski gear. I figured it would keep me the warmest and the driest.

Rob decided to get creative in his wakeboarding outfit. He didn't want the rain hurting his eyes, so he decided to wear ski goggles. We were afraid the ski goggles would sink, so he tied an empty pop bottle to the goggles. It worked like a charm.

Rob being brave and trying out the FREEZING water first.

A beautiful rainbow that graced us with it presence as the weather started to clear

Stephanie showing off her moves and getting some BIG air!

Thanks Stephanie for sharing your birthday insanity with us! :)

Utah Bridal Shower

2009-11-15T13:16:00.000-08:00

Back in October, I flew to Utah to find a wedding dress. While I was there my sisters threw me a shower. We had a ton of fun and it was a mini Bellevue 3rd Ward reunion. It was fun seeing and catching up with old friends. Here are some pics of the day.

Me and my niece Halle. She was an excellent help when it was time to open the presents. :)

RuthAnn LeBaron, Mary Braun and Finch Braun. These ladies brough cinnamon rolls that were to die for (the secret ingredient was Nutella! Yum!)

Angela Escamilla. We used to be neighbors during Middle School and High School

Sherrie, Sherri, Julie and Courtney.

Bellevue 3rd ward ladies, Terry, Allison, Dawn, Tracy, Billie and Tiffany

Nieces: Danielle, Meg, Lexi and Lauren.

Thanks ladies for a wonderful day!

This is why I LOVE Craigslist!

2009-09-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

I answered an ad for a free snowmobile on Tuesday. I, as usual, roped Cindi into tagging along on another wild goose chase to pick up one more thing I don't need. We got to the house on Mercer Island and the sled didnt actually look too bad. We got it home and in my excitement i wanted to get right to work. Cindi immediately said "Later!!" because she knows once I get started I'm not going to stop till I fix it. After I popped the hood it didn't look promising but I decided to give it a shot. I put the carburator on....ran some fuel line (100% guessing what went where)....ran some oil line (again, guessing all the way) (I was too lazy to look in the book they gave me)...and did about 20 other various things that I might might give it a chance to fire. I flipped on the ignition to see what happened. After about 10 pulls this is what I ended up with.

I think Cindi might be the only one who really gets how excited I am for snow. If the mountains get anything more than a dusting I will be running around in half dirt half snow. The thing runs PERFECT. I want so bad to get all over it and see how fast it goes but unfortunately as you can see in the video they don't turn to well on pavement. Online searches put the top speed of this sled at about 85 mph and I really CAN'T WAIT for us to get some snow to see if its true.

Summary: for $2 in two-stroke oil, $3 in gas, and about an hour of my time I got a new toy that will entertain me more than anyone can imagine. I've wanted a snowmobile SO BAD and guess what I HAVE A SNOWMOBILE! WOOO HOOO

For those of you keeping track here is the current rundown:

White Subaru
Blue Subaru
Stand up jet ski
Sitdown jet ski
Blue motorcycle
Black Motorcycle
Dirtbike
Cindis Motorcycle (even tho she rides the dirtbike)
Jet ski trailer
Utility trailer
SNOWMOBILE!!!!

The State Dept of Licensing LOVES ME!!!!

JAMES TAYLOR!

2009-09-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

The Puyallup Fair hosts multiple concerts during its two week run. This year I checked to see who was playing, but didn't find anyone of interest. Somehow I missed that James Taylor was playing. Rob and I discovered that James Taylor was playing the very day we were planning on going to the fair. We were sad to see that it was a sold out show. All morning we watched Craigslist for free tickets, but to no avail. So we headed to the fair anyway to enjoy all the other free entertainment it has to offer (see Mutton Bustin post below).

The concert started at 7 pm, so Rob and I made our way over to the stadium to see if we could sneak our way past any of the event staff. We walked back and forth for about 30 minutes before finally admitting defeat. Instead we went and got one of my fair favorites, an elephant ear. It was DELICIOUS! After the snack, we headed back toward the stadium one last time. As we were walking past the main enterance, a couple and their baby were just leaving. They were getting their stroller and were obviously headed out. Rob, being the sly guy that he is, asked if they would let us have their seats. They happily handed them over and Rob and I got in the show! I was so excited! We quickly ran to our seats and enjoyed the rest of the show.

We thought we had missed the majority of the show, but after playing about 7 songs and leaving the stage, James Taylor and his band came back for an encore. They played about 5 more songs. It was awesome. This is a man who's songs are classic and no matter how old he gets his voice remains crystal clear and as perfect as if you were listening to the CD. Two Thumbs up! And a big thanks to Rob for getting me in for free!!!

Do the Puyallup!

2009-09-23T17:40:00.000-07:00

We went to the fair on Saturday and of course made time for our favorite event.
Mutton Bustin! For those of you unfamiliar with this, it is one of the best all time fair activities. They take 3-6 year old kids, put a helmet on them, and put them on the back of a sheep. They open the gate and the kid hangs on for dear life as the sheep goes charging down the field. The goal is to hang on for 6 sec. The winner takes away a belt buckle!

Before the main event got started, Buster the sheep came out to entertain the crowd. He did a pretty good job!

The Puyallup fair is probably the best state fair I've ever been to. If you ever come our way during September, we'll take you! Then you can try Fischer Scones, Earthquake burgers, and of course visit piglet palace!

Hair Bands Never Die

2009-09-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

In all of Rob's deal finding, he found us $10 tickets to go see Poison and Def Leppard in concert. I love concerts so of course I agreed to go. I know very few songs from either of these bands (much to Rob's dismay) but we still had a great time.

The concert was at the WhiteRiver Amphitheater. This is way out in the middle of nowhere and traffic is a nightmare on concert days. So Rob convinced me to take the motorcycle. We had GA seats on the grass lawn so Rob figured out a way to strap our lawn chairs to my back for the motorcycle ride. The gas station attendant was amazed at our ingenuity when she saw it.

Rob eating his Kettle Corn before the big show.

Our new friends we met at the show. They were really friendly but I think they were just after the Kettle Corn.

Poison opened the concert. I did know at least a handful of their songs, but I was not impressed with their sound or their showman ship. Rob says they didn't really sound much better in their prime.

Def Leppard put on a great show even though I literally only knew one of their songs. Rob on the other hand sang along to every single one (except for the stupid "new" song they threw in). It was very impressive. They sounded great, watching the one handed drummer was amazing and their whole stage presence was very impressive.

Overall we had a great time. A big thanks to Rob for finding the tickets. A big thanks to Brett Michaels for taking time our from his reality show to grace us with his presence, and thank you to all those at the concert who grew out their mullets and wore their tight leather pants for our amusement.

Always in the Garage...

2009-09-13T17:27:00.001-07:00

Rob is always thinking about, planning, organizing or creating in the garage. He likes for me to be in the garage helping him but I'd rather be doing more girly stuff inside. A couple of weeks ago, he talked me into lending him a hand. It was a lot of work, but the end result turned out pretty great.

On our last trip to Whistler we figured out that it is easiest to tow the bikes with a trailer instead of putting them on the hitch rack. If we tow the trailer, we can park for free in the oversized car lot once we get up there, and towing the trailer distributes the weight a little more evenly so there is not so much on the back end of the car. The trip went smoothly, so Rob decided we needed to spiff up the trailer a little bit....

Rob found some free outdoor paint on Craiglists, so that became the new perfect color for the trailer. We bought two pieces of plywood at Home Depot in the morning and then got to work. Painting the trailer was the easy part. Then we got to thinking about what we could use as wheel chocks for the mountain bikes. I must admit I'm pretty proud that I came up with the idea to use ski tips. I really had no idea how it would work, but as soon as I said it, Rob agreed and got to work...

He took an old pair of skis and cut of the tips. Then figured out a way to bolt them to the trailer so they could be easily removed. It was took a lot of hours and a ton of work (I pretty much reach maximum capacity after two hours in the garage...) but we did it and it turned out great. Here's the finished product.

Not only is he tall, dark and handsome, he's also a creative genius when it comes to working in the garage. If you want to help us make use of our new and improved trailer, start making plans to join us in Whistler for a little biking next year!

2009-09-10T17:34:00.000-07:00

Oops! Dang! I browsed to the wrong image! This is the right one. Isn't she cute?

My Love!

2009-09-10T17:32:00.001-07:00

I just wanted to make the first post about the love of my life. I've included a pic.

The Story...

2009-09-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

Rob and I went to Whistler to enjoy our last mountain biking trip of the summer. Little did I know Rob had much more than that planned...

We started the morning as usual, got up, put on all the mountain biking gear and headed toward the lifts. My nephew Wesley and our friend Dustin came with us.

While we are riding, we usually stop and check in with everyone periodically just to make sure everyone is doing ok. We were on one of our favorite runs, and as normal, we stopped to check in, only this time, things went a little differently. I was following the guys, and saw that they stopped in one of our normal spots. As I arrived, Rob stayed for only a few seconds and then took off. I was ready to get going again, but Dustin called me over and asked me to look at his brakes. Already I thought something was weird because I know nothing about bikes. So I was looking at the brakes on his bike and he was comparing them to mine, and then my nephew Wesley got the sudden urge to go to the bathroom, so he found a nice spot off the trail. During all of this, I was worried that Rob was going to be worrying about us. Finally, Wes and Dustin decided they were ready to go, so we took off on our bikes, I was following as usual.

After being on the trail for about 30 seconds, I heard Rob calling my name. I looked over and there he was, bike and all sprawled out in the bushes and trees. I immediately started freaking out and voicing my worry, immediately followed by my confusion...

"Are you ok?!"

"Where is everyone?!"

"Why didn't anyone else stop?!"

"What happened?!"

"You've been laying here this entire time?! It's been 5 minutes! Why didn't anyone else stop?!"

At this point Rob could tell I was totally confused and he wanted me to calm down, so he flashed something very sparkly in my direction... I immediately realized what was going on and started laughing, partly because I was still so confused as to what had happen, partly because he had completely surprised me, and partly because he had been so creative in how he was going to propose."

After I took my full-face helmet off, Rob got on one knee and asked me to marry him. Of course I accepted and the rest is history (in the making)! :)

As you can see, he did an amazing job on the ring. I couldn't have picked out a more perfect ring myself. It is gorgeous. We got back on our bikes, and Rob's accomplices were waiting a little further down the trail. I just couldn't believe they had all kept it a secret from me the entire weekend. Great job guys! You pulled off a very convincing performance!

Wedding plans are underway. We'll keep you posted as the big day gets closer...

The official first Post

2009-09-09T19:13:00.000-07:00

So, here we go.... Rob and I are starting a blog. We thought you'd enjoy keeping up with our lives, adventures and plans. We've had a lot of exciting things happen over the last couple of months and a lot more to come....So Enjoy!