You have to love weather in Idaho. Here's hoping that we can say goodbye to winter and hello summer.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Hello Winter?
Imagine our surprise when we woke up this morning to a dusting of snow.
You have to love weather in Idaho. Here's hoping that we can say goodbye to winter and hello summer.
You have to love weather in Idaho. Here's hoping that we can say goodbye to winter and hello summer.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter Events
We started the day off with the first annual Bunny Hop 5 mile race. The race began at the Williamson fruit ranch and climbed two big hills through orchards and vineyards. This year the race was invite-only, but look for a big event in the future. Karen, Bev, Justin and Cider ran the course while Sprout and I worked as the support crew. Here is a picture of Sprout working the first water station. She really likes playing with rocks.
After passing the first water station, the girls headed off through Ste Chapelle winery.
I think Cider may have been the most enthusiastic competitor in the race.
Here we are at the finish line, and the winner is.... Justin. This picture provides a good display of Justin's tech savvy (or obsession, depending upon how you look at it). Right hand: phone providing tunes for his wireless headset. Left wrist: GPS. Chest: heart monitor. 
We had Easter dinner with our family at John and Mary's house. I tried to get a nice picture of Elena sporting her Easter atire (thanks to Nana and Heather), but she was uncooperative. This was the best I could do.......
...Before she decided that the photo shoot was over. I love this picture, as it shows just how difficult it is to get a nice picture of a toddler.
In other news, Karen asked me to watch Elena outside while she made dinner on Saturday. This is what happens when Mom isn't around to supervise:
After passing the first water station, the girls headed off through Ste Chapelle winery.
I think Cider may have been the most enthusiastic competitor in the race.
Here we are at the finish line, and the winner is.... Justin. This picture provides a good display of Justin's tech savvy (or obsession, depending upon how you look at it). Right hand: phone providing tunes for his wireless headset. Left wrist: GPS. Chest: heart monitor. 
We had Easter dinner with our family at John and Mary's house. I tried to get a nice picture of Elena sporting her Easter atire (thanks to Nana and Heather), but she was uncooperative. This was the best I could do.......
...Before she decided that the photo shoot was over. I love this picture, as it shows just how difficult it is to get a nice picture of a toddler.
In other news, Karen asked me to watch Elena outside while she made dinner on Saturday. This is what happens when Mom isn't around to supervise:
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
14 Months
Elena has reached the 14 month mark and I thought I'd post some pictures that we took today. It has been a month of milestones as she has started walking, is getting her first tooth, enjoys story time, and is working on communication skills.
We are trying to carry on the tradition of regular pictures with puppy, but it's getting harder all the time. Here Elena is trying to make her escape off the couch.
My mom came by later in the day, and I thought that with two of us we'd surely get a great picture.
50 some odd pictures, and this is the best we have with Elena and puppy (sigh).
While this picture was taken last week, it does demonstrate Sprout's newest skill of stair climbing. If only she was as good going down as she is up.
We are trying to carry on the tradition of regular pictures with puppy, but it's getting harder all the time. Here Elena is trying to make her escape off the couch.
My mom came by later in the day, and I thought that with two of us we'd surely get a great picture.
50 some odd pictures, and this is the best we have with Elena and puppy (sigh).
While this picture was taken last week, it does demonstrate Sprout's newest skill of stair climbing. If only she was as good going down as she is up.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Weekend Update
We haven't had much exciting news to report, so I haven't posted much lately. Here is a summary of what we did over the past few days.
Sprout: Finally started growing a tooth. Decided she wanted to hang out with Mom instead of Dad for the first time ever. Karen was ecstatic, but a bit dismayed that it didn't bother me. Elena and I started hitting the gopher trap line, but we did such a good job last year that it is more of a 4-wheeler ride around the farm this year.
Karen and Bev took the kids to Boise yesterday to send Justin off for the Robie Cr. Race. They went for a hike in the foothills and visited a playground. Zarek seemed to enjoy the playground, while Sprout had a great nap in the backpack.
The basement project is still progressing. We're almost ready for sheet rock in the basement-we just need a few days to get the stairway and utility room prepped. Here is what the basement looks like now.
This weekend I helped my brother with some of his house projects. He helps me all the time, and I think this is the first time I have repaid the favor. His home improvements turned out like most of mine, with unexpected problems and many trips to purchase supplies. Having inherited the Bean "bad skin" genes, he visited the dermatologist last week to get some spots removed on his face. We made five separate trips to buy stuff, and every time people were looking at him like he had smallpox. He was a trooper though, and we made good progress on his projects.
Sprout: Finally started growing a tooth. Decided she wanted to hang out with Mom instead of Dad for the first time ever. Karen was ecstatic, but a bit dismayed that it didn't bother me. Elena and I started hitting the gopher trap line, but we did such a good job last year that it is more of a 4-wheeler ride around the farm this year.
Karen and Bev took the kids to Boise yesterday to send Justin off for the Robie Cr. Race. They went for a hike in the foothills and visited a playground. Zarek seemed to enjoy the playground, while Sprout had a great nap in the backpack.
The basement project is still progressing. We're almost ready for sheet rock in the basement-we just need a few days to get the stairway and utility room prepped. Here is what the basement looks like now.
This weekend I helped my brother with some of his house projects. He helps me all the time, and I think this is the first time I have repaid the favor. His home improvements turned out like most of mine, with unexpected problems and many trips to purchase supplies. Having inherited the Bean "bad skin" genes, he visited the dermatologist last week to get some spots removed on his face. We made five separate trips to buy stuff, and every time people were looking at him like he had smallpox. He was a trooper though, and we made good progress on his projects.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Looking for a Rental
My 8th grade math teacher once told me that you never own a home, it owns you. She was also the first one to figure out that I read lips to compensate for my hearing loss. Smart lady. Anyway, this weekend involved more work on the basement remodel plus I had to fix the plumbing in the kitchen. I have now officially replaced the entire drainage system for our house from every fixture to the drain field (except for the septic tank). Our kitchen sink wasn't draining, so replaced all of the pipes back to our main sewer line. Here is a picture of the old drain pipe I removed. After cutting through this pipe with a saws-all (there was standing water in the pipe at the time), I took a 2 hour shower.
My next project was to wire our basement with internet cables. Our long-term plan is to move the office downstairs, so I put the internet equipment in the closet of our current office and wired the satellite and power for it. The one drawback is that getting an internet cable to our desktop computer in the meantime is a little tricky. A year ago I would've run the cable across the floor, but now we have the Cable Monster, so I had to get creative. Karen wasn't very impressed.
My next project was to wire our basement with internet cables. Our long-term plan is to move the office downstairs, so I put the internet equipment in the closet of our current office and wired the satellite and power for it. The one drawback is that getting an internet cable to our desktop computer in the meantime is a little tricky. A year ago I would've run the cable across the floor, but now we have the Cable Monster, so I had to get creative. Karen wasn't very impressed.
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Girl Camp
Earlier this week I spent a few days with Lisa, Katie, my mom, Nancy and Elena in McCall. Katie dubbed this trip "girl camp". Here is Katie settling in for the ride. While it's difficult to appreciate, the back of Lisa's trailblazer is completely full of gear for the 4 days that we are planning on being gone. This is only including items for Lisa, Katie, Elena, and myself. Mom and Nancy drove separately.
Activities consisted of painting fingernails in crazy colors and spending some time stamping.
Of course, there is always ample time to play. Much of the day was spent relaxing in our jammies.
On Tuesday, it snowed the entire day. Elena enjoyed looking out the window watching the snow fall.
Katie had the opportunity to try a little tie-dyeing at one of the planned activities for the kids. She make two shirts- one pink and the other orange.
There was plenty of pool time on the trip. We averaged 3 trips to the pool each day. Elena enjoyed splashing in the water in her turtle floaty.
Of course, girl camp wouldn't be complete without the case of wine, Irish Cream, gin, vodka, and other miscellaneous beverages consumed. Elena and Katie enjoyed milk and juice.
Activities consisted of painting fingernails in crazy colors and spending some time stamping.
Of course, there is always ample time to play. Much of the day was spent relaxing in our jammies.
On Tuesday, it snowed the entire day. Elena enjoyed looking out the window watching the snow fall.
Katie had the opportunity to try a little tie-dyeing at one of the planned activities for the kids. She make two shirts- one pink and the other orange.
There was plenty of pool time on the trip. We averaged 3 trips to the pool each day. Elena enjoyed splashing in the water in her turtle floaty.
Of course, girl camp wouldn't be complete without the case of wine, Irish Cream, gin, vodka, and other miscellaneous beverages consumed. Elena and Katie enjoyed milk and juice.
13 months
Elena turned over 13 months. Being the good parents we are, we are right on top of posting her pictures.
She continues to explore her surroundings, loves bath time, and petting the dogs. She is still working up the courage to start walking, is sporting a little more hair, and is still waiting for her first tooth.
She continues to explore her surroundings, loves bath time, and petting the dogs. She is still working up the courage to start walking, is sporting a little more hair, and is still waiting for her first tooth.
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