Wenatchee Cross

wenatcheevalleycross.com

This is where you can check who/what the cross is lit for on any given night... For the most part.  Gabe turns it on just for fun sometimes :-)  But not for all night... Just a little blink blink blink to grab your attention :-)

Carving Fun

Kiera's Butterfly... That Daddy carved :-)

I guess raw pumpkin isn't so bad... At least for an almost one year old :-)

Oh Alden- you will enjoy these pictures someday, I promise!  :-)

 

Melia's Dolphin jumping out of the water.  She worked very diligently on this, and it turned out great!

Hunting Pics

Daddy's deer :-)

 When we arrived, the kids were thrilled to have the freedom to run and play!  Kiera quickly returned yelling, "Look what I found!!!"  She was THRILLED.  As the story goes, Gabe and Shaun had been shooting at squirrels/chipmunks a few hours before we arrived, and Gabe had pegged this one... and forgot about it.  We all couldn't believe how Kiera fell in LOVE with her dead little chipmunk!

Melia, examining the specimen..

But, as you would probably guess, we could NOT keep a dead chipmunk!  This absolutely broke her heart- I cannot even begin to explain how she SOBBED for a good 20-30 minutes, and then again every time she looked at it's little tail (which was cut off thinking it would ease her pain...)  SOBBED, people.  No exaggeration needed.

Melia, later at home, watching as Daddy cuts up his deer.  She received a pretty one-of-a-kind anatomy lesson for a 7 year old, and fully loved every minute of it.  Not sure what God's got up His sleeve for this one, but boy, she's gonna be quite the little "lady!"

I know.  Gross, right?  Totally.  Gabe's.  Idea.  OK?  OK.

Opening Day Buck!

Salt Lake City: Part One

Last week I tagged along with Gabe to Utah for his annual Spillman user's conference (which is the computer system the jail uses.)  It was amazing :-)  I read FOUR books, took TWO naps, and had lots of fun with him on his downtime.  He also did very well on his certification tests.  It was a great vacation! 

The weird part for me was traveling alone. Because we used air miles to book my flight, I had to fly down the day before him, and home 6 hours later. While waiting for him to arrive, I took in the Hogle Zoo there in Salt Lake City, and hit a movie (The Help) which finished right as he was landing. Perfect!

We spent that evening with his co-worker and a gal from the Wenatchee PD, and another fellow from the west side playing pool and eating some delicious food at a small sports bar.  I must say, I am not a pool fan.  I'll watch, but please don't make me play! 

Monday Gabe had a review and testing (and I read and read and read...).  After his test we drove south a bit to take in a Brazilian steakhouse called Braza.  I've heard about this type of restaurant, and have been wanting to take Gabe to one for a while, so this seemed the ideal opportunity!  What we didn't know, and had it explained to us later in the week, was that the elevation can affect more than just your breathing... Apparently, it also can change how much you can consume... which makes it not the ideal opportunity to catch an "all-you-can-eat-meat" deal!  However, most of the meat was fabulous, and the salad bar was pretty good, plus the price was right.  We wished we could have eaten more, but this was just setting the tone for the rest of the week!  I went on to not be hungry at all until I arrived back home- it was crazy!   Especially when I am trying to enjoy having my plate to myself and not sharing with three little piggies!  Oh well!  Live and learn!  I also really noticed going up the stairs in the conference center- I felt like I was so out of shape, but then got laughed at because of the altitude thing... and I didn't feel so bad :-)

The next day was the corporate "event," in which they took us all out to Miller Motorsports in Tooele.  Here Gabe rode along in a racing mustang, which he said didn't go fast enough!  This is him exiting the car... he looks like he had fun, doesn't he?  :-)

Can you read the price tag? $80K- polished aluminum... brand new it'd run ya $140K.

Miller Motorsports has the largest private collection of Shelby Cobras, plus Shelby Mustangs and Ford GT40s.  There were some really high prices in this museum... all the way up to 14 million.  I can't believe they let me stand so close...

We also experienced riding in Jeep Rubicons on a rock crawling course and drove *real* go-carts!  You know, the 40 mph kind!  Gabe only passed me 3 times... But I did some passing too :-)  He was just the fastest driver out there by far- so I didn't stand a chance!  The rock crawling ranked high on my "how do they do that" bucket list... though I never would have admitted it.  I only went because these are "experienced" drivers... but they had a tendency to make mistakes here and there too!  Those pics are on Gabe's phone, so I'll have to post those later...

The next day included more conferencing, during which I drove down to Lehi to pick up some essential oils directly from the Young Living office (kinda cool!), plus visited the local Costco where I bought another book (which put my checked bag at 1 pound over the limit!) on Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The conference's closing banquet ended the day, but Keys on Main topped off the night!  Keys on Main is a bar which hosts dueling pianos two days a week- and it was the number one thing on Gabe's to-do-again list from last year!  I can't begin to describe how much fun it was- phenomenally talented pianists- funny drunk people- great songs.  What a blast!

Gabe had a few classes to do the next morning, and then we scooted out to do some sightseeing together.  First I wanted to check out the Temple Square- mainly to see the Beehive House and Lion House because I'd recently (in the last year) read about their history and Brigham's countless wives :-)  However, once we entered the square and started rounding the temple itself, we decided to leave due to "feeling weird."  We did drive by the houses the next morning, but after leaving we found the yummiest little bakery/sandwich shop ever!  Hagermann's Bakehouse:  if ever you find yourself in Salt Lake City, visit here.  They had scrumptious samples, tasty sandwiches, and we went up afterwards to pick out dessert (because we couldn't refuse!) and they gave it to us free! 

My apricot-jalapeno jelly was sliming me!  (By then we'd learned to split whatever we ordered!)

To be continued.... because it's late and blogger is not cooperating in the photo upload process... :-)

Dream Come True... Almost.

I was scanning through the yard/garage sale list on Craigslist, and found Gabe's dream yard sale!!!  Look at the bottom right picture. 

Then look at the description and the bottom left :-) 

I loved laughing at his disappointment... hee hee hee. 

He's moping now... HAHAHAHAAA!! 

I have a stomach ache from laughing too hard...heh heheh.  Heh.

Canned Butter

I've been wanting to do this for a while now, but just never got up the motivation. Well! Yesterday, we discovered that the sun tea jar had leaked into one of the drawers in the refrigerator... and that's where I had the butter stored! Hello Motivation!

So Gabe and I worked together last night, boiling and canning our butter, then shaking and shaking to make sure it "looked pretty!" I'd say it turned out beautiful! :-)

It did separate a little more, but it was late and we were tired!

Isaac and Kiera Pics

So Hard

It's so hard not to get depressed that Gabe had to cancel his suprise overnight plans for my birthday because the kids aren't well.

So so hard.

Danger Danger... Isaac's got a softball...

Isaac's been playing a bit with a real softball... first we rolled it across the ground..

Then he threw it at the fireplace...

Then he chucked it at my head, point blank, nailing me in the forehead.
(Instant migraine I tell ya!)
(And yes, Daddy got a little upset about that... :-)

Grapefruit Results

Well, you can see how you all voted over on the side :-) Isaac had the overwhelming win, which is not terribly suprising...

But the truth is, they all liked it :-) Even Gabe tried a piece and said it was ok, so he deserves a half vote. But all the kids liked it so much that I bought a box of those red grapefruit cups at Costco... and have been having to say "no" to the constant begging ever since.

I SO Appreciate My Husband..

I was reading today about a really good deal on boneless, skinless chicken at $1.59/lb. You have to purchase a 40 lb box, and you have to pick it up at one of the drop places. Unfortunately, the closest drop points are in Ellensburg and Moses Lake. I seriously considering it, but thought I should absolutely ask Gabe first.


I explained it to him, and he responded with "Well, what you'll save on the meat you'll spend on gas getting there..." I totally hadn't calculated that in! And when I did, I would have spent more on gas traveling than I had saved!


If any of you who are close to a drop point, this would be a GREAT deal. You can read more about it here, and a review of it here.

BTW, if you want it soon, today is the last day, and while the review says $1.48/lb, it's now $1.59/lb. :-)

I think I actually found it...

For those of you who know how much I love the Created to be His Helpmeet book, you also know how I've desired to see one written for men. Because marriage is a journey of growing together and we always both have issues that God wants to fine tune with us. Plus, in raising children, I always want to have in mind that I am training little wives, husbands, mommies and daddies. Boy, is that a daunting thought!

Anyway, I think I found it. All along, I've expect Mike Pearl to write one, but it still hasn't come out, and I haven't read anything more about their plans for it. (He had a heart attack, so that certainly is a good reason for slowing up production!) If it does get finished, I will of course read it, but for now I'm pleased with this resource.

I heard Voddie Baucham Jr. on Family Life Today's radio program along with his daughter. The show was about how he and his wife are very involved in their daughter's consideration of potential husbands. And how she deeply desires this! I thought, now that's what I'd like to accomplish- working together as a team to produce the best possible result! They inspired me as to what a father/daughter relationship should look like. And, like most FMT shows, the guests had a book I could order. So I did.

It's called What He Must Be... if He wants to Marry my Daughter.

In one word: Fabulous. Inspiring. Encouraging. Daunting. Overwhelming. Terrifying.

Does that make you want to read it? I understand if not! But trust me- I've been reading this book for about 2-3 weeks, and several times Gabe's heard me say "I think everyone should have this book!!!" It's a guide for what we should train our daughters to look for in a potential suitor. It's a guide for men on what the Bible says about husbands and fathers. It's a guide for parents raising those young suitors. Plus, it's also a guide for men who are blessed with the opportunity to mentor young men.

I loved it. It's definitely one I'm encouraging Gabe to read, and one I will have my girls read when they are at an appropriate age. And I'm encouraging you to read it too!

Novilhos Restaurant

So, my extended friends and familia... Anyone been to Novilhos? It sounds like Gabe's dream come true! But what I haven't heard is a price tag.... Care to share?

Novilhos Brazilian Steakhouse

We got a Wii

Over the holidays the kids went out for some fun time at the Beaty's house. It evenutally turned into Wii "Just Dance" fun, and we quickly discovered just how well Melia can shake it. :-) Unfortunately, I don't have pictures, only videos (which I'll post at some point in the distant future when I have time) (unless said Beaty's forward me some pics... ;-). After nursing some sore abs from laughing so hard, we decided that it might be ok to get a Wii. We've played with them before at friends' and families' homes, but this was the first time I've considered actually owning one. After a little over a week of watching Craigslist, Gabe found a great deal.

These pics are from when he FIRST brought it home...

Literally. He walks in, puts it on the ground, and Isaac picks up the sticks and starts banging away...

...which was quickly followed by "how do I turn this thing on???"

Not even kidding.

And if anyone wants to buy the rock band stuff, I still maintain that we're going to be selling it... Except it appears that I'm the only person that doesn't like it much! Even the one person we could NEVER drag to a concert was over at our house, drumming and picking away... Annie!!!

We've since purchased the "Just Dance Kids" for the kiddos, which involves a "bit" less shaking that the adult version, but only a bit... :-)

Random Christmas Pics

The kids in their fort, from Shaun and Andrea.

The fort from above. And yes, this was a "mommy-put-up" job, so I'm sure Daddy can do it better...

Melia tied her shoes for the first time that I actually saw her do it. She said it was the first time as well. (Or at least that day was the first time...)

One of the family pics this year...

Miss Jayden and G'ma Debbie

Isaac... the poster child for "BOY" stuff. :-)

I thought this was great. One of the those foods I just cannot eat... hard boiled egg yolks. Yuck. I got in trouble when I was "younger" because I stashed my yolk in Mom's fine silverware box... I'm not sure how nasty it was when she found it. :-) But it's in the same catagory as sweet relish- it just ain't goin' down.

And apparently, Isaac has the same problem....

Playing with Daddy at Lee and Darlene's house. He was in a head-butting mood this day.

Isaac hamming it up for the camera with G'ma Nae.

When Mommy's away...

Daddy gets down to business.
Serious SnowBunny Business :-)

Oops, I did it again.... *grin!*

Heh Heh Heh....

Don't remember the first time? Click HERE and scroll down... :-)

For Husbands: From the Duggars

This is a great list, plus super cute... you'll see when you get to number one...

Jim Bob Duggar's Tips for a Healthy Marriage

Isaac's First G U N

Gabe found these at a Big R near where he was hunting this fall. He bought two boxes, which equals four guns! They've literally turned Isaac into a dog. He brings you a gun, loads it for you, then waits (im)patiently for you to shoot it, and runs to fetch the arrows? bullets? shooters? He then brings them back and loads it again... and again... and again. You have to hide the guns if you don't want to be stuck playing fetch all day! :-)

This, in my opinion, was a GREAT buy!