Brightly Colored Salamanders

This last Sunday, we took the babes out to play at a field at a junior high school near our house. They had a blast!! We were only able to stay for a little while because it was warming up and they were flying thru the water that we'd brought for them. We had to buy a loooong line of rope for Legion because he's, we'll say, um, quite independent and doesn't quite like to listen when we call him back to us. That's what most parent say about their ill-behaved children that they don't discipline, right? Yup, I fully admit it, Legion's behavior sucks...and it's completely our fault. BUT, when he's stimulated enough and doesn't have tons of pent-up energy, he's a great, sweet dog that only wants to please us. All it takes is a ball, some grass, a rope, some time from us, and it makes for very, very happy, and TIRED, dogs. And a tired dog is a good dog!!


After the fun at the field, we put them down for a nap and took a 10-ish mile bike ride along the American River bike trail. Josh told me that once I actually got on a bike, that I'd love it. And I do. And the fact that it has a little basket on the front helps a little too. ;) After our ride, WE went down for a nap and then headed to my mom & dad's house for a belated mother's day dinner with Tiny Gramma and Grampa. It was a great day!!

Since Josh's knee is feeling much better and he's been medically released to resume most activity, we decided to hit the trails and go for a hike. Also, he's been told that he can't run/jog for another 8 months so we had to find other activites to do together... :/ In a way, it's a good thing for both of us because it's expanding the options for outdoor fun. And I found out that I need some hiking shoes - old running shoes won't cut it when jumping from rock to rock, and invariably landing in the water...

We got this book from Costco and really like it. It has all of the hikes broken down into regions, level of difficulty, and even dog-friendly trails. How could we NOT get it??



I kept reading this as "Dead DUCK Trail"...

Our friend Janette even took a turn holding a leash

Checkin' out the rocks

Pooped baby boy heading back up the trail

Sign of a successful day!!

Remember the pictures of all the greenery on the trail? The nice, green, pretty-looking greenery? Well, evidently it's a TICK HAVEN!! We noticed them on Abbi while we were driving back and checked the boys when we got back home. Yup, all three of them had those icky, gross-looking, blood-suckers attached to them! It was fairly easy to find them on Abbi and Hayden - poor girl had one in between her eyes! But since Legion's fur is longer and dark, we didn't find all of them until they were engorged and looked like small apple seeds. Nasty! So the picture below is a representation of how we spent the afternoon and evenings following the hike...


Even though we had to deal with the ticks, we had a great time on our first hike. We're shopping around for shoes for me and as soon as I get them, we'll be out on the trails again. Will we be bringing the dogs again? I'm not sure... I hated pulling them off and don't want to put them at risk for any tick-bourne illnesses. So maybe we'll look for a trail with a little less bushy growth. Either way, we're excited to go again!!

These three little faces are our world. And it's so rare that they're lined up like this so we had to take a picture. It might look like "Oh, it's so nice that they get along so well that they can lay so close together" or "They're so well-behaved that they wait by your feet for a command." When the reality of it is: they're food hounds and will do anything for bacon.

In a very different lifetime, the following picture would have meant something very different...



Now, instead of a boring night in spent with some liquor and chocolate, it turns into this!


These are chocolate cupcakes filled with a chocolate and Irish whiskey ganache with a Bailey's buttercream frosting. With little royal icing shamrocks on top!

I'm really enjoying this baking thing and trying to foster a lasting relationship with my oven. Still in the beginning stages of this relationship, I've discovered that I am playing dual roles. That of the young man and that of the young woman. Like the young man, I am trying to gently encourage a loving relationship with my oven. Very much like a young woman, I have been conflicted over this relationship: sometimes I want it, sometimes I don't. Most times though I end up feeling the feelings of both the young woman AND the young man: hot and frustrated...

It's been a definitely learning curve for me, oftentimes having to make more dough/batter/etc than necessary to account for my trials, but it's been fun! I hope to have something made for Easter so I'll post more pictures then.

Oh, man, have I got a lot to catch up on! Let's see...since AUGUST of last year! That sounds like a good place to start!!
August, 2011

At this time, Josh was still traveling with his job and his current location was Colorado Springs, Colorado. This was the longest time that he was out - the job lasted about six weeks. We think... It was so long that we joke around, saying it was 9 weeks, then 1 year, then 3 years, etc, etc. It's gotten so now we don't even remember the actual time out! It was the same ol' business for me back at home: work, home, dogs, but Josh had quite the adventure! In some down time, he took a drive to a place called Pike's Peak and quickly fell in love with it, and with Colorado. Pike's Peak is a mountain that is over 14,000 feet above sea level and Josh was determined to conquer it. So a couple of weekends later, he and his co-worker set on out that journey. He can tell the story and recount the beauty better than I can but what I can do is share his journey through the pictures that he sent back. Enjoy!
























Some fun facts about Pike's Peak:
*it was the inspiration for the song "America the Beautiful"
*it is not a volcano and never has been on, but it's core was made from molten lava
*it was obtained in the Louisiana Purchase

Josh was sore as heck for the next few days but it's a huge accomplishment and probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for him...because I would never make it on some of those "paths" along the side of the mountain...

October, 2011

Nothing really major happened during this month. Nothing like a wedding anniversary or A KNEE INJURY!!

On Josh's last install job out of town, he was kneeling and squatting underneath a conveyor belt for an extended period of time and when he stood up, his knee felt like it was tearing apart. We wouldn't know the extent of his injury for another few months though. He started seeing a worker's compensation doctor, taken off of install work, and couldn't fly. WHAT??? He can't travel anymore and he gets to be home?!??! It's almost like a dream come true...except that now I have a gimp at home. But he was HOME!

The knee injury was actually a huge blessing in disguise: because he wasn't able to be on the road anymore, he was given other opportunities in the office to show what he is capable of and not just be a master at wiring. He was kicking butt and taking names!! He was given projects with increasing difficulty and a whole lot more responsibility.

December, 2011

Josh is still a gimp. ;) He still can't fly or travel so he's home and working in the office at work.

Christmas brought us to Idaho though!! We went with my mom and dad to visit Dan and Tami in their BRAND NEW HOUSE!! I didn't take any pictures of the house but it is beautiful and totally fits their family.

We celebrated Noelle's birthday by getting her a little frosting. The beautiful, big six-year old girl got her ears pierced!! She was nervous and maybe a little afraid at first but the girl that pierced them was a pro. She was reassuring when Noelle was getting scared and QUICK to do the piercings. So quick. As soon as she pierced one ear and Noelle put her hand up to touch it, she was already on to and done with the second one! And then she was done. No tears. No drama. That was it. She was already planning on what kind of earrings to get when she could take the piercing posts out! Maybe it was because she was 6 and I was 5, there were no tears. Yeah, that's what I'm goin with... Show off... ;)

That night, up into the wee hours, Dan, Josh, and my dad were supervising Santa's elves assembling the doll house for Noelle and the train table for the boys. The wives just stayed faaar away... Christmas morning brought surprise and smiles from all because those things were definitely not expected! The doll house was taller than Noelle!!

In talking about it later, Josh and I said that this Christmas was the best one that we've had together yet. It was so low-key and we were able to go at our own pace, rather then the frantic running around that usually happens on that day. We celebrated our Christmas on New Year's day at Big Gramma's house with my parents, gramma, and Aunt Nan.


The Boys with the bug!


Noelle has boots just like Auntie Gina's!

Corom, let me take a picture of you and Elijah!

That's better!

We wanna sit next to Uncle Josh!!

What, you didn't get this HUUUUGE popcorn just for me??

Seriously, Tami, I don't know how you guys say no to this face...

Noelle, picking out her bling

Before




Whatcha' doin, Noelle?












Gator Bites!

Noelle ate alligator!!

Scenery from Idaho. I've decided that I'm much better at taking pictures of nature than I am at taking them of people...








It's like Narnia...with a cone


The ice was slippery and Corom was slip-slip-slipping!








January, 2012

Happy New Year!!

January brought answers about the knee. You may be thinking "wait, I thought Josh was injured in October and I just kinda figured that it would've been taken care of already?!?!" Yeah, so did we... But he's dealing with worker's comp so things moved like molasses. An MRI revealed 3 mensicus tears and that his patellar tendon had detached from his patella. OUCH!! A surgery date was scheduled for three weeks out and so we waited, and waited, and waited for the day to come when there would start to be a light at the end of the tunnel for Josh. His surgery was on January 25th and the surgeon was very hopeful about his recovery time. Josh was on crutches for about a week and because of that, wasn't able to do much walking around during that time. Future note to self: the next time that Josh is immobilized, make him stay at home while I'm grocery shopping! He had to use the little motorized carts and was a maniac!! It was kinda funny though when he'd roll up next to someone else in a cart, beep the horn, and ask if they wanted to race. Yes, this is my husband...

March, 2012

On Sunday, the 4th, we loaded up the truck (without the dogs!!!) and headed up the hill to take a drive around Lake Tahoe. There'd just been a dump of snow and it was so gorgeous. The weather was perfect: cold enough for a long sleeve and sweatshirt, but not enough to have to bundle up. It was a perfect day!!


Like I was told, I was following Josh's footsteps through the snow...and sunk down to my hip. My loving husband had to take a picture of me before helping me to get out.
































That's about it!! I'll try to be more diligent at updating on our lives...