Sassy
Studious
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Friday, January 12, 2007
Maille Up Close & Mad!
She's just faking it this time, but this is what she looks like when she's mad. We think they're pretty funny.
Sunday, January 7, 2007
A Month To Top All Months: Part 2
Trees
On November 15th Bellingham was hit with an unforgetable wind storm...and our house was hit by two unforgetable trees! I won't say much more than we had a fun slumber party at a hotel for one night and we still have blue tarps for a roof. The joys of dealing with insurance companies and thier "preferred contractors!" I look forward to having this upcoming work on our house done and the whole thing behind us. But check out these pics...
The Furnace and The Snow
All month the furnace was acting up, but with everthing else going on, Brian and I were avoiding the issue (and the expense)! So everytime the temperature would drop in the house and we'd realize the furnace wasn't going to come on we'd head for the garage to flip the breaker switch. It worked like a charm at first, but as the month wore on we were having to do it more and more frequently. So one particulary cold Sunday morning we woke-up in a house at about 58 degrees and a furnace that refused to start-up. We decided to pack the girls up and head to town for breakfast at Diamond Jim's. We took the Subaru noticing the slight sprinkle of snow flakes coming down outside. Even though the tires were bald at least we'd have 4-wheel drive. The closer to town we got the more snow there was and pretty soon it was clear that this was going to be snow storm, not just a light dusting. Knowing the house was going to be cold we decided to find electric blankets and hit Costco for tires and a fake Christmas tree. After our shopping (except the tires because they were booked solid all day!) we headed for home. It was 3:00 and it looked dark out the colds were so low and dark. The snow had added up to close to a foot. It took us an hour to get home having to detour for downed power lines and such. We even stopped to see if we "happened" to have chains in the car and spent a good bit of time trying to put them on for the first time in our lives. We managed to get home with one still on (they were clearly too big for the tires)!
The snow stuck around for 4 days and very few people left our neighborhood. I didn't return to work until Thursday and Brian on Friday. Schools were closed all week. A lot of businesses, including ours, closed early. I wrote this in an email to my mom while in the first part of the week...
"But today we are all snowed in. The girls played outside all morning and came in for grilled cheese, tomato soup, and hot chocolate. We are working on a Gingerbread House, decorating the tree, and making Christmas gifts. We are all home in this quiet and peaceful winter wonderland! I love it and wish I never had to go back to work! Oh well, real life will resume soon I'm sure."
It did and boy was I glad. By the fourth day we were all sick of each other and sick of being at home! Funny how that works!
As far as the furnace...we did get it fixed too. Someone had to come out twice to get all its issues resloved and it cost us about $500, but we're all warm and greatful for it now!
Babies
They are fun...as an aunt, grandma, or friend! I like them! We all do! But at 30 I have an eight and five year-old and my baby days, as well as my baby stuff, are long gone! Or at least I thought. The last day of November I dreadingly took a home pregnancy test. I already new the answer, but I just couldn't believe it. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that our family is growing from 4 to 5 in July. AND SO ENDED THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER!!!!!!!
On November 15th Bellingham was hit with an unforgetable wind storm...and our house was hit by two unforgetable trees! I won't say much more than we had a fun slumber party at a hotel for one night and we still have blue tarps for a roof. The joys of dealing with insurance companies and thier "preferred contractors!" I look forward to having this upcoming work on our house done and the whole thing behind us. But check out these pics...
The Furnace and The Snow
All month the furnace was acting up, but with everthing else going on, Brian and I were avoiding the issue (and the expense)! So everytime the temperature would drop in the house and we'd realize the furnace wasn't going to come on we'd head for the garage to flip the breaker switch. It worked like a charm at first, but as the month wore on we were having to do it more and more frequently. So one particulary cold Sunday morning we woke-up in a house at about 58 degrees and a furnace that refused to start-up. We decided to pack the girls up and head to town for breakfast at Diamond Jim's. We took the Subaru noticing the slight sprinkle of snow flakes coming down outside. Even though the tires were bald at least we'd have 4-wheel drive. The closer to town we got the more snow there was and pretty soon it was clear that this was going to be snow storm, not just a light dusting. Knowing the house was going to be cold we decided to find electric blankets and hit Costco for tires and a fake Christmas tree. After our shopping (except the tires because they were booked solid all day!) we headed for home. It was 3:00 and it looked dark out the colds were so low and dark. The snow had added up to close to a foot. It took us an hour to get home having to detour for downed power lines and such. We even stopped to see if we "happened" to have chains in the car and spent a good bit of time trying to put them on for the first time in our lives. We managed to get home with one still on (they were clearly too big for the tires)!
The snow stuck around for 4 days and very few people left our neighborhood. I didn't return to work until Thursday and Brian on Friday. Schools were closed all week. A lot of businesses, including ours, closed early. I wrote this in an email to my mom while in the first part of the week...
"But today we are all snowed in. The girls played outside all morning and came in for grilled cheese, tomato soup, and hot chocolate. We are working on a Gingerbread House, decorating the tree, and making Christmas gifts. We are all home in this quiet and peaceful winter wonderland! I love it and wish I never had to go back to work! Oh well, real life will resume soon I'm sure."
It did and boy was I glad. By the fourth day we were all sick of each other and sick of being at home! Funny how that works!
As far as the furnace...we did get it fixed too. Someone had to come out twice to get all its issues resloved and it cost us about $500, but we're all warm and greatful for it now!
Babies
They are fun...as an aunt, grandma, or friend! I like them! We all do! But at 30 I have an eight and five year-old and my baby days, as well as my baby stuff, are long gone! Or at least I thought. The last day of November I dreadingly took a home pregnancy test. I already new the answer, but I just couldn't believe it. I am slowly coming to terms with the fact that our family is growing from 4 to 5 in July. AND SO ENDED THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER!!!!!!!
Saturday, January 6, 2007
A Month To Top All Months: Part 1
Ahhh November...how we will never forget the November of 2006!!! So memorable that two months later I (Cambria) still feel the need to record its full events. So I am sure to never forget all the details. And so when I say to myself "Remember that crazy November!" I can truly recall all of the craziness. Here it goes...
The Car
Brian and the girls are left stranded by the Subaru on a dark, cold, rainy Thursday night at the Market 3 miles from our house. I am at work on a typical busy night, so busy that its nearly impossible to leave. Fortunately I have one neighbor's phone number programed into my cell phone and they are home...so $350 and two days later we have our second car back and running!
Rain
Its Saturday night, or should I say early Sunday morning. I return home from working my 8 hour shift without so much as a 5 minute break to relieve my feet, back, and stomach. Its 1:30am and I can't believe how tired I feel. After-all I do this every Saturday night and have been for as long as I can remember! I crawl into bed and am out like a light. One hour later in a delirious state my 5 year-old comes to my bed-side and states "It's raining in my room!" I can hear the rain coming down hard on the skylights so thinking she is just hearing it outside her window I take her to put her back to bed. Upon entering her bedroom I realize that neither one of us is deliriously hallucinating. There is water pouring into her room. At this point I yell for Brian and we are frantically grabbing towels and buckets the soak up all the water. She goes to sleep in you big sister's room for the rest of the night. $360 and two weeks later a roofer finds parts of the flashing two floors above is damaged around the hood vent of the stove. We file our fist home-owners claim to find out that the whole thing cost less than our $1000 deductible per incident, so we have another big bill to pay.
The Oven
Thursday afternoon one hour before I have to leave for work, I mix up the batch of cupcake batter for the girls end of soccer season treats. Being a working mom means I am often too busy to volunteer for such things and most of the other moms involved seem to have a lot of time on their hands so I let them take care of it (Maille's soccer coach, also coaches her older daughter's team, plays adult league herself, and is PTA president for the the girl's elementary school...Oh to have so much TIME!). Before I started mixing I had turned my oven on knowing that in its 15 year old state it would take a full 15 minutes to warm-up (I really miss my gas stove/oven from my old house!). I scoop the batter into the muffin tins and turn around to put them into to the oven...no heat comes out as I open the door. Upon closer investigation I realize the heating element has disengrated into about 25 peices and powder in some places. So I turn the oven off and run out my front door praying a neighbor is home and not already cooking dinner in thier oven. Catastrophy diverted, the neighbor baked my cupcakes in exchange for a couple for thier dessert and the soccer teams had their treats on game day! We were also able to replace the heating element for about $35, but it was a long week without use of the oven...you don't realize what you've got til its gone!
Birthdays
November has one week of Birthdays in our family...Shannon's is the 1st, Lydia's in the 6th, and Chris and Jamie's is the 7th! This year Lydia talked us into her first sleep-over party...yep we agreed to letting her invite 4 seven and eight year-old girls over for a sleep-over. It was fun...Really! It went very smooth and everyone got along and we had no real drama to speak of. We might consider it again in the future. Maille is readily waiting her turn. We keep telling her she has to wait til her eighth birthday too!
Standby for Part II, that's when it gets really good!
The Car
Brian and the girls are left stranded by the Subaru on a dark, cold, rainy Thursday night at the Market 3 miles from our house. I am at work on a typical busy night, so busy that its nearly impossible to leave. Fortunately I have one neighbor's phone number programed into my cell phone and they are home...so $350 and two days later we have our second car back and running!
Rain
Its Saturday night, or should I say early Sunday morning. I return home from working my 8 hour shift without so much as a 5 minute break to relieve my feet, back, and stomach. Its 1:30am and I can't believe how tired I feel. After-all I do this every Saturday night and have been for as long as I can remember! I crawl into bed and am out like a light. One hour later in a delirious state my 5 year-old comes to my bed-side and states "It's raining in my room!" I can hear the rain coming down hard on the skylights so thinking she is just hearing it outside her window I take her to put her back to bed. Upon entering her bedroom I realize that neither one of us is deliriously hallucinating. There is water pouring into her room. At this point I yell for Brian and we are frantically grabbing towels and buckets the soak up all the water. She goes to sleep in you big sister's room for the rest of the night. $360 and two weeks later a roofer finds parts of the flashing two floors above is damaged around the hood vent of the stove. We file our fist home-owners claim to find out that the whole thing cost less than our $1000 deductible per incident, so we have another big bill to pay.
The Oven
Thursday afternoon one hour before I have to leave for work, I mix up the batch of cupcake batter for the girls end of soccer season treats. Being a working mom means I am often too busy to volunteer for such things and most of the other moms involved seem to have a lot of time on their hands so I let them take care of it (Maille's soccer coach, also coaches her older daughter's team, plays adult league herself, and is PTA president for the the girl's elementary school...Oh to have so much TIME!). Before I started mixing I had turned my oven on knowing that in its 15 year old state it would take a full 15 minutes to warm-up (I really miss my gas stove/oven from my old house!). I scoop the batter into the muffin tins and turn around to put them into to the oven...no heat comes out as I open the door. Upon closer investigation I realize the heating element has disengrated into about 25 peices and powder in some places. So I turn the oven off and run out my front door praying a neighbor is home and not already cooking dinner in thier oven. Catastrophy diverted, the neighbor baked my cupcakes in exchange for a couple for thier dessert and the soccer teams had their treats on game day! We were also able to replace the heating element for about $35, but it was a long week without use of the oven...you don't realize what you've got til its gone!
Birthdays
November has one week of Birthdays in our family...Shannon's is the 1st, Lydia's in the 6th, and Chris and Jamie's is the 7th! This year Lydia talked us into her first sleep-over party...yep we agreed to letting her invite 4 seven and eight year-old girls over for a sleep-over. It was fun...Really! It went very smooth and everyone got along and we had no real drama to speak of. We might consider it again in the future. Maille is readily waiting her turn. We keep telling her she has to wait til her eighth birthday too!
Standby for Part II, that's when it gets really good!
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
To Buy or Not To Buy
So last summer we lost our digital camera. It wasn't a paticularly nice camera, but it took pictures (about the time your subjects had turned away and given up on it-damn delay!). The last time we knew we had it was Disneyland in May. We kept talking about a new camera and digging in all the places we could think of around the house. We just knew that as soon as we purchased a new one the old one would show-up. In the meantime we were back to our old 35mm camera which is a much nicer camera and takes wonderful pictures, but $8 later you get a roll of developed pictures to find that 4 of the 24 are worth a darn! I didn't like throwing all that money away. So as Christmas approached we had given-up hope that the old camera would appear, even if we bought a new one, and did our research on which camera would be our Christmas present to each other. We settled on the Canon Rebel XTi. Much more like our old 35mm this a supreme camera for a novice. If this camera takes a bad picture it is purely operator error.
New Year's Eve rolls around and we are hanging out with some long-time friends we hardly ever see. We've been enjoying and learning a lot about our new camera for a solid two weeks now. Its been a long evening with 4 cranky, over-tired children in the house. At 11:45 we start getting ready to head outside to blow our party horns and light some left-over fire works from the 4th of July. Brian goes to the garage and finds the bag of fireworks and tucked inside is THE CAMERA!!! No kidding....we just knew it would show-up as soon as we bought a new one.
Now, however, we are hooked on the new much nicer camera...so I guess we'll just have two! Stay tuned as we learn how to use it, hopefully we'll have some fun pictures to share.
Tuesday, January 2, 2007
Hello World
This is the blog for the Bellingham Rollos.
We are very busy with two businesses and thus we're really bad about calling and sending letters to people. So we decided to try a blog as a way to communicate with our extended families and friends. We'll be putting up pictures and writing about our lives up here in Bellingham.
We are very busy with two businesses and thus we're really bad about calling and sending letters to people. So we decided to try a blog as a way to communicate with our extended families and friends. We'll be putting up pictures and writing about our lives up here in Bellingham.
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