SNOW.....friend or foe?

It seems like every time it snows, it is beautiful, but there are problems as well. Just five days ago, Rebecca went out in the car with all the kids and she got stuck in the snow. She ended up walking home with all the kids in 20 degree weather. Actually, she ended up carrying most of the kids at different times as they tire easily. Once the car had been freed from the snow, it slid down our driveway into the street while our family enjoyed a nice, quiet, dinner. O.K., the nice quiet part is stretching it, but it would have been nice if I hadn't found the car in the street half way through the meal. So, one may think that those two experiences would be enough for the year. But no.

This morning I woke at 5:30 like many other people looking out the window and watching the television to see what the commute will be like and how you may need to juggle your schedule. I decided once looking out the window, that I would "work from home" and leave around 10:00. The kids got up and were cheering for another day home in the snow while Rebecca moaned and began making her coffee. Around 7:00, a man came to our door. Over his shoulder, I saw his Honda Accord "parked" right behind our Honda. He said, "I was coming around the corner, lost control, slid over the rock wall and now the rock is lodged under my car. The same rock that was caught under our car five days earlier. I set my coffee down, put my coat on, and silently let out a sigh that seemed to last the entire walk down to the car. After using a jack, and multiple other objects from both his car and my garage, we got him free, put the rock back in the same spot, and exchanged information. With a "Have a great rest of y our day", he was on his way down the street. I came back inside, picked up my now cold coffee, and started my work from home. Because I thought that my odds of getting in an accident had decreased exponentially, I decided to make the drive to Gig Harbor to work the rest of the day. There were no other major car events that involved me, but I did pass the fifteen other cars who were hugging trees and bushes a long the way.

My hope now is that the snow is over for at least a week so that we can get back to the dull drums of a normal schedule. The kids laughed tonight when I told them that mommy was going to drop all of them of at school tomorrow even if school was canceled. They all thought this was funny, but when I glanced at Rebecca, she seemed to have a familiar smirk on her face that was concerning. All I can say is that this winter has given us all more stories that winters past. Hang on to them and tell whomever will listen.

Have a great day on the ice tomorrow and may your commute be safe.

Robb

Always use your E break!!

We all get used to coming home from the grocery store, grabbing the groceries, locking the car, and heading inside to get settled. Don't deceive yourself. I ran through these same steps tonight, trying to get the groceries home for dinner. The only difference tonight, compared to other nights, is that there is snow and ice in the driveway. During dinner, the dog was barking more than normal when he was supposed to be eating dinner. Frustrated and exhausted, I put my coat on and went out to check on the dog. He was barking at the street and I walked up and said, "What Lego?" I looked up and noticed that the car was in the street. After a couple seconds of processing, I realized that the car should have been in the driveway. After calmly staring at it for a couple seconds and patting the dog on the head, I walked back into the house, past the loud conversation going on at the dinner table, and picked up the keys to the car. I sighed, and said, "I am going to go and move the car from the middle of the street." Reba said, "O.K.......wait a minute, the street?" She was as shocked as I was. So our dinner quickly turned into the whole family watching me stare at the car from the comfort of the garage.

Once the crowd dispersed, I used many techniques to try and dislodge the large rock from our rock wall from underneath the middle of the car. Yes, the car slid down the hill, and over the corner of the rock wall. The car sat there teetering, if you will. I had old ramps to change the oil with and I put them behind the rear tires. I put boxes under the from tires for traction and let her rip. The boxes went under the tires and flew out the front, hitting the garbage cans and flying into the neighbors yard. That didn't work. I then got some sand from the kids sand box and put that under the front tires for traction. I slowly pushed on the gas and the back of the car lifted up. I got out of the car and pulled the large rock from underneath the car. It was free. All in a days work. Moral of the story is....I am not sure, but be sure to put a log under the tire of your car if it has snowed and is icy, and the date is January 11th, and the time is 5:35 p.m. That is all for today. Be safe in the snow.

Robb

Christmas

There is always a joke in our family. Rebecca putting up Christmas lights or doing yard work always looking dressed to the nine's. She doesn't plan this, it just happens. It usually starts by her getting out of the car, seeing the lights on the driveway, and then picking them up and starting the process. She has gotten a lot of crap from neighbors who look over and see Rebecca on a step ladder, putting lights up or mowing the lawn. I had to take a picture to make sure people actually believe me. If you are wondering where I was during this process, I was taking the picture and having a cup of coffee. For all of you who wonder if I did anything during the holidays, yes I did. I actually did put up the lights on the house this year, and Rebecca put the light around the bushes and trees. It looked great.

We were able to calm the kids down long enough to catch their picture in front of the tree.

We went to my Christmas party for work and Santa came and Jonah was able to get some one-on-one Santa time before he was bombarded.

Christmas Eve was spent with my parents and sister's family. The kids always have a good time as Christmas Eve approaches. We had a nice dinner and we all opened gifts that night. We came home around 9 p.m., got the kids in bed and started prep for Christmas morning.

The kids were so excited to have Santa come down the chimney and leave presents. They left out cookies and egg nog for Santa and were so surprised to see if half eaten when they woke up. We spent the morning with Rebecca's family and had a great time opening presents. Later on in the afternoon, we started a new tradition and had over more family for enchiladas and chips and dip. We had a great day and the kids had a great time opening gifts and playing with them.

Robb

Fun in the snow!

I I I had promise some pictures of the kids playing in the snow in December. Some are them at our house and a couple are when we went over to Spokane for New Years and went intertubing. We had a great time and asked ourselves why we haven't done that with the kids at Snoqualmie Pass. Jonah had a great time playing in this surprise snow one morning when we woke up. It is small, but Jonah loved putting on the carrot. The other picture is of my dad, my sister, and niece, Sophia. We all had a great time in the snow over December. Enjoy the pictures!

Robb

December is over already?

Like always, time seems to fly by and December is the worst. We had a great month of Christmas gatherings with friends and family. The kids had many snow/power outage days at home which made Christmas break that much longer. Christmas seems to get more fun each year as the kids grow up. I am still trying to download some pictures so that you can see first hand the fun and chaos. The weekend after Christmas, we went over to Spokane to visit my brother and sister in law, my sister and her family, and my parents. The kids went intertubing and sledding, bowling, and swimming. We brought in the new year doing a lot of playing. 2006 has been an interesting year. It has been filled with a lot of fun, stress, and hard work. We are looking forward to enjoying our spring and summer, doing lots of work in the yard. This weekend, I tagged along on a leadership conference that Rebecca had for work in Anaheim. We are staying at the Grand California Disney Hotel and it is great. My biggest decision of the day is whether to lay by the pool, work out, or do Disneyland. This morning, I went to Disneyland with my Uncle Ken and we went on all the big rides and had luch by noon. When the girls get off around 4, we are all going to go back and play the rest of the day. Rebecca is working hard and I am playing hard. It is amazing how three days can really take you away and give you some perspective. I will try and get some pictures of Christmas up once I return home. Have a great 2007 everyone and let us know how you are doing.

Resting in Disneyland (Robb)