Bartlow Family Blog

Valley View Replacement

2008-06-05T11:18:00.001-06:00

I am finally getting some pictures sorted out and ran across these. This is the house that is/was being built after they tore down our old house. This is as far as they got when they ran out of money. Anybody interested in a really big project. It's for sale.

I wonder how the moles are liking this situation?

Folly Folly Folly!!!!

I feel sorry for the poor little gazebo. Somehow, it just doesn' fit anymore.

Owen: One Year Old

2008-06-05T10:55:00.002-06:00

Nice profile, little buddy

Just getting over the flu left Owen a little unsteady on his legs. He was getting steadier as the day went on.

Nice horsey!

If he sees you taking a picture, he heads straight for you resulting in a blurry picture. Therefore, I needed to be sneaky with my shooting.

Love that Look

2008-06-05T10:47:00.000-06:00

Complete with cupola, weather vane and lush green countryside. Awesome

Now nicely fitting the surroundings

The rock is still to be done along with the chinking. But aren't the flowers in the foreground pretty?

Snow and more snow

2008-02-13T10:19:00.002-07:00

Here is Howard standing in front of the "private lane" to Brown's cabin. Not too much chance of using this path for a while.
Thank goodness we can get into the house through the garage. We now have a narrow path shoveled out, but it is treacherously slick with all the dripping off the roof. (see the top picture)

We have had gorgeous weather with the sun shining most days. However we did get another inch of snow overnight.

More Donnelly Construction Photos

2008-01-29T16:39:00.001-07:00

Since this was taken over a week ago, there has been at least a foot and a half more snow. And it is going to be snowing all week. I wonder what we will find when we get back up next week.

Here are pictures of the inside changes. Thank goodness for visiting strong men to help bring the logs in and set them up. It took quite a
few muscles.

Upgrade construction

2008-01-15T14:47:00.001-07:00

This has been officially dubbed the "Toy Barn". Wouldn't you know we would picked the snowiest winter in years to try to do construction. Anyway, the guys, Byron, Anthony and Jonathon, have been troopers. They are finishing up today. Anthony is missing his family who weren't able to come up this week. We will have to wait until it warms up to chink the "logs" and stain the board and bat sections and soffet. Several snafu's caused us to make some really cool changes.
One of those changes were tongue and groove soffets instead of plywood....which turned out to stain really ugly.
The overhang/lean to is going to be a cool place to hang out. Being able to drive the snowmobile's in one end and out the other has already been tested and approved.
The inside log trim is in process. The dining room is almost done.
This huge log is in the process of being attached as I type. We had to get this lift to get it into position.

My Ideal NCAA Football System

2007-11-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

I will take my family's blog hostage for a minute here and use it as a soapbox to put forth my idea for NCAA football.

To start with, the current conferences would be abolished, mostly. This is probably the biggest show-stopper for the powers that be, but I'll keep moving on because the eventual benefits would outweigh the negatives.

Here are some facts to keep in mind while thinking about a new organization scheme:
- There are 119 teams in 1-A football.
- Travel is expensive.
- Every team should have the opportunity to win the National Championship.

Keeping these facts in mind, I have split the country into 4 zones: Western, Central, South-East, and North-East. These zones are geographical zones. Teams from each zone will be split up into 3 different Levels: A, B, & C. Each Level will ideally have 10 teams. Level A will be composed of the top 10 teams. Level B will have the next best 10 teams. Level C will have the next best...

Here is a picture of how the zones are arranged.

Each team in each zone/level will play against the other 9 teams every season. At the end of the season, the top two teams in each zone/level will play against each other to determine the zone/level champion. The champions will then enter a 4-team tournament with the Western champ playing the Central champ and the SE champ playing the NE champ. The winners play for the National Championship while the losers can optionally play for 3rd place.

Here is the best part that makes it fair for every team in America. The bottom team from each zone/level will drop a level while the top team will "level-up"!

There should be a "bowl game" for the bottom two teams of each zone/level as well as one for the top two teams from the lower levels. These "bowl games" will actually mean something!

So every team has a path to the National Championship! Even the lower level teams!

The best part is the quality of games throughout the season. Teams will play against teams of their own skill level. No more cakewalks! Every week of the season there will be many "College Game Day" games!

Imagine the money that will pour in for television rights to the games! Money for everyone! Great games for everyone! What's not to love?

There, now that I have that off my chest, I can get back to some real work.

Check out our flying daughter.

2007-07-02T21:05:00.000-06:00

So here's a nice little video of Audrey being her little brave self. Our other two would never have done this! We didn't even have to coax her into jumping! She got her goggles on and then immediately climbed up the ladder, turned around, and jumped off! She continued to do it so we had to get our camera! How crazy cool is this!?!?!

Audrey's Photo Shoot

2007-06-13T17:45:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday (Debbie's last day in Nampa) we were able to coerce Debbie into taking a bunch of photos of Audrey. We've had quite a few people comment on her to us, so we are thinking about seeing if she could be a little kid model for clothes or something. (Someone has to pose for all these catalogs and advertisements!)

Anyhow, here are a few pics from the shoot. Isn't Debbie talented? Thanks a bunch Deb!

BTW, if you know of anyone who would like a cute little spunky monkey for a photo shoot, she's available! :D

Last Saturday (Debbie's last day in Nampa) we were able to coerce Debbie into taking a bunch of photos of Audrey. We've had quite a few people comment on her to us, so we are thinking about seeing if she could be a little kid model for clothes or something. (Someone has to pose for all these catalogs and advertisements!)

Anyhow, here are a few pics from the shoot. Isn't Debbie talented? Thanks a bunch Deb!

BTW, if you know of anyone who would like a cute little spunky monkey for a photo shoot, she's available! :D

What are ORBS?

2007-05-17T12:22:00.000-06:00

Sunday, Mother's Day, I was taking pictures of Owen's (designated name for as yet unborn son of Becky and Byron Henrickson) room.I thought the streak in this picture was quite interesting and zoomed in on it. (see second picture). I didn't have a frame of reference for such a thing, so just took a mental note and went on.

Yesterday, I was listening to some teaching tapes by John Paul Jackson and he was answering a question from a student concerning Orbs. Here is the transcript from the tape. Hope this stirs up faith in you.

JPJ: "I fit the orbs in that nondescript category called "hosts". Because I don't know what "hosts" are. Nobody knows what hosts are. We know a little bit about what they do because of Psalm 103. But we don't know a whole lot about what they do. We know that they give witness a lot of times, because when the angel declared Jesus was born, there was a host of heaven behind the angel who declared that. They gave Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will toward men. But we don't know a whole lot else about what they do. They are servants of God. They have missions, obviously, they have tasks, responsibilities. They have functions, but we don't know a lot about what they look like. In fact we know nothing about what they look like. So I put orbs into the host category, nondescript, beings that have been created by God that are not humanoid in appearance. And so just as each one of us look different, then there are hosts that look different. We have pictures of orbs that are diamond shaped, some that are octagonal.
Some that have 5 sides, some that are triangles. We have some that look like shields. We have some that are elongated, some that are oval, some that are round, and some that are multi-bulbular. There are several different bulbs connected to each other. We have pictures of them moving and you can see the tail as they move so fast like a comet. Different colors, different sizes, different shapes. Grainy looking, different designs in them, some with stripes in them like Saturn. They kind of remind you of the planets in a way.

People say: "Well it is a reflection of the planets." Well, how do you get that inside? If you were outside, I could say...well, OK, sure. But inside how do you get the reflection of Mars or Jupiter or Neptune? "

Question from class: "What about the orbs that were at concerts that were not necessarily Christian concerts?"

JPJ: "If those orbs weren't there, then, murder would happen. Because the verse in scripture that says: He who holds back, when he leaves, then the earth is unrestrained. And when those orbs leave, then restraint leaves. And so those orbs are there, even in decadent arenas because God loves people so much that he doesn't want them to perish. So he is protecting them. And it keeps a semblance of order so that dominions of darkness don't have rule. Because if they had rule, there would be murder and massive loss of life. Most people in church don't get it. They think, well God isn't present whenever there is sin. Well, one, none of us are perfect, so that tells you he wouldn't be present in us if it has to be perfect. Secondly, God is the creator and holds all things and if He didn't do that, then the world would be destroyed. Only He who holds everything back that keeps it from happening. So he has to be present everywhere or else things happen. Bad things happen.

Question from class: "I know that some people can see orbs out of the side of their eyes. I don't know how many people can actually do that. Why is it that most people can't do that. Why can we catch it with a camera?"

JPJ: "Because the camera has faith and we don't. (laughter) See the camera doesn't argue in nano-second arguments. We argue so fast, we don't even know we argue. It happens so quickly. And so the camera just captures what's there. It doesn't have an opinion one way or the other. It just captures what's there. We always have an opinion one way or the other."

Question from class: "Is that like when you see lights out of the corner of your eye, just for a second. Is it because in that second that you see it, you have that argument and it goes away.?"

JPJ: "Yes, you instantly have an argument. Right. You see it and then you instantly have an argument. As your faith increases, it moves from the corner of your eye to the front of your eyes."

Question from class: "Do they catch them on video?"

JPJ: "They do. We have videos of them. They are moving. Thousands of them. They are floating, moving. .....It has a lot to do with F stops. Because at certain F stops you catch certain dimensions...If you take a narrower F stop you will see more orbs........they depict the flow of the Spirit. (Lots of questions that I couldn't hear, but these were some of the answers.)

Question from class: "So the more faith you have the more you are able to see and the less faith you have the less you are able to see?"

JPJ: "Of course, in every issue.

Google Reader

2007-04-07T15:47:00.000-06:00

Not so much news-worthy as just a really nice web page from good old Google...

This past week I stumbled upon Google Reader. What this page does is organize any web pages you frequently check to see when they are updated. When they get updated, Google Reader shows you the update in a sort of email format. Each update on each page is in it's own box and the Reader web page shows you which ones you have read and which you haven't read yet. Just like your email.

I've added Deb's blog and Bec's blog as well as a few other interesting websites (like www.slashdot.org & www.engadget.com) to my list. Now I just check one page and get all the updates from all the web sites!

Check out Google Reader here. www.google.com/reader

8 going on 21!!!

2007-03-24T19:34:00.000-06:00

I'm in a bit of shock here. Ally, my little sweet girl, has gone and done something the I'm sure to her, makes her more grown up. She went with Mommy and Claire and Chandra over to Monkey Do to get all dolled up for her birthday and not only got a make over, but also got her ears pierced! What's that you say? Her ears pierced!?!?! YES!!

Such a grown up now!

Check her out.

Such a pretty girl.

Then she got to go have a treat!

Big day for the Ally girl.

:)

Free at Tamarack

2007-03-16T14:56:00.000-06:00

Hey, believe it or not.....I am finally posting to the blog.

We drove up to Donnelly, Thursday, March 15 with Nick, the realtor who sold our house in Portland, and his little family...wife and 2 kids, a boy 5 1/2 and girl 4 years old.

They had signed up for a superduper sales pitch for the new Fairmont Tamarack(Agassi/Graff) release. That is gobblygoop for "we want you to lay down a ton, and I do mean a ton, of money for a little tiny bit of space in what they think is "heaven". They put you up in a chalet, wine and dine you, show you around, let you ski to your heart's content and hope you sign on the dotted line while you are two sheets to the wind. Get my drift. Then you wake up the next morning and say...What have I done?

Well Nick is really up here to see if there is anything in Simpco Estates that he can afford, but what a way to go. They all love skiing and are doing that today. Since we were escorting them around, they are not familiar with the area, Nick asked if we could accompany them to dinner last night when he checked in. They said, "Yes"...don't tick off the prospective buyers first thing... So they dropped off their bags, hopped in the Avalance with us and came over to check out Simpco Estates. By the way, the drive to Tamarack is so much improved, we actually made it between the cabin and Tamarack in 15 minutes. Almost unheard of. We returned to Tamarack for a lovely dinner at the Morel Restaurant in the Lodge at Osprey Meadows...probably about $50 a plate. We had salad, a choice of three entrees, dessert and all the wine we could drink. :) I never dreamed of actually eating there. What a treat. We were all at a long banquet style table. Dad sat next to a pretty big EGO for the first part of the meal, and then a sales rep...pretty lady....took the EGO's place. She was really low key. I am sure the big push comes later. My companion was a 5 year old who was engrossed in his Leapster, so nothing to do but enjoy my meal.

Sunday is our 35th Anniversary, so I just figure it was a really cool anniversary gift from God. Check this out:

Ecclesiastes 2:26

26For to a person who is good in His sight He has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, while to the sinner He has given the task of gathering and collecting so that he may give to one who is good in God's sight.

I think we got a taste of that last night. Dad has a new discription of Tamarack after seeing a Chalet and the price list. "Center for Misplaced Values"

And the best thing was, I came home with all my faculties, didn't have a hangover this morning and have a wonderful place to enjoy the handiwork of God without selling my first born child. What Peace.

Thank You Lord!

Audrey is 2!!!

2007-03-03T15:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, last night I went out to Jason Steiners house for guy's night out. Got home after 3:30 this morning. Ugh. I'm totally dead because there is no way I can sleep past 8:00. Anyhow, my little girls is now 2. She went to Walmart yesterday for her 2-year-old pictures. When we get them back maybe I can put one up on the blog. Not sure how long it takes.

Anyhow, party tonight. Angie even made the cake! Woohoo Angie!

If you guys ever want to get another board type game, take a look at Blokus. It's a simple fun game that doesn't take very long to play. I guess you can play with 2-4 people, but I think it's most fun with 4.

Weekend Away

2007-02-22T20:22:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Angie and I went up to McCall (without the kidos) with our Sunday School class. We stayed at a place called Camp Pinewood. They have a new (to them) building with 10 rooms in it. It used to be a managed care facility. Anyhow, it was a nice place to stay and we got to know a bunch of other couples a lot better. It was a total blast and we haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time!

I don't think we took any pictures (I know, there has been a lack of visuals on this blog lately) but it was a nice place. The cool thing is that it isn't very far from downtown. Totally within walking distance! It's a bit north of the airport. Next time you're up in McCall, go check it out.

In other news, Angie is going to be helping me with my business! YAY! The fact is, I just don't have the personality to do sales. I'm friendly and all, but not very outgoing. I also can't read people like she can. So I think she'll be able to help out a lot! Here's hoping the business just takes off!

Have a good weekend!

Nana, you will be missed

2007-02-07T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning as I woke up I received a call from Mom telling me that Nana had passed away minutes before. She had said that Papa was there and had just given her a kiss. I think that will be a lasting memory for me. I didn't see it, but I can imagine how it went.

It's hard for me when I think about what Papa is feeling these days. To be married as long as my grandparents were and to now be without his wife, his partner, his friend must be hard. Too hard to imagine. But beyond the grief we know she is in a better place now, where sickness and pain are no more.

Still for those left behind it is still hard. Papa, Mom, Sally, Suzie, I love you all and I'm praying for you.

Post about my Wii

2007-01-25T16:49:00.000-07:00

Well Bec told me to post about my Wii, but instead I think I'll write a little about my Nintendo. ;)

ANYWAY...

I've picked up a total of 3 games for it. Plus the Wii Sports that came with it. We have Legend Of Zelda (which is an adventure game), WarioWare Smooth Moves (which is a fun party-type game), and Monster 4x4 (which is a monster truck racing game). That last one was supposed to be easy enough for the kids, but Parker keeps getting beat by the computer. :(

I'll probably wait a while before I get another game. See if I can find a really good game for the kids.

Anyhow, the Wii is pretty cool. The whole unique control concept is actually a lot of fun. It works surprisingly well for driving games. In fact I like it a TON better than regular analog joysticks for driving. The gas and brake aren't quite as good as with a trigger, but oh well.

Anyhow, I really want to try this thing out in a large-ish group. Tomorrow night we're going to have a bunch of guys over for poker (Sunday School thing) and afterwards I think we'll try out the Wii. It should be some good clean fun!

As for future gifts, you can't go wrong with a Wii game. Especially for the kids.

Christmas Photos

2006-12-13T17:17:00.000-07:00

So, Saturday we had the Steiners over for dinner as "payment" for Jason taking a few pictures of our family. Of course since Angie and I get to decide which pictures to send we obviously chose the best looking people in our family, the kids!

We decided to create a bit of a collage for a card and use Snapfish to print out 100 of them for free! Let's hear it for McDonalds Monopoly! I just sent this out this morning. Hopefully we'll be getting the prints back early next week and can then send out the Christmas letters.

Here are some other shots from our photo shoot. Enjoy.

Back in Idaho

2006-12-11T21:53:00.000-07:00

Here is just one of the reasons it is great to be back home. Mae is all decked out in one of the dresses I found in Colorado. One of Howard's partner's wife has a children's gently used top quality clothing store. I found three cute ones, so this little one is looking mighty festive. Rosy cheeks are the sign of two bottom eye teeth emerging.
Check out the new pictures of the Condo bedroom that I finished painting last week. Go here.

For Bec

2006-12-08T08:52:00.000-07:00

So on our semi-weekly lunch date Bec said to me, "You haven't updated your blog in a while." So here we go. I don't want to steal the thunder from whatever Angie is going to put in our Christmas letter, so I'll keep it short and simple. Well simple anyway. :)

Sunday Parker and I went on a date (for him getting all his pennies in his jar) to Boondocks! He wanted to drive the go-karts . Unfortunately the kiddie go-karts are no more. They are remodeling the place and they are getting rid of the kiddie go-karts. I wonder if they'll sell them to the public...

Anyhow, since they were remodeling, they were selling their unlimited passes for a lot cheaper than normal. So Parker & I got the unlimited passes and proceeded to freeze our hands off while racing around the track. Then we got smart and put our gloves on. It was lots of fun and Parker was constantly asking me if we were winning. I of course always told him that we were.

Ally is getting really good at piano. She has a recital coming up one of these days and for that she will be playing Silent Night by Franz Goober, uh I mean Gruber. It's a both-hands piece and she just played it perfectly for the first time this morning! Woohoo!

Audrey has been a bit under the weather with the stomach flu, which she has apparently given to Parker. Fun times in the Bartlow house let me tell you. Audrey is also getting ready to cut her bottom eye-teeth. Poor girl.

I'm just doing my standard daily job of trying to get more business. I just installed a receiver and speaker system across the street for the Bullocks. Also a whole home audio system, even though I've only put in one set of speakers. They had a party last night that they wanted the music for. I put in a music server that will take all your CDs and rip them to its internal hard drive so you can store your CDs away somewhere and never worry about them again. Basically an internet connected iPod with a cd drive. You can also listen to internet radio. It's a really nice product. I was able to make a playlist of about 7 Christmas CDs for Jeanette and play it randomly for her party.

Angie just recently finished with our 10 year reunion. She was organizing the whole thing. It was fun seeing everyone again. We had the largest turnout of all the classes. Lots of people. Tod Tomlinson came too. Remember him from California?

So that's our life in a nutshell. You are now up-to-date. Have a great weekend!

Snowing in Colorado

2006-11-29T09:48:00.000-07:00

Our trip to Colorado was fairly uneventful with the exception of sitting on the tarmack for what seemed like ages, waiting for some computer clitch to be worked out. We landed in DIA just as it was beginning to snow, took a shuttle to Longmont and soon were safely settled in the warm cozy condo. Wow, do I appreciate such a nice place to stay.

Lots of snow has fallen and is still falling. For some reason, the power to our detatched garage was out, which means, of course, the garage door opener will not work. We had not been able to make the key, the one that releases the door from the opener, work. We actually thought it was the wrong key. However, Dad worked with it a little more persistently and Voila! it worked. We crept very slowly from Longmont to Boulder...mainly because that is all the faster that the traffic was going. Also, our snow tires for the Outback are still in Nampa, doing us absolutely no good here. Hmmmm! So we shall see how long this snow sticks around. It looks like a winter-wonder-land.

New Radio Spot

2006-11-17T21:57:00.000-07:00

I really like this one. It still makes me laugh every time I hear it. :)

Radio Ad

All that is new in Colorado

2006-11-08T11:32:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. Well, we are back from 2 fun-filled weeks in Colorado. We closed on the corporate condo on Monday and then I was off and running. Howard had a LOT of work to do, but was able to help finalize decisions on the major funiture pieces.

We slept on a blow-up mattress until Friday morning when the bed, mattress, couch, chair and coffee table were delivered. The walls were all white, so Monday and Tuesday of the second week were spent on painting the walls in the living room. The two wall to be painted in the bedroom will wait until our next visit sometime after Thanksgiving. With only two windows in the whole place, there is lots of wall space for pictures etc. I traveled from Fort Collins, Greeley, Boulder and Denver to hit all the Big Lots, Tuesday Morning, Marshalls and Ross stores. I felt really fortunate to find the things that I needed.

We still need to find a washer and dryer, but pretty much everything else is done. I had a open house on the last Friday for the partners, their families, and some of the employees. Fifteen were able to attend, but not all at the same time. Everyone seemed pleased with the results.

It is very comfortable and I look forward to "enjoying" it on the next visit.

Check out the pictures at this site.

Postcards

2006-11-04T22:47:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, I'm really excited about these postcards I've created and am sending out to builders and owner/builders who have recently gotten building permits. I've signed up for an account with a company that goes through and gets all the information for everyone who gets approved for a building permit in southern Idaho. Then they make all that information available on the internet. I can download it all into excel and make mailing labels or print these postcards and send them out. This is targeted marketing at it's best! I am trying to convince them to install structured wiring because it's really a no-brainer. I also mention that I do a lot more than just structured wiring. Check out the postcard front & back.

If I can install structured wiring in lots of houses, then I can do the next phase as well. That's sending postcards to the people who have moved into the houses and offer to: finish their whole home audio system, install surround sound, install lighting control, offer other services...

I figure that I will get a lot of "repeat business". Especially if the wiring is already in their walls. Here is the front & back of my first postcard like this.

Something is telling me that business is going to virtually explode here in the next month or two (once these builders who have gotten permits start getting to the point where they need my services)

New Ad

2006-10-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

I'm working on a new ad that is targeted at home owners. People who alreay have a home and might want to add my products to it.

Take a listen.

Please give me a call on my cell when you listen to this. I want to hear your feedback ASAP so I can make a decision.

Thanks

Thanks Susie!!!

2006-10-20T20:25:00.000-06:00

OK....the thanks go to Susie because she gave me the idea that I could look up our condo on the internet and maybe find some pictures....DUH!!!! So I did. Here is the site.

The picture showing on the home page is not our side of the building. However, take a look at "open property photo tour". Picture #5 is a picture of our entry way. The door on the left is the storage closet and the door almost out of sight is the entry door. The window on the 2nd floor, to the right, would be our living room. However this is not our building because this is the mirror image of our building.

Pictures #9 and #10 could be our building. Our Condo is directly over the two garage door grouping and the entry is on the right of those garage doors. The veranda over the two garage doors is our veranda and has two sliding glass doors leading from the living room on the right and the bedroom on the left. The area over the entry is fake.

Now you can take a virtual tour of the 4 massive rooms by going to the "glamour". This may actually be our condo because it has the tile on the kitchen counters and floor and it is the correct layout. The tile was an upgrade.

Wow, I wish I had know about this sooner. I have been sweating about how much room there was over the sliding glass windows. I have pre-made the drapes except for one panel in the living room that still needs the lining. I made them quite a bit longer than the window, so looks like they are going to work and not be too long. Yeh!!!

We are leaving to drive to Colorado early Sunday morning, hoping to make it in one day. I have everything crammed into the Outback including 2 curve tracers that I hadn't counted on. There is still room for our suitcases and yes, it is all the way to the roof. Whew!

Sharps to Kennelly Creek

2006-10-14T21:00:00.000-06:00

This will be the third time I have tried to add text to these pictures. Each time it has vanished into vapor. However, I will keep trying.

Steve and Barbie Sharp came for a short 2 day visit and got here late Wednesday evening. We forgot how bad the road construction is getting to Tamerack, so had to endure 3 long waits to get there and more waits inside the resort. It just keeps growing. The trip back was timed just right so that we only had to wait once. Thank goodness.

Thursday evening as the sun was setting, Steve, unable to hunt with gun, decided to take binoculars out to the deck and see what would show up. He wasn't disappointed because at about dusk, 19 cow elk meandered across the valley followed by one bull. At about that time 4 or 5 bull elk, still in the trees on the hillside, started bugeling back and forth.....26 times. Yes, Steve counted each one. Barbie and I went out to listen, but 3 or 4 times was enough for us....after all, it was cold out there.
Friday morning after a leisurely breakfast, Steve and Howard headed up to the fishing pond. The fish weren't biting too well, but they both caught 2. Afterwards, we all hopped on 4-wheelers and took off for our favorite destination, Kennelly Creek. The weather was gorgeous and fairly warm for a crisp Autumn day. I must say that it was beautiful. The creek was fairly low, so we crossed and went kasploring (Parkerism...see a previous entry on this blog) It was my first time to go past the creek. It was a great adventure.

As usual, this location never fails to desplay God's handiwork. We just provide a comfortable place to enjoy it all and it is fun to share.

Nancy's Upholstered Chair

2006-10-14T20:44:00.000-06:00

Nancy and I have been working on this Chair. Sadly, we didn't take "before" and "during" pictures. Suffice it to say...the back was coming apart and after removing the covering, it was clear that we would have to go down to the "bare bones". That means new webbing, tieing the springs, throwning out the dirty horse hare and shreaded newspaper, dust and all and starting with new everything.
I had never had a helper before, but it sure made the work go faster and Nancy is learning something that she has wanted to take a class in for years. I am not sure I am the most professional teacher she could have, but I am definitely the cheapest. Oh, and she is going to help me on some of my upcoming upholstry projects....what a deal for me. Now maybe I can finish a few of those half done projects in the garage.
The chair looks great, sits and rocks with comfort and we both have a sense of great accomplishment.

eBay pulls through

2006-10-13T16:20:00.000-06:00

So, I got an email Wednesday telling me that eSellingConsultants' Account was Suspended! Hopefully that means I'll be able to get my money back soon.

I guess eBay didn't like their business policies either.

Oh yeah, I also changed the look of the blog a little bit. I wanted to widen the area for text, but that screwed up the round corners. So I removed the round corners too. Hope you all don't hate it.

Our new Colorado home

2006-10-04T18:46:00.000-06:00

It is high time I spent a little time updating the comings and goings of Howard and Carol. We have already been back in Nampa for a week. It seems there is so much "catching up" to do plus we have been busy celebrating birthdays. Debbie flew in last Thursday for a suprise birthday gift for Howard.....and he sure was surprised. She was able to see a few friends and spend a day at NNU.

However, back to Colorado. We were there for 2 weeks....flew there, and then drove the 300ZX home because it doesn't handle the snowy weather too well. It was a dream to drive home. Our other experience was with the motor home, so it was quite different.

While at Peak Devices, Howard was able to invent a new package that looks very promising for the outlook of the company. It is evident that he needs to spend more time there in engineering and production, so we looked around for a 1 bedroom condominium and are in the process of buying it. It is in Longmont, built about 2 years ago, but never sold. 1 bedroom condo's are not in demand. As a result, we got a sweet deal and it is brand new. It will be a company condo, and other people will be able to use it, but it is mostly so I can go with Howard and he can be there more often and longer. We will probably be there an average of 1 week a month.

I have already started plans for the decorating and furnishing. I am trying to work within my budget. We will drive the Outback down to Colorado, packed to the gills, and leave it there. There is a detatched one car garage, so the car will be out of the elements when it is not in use. We will probably be driving down in about 2 weeks, when the condo is ready to close.

Even though I had been thinking hard about submitting my resignation as costume mistress for No Greater Love, this was added incentive. My resignation was submitted several days ago and gratiously acknowledged and received by both Bette Moore and Mike Wiebe. Whew, that is a big load off.

We are missing Jim and Nancy, so we plan on taking off for the hills tomorrow morning. They should be back from their trip to Portland and Seattle. It will be fun to catch up with each other all the happenings of the the past month.

Parker is 5 years old

2006-10-04T18:29:00.000-06:00

Parker is FIVE. He woke up Tuesday morning and Guess What????? He was taller and stronger. The first picture was actually taken on Papa Howard's birthday because Debbie couldn't stay in Nampa until Parker's birthday. This cool flight suit is just like the one Uncle Ryan wears when he flys. He didn't take if off all night. It was a gift from Ryan, Debbie, Byron and Becky.

Horrible Business Policy

2006-10-04T16:24:00.000-06:00

About three weeks ago I purchased some Terk wireless A/V transmitter/receivers on ebay from eSellingConsultants. Yesterday I emailed the company because I hadn't received anything. Not an email saying they've shipped, not the product, nothing. Three weeks!

This is the email I received in reply:

The manufacturers distributor has let us know their will be a brief delay on this item as they ran out of stock. It is a very popular item and If your order is time sensitive we understand and are willing to refund your order in full. If you want us to refund it please let us know by replying to this email for the instructions.

As stated in our feedback policy please keep in mind feedback left for us equals relative feedback left for you.

We value your business. Thank you for shopping with eSellingConsultants.

Notice the feedback comment. I'll come back to that later.

Obviously they knew the item was out of stock when I ordered it, yet they never contacted me to tell me. So I reply to them asking what a "brief delay" meant. 3 days? 3 weeks? I get this response:

Well 95% of our backorders have historically been filled within 10 business days.

This is a non-answer. He might as well have told me that the US government typically charges income tax. At this point I decide to cancel, get my money back, and purchase the product elsewhere. I reply back saying, "Cancel the order."

Our Office Manager handles all the refunds on the payments from all online marketplaces and he is usually about 5 business days behind when we send him a refund request, HOWEVER if you can leave us positive feedback immediately such as something gentile like "Offered me a full refund when the product was out of stock, thanks!" I will personally see to it and have it refunded immediately for you. And of course we will leave a positive feedback for you as well.

Please let us know when you have left the feedback and have a great day,

This is a big red flag. He is basically saying, "Give me positive feedback or I will delay your refund as long as possible. I'll also give you negative feedback if you give me negative feedback." First of all, the only reason I would give someone positive feedback is if I was pleased with the transaction. Second of all, relative feedback is not how the system is supposed to work. Finally, I really don't care if these guy give me negative feedback. I don't make my living on eBay.

So, I reply offering to give no feedback since there was no transaction if they give me my refund immediately (which he just admitted he could do.)

Our team of Consultants has forwarded your request of refund to Office Manager. Please keep in mind it is usually 5+ business days.

If you change your mind and you want a immediate refund please leave positive feedback and let us know and then one of Consultants will have our Sales Manager override our Office Manager and issue the refund immediately.

As stated in our feedback policy please keep in mind feedback left for us equals relative feedback left for you.

We value your business. Thank you for shopping with eSellingConsultants.

At this point I'm a little confused as to how someone would think that this is a good way to do business. I send one more email to this guy and basically say that if I don't receive an immediate refund I will leave negative feedback on eBay and tell my story to everyone I know. There's a saying that if someone makes you happy you will tell 5 people about it, if they make you unhappy they will tell 100. This guy apparently doesn't understand that concept.

Anyhow, I would highly recommend staying away from this company. They have horrible customer service and more-or-less use extortion to get positive feedback. In addition they subscribe to the junior-high strategy of "I know you are but what am I" for feedback.

I for one will not play their game.

I even started a new blog and reposted this so our blog doesn't get run over by people from ebay. I put the URL in my feedback on eBay.

escsucks.blogspot.com

I think they messed with the wrong guy. Hehe!

That's A Big Ten-Four.

2006-09-26T22:32:00.000-06:00

This post is dedicated to Merriane Montgomery (Jayci's mom). She and Keith (Jayci's dad) stopped by for a visit last week and within a conversation about how she and mom should get together for coffee and tea, I asked her if she liked coffee. She responded with a smile, "THAT'S a big ten-four!" It still makes me laugh, so I thought that I would share it here.

Shaheen!

2006-09-20T20:43:00.000-06:00

If anyone knows what Shaheen! is all about, they're jumbo/LARGE!

The first person who guesses the correct answer in the comments section wins a 'ool!

For Deb.

2006-09-19T18:27:00.000-06:00

Debbie: Do you recognized this building? I had lunch in Boise last Wednesday and snaped this shot while waiting at a red light at Myrtle and 8th Street. That is the first building that Kieffer Design was in and now it is getting demolished. Crazy, eh? The tall building behind it is the new part of 8th Street shopping or now known as BoDo (Boise Downtown). Just thought you might like to see the changes.

Radio Ads

2006-09-15T15:31:00.000-06:00

Okay people, I have the radio ads hot off the press or wherever they come from!

Check 'em out!
Guy's Ad - KTIK The Ticket(Am 1350)
Gal's Ad - KCIX Mix 106 (FM 105.9)

Let me know what you think.

They will start airing on Monday and go through Thursday of next week. Then it will be Mondays and Tuesdays.

Mondays

2006-09-13T10:05:00.000-06:00

Okay today isn't Monday, but coming up this next Monday, if you listen to Mix 106 (FM 105.9) or KTIK (AM 1350) you just might hear my new radio ad. It will be playing 4 times a day from Monday through Thursday. And then the next three weeks on Monday and Tuesday about 4-5 times a day. And then the same thing for three weeks every month going forward. The goal is to get the word out about my company.

Tomorrow I should be getting an mp3 of each of the radio commercials. I'll be sure to post them up on the blog so you guys can listen to them. I'm a bit excited and I hope this will start me on the path towards becoming the leading Home Media company in Idaho.

That's the goal anyway.

Oh yeah, and the radio guy and my advertising guy both said the brochure looked really good! They loved the picture on the front. Good job Deb!

Next up, Motorcycles!

2006-09-08T16:37:00.000-06:00

I'm trying a new thing. When Debbie posted her video of Texas rain I wasn't able to see it so I posted that she should try YouTube. Well never being one to have someone do something I wouldn't do myself I decided to try it out and see how hard it is to use. Well it turns out it's quite easy. To show proof, look here.

This is Parker cruising around on his other bike. I still haven't been to Walmart yet to get new tubes for both bikes and new tires for Ally's bike.

I just took this video with our digital camera. I think it worked pretty well.

Grandpa Don Bartlow's baptism

2006-09-08T13:14:00.000-06:00

Saturday, all Bartlows present at the family reunion gathered at the riverside to witness Don Bartlow's baptism.
Their Nazarene paster from Pomery came to baptize grandpa. Grandpa is giving his testamony.
Although we are all roasting in the hot sun, the water is a little cold.
Murray is assisting.
Coming up.
This picture speaks for itself.

GRAND kids

2006-09-08T12:52:00.000-06:00

We didn't get as early a start as expected...nothing new with us. Audrey came aboard the Discovery to investigate everything, and I do mean everything. I don't think there was one button, lever or knob she didn't try to work. She even climbed into the drivers seat to drive us all off. It is hard to get a good picture of her these days, since she is constantly on the move. Here she is watching Papa trying to get the gas shut-off to quit beeping.

All aboard the Discovery Motor Home Leaving Nampa, Idaho traveling to Chief Timothy Park just outside Clarkston, Washington. Papa was getting a little thirsty around LaGrande, so we decided to stop at Albertson's with a side trip for a frosty at Wendy's. Everyone tanked up with food and then we stopped for a few groceries. When we got back to the motor home, the batteries were dead, the one that mattered most anyway. Dead in the water. Papa went to work solving the battery problem, and I went to work solving the disillusion, depression and general dispair of Ally and Parker. They were sure that we would never get to our camp site and that they would never see their Mommie again. Well.....three hours and a new battery later, we were on our way, with the only mishap of the trip behind us. We got in after dark, but the adventure had begun and all was well.

Picture below clockwise starting with Ally Bartlow, Parker Bartlow, Bryant Sharp, son of Greg, Josh Bartlow, son of Scott and Debbie Bartlow and Austin Sharp, son of Greg. These were the youngest of the Bartlow Clan.
Brian has already posted the great achievement of Parker. In his own intent way, he hit the pavement the first morning with great resolve to get better and better on his 2 wheeler. What Brian didn't tell you, was that Papa spent quite a few hours repairing those tires several times, until...enough was enough. Boy those puncture vines were everywhere.
Under these tents were 3 tables where we would gather for our evening meals. Anyone who wanted to join, just brought their supper and we all shared. Wow, what a bounty of food and fellowship.

Slow News Week

2006-09-06T20:39:00.000-06:00

Okay, so since nobody has posted anything new lately I'll just chime in with a bit of info. Parker and Ally got back in town on Monday after going with Mom and Dad to Chief Timothy State Park along with a plethora of other Bartlows. Angie and I did not go for a couple reasons: 1. I'm still a bit under the weather and 2. Audrey. For reasons that are most likely apparent to anyone who knows Audrey, we didn't feel like camping with her. For some reason I don't think she'd do too well in a tent.

I'm sure Mom will post soon with some cool pictures. Probably a few of Parker's new accomplishment. The little guy is riding a bike now! Woohoo! No training wheels or anything. He's just cruising! Unfortunately, at Chief Timothy there are millions of goat's heads which pop tires. Otherwise I'm sure Parker and Ally would have done little else besides ride their bikes all around the island.

That reminds me, I need to fix their bikes so they can ride around here all day long.

Anyhow, Our new Sunday School class is going to start this Sunday. We're a bit excited and anxious.

Finally, I've updated my website over at www.eggheadhomemedia.com I still have a bit of work to do with adding pictures and detailed info, but the basics are all there. Today I changed it to be a dynamic website. It's all driven from a database which will make it a lot easier to update.

I'll see if I can get some video of Parker-rama riding his bike around.

Busy week

2006-08-28T08:47:00.000-06:00

Wow, okay. I have a lot going on this week.

1. I'm feeling a bit better now. Not 100%, but better.

2. I have some trim jobs this week. Not too hard, but time consuming. Probably a rough-in later in the week.

3. I'm seriously considering making a couple radio ads and spending $1500-$1700 a month to play them. I figure if I get 1 job per month from the ads, they pay for themselves. But I need to pull the trigger today in order to get them rolling.

4. In order for the radio ads to work I need to have a good professional website up and running. Because I'm not in the yellow pages yet, I need to point the people somewhere. And that place is my website. Which means I need to have it up and running by the end of the second week of next month or earlier.

5. I'll also need a pretty good idea of what I want the ads to accomplish. I know my targets, but I'm not 100% sure what I want to tell them. Then there's the whole decision of if I want a jingle, or a catch phrase, or a special identifying sound or what. Something to keep some consistency across all radio ads both now and into the future.

6. Then there's this whole Trendwest thing. Not sure if you guys have heard of it, but it's a kind of timeshare deal. It's actually a club where you buy a membership (a partial ownership) and you get credits that you can spend on vacations around the world. If you're going to travel it's one of the best ways to do it. If you're not gonna travel, it's a waste of money. The problem is, the product is good, the company that sells the product (that company is actually separate from the product itself) is made up of a bunch of fast-talking salesman (i.e. crooks).

I'd done research about 6-8 months ago into timeshares. There's a website called Timeshare Users Group. You can get all sorts of good info and advice about timeshares. I found out there that when you buy from a developer you typically pay about 2X the real value of the product because you are paying for their commission, the "gifts" the you and everyone else receive, and who knows what else. So I went into this figuring that unless there was some serious reason why I HAD to buy from these guys, that I just wouldn't and that I would buy on the resale market.

Anyhow, during the presentation they tell us that there are two products. They call them the standard membership and the premium membership. The major difference is the standard membership isn't an ownership, it's what's called a Right-To-Use membership. That means you can use the resorts like an owner for 40 years. Then it goes away. You have no rights, you can't vote, and there are other perks that you can't use. Basically it's a crummy product masquerading as the real thing. The premium membership is the ownership and you get all the perks and it never expires.

Here's the key. They told us that the ONLY way to get a premium membership was to buy there and that day! I pressed them on it and they kept saying the same thing. If you come back and call us tomorrow, we can't sell you anything but the standard membership. So then I asked specifically, "If I were to buy a premium membership, and then someday sell it, would it revert to a standard membership?" The guy said, "Yes."

I thought, "Crap. They've figured this thing out and have set up the rules in the club to cover their butts and force people to pay the 2X premium."

So we go through the rest of the presentation and I asked tons of questions and had trouble understanding things (because I was sick and a little fuzzy) and eventually decided that we would purchase the cheapest premium membership. Keep in mind that Idaho has a 3-day right of rescission. That means that if we change our mind within 3 days we can get out of the deal. That played a BIG part in our decision.

So we go home, I feel like garbage (from the sickness) and go to sleep. I called Dad who thought I was insane and out of my mind for buying into a timeshare, I tried to explain to him but I'm not sure I did a very good job. (Dad, really I'm not insane!) Anyhow, I had already decided that I was going to do a lot of research in the morning to find out if there was a way around this rule that causes premium memberships to revert to standard memberships when sold.

So the next morning I wake up and log onto the internet. I start searching for any and all information about premium an standard memberships and selling and buying them. Well, pretty quickly I find about 10 or so listings in different places for Trendwest memberships. In every one they specify whether they are premium or standard. That sets off a warning bell in my head. Why would they specify what they are if they all revert to standard memberships after the sale?

So I email two of the sellers and ask if they do in-fact revert to standard memberships. The first one replies, "No, that is not true. Sue". Oh oh. I then decide to call the other person who is a broker I found through the TUG (see above). I end up talking to Angel and ask her the same question. She confirmed that the memberships stay the same. Then she invited me to call the Trendwest transfer department and ask them. She gave me the 1-800 number and I called. Sure enough, I get the same answer from the transfer department.

So now I'm a bit ticked off. I was lied to! So I decide to call Trendwest and get to the bottom of this and figure out how to cancel my membership. I had to wait until 2:30 because they come in late and work late. Eventually I talk to a jerk named Dave and I end up going to the office with a letter. Dave continued being a jerk while we were there, but in the end he had the letter and we were gone.

Now I only hope that Trendwest doesn't try and get fancy and try and force us into the contract. It would just cause a lot more trouble and grief than I need right now.

So that's my story. Interesting eh? In the end I remembered that salespeople who want to force you to make decisions right away are doing so because of a reason. And that reason is never in the best interest of the buyer.

Oh yeah...

7. I forgot about our new Sunday School class that we're helping start. That starts a week from this Sunday so we have a lot to do to get ready for it. For instance, I need to make sure we'll have some divider walls because we are meeting in the chapel behind the main sanctuary at First Church and that room is HUGE. So we need the divider walls to help make it feel smaller and hopefully block some sound from filtering in and out.

8. Upwards Soccer is gonna start next week too. I'm a coach and have to start preparing for a team of 7-year-old girls. Aaaaaack!

uuuugh

2006-08-26T16:56:00.000-06:00

No pictures today, just an update. I'm sick. Nastily sick. No, I don't think it's West Nile, but it might as well be. In fact, tell people I have West Nile, it'll make a good story.

Anyhow, I've been home all day. I was home all day yesterday. Well except for a little excursion in the evening. I'll write about that in a few days or so after I start feeling better.

Okay, that's enough for me now. I think I'm gonna go hit the sack.

Ugh.

Can't get enough

2006-08-22T12:30:00.000-06:00

We just finished an incredible weekend with Sally and Lonnie visiting the cabin. For Lonnie, it was his first time. We visited Tamerack, Ponderosa State Park, Charlie's Garden, an Art and Craft fair in McCall, and went to dinner at The Mill to celebrate the Diller's wedding anniversary. Friday afternoon, we all climbed on ATVs and headed for Kennally Creek. It was a beautiful day and nature was at her best. I couldn't help taking more pictures at Charlie's garden. Since the flowers that are blooming are always changing, there are more subjects each time I go.

Daylilies
Clamatis
Columbine
Old rusty wheelbarrow

Aunt Becky Day.

2006-08-19T16:53:00.000-06:00

Today I took Ally and Parker to the Nampa Fish Hatchery. This is something that I promised to do when Ally was either three or four. I am a bad Aunt! So we thought we should go before school starts next week. We even got to feed the fishies!

Aunt Becky Day 2.

2006-08-19T16:48:00.000-06:00

We also went bowling. Ally had at least four spares and Parker had two.

Paved road and ???????

2006-08-11T16:01:00.000-06:00

Well, the road around Simpco Estates is finally paved. It has been a long process, but the result is great. This was taken on the way back from the attempt to pick Huckleberries this morning. You could pretty much say that the season is over. I did get a pretty good workout. I trekked up and over the hills looking for berries. All to no avail. I can't complain though. I have a goodly stash in the freezer, ready for yummy desserts.....if I have help eating them. Hmmmm!

Below are two pictures I was able to take this morning. I am guessing this is a hawk of some kind. It was perched on the post for quite a while. Sorry they are such poor pictures. I was afraid I would scare him off. He had a funny head movement that reminded me of a parrott. Angie, can you figure out what this is?

I pulled the shade gently aside to sneak this picture. Too bad the house is the same color so there isn't much contrast.

Pretty nervy of the little fellow, I would say.

More Project Pics

2006-08-11T15:57:00.000-06:00

I can only post 4 pictures without cutting and pasting, so I am just going to post three different times. I have more important things to do than to fiddle with this, since Todd and Katie are coming early in the morning to clean house and wash windows and I have tons to do to get ready for them.

Here are the two tree-islands. I have wanted this to happen for several years. My plan was to use the cement block wall units, but Byron came up with this idea and Dad liked it better than the blocks. I think in the long run, it would have cost less energy to do the blocks. These ties were so heavy and hard to cut. Poooooor Dad, but he finished the job and they are all filled up with sandy dirt. However, I think the ties fit the rustic area much better than cement and I love the effect. Thanks Byron! You have great ideas.

I would like to bring up some of the wonderful compost from some of the dead tree stumps down on Gary's land and mix it in with the dirt here. I have plants to plant as soon as we do that. It is a race between the grass hoppers and the deer, who will eat more of the plants. Sigh!

This is a surprise for Dad while he is away in California. This is a rubbermaid system and works great. I found it at Home Depot.

There are a few more hooks I would like to get. It sure holds a lot of stuff and gets it up off the floor. A good thing!! Hello, Martha.

The cupboards on the left now hold the vast quantities of boots that used to clog up the laundry room closet, also a few motorcycle helmets, a box of gloves, mittens and winter hats. Now all is tidy and out of site.

Update on projects

2006-08-11T15:55:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of the new slate we added to the entryway plus the rocker that has been languishing in the garage waiting for a cool staining. I love it. It is so comfy.

Here is another closeup. The only thing missing are the tons of grasshoppers that now live here.

Here is the inside view of the slate tile. Really rich colors with the sealer applied.

The new office area.....moved out of our master bedroom. I couldn't believe that the little prayer bench that we got several years ago at an auction....up until yesterday having resided on the landing of the stairs, now fits so nicely, making a bridge between the two hutches. The legs are exactly the right distance apart. The bears and moose wanted to continue sitting on the bench, so I let them. Hee! Hee! Now there is an empty space in the middle of it all which I think calls for a lovely quilt of some kind. Hmmmmm! have to give that some thought.

For Bec

2006-08-09T21:42:00.000-06:00

Just wanted to put something up here for Bec to read. Right now my life is pretty boring. Just working every day. But that's actually good news because that means I'm earning money every day.

Um, let's see... Yesterday I mowed the lawn and decided to mow right up next to one of the sprinklers that sticks up a bit on the edge of our lawn. Well the brakes on the lawn mower don't work so good, or they have some sort of delay, and BOOM! Crunch goes the sprinkler. Grrrrr!!!

So today during my lunch break I stopped by and bought a replacement. I actually bought a couple replacements just in case something like that happens again.

During my free time I'm working on a new brochure for Egghead Home Media. It's gonna be so cool! Know why? Because I'm totally copying a layout of another brochure I got in the mail. It'll have the same look and feel.

I've also figured out what might be a key to this whole brochure writing thing. I think it's better to keep the text nice and succinct. Hit the high points and move on. Too much text just makes people's eyes glaze over and they don't read it.

I might even call up a design firm that Debbie gave me the name of and see what it would cost me for them to develop my web site. Basically what I want to do is have this brochure that hits the high points and gets people wanting my stuff and wanting to know more, and then get them to visit the website where they can get more details about everything.

So that's my life. Pretty exciting eh? Anyhow, time to go water Angie's plants. Cya!

New Granite

2006-08-05T09:45:00.000-06:00

It has been a while since I have posted to this blog. Mostly routine stuff has been happening. Nancy and I have picked Huckleberries three times with fairly good results if you don't count tired backs. I still have to process the last batch. There are still tons out there getting more ripe every day.

The biggest news is the installation of the new granite countertops. Dad has been busy finishing the job since the installers arrived around 2pm and because of encountering unforeseen problems, left at 9pm without fully finishing stuff like caulking, hooking up the stove and sink. On top of that was the granite dust everywhere. The last item was expected and I am gradually doing some deep cleaning. There are two drawers that don't fit under the counter and will have to be cut down, but the good news and the reason for the discrepancy is that the installers were able to save the tile backsplash. So we will put up with some tweeking here and there.

It looks gorgeous, almost like glass, as you can see in the reflections in the picture.

Here are the two drawers that don't fit. If they raised it up, the granite wouldn't fit under the tile backsplash.

We were able to add a few inches to this bar section, so there is more room to actually eat here.

There have been some requests for me to post some pictures of my new "do", so here they are:

Great mug shots....Huh! Anyway, it is already time for a haircut, if 6 weeks is the time to get another haircut.....I am still liking how it handles, so I will probably wait a few more weeks.

Rodeo Pictures.

2006-08-01T19:16:00.000-06:00

Here are two pictures I took at the Snake River Stampede Rodeo. The others were all blurry. I need to take Photography from a sister of mine in order to use my camera properly.

Kasploring Day

2006-07-30T20:40:00.000-06:00

Hi everyone! Angie here. This is my first official entry into the blog. Well, Tuesday was "kasploring" day, which is Parker's way of saying exploring. We were pretty wiped from our big day in Seattle so we decided to do some driving around Whidbey Island. We went back over Deception Pass onto Whidbey and soon saw a sign for Cornet Bay. Cornet Bay probably doesn't ring any bells to many people but for me it brings back tragic memories of Mary. Yeah, Mary, my mean, nostril flaring, red-head, teenage boot camp instructor, I mean 5th grade school camp counselor. I thought I'd make a voyage back to the bay where I developed a phobia of all things related to youth camps. What we found there was nothing to bring back nasty memories, but a lovely spot to pull off the road, sit on a bench and look at the water. This was one of those places where you felt you might very well be the only one on the planet. OK except for the hundreds of cars we saw at a distance crossing the bridge at Deception Pass. We watched a Bald Eagle catch his lunch and he flew very nearly over our heads and perched on a nearby tree. We were so excited to be that close to something so beautiful and powerful.
Then we journeyed on and saw several military airplanes. The same ones we had been hearing and sometimes seeing at the campground. We decided to try to find where they were coming from and ended up at the Naval Air Base. We pulled over to watch the planes....what kind you ask? I have no clue. Maybe a P3 Orion, or a C3PO or something. Well we might have taken a picture but the most friendly military police stopped by to greet us and ask that we not take any pictures. We journeyed on until we came to Ebey State Park. I remember the name well because it reminds me of eBay. This park was a very pleasant surprise. We found there a gorgeous beach with awesome waves. We're talking ocean type waves, not wussy little ones. Brian and I sat on a driftwood log while the kids played with the waves. It had been a long time since I had heard the sound of those powerful waves; I could have sat there all day. Ahhhhhh. There were only a few people there too, which made it all the more enjoyable. We also saw a surfer in the water. As we were walking back I realized I didn't have my glasses. I had taken them off to enjoy the view with my own eyeballs, and they somehow fell somewhere. We all looked for quite a while to no avail. The kids picked up sea shells and feathers to help pay for my new glasses. :)

We went to another section of the state park where there was a gun battery made for WWII. Brian and the kids went underground to the lookout point, and through the tunnels. This other section of the park was really high up and the view was amazing. The wind that comes towards the cliffs make a nice up draft for para-gliders. These guys have little seats attached to their parachute and catch the wind right off the ground and fly around. We got to see these guys in action. Looked really cool...would I ever do it? Uh.....no.

Then we went onwards towards our final destination, the long awaited ferry boat ride. We told the kids that we were going to take a ferry ride, but that we were going exploring first. Well every other minute, Parker asked, "Is this the way to the ferry?" Or, "Are we going to the ferry yet?" So FINALLY we could tell him that it was ferry time, but we had quite a drive. Whidbey Island is skinny and very long. It's the second largest island in the continental US. Anywho, we behind the slowest person in the world (10- 15 under the speed limit) on a two lane road, which of course put Brian in a fantastic mood! I kept trying to distract him or tell him it would be OK. But we stayed behind this car, and stayed behind the car, and stayed behind the car with no hopes of passing. And pretty soon I found myself saying, "Man this person is driving me crazy!" So I suggested to Brian to pass her on the right in the ferry lane. He was like, "Are you sure?" Yeah!!!! We made that ferry with 45 seconds to spare. Phew! The ferry ride was very short, but still fun. Ally wanted to stay outside the whole time and Parker wanted to kasplore every nook and cranny of the ferry, which meant sitting in every type of seat he could find. Being on a ferry is so relaxing! I'm always struck by how smooth they are! Well, the ride came to a quick halt and we arrived in Mukilteo. Parker was quite distraught that the ferry ride was so short, and I can't blame him. Poor guy, waited all day and POOF, done!! On the way back to camp Ally made up a lovely song called Mukiltatio. It went something like this..."Mukil....ta...teo" She repeated this approximately 589 times before Brian said something like, "Ahhhhh!! Ally can you please sing something different?" Translated into tired 7 year-old language. "Daddy doesn't like my voice!!! Whaaaaaaahhhh! I'm never going to sing again." So Parker was put out about the short ferry ride and Ally thought her singing career was over then suddenly silence.....sweet.... lovely ......silence. The little rugrats fell asleep and turned back into angels when they woke up! What a great day!!!!

Aquarium, Pike Place, and Seattle Center

2006-07-29T17:07:00.000-06:00

Day four, we took a trip to the Seattle Aquarium, Pike Place, and the Space Needle. It so fun to see the kids in awe and wonder at all the cool fish and things. Here we are in an underwater dome with hundreds of different kinds of fish swimming all around. There were even a few sharks swimming around. The kids got to see a couple scuba divers swimming around and cleaning the windows. In this underwater dome there were lots of windows and the whole thing was under water so we got to see fish swimming over our heads! Really cool. Here the kids got a chance to be jellyfish. Over a bit behind them (out of sight) there is a giant tire-shaped tank with jellyfish going around and around. You could walk through them. They had different color lights shining through the tank that made the white/clear jellyfish glow. It was pretty impressive. Here the kids got to try on scuba gear. After the Aquarium we went to Pike Place and got Mom some salmon and flavored honey as a thank you gift. Again, THANKS SO MUCH! We didn't get to see them throwing fish anywhere though. ;)

After Pike Place we drove over to Seattle Center. There are so many wild and weird buildings around there. All curvy and colorful. I'm sure there are pictures on the website. We were running out of space on our compact flash card so we had to be a bit selective on our picture taking.
Here is the view from directly below the Space Needle. We were looking and looking for the Weedle on the Needle but we never saw him. After we paid for our tickets I reflected on how light my wallet felt. $40 to ride an elevator! Wow!
This picture will take a bit of explaining. Parker was getting a bit tired at this point and didn't want to come stand with us to get our picture taken. As you can see we decided to take the picture anyway. We thought we'd get a pretty good laugh about it. HAHAHAHA. After our trip up the Needle we hit McDonald's for dinner and went home and crashed. Tomorrow - Kasploring!

Huckleberry picking

2006-07-28T19:31:00.000-06:00

Today was the first day without a toddler in the cabin, so it was the first day that Nancy and I could go Huckleberry picking. We didn't start as early as hoped because Jim and Nancy were busy chasing a Mosquito until 1 am, so they slept in a bit. The picking was excellent. We wore ourselves out by 1 pm and came 4-wheelin' home with our treasure.

Kathy Henrickson has also been up in Donnely staying the nights while she is "styling" the Rustica store for it's Grand Opening tomorrow. After a shower, I went down to the store and helped put pine garland in the windows with cup hooks, and helped Kathy out....just a little bit. Mainly, I kidnapped her and took her to Charley's Garden..a quick trip....and then dropped her back at the store for some finish up work. She had been to the garden on her honeymoon 33 years ago.

I had better cut this blog short and get up and move. Bending over huckleberry bushes for several hours can cause serious back muscle strain.

Deception Pass State Park

2006-07-28T14:36:00.000-06:00

So on Sunday we and Angie's family took a little trip to Deception Pass. Here are a few pictures of us on the bigger bridge. The view is absolutely incredible! We saw many REALLY nice boats go under the bridge. Kinda made me want a yacht. Renting is probably better anyhow.

We then went and had a picnic lunch at the state park. It was fun and Parker and Ally both went and made a new friend with the daughter of some people who were having a picnic next to us. Parker just walked over to her and started playing. Kids are so cool that way.

Next we went down to the lake and there is a strip of land about 100 feet wide in between the freshwater lake and the Puget Sound. The kids got to swim in the lake for about an hour or so and Angie and I got to see all sorts of interesting people. Everything from what looked like back country hicks wearing cutoffs to foreigners speaking all sorts of languages (and wearing speedos) to pretty much anything else you can imagine. That's the thing with the Seattle area. There are so many people that live around there that you really get to see a broad spectrum of people in a small space. Lots of diverse-city. (good song BTW)

After the swimming we went and dipped our feet in the ocean and then went back to the trailer. Our evenings usually consisted of making dinner and then crashing and reading books. We brought the kid's books from the library. They're doing some sort of program where if they read every day for two weeks they get cool coupons and gifts from the library. Every set of two weeks they do they get better and better gifts. They're on their third and final set!

Tomorrow's trip: Aquarium, Pike Place, and Space Needle!

A Day at the Zoo

2006-07-27T19:47:00.000-06:00

To start with I'd like to mention that we are forever grateful for Mom watching Audrey. We had infinitely more fun than we would have if Audrey had been with us. We love the little girl but she has to take naps and the sleeping arrangement just wouldn't have worked if she was there.

Second, I'm planning on updating this blog with one story of our vacation per day so as to not overwhelm everyone with one large story.

Our first day trip took us to the Woodland Park Zoo. We were able to see nearly all the animals they had. The only ones we missed were the wolves, and the male gorilla. Oh and a few other smaller animals like the lemurs and such. If you know Parker you can more or less imagine what our day was like. It was basically filled from end to end with, "Wow! Look at THAT!!!!" and "HEY! Look over THERE!!!" and "COOOOL!!!!!"

Basically it was a ton of fun. The kids had a wonderful time and we got to see lots of cool animals.

Some highlights:
- Seeing a bald eagle up close. They are just HUGE! and it even gave us a pose.

- Watching two brown (grizzly) bears fishing in their own personal pool. They eventually caught a fish and proceeded to tear it to shreds.

- Watching the male lion sauntering around his domain.
- The giraffe doing laps around his pen.
- All those creepy bats.
- Hearing Parker go crazy looking at all the snakes.
- Sitting and resting while the kids spent an hour or more in the Zoomasium.

It was actually a pretty fun way to spend our anniversary. That's right, Angie and I have been married 11 years! WOW! We're planning on doing some sort of special trip or something to actually celebrate our anniversary alone. Not sure when, but sometime this year.

What is the symbol for the 11 year anniversary anyway? Gummy bears? :)

Stay tuned for tomorrow's story about Deception Pass!

A Wild and Stormy Night

2006-07-25T14:02:00.000-06:00

The days are getting into a routine by now, but, wow, what a night we had last night. Papa was gone....away on a business trip to California, I had opened the cabin to hopefully let in the cool night air, when about 5am a clap of thunder so loud it nearly shook the house, sounded. I was instantly awake. Hopeing I would not hear screaming over the baby monitor, I waited. Nope. All was well. A little later admidst more lighting and more distant thunder, I heard what I thought was footsteps. Think again.....it was huge drops of rain...it poured. I checked the open windows, but there was no wind, so no rain was getting inside. I left the windows open. Still later, a really. strong wind blew across my bed. Oh, oh! Audrey's room had two windows open with the curtains drawn. I thought I had better close those and hope she wouldn't wake up. Fat chance. She was sitting up as still as a mouse. After closing the windows, I rocked her until she went back to sleep. This was about 6 am.

I went back to sleep too. I did hear a funny noise that must have awakened me. I looked at the clock to see what time it was. Blank! Nothing! Nodda! Oh, oh....the power is out. I instantly wondered how I was going to warm Audrey's milk and fix us all breakfast. By my watch, I could tell it was 8 am, but now I had no baby moniter to hear a waking baby. I put on my robe, went upstairs, opened her door a crack and could see that she was not yet stirring. My mind was racing, but, I layed down on the upstairs couch. About 8:30 with still no one stirring, I heard a wonderful sound. The refrigerator motor. Yeh! Wonderful Marvelous Electricity. All is well.

I later found out from Jim, that the whole valley had lost power. They were quick to get it back on. I am grateful. Drama, Drama, Drama!

The Life of Audrey

2006-07-23T23:18:00.000-06:00

Well, if I can still count, we are past the half-way mark of our stint as foster parents for Mae-Mae. We are actually doing pretty well, if you don't count how many times I have been suckered into picked her up. (I am such a sucker for those reached up arms) I am really not too worried, because nothing hurts, and I think it would if I were doing damage. With the presence of a lot of new people around (see next paragraph), she can get pretty clingy, and with no Mommie near by, I am second best and will do in a pinch.

Today, we actually made it to church with our pot-luck fruit salad, for the after-church dinner. Audrey did fine until about 2:15 when we threw in the towel and were the first to leave. She instantly fell asleep in the car for the half hour trip home, and then slept until close to 5pm. I got to thinking that it probably went better having a way to get food into her before our trip home, because she might have gone to sleep hungry.....then her nap wouldn't have gone so well. Thankfully, she feels right at home in her crib, and even plays quietly after she wakes up...

Air-conditioning is a real blessing with the 90+ temperatures every day. I heard it hit 100 degrees in McCall yesterday. Wow! Unreal! I, along with a lot of other people, could do for a change in the weather.

Gentle Routine

2006-07-23T19:32:00.000-06:00

Okay, so maybe it is not gentle and hopefully won't be a routine.

Byron's life has been full of farming lately. He is either combining (is that how you spell it?), driving the non-air conditioned truck (in 100+ degree weather) to the seed company or irrigating. Combine that with a migraine every 5 hours and he is possibly sleeping the migraine away during his down time (with the aid of Excedrin Migraine). He has taken moments out of his day to play in the church men's league softball tournament. They have won their first two games so far and the next one is one Tuesday evening. If you think of it, please add him to your prayers.

My days have been filled with training. I do frequent the softball field and watch too much television. I did catch up on some sleep this weekend and I plan on going to bed early to stay ahead of the game this week. The foothills were tough, but good. I am actually sore in the oblique abdominal area and the calves. I think that I will try running the stairs at Nampa High School's stadium to mimic the hills.

There isn't too much excitment going on here. Just wanted to give a little update on the norm.

Huckleberries

2006-07-18T10:50:00.000-06:00

Well, today is "prep day" for a week of trying to keep up with a running toddler. I have been working up to it by walking Barker Loop....the whole thing....for two days straight. I walked partial loops last week. I can't explain how much better and more energetic I feel. Tomorrow will be three weeks since surgery. However, still no heavy lifting for three more weeks.

I also need to plan some meals and go to McCall for groceries. I will be feeding two more mouths.

I took my first 4-wheeler ride back into the woods yesterday evening. I just had to check on the state of the huckleberries. Wow...some are already on, and there seem to be quite a few. They are still a little sour, so hopefully this hot weather won't bring them all on before I get a chance to pick. The down side is: the ride wasn't too comfortable. I may have to get my donut out when I want to ride.

Promised pictures

2006-07-17T15:57:00.000-06:00

Here are just a few of the pictures taken at Charlie's Garden in McCAll.

That is Howard/Dad/Papa waving from the rock

They don't begin to do justice to the beauty and just being there.
This will be the new "must visit" for any of our guest from now on. cj

Reference Desk, please?

2006-07-15T23:03:00.000-06:00

I am a proud aunt. I went to the Nampa Public Library to return some items and check out the things they had on hold for me. On my way out I happened to follow Angie, Ally and Parker. That was a good surprise. They were picking up their prizes from the Summer Reading Program. They got tickets to the Snake River Stampede, Boise Hawks, and free meals from Sizzler and IHOP. How cool is that? Yet another reason why I love the library. Way to go kiddos!

Egghead Home Theater Configuration Tool

2006-07-14T14:45:00.000-06:00

Well I've been working on this all morning and most of yesterday and I finally have a simple working version. YAY! I think it's actually pretty cool, and the way I made it should make it easy to add many more models of speakers and eventually screen/TVs. Maybe in the future I might be able to
allow the user to change the dimensions of the room too! How crazy would that be? In theory, they could recreate their existing room with my tool. Oh how fun.

Anyhow, go check it out and see if you can break anything. Or just have fun.

Right now I only have modeled up two series of speakers. But you can mix and match all you want. The 8200 series subwoofer is included in the main front speakers so there isn't a separate one.

I'm not feeble

2006-07-12T21:10:00.000-06:00

As a followup to Brian's blog, I thought a little explanation was needed. Not everyone knows that I had surgery two weeks ago today. Since Audrey weighs in at more than 15 pounds, and that is the limit to my allotted amount to lift for 4 to 6 weeks after surgery, I need help. That's not to say that Audrey won't keep me and a mother's helper both on our toes. How can a 16 month old wield so much power? Hmmmmm!

By the way, I am feeling fine....walked the upper part of Barker loop for the third day in a row this morning. The problem is, I feel so good, I keep having to remind myself that I still need to take it easy.

All the cabin updating is in process. The entry slate is sealed and the exterior slate is set on the concrete slab. Tomorrow the demolition of the countertops is scheduled to happen in prep for granite countertops. As soon as they are removed, we will head south for my Dr. Appointment and catch up on mail and whatever else needs done.

Oh, yes, and Dad/Howard has a new obsession. It's called "Stop the rampant milk weed infestation". They are threatening to take over the hillside, so he has spent one and a half days trying to eradicate them. This may top the mole obsession. Who knows? He was able to pull himself away this afternoon to start cutting railroad ties to build the retaining wall around the tree islands. It is starting to look really cool. I am looking forward to adding some plants to the space too.

Will someone take our daughter?

2006-07-12T19:59:00.000-06:00

Not forever, just for a week or so. Actually, Angie is busy calling people right now trying to find someone to help Mom out with watching Audrey while we head to Seattle for a camping trip. I think Jessica Bartlow can help for 4 days or so, but then volleyball camp starts for her. So we're trying to find someone to take over when she's gone.

Other than that, life is pretty normal at the moment. The kids swim every day. They go to swimming lessons then come home and swim for most of the rest of the day in our pool. It's in the 90s every day lately so swimming is actually a really good idea. Angie and I joined them after dinner yesterday. I think that pool was one of the better investments I've made into our leisure time.

We're watching our neighbor's dog for the rest of the week. She really is the sweetest dog I think I've ever known. She's a little toy poodle. Black. Her name is Jasmine or Jazzy. Jeanette has her groomed at least one a week so she doesn't even smell like dog. And the best part is she really never barks. Maybe a quick bark when she needs to be let out, but that's it. She doesn't much care for Audrey though. Maybe it's because Audrey keeps trying to grab her nose.

Myself, I'm just trying to stay busy. With this business so far it's feast or famine. I have a job tomorrow that should actually take quite a while, but all this week I've just been trying to come up with ways to get more business. I've updated Egghead's website so take a look and give me some feedback. Really it's just a temporary placeholder and I have some really cool ideas on what I'd like to see. The questions is whether or not Deb and I can pull them off. Here's hoping.

Angie's new thing is the schedule I helped her create to organize her life. Bec does this kinda thing naturally, but Angie is too abstract to naturally schedule her life. With three children it has become a necessity. Things like remembering to move clothes from washer to dryer two to three times a day become easier when there is a little reminder on the schedule page. It makes life a little easier when you're not constantly worried that something is slipping through the cracks.

One of these days I'll have Angie write an update for this here blog contraption. I think she'll do good.

I'm also considering creating a blog for a new Sunday school class that we are trying to start up at First Church. I think a blog would be a perfect way to keep everyone up-to-date on everything.

Oh, and finally, Home Star Runner is back at it again. There's a new toon and SB email up. Woohoo!

"I drove my balogna sandwich truck down to the beach!"
"Alright, I'll let it slide this time, but June sleepers will not be tolerated from this day henceforth!"

"... and please give me back my sight."
"... and all for under 50 bucks!"

Update update, we have someone to watch our wonderful, but very high maintenance, daughter. And there was much celebration and rejoicing!

So long for now.

Settlers, red ants and railroad ties

2006-07-10T09:33:00.000-06:00

Well, Sunday found me going to church with Jim and Nancy while Dad stayed at home with the possibility of Allen and Jeanine Fitzgerald coming up. They decided not to come, so Dad continued to tweak the drip system. He found it hard to believe that something had chewed through one of the 1/4 in tubing. It was in the area of the red ant hill, so our only thought is that those monsters bit through it. Parker and Ally will be glad to hear that Papa threw down a nice amount of Diazanine and that the ants are no more......ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

We had a nice relaxing afternoon and then went to Jim and Nancy's to play Settlers of Catan. Can you believe it. Playing Settlers without Brian. We all muddled through the rules somehow. At one point I went to the bathroom and when I came back, Dad had played two soldier cards in one turn. Hmm! I threw in the red flag. But it was inevitable...I had lost the largest army advantage and my lead. Jim and Nancy love the game, so I am ordering one today. Brian is probably already going through withdrawal pangs until we return his this coming Thursday.

Oh, by the way, I left my camera download cord at home, so there is no way to publish the Charlie's Garden pictures until we go home on the 13th. So......have to wait.

Several days ago, Dad and Jim bought about 16 railroad ties. Jim has already installed three of his to help in the rain run-off at the upper parking area. They have also planted some of the plants we bought on Friday. I got my clippers and trimmed the lower branches off the natural fir tree near their house. They look so much nicer that way, almost like they were there on purpose. My goal is to trim up all the trees on the path between our two houses. There are quite a few, but I have lots of time.

We are going to follow through on Byron's suggestion of stacking 1/3 pieces of ties around out two tree islands. I really shouldn't say we, as I can't lift anything over 15 pounds for several more weeks. Those ties are a BIT more than that. I am really feeling pretty good. I plan on doing a partial Barker circle walk as soon as I finish writing. Hopefully I can avoid the heavy equipotent that is working on the road. I have been walking back and forth from Jim and Nancy's since the third day after surgery. This is quite a bit more walking, but I think I had better get back on road. Hee Hee!

We did it, we did it, we did it, yah, lo hicimos!

2006-07-09T16:50:00.000-06:00

Okay, my turn to post... I have officially started my own personal blog, go ahead and check it out. It is linked here, right? Maybe I will have to add that.

Debbie- I was going to email you. Before I left for McCall, I picked you a nice bag of cherries, but it turned out that they all had worms. Sad. So, that is why I can't send you any. Sorry!

We also had oodles of apricots on our new little tree, but when we got back from McCall they had all rotted. Sad again. I need to go pick strawberries, raspberries, zucchini, and whatever else is ready to be picked in our garden.

A Fun-Fun Day (Parkerism)

2006-07-08T18:01:00.000-06:00

This is a good follow-up to Brian's message. We moved back home around 1:30 p.m. Saturday. Because the Secord family filled up all the beds and floors, we hung out with Jim and Nancy Brown. It is so nice to finally have them back in the area.
I wanted to tell you all about our fun day yesterday. Nancy and I decided we all needed a fun day. The guys had been working so hard with landscape cleanup etc. There was an article in the Boise Paper about some places to go around McCall for nice outings that gave us the idea. There was also a "good looking" garage sale in McCall, so we packed a picnic lunch and took off about 9:30 am. The garage sale was so-so. But the guy had been a typesetter and had several trays for sale for $10 a piece. We bought 4.

Next, we started looking for Charlie's garden. [Charlie's garden is a private garden started in the 1940's by guess who: Charlie. He has long since died and his son and family have taken over. It is free and probably mostly know about locally.] It was supposed to be about 3.6 miles up Warren Wagon Road, but there was no sign. We drove the area about 3 times and almost went on, but Nancy suggested we pull into one of the lanes and see if we could find someone to ask directions. It took a lot of doing, but we finally found it. It was so peaceful and inspiring. Both Nancy and I took pictures. As soon as I download them I will hopefully add some pictures to this blog.

After the garden, we went back to the park along the south side of the lake and had our picnic lunch. It was a nice not-too-hot day. After lunch we went to Paul's market for more juice and then took off around Payette lake. We spotted another garage sale where I found a bulletin board for $2.00. The road had been smoothed out, so the trip seemed shorter than I remembered. Jim and Nancy had never been all the way around. When we got back to McCall, we stopped at the forest service for maps, then to Ice Cream Ally for you-know-what. On our way out of town we stopped at the Teufel Nursery. I have wanted to stop many times before,but hadn't It is a wonderful nursery, good prices and amazing variety. We both bought plants. Right now Jim and Nancy are busy planting theirs.
When we got home, Nancy made a wonderful Taco Salad and later we played a card game until 11pm. I lost terribly. So sad.

The whole day was like a real mini vacation. We hope to do it again soon. We have never been to Warm lake, so that might be the next adventure. And of course there will surely be Huckleberry picking in several weeks.

July 4th Cabin Trip

2006-07-08T16:37:00.000-06:00

Well, I think I'll start off the meat portion of this blog with a bit about the trip we all just got back from. Well Mom and Dad are still there, but my family just got back. I came back to Nampa a bit early because I had to work Thursday & Friday morning.

Anyhow, it was a fun trip. The time I was up there was pretty uneventful. We hung out with the Salisburys two of the days. We went swimming at their community pool and then on the 4th we went over to their place and had our own little fireworks show. Earlier in the day we all took turns going on little trips on the 4-wheelers.

The big incident happened while I was on the way home. Angie's cousin Chris went out 4-wheeling with Dan and he got in an accident! Not exactly sure how it happened but the basics are that he hit a rut and rolled over sideways-ish. He got lots of road-rash and he broke his fibula. The tire also blew and the wheel dented. He had to ride back on the back of the Honda with Dan and they had to drive slowly. Add the fact that Dan took a wrong turn somewhere and it took them both a long time to get back to the road. Dan did have his cell phone so he called and told everyone what happened and Angie and Alicia met them at the end of the trail and took Chris to the hospital. Dan took Dad back and they put the spare wheel on the Scrambler and were able to ride it back. Dan also spent a fair amount of the rest of the trip getting everything put back to normal. He ordered a new tire and wheel and cleaned the 4-wheelers up real good.

In othe news, we are gonna be an aunt and uncle! Apparently our children were not enough of a warning for Dan and Alicia and they decided to try parenthood for themselves.

Well that pretty much sums up the past couple weeks in a nutshell. Stay tuned for more breaking news.

Up and Running

2006-07-08T16:15:00.000-06:00

Just because Debbie is such a trendsetter and infected us all with this disease called blogging, I went ahead and created a Bartlow Family Blog that we can all use to keep everyone else updated on our lives.

This brings up an interesting question. Who should this blog be for? Meaning who has access to post here? Immediate family? Extended? Super-extended? Go ahead and post comments & responses.

Fun! Fun! Fun!