Just working on house stuff

Seems like we have been pretty busy lately. We got the keys to the house a couple weeks ago and have been going crazy cleaning/moving/fixing up things. The house was left pretty dirty by the previous owners. They packed up their stuff and left, not sweeping/vacuuming/wiping out cupboards or anything. Luckily we had the rental for a couple weeks after we got the keys so we weren't rushed to get everything in the house. We had time to clean and do some painting before we moved stuff in. The rooms don't really need painted, but we are doing them anyways so they are what we want. We order furniture last week and it should be coming this week. As soon as everything is finished painting and furniture in its place, we will take some more pics for everyone to see.

The living room with wall paper. It doesn't look that bad but we aren't big fans of wall paper. Started out to be a b**** to remove but Aubree figured it out and it went pretty quick.

This is what the wall paper looked like.

We gave ourselves a break from house work today and took a nice little hike to Halverson Lake this morning before it got too hot.

Lucy enjoys the water but still wont fully get in.

Old bridge near Celebration Park on the Snake River.

Same bridge, different view.

Lucy can't get enough of her back yard. This is how she spends most of her days.

And this is what she is watching.

Signing our life away

Well it's finally getting here. We just finished signing ALL the papers for the house. We heard from people that we should do wrist exercises before we went. We didn't believe them until we walked out all cramped up. The current owners of the house will be finishing moving out this weekend. We are going to meet with them tomorrow to do a walk-through and find out any little quirks about the house. We should be getting the keys Monday night. We are getting very excited and will put up some more pictures as soon as we get some. We would love to show everyone our house so you are all welcome at any time.

Shawna & Spud

As soon as they got here we headed to Buster's to watch the Cougs game.

They were more in to the game than Shawna and Aubree.

Sister Picture (minus Heather)Our Friend the Tiger at the Zoo.Prairie DogsJust chillin on a beautiful dayThere are no words for this. It's priceless.

Baby dinosaur being born

We won't mention who won the first game (because they lost horribly the second).

Trying to find some critters (found 32 deer, 3 coyote, 1 pug).

Shawna and Spud at Table Rock on Easter.

B'ham!

So we made it back to Bellingham last weekend. Of course it was nothing but the best. Flew in Friday around noon and got a rental car. Headed north in the pouring rain which confirmed our desire to move out of state. Hazen's old Boss, Ryan, plays in a band that was having a benefit concert at a local bar. We decided to surprise them with our presence. It was a great night. I won't say much about it, just let the pics speak for themselves. (Posted pics are family friendly. Email if you want the others) Just hung out and visited friends on Saturday then went to Heather's Saturday night. Aubree's parents, grandparents and aunt came for lunch. Was nice to get to visit them as well since we weren't making it further south. We are now resting up for a fun-filled weekend with Shawna and Spud.

1st stop: Bob's for a caesar

Getting started early

Heather, Katrina and Aubree

Not sure what's going on (late in the evening)Ryan

The gang

Sister Picture (minus Shawna)

May or may not have had a few. You guess.

Lunch at Bucca Di Beppo with Heather, Ryan and Ryan's parents

Don't forget Dad, Mom and the grandparents

Joshua. What a cute kid.

Not pictured at lunch: Aunt Dawn and Grandma Patricia

Barry and Teri

Barry and Teri came to visit us this past weekend. We had a great time with them. They flew in Friday night and we had a nice dinner and chatted. We were all up pretty early on Saturday and ready to hit the streets. We started off with a big breakfast at Elmer's then got to show them our new house (only the outside though) and Hazen's new office. There were requests to go to Cabela's (not mentioning who made them) so we also enjoyed that. There was just enough time for a quick nap before heading to Buster's Sports Bar to watch the Cougs (who beat UW 76-73 in double OT). Unfortunately we didn't get to watch any of the overtime play. We had reserved tickets online for a movie that started just after the game was suppose to be over.

Sunday was a pretty relaxed, easy day. After breakfast we headed up to Table Rock that overlooks the city. Got to see some wild life in the foothills. We took a great walk along the greenbelt to enjoy the great weather we were having. We then went to the zoo which had opened it's regular season which in turn meant it was much more crowded than last time we were there. After an early dinner at Applebee's Barry and Teri had to get back to the airport. It seemed like a short visit but it was worth it. We had a great time and can't wait for our next guests in a couple weeks.

Barry and Teri at Table Rock overlooking Boise and the Owyhee Mountains

Us at Table Rock with the foothills behind us

Trying to get Lucy to fetch in the river (she almost got one stick). I don't think she knows the doggy paddle.

Soaking up the sun!

How sweet

Doing stretches

Lucy's exhausted

Snow, Snow & More Snow

We had a little break from the snow but got hit with another round Friday morning. Luckily it warmed up and melted away by the afternoon. Hazen's boss owns a cabin in Cascade, ID and let us borrow it for the weekend. I have never seen so much snow in my life. There had to have been at least 3 feet! We had a bit of a hard time finding the place but finally made it. When we pulled up, Hazen went to unlock the door and found about 18 deer greeting him in the front yard (or what would have been a yard if there was no snow). They were everywhere. We had a good time and it was nice to get away for the weekend.

On another note, We are buying a house!!! We put in an offer last week and after a few rounds of counter-offers, it has been accepted. The inspection is on Monday and as long as everything goes well, the closing date is April 1. We are very excited and can't wait to have visitors to show it off (hint, hint).

Lucy playing in the snow

Tree covered in snow

Sweet Billy 3's!

Lucy loves to dig in the snow with her face. She's so cute!

Front view of the house we are hopefully buying

Back yard. It even has fruit tress.The kitchen which will eventually need updated.

Large living room which will look even emptier since we have no furniture

Sun room (or bar)

Winter Wonderland

Seems like forever since Travis and Sarah were here but it's only been a few weeks. Seems like we have been very busy though all we have been doing is working. Hazen has been going nuts at work with all this snow we are getting. It has snowed pretty much every day for the last 2 weeks. Hazen's lanscape company also does snow removal and de-icing in the winter. His crews go out in the middle of the night to have parking lots and side walks cleared before morning traffic. He has had to go out a few times as well. Aubree has still been working 4 days a week (Hygiene 2 days, Assisting 2 days). There seems to be no end in sight yet for getting a new assistant in to take over. Would be nice though so I can get out and pass out resumes to find another hygiene job for the other two days. It's nice to be getting paid for full time though so we aren't complaining.

We had some good times this weekend. Got up early on Saturday and headed down to BSU to watch Barack Obama speak. Got there around 6:30 and the doors opened at 7:00. There were already thousands of people in line ahead of us. Stood outside in the freezing cold for awhile before we made it in to the warmth of the arena. They definitely packed the place and it was a great experience to see him speak. We may go to the caucus on Tuesday night but not sure yet. They are expecting it to take about 4 hours and it doesn't start until 7pm.

Later Saturday night, Aubree's cousin Jared showed up in Boise. He is on his way to Virginia for the Navy and stopped here for the night. Sounds like he had quite the drive with the weather. Usually takes us about 8 hours and it took him 11. I think the snow cloud followed him the whole way here. He took off this morning in more snow and will be in it all day again. Hopefully he makes it there safely. Was great to get to visit him while he was here.

Enjoyed watching the Super Bowl today. Great game! If only the Hawks were there. We were going to have some friends over to watch the game with us but one of them wasn't feeling well so they decided to stay home. Would have been fun to have them over. Well, that is about all that we have been up to. Hope everyone is doing well. Take care.

The coyotes have been going crazy around here. We hear them every night across the street. This one came out the other morning and was just trotting up the road.

At the Obama rally. They only expected about 9,000 and got 13,000 to fill the stadium and extras outside that didn't make it in.

Barack Obama in Boise!