Snow, No Snow, Gumbo, Christmas, Birthdays and More?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to Everyone!!!
We hope that you all had a grand Christmas holiday and will have a fantastic New Year! Here in Idaho we have enjoyed a quiet (?) long weekend at home this past weekend. Having been a long time since we blogged, much has transpired.
We have enjoyed getting together with friends and family. A few weeks ago we made gumbo, Louisiana style. Cobi and I learned how to schuck oysters!

From 12142008

From 12142008

The gumbo was fair, think I'll make my own caribbean style sometime soon, without oysters! The hurricanes were flowing and the company was awesome, Ashley & Lucas, Kirin & Zeke and Eric & Emily! We played the game Apples to Apples well into the wee morning.
Then, it snowed and snowed.

From 12142008

From 12142008

We drove around with hot chocolate to look at lights and get into the holiday spirit on the 23rd. This house is down the street from us and there is not an inch that isn't covered with a light!

From Christmas break 2008

This one is an awesome Christmas dragon! Up the hill behind our neighborhood:

From Christmas break 2008

After a short work week, Kyme got off work early on Wednesday the 24th to bake pies and get the house ready. Paul (Kyme's Dad) came over and we enjoyed burritos before opening gifts and getting into the pie early.
Dad had a little help from Oscar to open his gifts:

From Christmas break 2008

Jordan loved her gifts and especially the PS2 game, she hasn't stopped playing it much since xmas!

From Christmas break 2008

Fire lit and stockings hung with care

From Christmas break 2008

CeeCee opening her gift

From Christmas break 2008

Aika opening hers

From Christmas break 2008

Upon waking the next morning Cobi got to open his birthday gifts in bed to start a fun day! Christmas morning came with full stockings for all puppies, kitties and kids and we enjoyed opening them as well before watching movies.
Oscar opening his stocking

From Christmas break 2008

The girls getting some help from Mom to open theirs

From Christmas break 2008

In the afternoon Kyme made dinner: ham, potatoes and trimmings and afterwards we relaxed. Friday morning Jordan made pancakes for breakfast in bed for Kyme's Birthday, (they were super yummy!). After milling about during a mellow morning at home we went out to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and enjoyed the story immensely. Then home again to hang out for awhile playing Wow until our dinner plans that night. We met a big group of friends at Burger and Brew for big messy cheeseburgers and drinks. It was so great to see everyone turn out to celebrate both our birthdays. That night after bringing home some great homemade mint fudge and one last piece of cheesecake however, CeeCee ate them both while we weren't looking! We were pretty worried about her but the worst of it was a very bad tummy ache for her and some really bad doggie farts for us, Ew!!
Sick puppy!

From Christmas break 2008

Saturday and Sunday we chilled out at home playing new games...
Oscar helping Cobi

From Christmas break 2008

...and just enjoying our house while the snow fell and fell outside. We ended up with over a foot of snow on Saturday and then rain on Sunday so most of it melted away. :( Wish we would have gotten pictures of it but you'll have to use your imaginations, it was white if that helps. :P
Hope everyone is doing great and having a wonderful holiday season. We miss and love you all!!

Two Lies and a Truth

I was tagged by Amber to post 2 lies and a truth. Can you guess which one is true?

#1 At a retail job when I was younger, going to college and living in Washington, my friend and I were the assistant managers. One day one of our co-workers got arrested for cooking the books at our location. She called my friend and asked him to bail her out. We agreed and she gave us her debit card and pin # to remove enough money for the bail, about $500. After getting the money, we talked about it for a little bit and came to the realization that, since our co-worker was 17, we'd be responsible for her getting to court, etc, if we bailed her out. We did not trust or know her well enough to take that responsibility. We ended up picking up 2 other friends and driving to the casino on the nearby Indian reservation, getting a little tipsy on our supermarket purchases along the way. We blew all the bail money at the casino and called the co-worker to let her know that we had informed her parents as to what had been going on and that they could bail her out. Yes, we did end up paying her back for the bail money, but the fun we had was priceless.

#2 This one spring, about ten years ago, I was sitting in Mile Ten hot springs after a long (10 mile!) hike in with a good friend of mine. We had planned to spend the weekend camping near the hot spring for some much needed time away from civilization. We had finished setting up camp and had just settled into the springs when we heard some rustling from the nearby dogwood bushes. We figured it was probably an elk since there were tons in the area and just watched attentively as the rustling proved to be coming closer. We were already trying to be very still and quiet in the hopes to not scare the elk away when to our shock and utter terror, not an elk but a bear came out of said bushes. The friend I was with also happened to be an experienced outdoorsman so we trusted each other’s judgment to continue sitting as still and quiet as possible in hopes this furry terror would move on without incident. After some very excruciatingly long moments where we held our breath and this meandering ursus took forever to finish sniffing the bushes, the bear finally walked on leaving us what we hoped was quite alone. It took us almost an hour before we felt like we could relax and slip out of the springs but it was an awesome story to tell when we got back to work the next week.

#3 When I was 19 I moved to Northern Cali to be closer to my brother. I had trouble finding housing and eventually took a room in a 20 something’s house. He seemed normal, outdoorsy, had two wolf hybrid dogs and a garden, so I figured we’d get on well. A few days after I moved into the house we had a night of roommate getting to know each other drunkenness involving fresh crabs from the coast and way too much tequila. I don’t remember much past about 10pm (yes this was back when I was a lightweight!) When I awoke in the morning, well, when I was awoken at 5am, I was ordered to get in the car. In my still drunken haze I did just that not really knowing what was up and promptly passed back out again once in the passenger seat. When I awoke again of my own accord I found myself in the car of my new roommate about two hours from our home. I was pleasantly informed that I was in control of the situation, as long as I behaved, nothing bad would happen to me as he had guns with him and that we were on our way to a camping trip in the Trinidad forest area of Northern Cali. We arrived at a trailhead, donned packs (he had packed his clothing for me along with boots and extra socks so I could wear enough pairs to make the boots fit) and began to hike. After hiking all day we made camp. I asked how far I could roam and he agreed the nearby creek where he could see me would be fine. I did so, found a nice flat rock and at once began to cry which grew into a wail of epic proportion. Alarmed, my lovely roommate rushed to me and asked what I was doing. I explained I was mourning since he just took me out of my life and couldn’t I at least do that. Oddly enough, he was touched and agreed that it wasn’t fair of him to do so and if I wanted we could hike back out tomorrow. Tentatively I agreed that this was what I wanted to do. I didn’t sleep much, go figure, and was trepidatious the entire next day as we hiked out, got in the car, drove back to the house and went inside. As soon as I was alone for a moment in the house, I left and biked to my brother’s house 30miles up the coastal highway where I stayed until I could get my things and move back to Idaho! My residence in California lasting a whopping 2 weeks.


Post a comment to leave your guess. After a few guesses I'll post the answer. And I tag Nicki!

Christmas Season Has Begun!

This weekend marked the beginning of the Christmas season for us in more ways than one. We purchased our big family present, went to a Christmas parade and tree lighting and cut our Christmas tree.
Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful and mellow with Kyme's dad on Thursday evening. There was cooking all day and the house was warm and full of the smells of Thanksgiving, the sounds of football and the luxury of relaxation.

Dinner

From 11282008

Teenager starting without us~

From 11282008

Applie Pie!

From 11282008

Martha Stewart, eat your heart out :P

From 11282008

On Friday we woke up a little earlier than usual for us on a weekend to actually head out shopping on Black Friday, and headed to RC Willey to purchase our new TV at a great price. It's a 46" Samsung and it's purty.

From 11282008

After that we went to cut our little Christmas tree at Victory Tree farm which is actually a small residential lot very near our home, owned by a sweet older woman named Irene. We picked out our cute little tree and they cut it for us right then. We decorated it as soon as we arrived home, making our house very festive and ready for the holidays.

From 11282008

From Xmas Parade, etc

Saturday we went to the Christmas parade downtown with some friends. The parade was so-so (too many cars, not enough marching bands and definitely not enough candy canes handed out!), but it was nice to be out with friends. Kyme went out geocaching afterwards with the whole group and then to the tree lighting and caroling in the grove downtown. That evening we watched a movie in our new living room cinema! :D
Our Friends at the Holiday parade:

From Xmas Parade, etc

SANTA!!!

From Xmas Parade, etc

We took Sunday to finish up a few chores around the house and relax before starting the work week :( We look forward to having our holidays at home! No snow yet, but it will most likely start in the next week or so. We hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, we miss you all!

There is a Fine Line

There is a fine line between Autumn and Winter. It is when the Earth tilts just far enough to change the smell in the air from fall leaves to the crisp cold scent of snow. We went from our first anniversary to getting ready for our first Christmas in our home. Below is a picture of a plaque commemorating our first anniversary.

From Donnelly 112208

Last weekend it was fall and we entertained a bit. I had been needing to connect with my girlfriends who are just amazing and felt a wine party was just the ticket. So Cobi had to deal with a house full of laughing women and even played taxi when needed! I showcased my cast which I finally finished.

From Donnelly 112208

From Donnelly 112208

This past weekend Jordan flew to Seattle to visit with her Dad there. We put her on a plane late Friday night so that she could spend some time visiting.
Here are some pics from her trip:

From Donnelly 112208

Seattle skyline

From Donnelly 112208

Ok, this is an entire building covered with GUM! Ew! :)

From Donnelly 112208

Cobi and I took the opportunity to drive up to Donnelly north of Boise in the mountains to visit with our friends Ray and Christie.
We did some geocaching and drove the mountain roads in the snow! It was cold but we had a great time.

From Donnelly 112208

From Donnelly 112208

Afterward we warmed up in Gold Fork Hot Springs. This place is beautiful with large yummy pools full of relaxing hot water. Ahhhh.

From Donnelly 112208

Mostly we hung out at the house and just spent time with each other. It was a very nice and relaxing weekend. Much needed before we prepare for Thanksgiving this week!

Halloween and a Scary First

Fall has arrived with all its beautiful color and dreariness. It's been raining here, well, drizzling at least, for almost a week off and on. But we've been having fun with the activities that bring in the holiday season!

From Halloween and Anniversary 2008

We hope everyone had a great Halloween. We had fun decorating the front of the house this year as we do every year and now are just waiting for this rainy drizzle to subside so that we can put away our decorations and finish getting the yard ready for the fall. Jordan was a great help with all the artistic organization of the decorations.
Front of house

From Halloween and Anniversary 2008

We carved pumpkins as well, Jordan's friend Sarah came over and they did a huge pumpkin with a face on each side. The thing took up half the porch! Here is the result of my pumpkiny carving fun;

From Halloween and Anniversary 2008

Jordan came to my office after school one day and helped me decorate. Our efforts paid off as my office won the 'best decorations' contest.

From Halloween and Anniversary 2008

I dressed as a pirate for our work celebration.

From Halloween and Anniversary 2008

Jordan changed her mind very late in the evening and decided to dress up as a zombie. She looked very scary but we didn't get pictures it was later in the evening. She had a good time handing out candy to the handful of trick or treaters we did have. Bummer we don't get more, seems like that tradition is going by the wayside quickly.
On Saturday I put a plan into motion for our first anniversary. The first is paper so I made little origami cranes that had clues written on the inside of them. I told Cobs I was going to the grocery and had Jordan give him the first clue 15 minutes after I left. It sent him upstairs to change into clothes I had laid out for him and get another clue from Jordan. His second clue sent him to our friend Eric's house where I had planted a bottle of Italian champagne and another clue. This clue sent him to our friend Ashley's house to pick up flowers and another clue. The final clue sent him to a historic B&B in the north end JJ Shaw house where I was waiting for him on the staircase landing in my wedding dress. For those of you who don't know, Cobi has never seen me in my dress, we ended up getting married by a friend who is a judge at the courthouse instead of having a big wedding. So he walked in and started crying, there was soft music playing and it was so sweet to feel like we had just gotten married all over again.

From Halloween and Anniversary 2008

We sat in the parlor and chatted for a bit then went to our room and changed. We stayed in Shaw's retreat, which is a suite that takes up the entire attic space of this old house.

From Halloween and Anniversary 2008

The house is gorgeous having been built in 1907 and kept in pristine shape. That evening we walked through a fall drizzle and crunchy leaves to the Hyde Park area of Boise and had dinner at a nice restaraunt called the Bungalow. It was very charming, the atmosphere was perfect and laid back and the food was wonderful as well. Unfortunately, after we arrived back at our B&B I was very sick most of the night, but Cobi played nursemaid very well. The next morning we had pancakes for breaky and due to being very tired, went home early where we took it easy the rest of the day. It was a bummer getting sick but we did enjoy the time together which we spent reminiscing and chatting and just enjoying each other's company.
Thank you to all our good friends who helped make our Anniversary very special. Hope everyone had a great Halloween and wonderful weekend as we did. We miss and love you all so much!! K,C&J

Vacation in California!

Well, last week we travelled to Southern California to visit Cobi's family. We left early Saturday morning for a week of fun. After a stop in Salt Lake City, we arrived in San Diego about noon. We headed straight from the airport up to Irvine, CA to visit Cobi's brother's family. The girls have grown so much in the past year! We had a great visit with them and then stole their car for the week (thank you Tory and Maria!) and drove back down to Momma's house.
Waking up early Sunday we drove on out to see Aunt Betty in Palm Desert. Aunt Betty told story after story and we chatted for many hours before we had to regretfully leave back to San Marcos.

From CA Trip 1008

Monday we "packed" up and headed for the beach. After walking along the coast for awhile, we checked into our hotel in Carlsbad. (Thanks Gioi!)

From CA Trip 1008

Tuesday, after pawning Jordan off on Momma (thanks Momma!), we headed out on a boat for a fishing adventure! We had a great time and Kyme fed lots of seals! After about 5 hours and no bites, Cobi finally hooked a small bass, but ended up tossing it back in because it was too small to keep.

From CA Trip 1008

From CA Trip 1008

We spent Tuesday evening having dinner with Cobi's dad and then sitting on the beach.
Wednesday, Kyme and Cobi took the day for themselves and headed down to Point Loma to see Jerry Gontag play at Desi and Friends; a small, but wonderful bar. We ended up going to the Cabrillo National Monument beforehand and had fun in the tide pools and exploring the lighthouse.

From CA Trip 1008

From CA Trip 1008

From CA Trip 1008

From CA Trip 1008

Thursday brought the Jimmy Buffett concert. We hooked up with a few new friends we met the night previous at the bar and had a blast pre-concert! (Hi Cheri, Little Sue and Suz!) The concert itself was okay, but something felt a bit off. We had great fun though!
Friday was a day for relaxing and we made the most of it. After waking up slow, we did a few errands and then swam in the pool for a bit before ending up in Momma's jacuzzi for a bit.
Saturday we celebrated Tory's 35th birthday, which was actually on Friday. The whole family came together at Momma's and we had a great time. It was the first time in a long time that all the family was together in one room. I'm so thankful to be a member of such a blessed family! We went swimming with the girls and had dinner and cake to celebrate.

From CA Trip 1008

From CA Trip 1008

From CA Trip 1008

From CA Trip 1008

Alas, Sunday came and we had to head back to Idaho. One last stop to gaze at the ocean and it was off to the airport.

Thank you Momma for all you have done and continue to do to make the world a better place for all of us. I can not imagine how hard you have worked and still do work. Your generosity and love knows no bounds and is appreciated more than I can ever tell you. We miss you all terribly, but know that we will be together again soon. Thank you, Miss you, Love you.