Tobias and Friends

Catch Up

2010-01-23T09:08:00.000-08:00

Well as usual I have been really busy and I have let too much time get away from me. I haven't posted in quite a while so I thought that I would do a quick photo post.

I forgot Halloween

2009-11-19T15:09:00.000-08:00

Well Toby had his fist trick or treating experience this year. We went to mom and Joes to go door to door. Toby dressed as a Dragon he was so cute in his costume....I love Old Navy.
Ayway here are the photos

October and Half of November in Review

2009-11-19T08:35:00.000-08:00

Well another month has gone by and I need to update you all on what is going on here at our house.....Well since the last post we went on our annual hunting trip over to Stan and Beavers house. This year i had two tags to fill, one buck and one doe. I filled my doe tag on the Sunday of opening weekend. Troy hunted the next three days and filled his tag on that Wednesday his buck was a really nice 4x3 mule deer that weighed in at 205 pounds dressed. I hunted with Stan for the next two days and got my buck Friday evening at dusk, it was my first whitetail with a nice 4x4 rack. The day before getting my buck Stan and i got to see the biggest white tail deer that we have ever seen I wish that we could have been able to get a picture because he was indescribable and everyone thought that it was a "fish story" when we came back to the house. Anyway we had a really good time over on the other side and Toby really enjoyed himself too.

We arrived home from hunting on Saturday the 24th of October to find that our well was not working, so we had to wait until morning to call the repair man. It wasn't anything major just the cylinoid on the electrical had gone bad. We got the well repaired just in time to get showers in and go over to Seattle to watch the final regular season Sounders game against Dallas. The Sounders won that game and went on to the Playoffs. We made it to the first playoff game against Houston where the Sounders tied.

As you all may know Toby is supposed to be going to a speech therapy school soon. Well Ifound out Yesterday that he starts on Friday he will be going once a week for 30 minutes to start out. I am excited and can't wait for him to start using his words. I will try and update tomorrow or Saturday with Pictures of his first day.

Long Overdue

2009-10-11T14:41:00.000-07:00

Well the last time I posted was the day before Toby's 2nd birthday so a lot has taken place since then. Toby is still on the potty training wagon and going strong very few accidents these days. Toby has not really said one word up until yesterday so he has to go to a special school called Holly Ridge we have had an over the phone consultation with one of the therapists already and an in home one takes place the week on Wednesday., and two more inpatient consults in November. Yesterday he said his very first clear word, I bet you are wondering if it was Momma or Dadda.........Nope neither of those fit the bill his first word was NO! very loud and clear he kept saying it over and over if we asked him something.

Toby had a great B-day we took a weekend and went camping in Sequim an he received a new shiny red Radio Flyer Wagon from my mom and a new dump truck and soccer clothes from Troy and I.

The house I listed in August just closed and I have spent the last 2 weeks moving my business from Reid Real Estate to Dale Waters Real Estate. it is a much smaller company and the commission disbursements are much better there. i needed to be able to keep as much of the hard earned money that I make in my own pocket and not give it to a company that does nothing for me. I have a new e-mail so those of you that need it please call me or troy to get our new e-mails. Troy has his own e-mail account now as well.

Troy has been keeping pretty busy these last few months working for KO Construction with our friend Ken. Winter is sneaking up on us quick so his work will slow down a little as will mine.

Well enough with the babble here are the pics....

Big Boy Potty!

2009-08-12T18:11:00.000-07:00

Well Toby has decided that he is done with diapers, he did this all on his own. It all started the other day when he took his pants and diaper off and opened up his potty chair and went. he did it without us telling him or teaching him to do so. he refuses to wear a diaper or even pull ups now unless it is bed time or time to go in the car. I am so astonished at this new development. I was thinking that we would wait until he started talking. That way we could at least communicate with him and he with us on when it was time for him to use the potty. I guess they just know when they are ready. Troy joked around and stated that he will just potty train himself whether we are ready for it or not.....now I am beginning to think that he is right.

Picture Catch Up Post

2009-08-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

Enjoy...............................

Third of July at Justin's house

Fourth of July

Random Pics

Mariner's Baseball in Style

2009-08-09T18:57:00.000-07:00

Today I went to a mariner's game with my best friend Tammy. Her parents gave us the tickets to the exclusive Diamond club seating .....right on the field. i could not believe the seats you could see everything. you could actually hear the crack of the bats and the slap of the ball in the catchers glove. I was able to get a ball that was used in the game and get it signed by one of the pitchers # 48 Ian Snell, I also got him a few other prises for his birthday. The pictures are enough to speak for themselves. Troy called me twice during the game to inform me that i was on TV, how cool is that? here are the photos......Enjoy

Hard at Work

2009-08-04T20:44:00.001-07:00

Well a lot has happened since Toby and i got back from vacation. like the 4th of July, Kaelee, Shawn, and the Girls came up from Texas to visit. Troy and I went to a Sounder's Game where they played the European team Chelsea and lost. It has been extraordinarily hot up until yesterday. last of all I have not had a spare moment to think really since i returned, which leads me to think........Why do I go on vacation? Things seem to be more chaotic when i return from vacation that they are before I leave.

Well Friday I was contacted by a new (well new to me) Financial corporation to market their properties. The first one that I have on the list is a remodeled home on Hood Canal. This house is selling for so much below its market value it is not even funny. If I had the funds to buy this I would it is so nice out there.

I am having technical difficulties with photos at the moment but i promise to add photos tomorrow.

Day's 11 - 14

2009-07-27T08:56:00.000-07:00

Well i know that this is a little late on my part but I thought that since i had a free day that I would update you on the last part of our trip.

Yellowstone was fun Toby had a blast he especially liked the buffalo and riding on my back in the backpack. we were able to see much of the park wile we were there as well as almost every king of wild animal you can think of including big bull elk.

In our campground there were a few resident buffalo that would wander through. We had a few close calls with one of them at one point I had to grab Toby and hide out in my mom's car. On another occasion I had put Toby to sleep one night and no more than 5 minutes later one came within 5 feet of the tent.......... needless to say i was freaking out a bit, that is just too close for my comfort.

I would post pictures but it seems that they magically disappeared off of my external hard drive along with all the others from my trip.

Days 3-10

2009-06-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

Well while at my sister's house in Minnesota I had no Internet connection so I could not update daily.

On Sunday, day 3 we arrived at Emily's Sunday evening at around 5:30 Central Time (for those who do not know that is 2 hours ahead).

Monday was a rest day, we just sat around for the most part with the exception of some grocery shopping. for dinner we BBQ'd in the backyard. The temperature there on Monday was 90 degrees and it was for casted to be even hotter on Tuesday.
They are currently re-paving the road the sides my sister's house and there are large rollers and dump trucks parked there and working during the day. Toby absolutely loves tractors and dump trucks, he had so much fun looking at them and telling us all about them.

Tuesday It was supposed to be hot so we packed up the kids (Mariah, Thomas, and Toby) and headed to the Mall of America in Minneapolis. We could not all fit in one car so it was my mom, Toby, Mariah, and myself in one car and Thomas and Emily in the other. We were less than 2 miles from the mall when my sister was involved in a minor fender bender this needless to say started put a minor dent in our day. No one was injured and we continued on to the mall as planned.
Our main reason for going to the mall was that they have a full array of aquatic life in an exhibit called the Under Water Adventure. Toby absolutely loved this we went through it twice. they have many different tanks with several species of fish, sharks, and rays.

On Wednesday my mom, Thomas, Toby and I took a trip to the next town over to go to the outlet malls to scope it out. We found some good deals on Crock shoes and some other items.

Thursday mom and I decided that we were going to leave on Friday to make our way to Yellowstone National Park. I felt that a good meal was in order so I bought a good sized Chuck roast and did it up on the BBQ with some salad.

Friday we hit the road........YELLOWSTONE HERE WE COME!

our first stop on this leg of the trip was a set up town called 1880's town, this is a set that had been brought in for tourists to explore and see how things appeared in the old west.

The next stop was the Southern Badlands of South Dakota. This landscape is absolutely amazing, we arrived as a storm was brewing over the badlands, I will include a few pictures here but when I return home I will post a full post labeled SD Badlands. When the storm hit us at full strength we had to pull off of the road as we could not see the hood of the car it was raining so hard. Where we pulled off there was a suburban that was about 10 feet in front of us at time we could not even see it. The wind was blowing so hard it felt like the car was going to be turned on its side. After the storm passed it was as if it never happened sunny and bright.......AMAZING!

These pictures appear in order taken

After the amazing storm and the beautiful views of the southern Badlands we made our way to Sturgis, South Deckota. By the time we got in to the hotel it was 7:30 mountain time 1 hour ahead of Pacific, We had left Emily's at 7:30 Central total road time 13 hours.......Toby's awsome not one wimper.

Saturday.....Yesterday Day 9

We left Sturgis for a day of exploration and fun around 7:30 Mountian time. Our first stop Crazy Horse Monument, this was a really neat place they are working on the monument that began in the 1940's it is not even close to being finished at this point. I have included pictues of the monument and the model sculpture that it is suposed to look like upon completion. The Mount Rushmore National Monument can fit under the chin of the Crazy Horse Monument....Amazing!

After Crazy horse we whent to Mount Rushmore, I have never been here before so it was exciting to me to see it. This is truely an awe inspiring site and human accomplishment.

The last scenic stop on this day's journey was the Devil's Tower National Monument, this is an amaizing view at the wonder that nature can create.

We stayed in Gillette and arived around 6:30 PM anouther long day for Toby but he is still a trooper.

Sunday.....Today My Mom's B-Day

GToay we had a short day we started out around 8:00 Am or so and drove through a really pretty pass that had views that seemed as if we were on top of the world at the highest elevation marker I noticed it read 9,430 feet.....WOW that's high.

We arrived at our destination of Cody Wyoming at around 1:00 PM we did some needed shopping and sightseeing. We toured an old trail town that had many neat features and history about it. Afterwards I took my mom out for diner and then it was to the hotel for relaxation.

Tomorrow........ON TO YELLOWSTONE!

I will not update until we return home.

Travel Days 1 & 2

2009-06-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Well as many of you know Toby, Grandma Debi, and I are traveling to see my sister in Minnesota. So far we have had a good time. here is how it has gone so far:

Day One...........

We left town at around 5:00 AM
Lunch at Hot Rod cafe in Post Falls Idaho......Stan and Beaver should know this one
We stayed in Butte Montana last night......arrival was around 6:00 PM
Toby insisted right away that he have a bath.......He loves his baths, so cute

Pics of day one,

Day Two:

Ate Breakfast in Hotel at around 8:00 AM and left Butte shortly after
Stopped at Cabela's in Billings Montana where Toby reluctantly posed for photos by the game trophies and large display fish tanks......Man he loves those fish.
after driving for most of the day we took a side trip to see the Northern Bad Lands of North Dakota.......We saw so many different wild animals up close and personal, unfortunately I can't post all of the cool view pictures and animal photos from this part of the trip until I return home, the Internet connection here is just too slow to post to many photos.......Look for the upcoming Cool Vacation Photo Show to follow.

List of wild animals seen today

Turkeys.....Tom and Hen
Horses.....One pregnant
Buffalo....Huge
Antelope.....Shedding
Prairie Dogs.....Funny

Here are a few photos from today,

Troy's Soccer B-Day

2009-06-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

WELL A FEW DAYS EARLY ANYWAY.....................

Well on Wednesday Troy and I dropped Toby off at Grandma Debi and Grandpa Joe's for a sleepover so that we could take a trip to Seattle for a Sounders game. We had a really great time the Sounders played DC United. they made a good run for the win however in the final minutes of th game they managed to lose the lead. They did however end with a tie of 3 - 3 which of coarse is much better than a loss.

This was Troy's B-Day before Toby and I had to leave for Minnesota to see Aunt Emily and Toby's cousins Mariah and Thomas.

Pictures are posted below.............

Long Time No Post

2009-06-04T09:35:00.000-07:00

Well I do have to apologize for not posting in a while. I have been really busy lately and I have had a hard time keeping up. Well in the last few months Toby has really grown he is no longer wearing his first pairs of shoes. We had to get new ones a few days ago. He had a pair of imitation crocks that i got him last Halloween and they were his favorite but now they don't fit. I bought him a new pair that are similar in color and i had to hide the old ones from him.

The weather has been really nice the last few days and Toby insists on being outside so I have been trying to get my work done in the morning before he wakes up and at night after Dinner when Troy is home to take over.

I had a bet with Troy's good friend Tom that I made back in November, the bet was that I would lose 45 pounds by May 15th. If I won the bet he and his wife Ester would provide a Prime Rib roast for dinner one night and if I won Troy and i would supply the roast. Well needless to say I lost the bet I was 10 pounds shy of my goal. We had a great dinner and i am still proud of my accomplishment. I am now only 5 pounds away and i am feeling great.

Toby really likes to help me out in the yard. We planted a garden a few weeks ago and Toby insisted on helping me dig holes and plant seeds. I let him plant the sweet peas all by himself, they just started sprouting up out of the ground the other day. So far this is the biggest garden i have ever done. We have red sweet corn, variegated sweet corn, Red and white onions, Peas, Bush and pole beans, Peppers of all kinds and heats, Tomatoes, squash, cucumber, cantaloupe, watermelon, giant pumpkins, and baby jack pumpkins.

The other day Troy's boss Ken bought Toby a little wheel barrel. Toby loves it he fills it with rocks and dirt and then carts it around the yard. He has all of his own yard tools just like mine and he follows my example. he is so cute when he helps me out in the yard. now all he needs is a little lawn mower.

A few weeks ago my computer crashed and I had to get a new one. At the time I had the largest workload I had ever had. This made life really difficult since all of my work is done on line and with a new computer that I was not familiar with it made my days really long. I am just now back up to speed.

We bought a new truck for Troy not brand new but new to us. We now officially have a parking lot in our yard. i can not wait to get rid of some vehicles we have 5 trucks right now. We have the old red Chevy that Troy bought for $600 eight years ago, the white Chevy, the Bronco, my Toyota, and the new Green Chevy. We are going to sell the white Chevy and possibly the Bronco. The red Chevy is supposed to got to Stan and Beavers sometime soon I think. and then we will only have 2 trucks again..... Man that would be nice.

We have been out on the lake a few times with Toby. he seems to really enjoy himself when we go. We even got him his very first fishing license so that he can go with troy fishing and crabbing this summer.

Well enought with the rambling on............. HERE ARE THE PHOTOS!!!

NO! MINE!

2009-04-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Well today I went out to get a new pair of Teva flip flops and Toby immediately decided that they were his. it was as if he was saying No1 Mine every time he saw them in the truck until we got home. I went to put them on once at home and he again with the No! Mine! and tugging at them to get them off of my feet so that he can wear them. After a few minutes of this routine I decided to let him have them for a few minutes until he decided that his shoes are a better fit for his little feet. it was too cute to watch him wear them around the living room.

All the shoes in the house are Toby's, or so he thinks.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ahhh... Spring

2009-04-11T17:17:00.000-07:00

Well I meant to post this earlier this week, more like on Monday night but I got distracted. Any way here is how the week went.

I had promised Troy that if he help me build the patio area that i would buy him a new grill. Our old one was in shambles and in dire need of replacement so this was not a big deal for me to get a new on. Especially since we grill often in the summer and even in the winter months.

New Grill

New Grill

Old Grill...... See it has no legs and the grill on the inside is so thin that it is really hard to cook on.

I was surprised that Troy did not want a different grill as I let him pick with no price range. I even pointed out grills that had higher prices and he still went with the good old large Weber charcoal grill.

Sunday and Monday Toby, Troy and i spent a lot of time outside as the weather was finally nice and warm. It was in the 70's both days. Finally spring like weather oh how I wish it would have stayed that way. Anyway i have some good pictures of Toby playing outside in the sunshine.

Troy joined a soccer league last week and played his first game last week. His team plays on Tuesday nights in Poulsbo at the Zone Sport Center. this week he injured himself pretty badly by pulling his Quadriceps in his right leg. i have never seen a strain so bad but it is bruised terribly and swollen like a water melon. I feel really bad for him. I says he should have stayed retired in the soccer department. I don't think that he has played that badly for someone who hasn't played in over ten years, i know i wouldn't be able to play as well and it has been about the same for me.

2009-04-04T12:30:00.000-07:00

Troy, Toby and myself would like to say that we are all saddened by the lost of Troy's cousin Syril Wolf. Our condolences go out to the family as we know he will be missed by all. May he rest in peace.

This Week In Review

That deal I have been working on has finally closed and i have been able to relax for the last few days. What a load off of my mind. I have never had such a stressful time with my work as i have for the last few months trying to get this one deal together. Even when Troy and i bought our house it wasn't as stressful and believe me that one was difficult.

The gym i go to has an incentive program that I signed up for in January and on of the incentives was a 30 minute session with a trainer. Well i cashed in on it this Wednesday and i am now on a set program that I do every time i go to the gym. I have done it 3 days in a row and man i tell you what I wish I had done it sooner. I had been stuck in a rut for the last month or so and now i am getting back on track.

As for Toby he has decided that the house belongs to him and that his toys do not belong in his toy box. instead they belong all over the house. You can not walk anywhere without possibly injuring yourself by stepping on a toy and trying to catch your balance. We try to keep his toys picked up but as soon as we put them away he is right back at it and spreading them throughout the house.

I do not have any new pictures this week but i will try and get some going for a picture post.

Soccer Saturday

2009-03-29T12:24:00.000-07:00

Well yesterday Toby got to have a sleep over at Grandma Debi's and Grandpa Joe's house while Troy and i went over to Seattle to catch the second home game of the season for the new MLS team the Seattle Sounders. I have never been to a major soccer event and I had a blast. The crowd was crazy loud and our seats were awesome we could see everything. I don't think that we sat down at all in the 90 plus minutes of the game. What a rush! The Sounders won 2-0 making them so far undefeated. We were looking into getting partial season tickets but i looked today and they are all sold out with the exception of the really expensive sets. When i looked last week they still had all different packages, I should have bought them then. Anyway I will still try and get a few sets of tickets but i am not going to wait like I did with the partial season tickets or I know I will not be able to get them.

I Hate the Cable Company, VENT

2009-03-22T18:54:00.000-07:00

Well last night I turned on the T.V. to find that my on demand was not working and neither was the guide for my cable. So I call Comcast yet again and complain. I spent an hour on the line with the lady until finally she set another appointment for someone to come out and fix things. The appointment time frame was to be sometime between 2:00 and 6:00 PM. Well at 10:00 AM the guy calls and asks to come early. I was actually surprised, EARLY! Well of course when the guy got here the problem was gone. So he just checked a few things I signed off that he had been here and that everything was working fine when he left. I don't usually watch T.V. during the day so I turned it off and went about my day.

I did some work on the computer then I went out to Bainbridge Island to take some pictures of houses. I then decided to go to Silver City to see some old friends over a beer. After a short visit I then went to the gym for an hour. I know it is a bit backwards but I needed to go since i skipped yesterday. Well anyway after the gym I returned home and just wanted to veg for a little while and watch T.V. Needless to say the problem from last night has returned. So I again have another appointment between 8:00 AM and 12 PM tomorrow. What an inconvenience this has really become. At least the last two times I have called I have explained to the operator that I work from home by using the Internet and every time that their tech has to come out here and shut my cable down to work on it I lose business. Well they gave me some credit but I still am T'd off about the whole ordeal.

Ahh, much better....

Chicken Coop!

2009-03-21T19:32:00.000-07:00

Well I have enjoyed my day away from the boys, however it is really boring and i do not know what to do with myself without running around after Toby all day. It really goes to show you how accustom you get to the lifestyle of being a mom and you never really realize it until you are alone.

Well today I started out by doing the usual Saturday morning trip to Costco with my mom and lunch afterwards. Once back at home I worked a little on filling out online forms for work. I put out a small fire with my client who are trying to buy a house right now, the reason I felt that I needed to stay home this weekend. The cable guy finally came to fix our cable even though he was supposed to come on Tuesday between 8:00 and 12:00, I guess that means anytime during and there after. Well anyway I had to stop working at that time because I had no Internet or cable so i went outside to enjoy the beautiful weather. That is when I decided that I had, had enough of looking at this strange structure under the gobs of berry bushes in the back yard. Well needless to say I concurred the berry bush jungle and found a fully intact chicken coop with fencing and nice wooded fence posts. The fence had been knocked down but the posts are still in really good condition.I posted a picture below. Anyway the last thing for today is that I need to do the dishes and then I am off to T.V. land for the evening.

I hope you all have a good evening..

What Was That? Oh, Silence.

2009-03-21T12:00:00.000-07:00

Well I have a weekend alone for the first time in over 19 months or so. The boys went over the mountains to eastern Washington to go see Stan and Beaver. Today they are going to the big sportsman show in Spokane. I hope they have a lot of fun.

I had to stay home for the weekend because i am in the middle of this really crazy deal right now and I knew that if I left things would just fall apart. It is weird to be alone in the house with just me the dog, cats, and fish. Leonard is driving me crazy I think he misses his playmate (Toby). The dogs are so quiet I don't even realize that they are here.

Any how we are finally getting some decent weather on this glorious second day of spring. So I finally took the pictures of the fully finished patio, plants and all.

What the @$#*!%....?

2009-03-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Well for once the weather reporter was correct. We went to bed last night thinking that there was no possible way that we would wake up to snow. However at 8:00 this morning i woke up to find almost an inch of snow on the ground. It has now just stopped snowing and at the end we had just over 2 inches. Toby, Troy and i had a good time playing outside for a little while. The trees seemed to hate me, they were tossing snow balls at me the hole time. Troy thought that it was funny so snapped a few pictures of my astonished looks.

Well I know I told you that we would post pictures of the home improvements that we have made. But those are going to have to wait until the snow subsides. I have included some in this post but the patio photos do not show its true glory as the landscaping was not yet complete. i will post pictures of the finished product at a different time...preferably on a more sunny day

The patio.

The patio from a different angle

The corner I completed last year... I just thought I would put this one in.

This is the front of our hose when we bought it 3.5 years ago.

Here is the front with last years improvements.

The front with last years improvements from a different angle.

The front recently without siding.

Again from a different angle

The front now.....Wow what a difference

The front again from a different angle

The fire pit....... Gotta have it.

Well for those of you who are only interested in cute photos of Toby here are a few.

He is soooooo cute he thinks that he is working

TOBY: "BUY! BUY! BUY! SELL! SELL! SELL!"

Cute little bruiser.

Home Improvement!!!

2009-03-03T22:23:00.000-08:00

Well i know it has been a wile since the last update..... I know it has been more than just while.

Well anyway there has been a lot of improvements around our house since the Christmas season. We have re-sided the front of the house and I have taken on the chore of leveling out the yard to seed for grass. We have also re-graveled the driveway and parking area. We are now building the patio area so that we can enjoy our time outside in the summer months.

The last few months have been super busy for myself. Toby has decided that it is mommy's playtime is during the day and that night time is for daddy. so I don't get to work until late. In my some-what spare time I have been going to the gym. I have a goal to get to a comfortable weight. I am so close to getting there. I have Troy to thank for the support. he has been great in taking care of Toby in the evenings while I am away. Also it has helped a lot with Toby's separation anxiety.

Well enough about life around here, here are some pics for you to enjoy.

My new stove!

Toby's first blanket fort!

Toby's first Road Rash!

TROY IS SUPPOSED TO GET THE PHOTOS DONE OF THE IMPROVMENTS.......THEY SHOULD BE POSTED TOMOROW...............IF YOU DON'T SEE THEM YOU KNOW WHO TO PESTER!!!!!!!!!

Who Is This Santa Claus Guy?

2008-12-26T14:29:00.000-08:00

Well Christmas was yesterday and well all had a really good time of it. We stayed at home for the very first time and no one came over. It was nice I really enjoyed the peace.
To start out the day we got up around 8 o'clock and Toby walked out to see what Santa had left for him. This year Santa gave him a beautiful red Schwinn tricycle. It is still a little to big for him to reach the pedals but I give it about another month or two. he got some other cool toys like play tools like daddy's, a mini cordless screw driver and a mini skill saw. HE also received some books and more of the little tonka mini cars that he likes so much.
Troy got his new camera he had been begging me for and some new work clothes and some small miscellaneous items. Troy got me some things for the kitchen and items for around the house and my office.
For dinner we had crab stuffed mushrooms and prime rib slow cooked in the oven with a garlic, pepper italian crust.

All in all it was a good day.

Enjoy the photos and have a happy new year.

My Pet, The Present!!

2008-12-26T11:02:00.000-08:00

Well the pictures are from Christmas Eve. It snowed really heavily on Wednesday the flakes looks like giant cotton balls floating out of the sky.

Toby had decided that he had, had enough of looking at pretty presents under the tree. so he started pulling them around the house by their ribbons. it was really funny and it looked as if he was taking them for a walk. He would stop every now and again and just start talking really loudly to get our attention. As if to say can we open these yet?

Our Little Winter Wonderland

2008-12-23T19:57:00.000-08:00

Well I meant to report yesterday with our final snow fall total. As you all know it started snowing at 2 o'clock on Saturday, well it did not stop until about 9 o'clock PM Sunday evening. By the time we woke on Monday morning we had accumulated 10.5 inches of snow. I don't remember a time where it had snowed for such a long period of time. I remember a snowfall of similar amount but not duration. This was really a cool thing to see.

Well Toby is now addicted to going outside to play in the snow. he puts his shoes on and tries to reach for the door knob to try and go outside. he has so much fun walking all over the yard and down the driveway.

Today I taught him a fun game to play with Leonard, it is call catch the kitty. I gave Toby a piece of ribbon and showed him to drag it behind him and he realized that Leonard will follow him and react in a crazy fashion. This was very thrilling to Toby so he continued for hours until they both fell asleep.

What a Beautiful Sight!

2008-12-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

Well it snowed again last night. the snow started at 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon and it snowed all night long. Actually it is still snowing right now. We have received about 8 inches already and they are calling for 2-4 more inches by the end of the day.

Yesterday Toby decided to be creative with his lunch and he made a sculpture with a paper plate ketchup a snack cup and a bottle of water. I think he is just as bored with being at home as I am.

What, Snow From Minnesota?

2008-12-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Well I just received official word from my sister Emily that she has sent us snow from Minnesota. I have the picture proof below. Now i know why it got so cold so quickly and now it seems to be sticking around. I will say this for the many of us who are now probably thinking it, thank you very much for the frigid, cold, and snowy weather Emily.

More Snow?

2008-12-18T12:37:00.000-08:00

Well it is snowing today and i have no work to do. I am stuck at home and going nuts, I like to get out at least once a day but today I don't really want to drive anywhere since i do not have to. The snow as many of you know started early this morning and it has not stopped yet. They keep telling us on the news that it is supposed to stop in a few hours. I don't know what they think a few hours equal I am thinking that a few just means they have no clue and it will just snow all day. Man I wish I could go back to school and become a meteorologist on a news station. What other job can you you get away with being wrong 90% of the time and not get fired.

Anyway I took some cute pics of Toby in the last few days and some this morning in the snow. Please enjoy!

Let it Snow!

2008-12-14T21:12:00.001-08:00

Well I do apologize for the long delay in posting. I have no excuse really.

Since the last post Troy went elk hunting for the first time and he got his elk. So needless to say with the successful hunting season behind us our freezer is full for the winter.

I had my 30th birthday last week and Troy took me crabbing on Hood Canal. It was a perfect day it wasn't sunny but there was absolutely no wind and the water was so calm it was like glass. We harvested a few oysters over on the Coyle Peninsula, oh man they were so good.

Well as you may already know it snowed for the first time this season last night. Today Toby had fun walking around in the snow in the yard. We had already had planned to go up the street to the Olmsted's Tree Farm just a mile from our house for Toby's first real Christmas tree. Man what a perfect day it was beautiful to see all of the trees filled with snow. All of the trees at that farm are perfect I can not believe it. The last place Troy and I went to get a tree the trees where all like the Charlie Brown Christmas tree, you know all rickety and sick looking.
Anyway Toby had a good time looking for the tree he cried when Daddy cut it down and he wouldn't stop until we got home it was so cute.

Well here are the pictures for the day, including some of odd ornaments I know I made when I was a kid. One for example is a albino Rudolf Peanut with aquarium plants for antlers and pink googly eyes, wow how creepy is that. Anyway I must say please enjoy.

Toby at home in the snow

Family's first tree farm outing

Toby's first real Christmas tree

Strange but real ornaments........

Two legged Snoopy

Albino Rudolf
One eyed reindeer?

HO HO HO... Merry Christmas to you all

Sick & Tired

2008-11-14T11:55:00.001-08:00

Well for the last few weeks we have been plagued by colds. First Toby then me and then Troy then Toby again. The cycle needs to end! The photo posted above Toby was so sick and tired he fell asleep on Leonard just like this and he stayed that way for at least an hour before Leonard moved, what a good friend.
Anyway since the last update Toby has become a pro at the walking thing. He has been walking all over the house and he has gotten a bit more brave when it comes to climbing. He know climbs all the way to the top of the couch and sits on it. There is no wall behind our couch during the winter as to keep the dogs from getting muddy paw prints everywhere. One of these days I am afraid that i am not paying enough attention Toby will learn that the top of the couch is not the place to play.
Last weekend we had a shopping adventure with Aunt Paula and Beaver, we made it to the Navy Exchange, Target, and then Wal Mart. Toby made out with clothes and toys. We found him a steering wheel toy that he absolutely loves. We take it everywhere with us especially when it is just Toby and I driving around looking at properties. Finally something to keep his attention while I am driving, Don't tell him though he thinks he is the one driving now..HEE...HEE.

Not Cho Cheese!!!

2008-10-31T19:09:00.000-07:00

Well another week has come and gone and we have had many a fun meal with Toby. This week we had nachos, Spaghetti, and stir fry chicken and shrimp. He loved the nachos and the spaghetti but didn't really like the Stir fry. Tonight we are having garlic chicken sandwiches with mushrooms, asparagus, and macaroni.

On Tuesday Toby and I drove around for a while and when we got home he decided that it was his turn to drive...not really but he thought it was. He is so cute.

On Thursday we went out for lunch with grandma Debi at Red Robin and Toby had pepperoni pizza dipped in ranch dressing and lemonade. There was a little girl at a table just across from ours that was about Toby's age and he was trying to talk to her it was adorable.

Chowder Head

2008-10-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

Well as you can see summer is finally over so i can update a little more often than in the past. Anyway yesterday was a fun filled day full of new foods and exciting times. For breakfast Toby ate a Cinnamon french toast piece with some fruit nothing too exciting yet had occurred. by lunch he was showing interest in walking with out any aid. I stopped working and cooked us up some Clam Chowder I thought that it would be fun to see if Toby would be interested in eating some with me. Oh my gosh what a fun meal. He had chowder all over his face and clothes but I was also surprised how much he actually got into his mouth. For diner he ate a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich on Poulsbo Bread (one of My favorite fast meals). After diner we tried the walking thing again, Toby seems to make a game out of it as if he knows that he can do it and he is just teasing us. Well needless to say he finally took those long awaited steps. My life is now officially over as I know it. I just know he will be into everything running back and forth, I can just see it know. What the heck is next, Oh my gosh, driving argh.
Toby also has a new found infatuation with shoes his and ours. He tries to put shoes on his feet and then get up and crawl of walk around with his walker it is too cute. He brings me his shoes and then points his feet straight up in the air as if he telling me to put them on. So I do and he gets so excited, it is hilarious.

Hunting Trip

2008-10-21T10:39:00.000-07:00

Well as you all know it is this time of year that Troy and i pack everything up in some form of vehicle and head east to Stan and Beaver's for our annual deer hunting trip. This year we took the Bronco we all fit just fine even the dogs. We took a ferry over to Seattle and from there the trip was on. We made ot over the mountains just fine.

As we were in route we found out that there had been a small brush fire that ran up right to Stan and Beaver's front door man i would to have liked to see that. Saturday, October 11th was opening day Troy and i had decided that i would take the first outing to see if I could bag my deer. I had no luck in the morning even though i had a few chances at a small buck. The next day Troy took his shift when the Bronco's starter failed, this did not prove to be a good morning what so ever needless to say he did not have any luck either. .

On Monday i chose to go out back where i have been successfull many times before. I have a secret spot that at about 9:15 every year the deer seem to accumulate. i however had a successfull morning.

All in all we had a good trip even though we had some car issues but hey what is new I am a disaster when it comes to vehicle luck as everyone knows. Even though Troy did not get his deer this trip he has an Elk tag for a cow in Margret down by Mt St Helens, he is really excited about it and he should be able to get his elk this year. let's all cross our fingers i would really like to have some elk in our freezer this year.

Who Wants To Shoot?

2008-09-07T09:42:00.000-07:00

Well I know what you all are thinking. I know that some of you have probably been wanting me to post for quite some time now. I tell ya time flys right by in the summer time. i get so caught up with everything else that I don't even realize that it has been so long since my last post. Well let see the list of things that have happened since June.

We made another camping trip up to the Hamma Hamma. This time we had an even better site than before it had a private path down to the river and right where our site was there was a swimming hole. This was nice because it was 90+ Degrees that weekend.

We got to enjoy our first 4th of July (or 3rd rather0 with Toby we spent the evening at our Friends house on the shores of Liberty Bay in Poulsbo. We stayed for the fireworks show and we were amazed that Toby fell asleep partway through it and even though it was really loud and the other kids were screaming and crying, he didn't even wake up.

If you are wondering what i did to his hair I put sunscreen on him and his hair stood straight up

Toby had his 1st birthday on August 13th, i threw him a huge B-day party at Aunt Paula's house. He fell asleep before cake and presents but hey when it is you party I guess you can do what you want to. After he woke from his long nap we all had cake and ice cream. Toby was a little reluctant to try his but it was fun anyway.

My mom and Joe took Toby to the fair for the first time, i went with them later that day. Toby seemed to enjoy all of the funny animals. He saw all kinds of strange things like Zebras and weird goats, oh and a cow that looked like our dog Otto only blond.

For those of you that are wondering, no he is still not walking yet but he climbs all over the place. His favorite thing to climb on is poor Scotch Dog. He has also started pointing at everything either he wants or just wants to talk about. He can't seem to get the words out but I think it is just adorable.

As far as what he is eating these days he is completely on solid foods with no bottle use at all. I think that this is a huge accomplishment as I have heard horror stories of trying to ween babies off of battles. The only thing I think that I will have a Problem with weening him off of is his Binky. This is only because he has just recently decided that he neeeeeeeds it. It used to be he didn't really like it, it was just one of his toys.

Well here is what you all have been waiting for, the pics

June Come and Gone Already.

2008-06-28T10:55:00.001-07:00

Well again it has been a month since the last update. A lot has happened in the last month. To start it out at the beginning of the month Troy, Toby, and i went to Stan and Beaver's for a visit. We ventured to Cabela's in Cour De Lane Idaho Toby's first time out of state. Cabela's is the most confusing and frustrating store that I think that i have ever been in. It seem as though every time I turned around everyone had disappeared, it is one huge labyrinth of displays and merchandise. In all I think that we were there for about 3 hours.
After returning on that Sunday from Sprauge I had to pack up for a week long trip to Montana for Toby and I. My grandfather's wife Barbara had passed away over the weekend and Toby and I along with my mom and Joe made the two day trek to Harlowton Montana. It was the first road trip for Toby and he did really well. While in Montana he learned how to crawl really fast and Grandpa Joe taught him about zippers. Now instead of Toby just holding my purse he now opens it and takes out all of the money and credit cards. boy am I in trouble.

Since getting back from Montana Toby is trying out his legs he is just about to take his first steps he has tried to get away from the furniture but he falls on his first step. he has 4 more teeth now on top so that makes 6 all together.
Troy turned 31 last weekend which reminds me Happy Anniversary KaeLee and Sean.

Today is a scorcher it is 11:00 AM and it is already 83 degrees outside.

Well here are the pics.....

WOW IT HAS BEEN A WHILE!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-28T20:55:00.000-07:00

I know it has been a while since the last time that I posted. Time just seems to get away from me sometimes. Well in the last month or so since the last time that i posted Toby has one more tooth (That makes 3. He is crawling like crazy and standing with aid from surrounding objects. he has decided that crackers are the coolest foods in the whole world, Tomato Basil wheat crisp all natural crackers are his favorite. He falls all of the time but he only cries if he knows that you have seen him fall, so you have to ignore him. He doesn't hurt himself, he is just learning. It has been so much fun, but oh my gosh what a hand full. His personality is really starting to come out these days. if he wants something and you say NO1 he gets upset but it is short lived because he finds something else to occupied his curiosity.
We had our first Family camping trip two weekends ago. i am so glad that Toby likes the great out doors. it was so much fun we went to the Hamma Hamma and camped in a one of the large free campsites right on the river. The weather could not have been better it was over 80 degrees the whole weekend. and since it was so early in the season there were no mosquitoes out yet.

Well what you all have been waiting soooooo long for, PICTURES....

may 2008

Oh my gosh it's gone!!!

2008-04-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Well last Thursday the tree guys came back out to cut down the rest of the old big maple. I was amazed at how little time it took for them to get it down. in all it took them 5 hours total including the hour and a half they spent here the week before. I can not believe how big that tree actually was. We have a lot of wood on the ground and the trunk was left in one big 30 foot piece because it is supposedly instrument grade Fiddle Back maple worth a pretty penny. We will see, we have a guy coming out in the next week or so to take a look at it and he might buy it from us. To answer Aunt Emily's question as to how hollow the tree actually was there is a picture below. it wasn't as hollow as I thought it would have been. Toby again didn't mind the noise of the chainsaws and the large chipper he had a pretty pleasant day.

Are you sure it is spring?

2008-03-29T16:10:00.001-07:00

Well yesterday i woke up to 2 inches of snow on the ground,k and then I thought wait a minute it is spring isn't it? Also the tree service guys were coming out to cut down our large maple tree. They were supposed to come out on Thursday but they postponed due to a bad weather forecast earlier in the week. Thursday was a beautiful day and yesterday it snowed. Go figure well they worked in the snow for two hours before they called it quits. they only took down just a fraction of the tree. i can not believe how much wood there already is on the ground. The pictures below only show part of it. The larges pieces of wood are 2 feet in diameter and the last pictures of the tree are what is still to be cut down. There is still half as much wood as what is piled still to be carried out of the woods.
I was really surprised that Toby handled all of the noise from the chainsaws and chipper really well. Speaking of Toby man has he grown he is crawling around like crazy now and he is fascinated with shoes. We really have to keep an eye on him.

Before

After

The tree guys are coming back to finish the job on Thursday. Please hope for better weather so that they can get it done safely.

6 almost 7 month old

2008-03-06T19:09:00.000-08:00

oh my gosh, i can not believe that Toby is 6 almost 7 months old. Man time flys! Well i know that i have not posted in a while but it is always on my mind to do so. Life around here has been pretty busy.

Since the last time that i posted Toby has grown two teeth. his main mode of transportation around the house is still by rolling but he also kicks his way around. i just know that he will be crawling before i know it. he also is almost able to push himself into a sitting position. he can sit by himself and play but he hasn't quite gotten enough strength up to push himself up yet.

Well for those of you just interested in pictures of Toby Here you go.

Toby is a rollin' machine

2008-02-07T23:40:00.000-08:00

For those of you that were just about ready to start on the mad mail regarding no updates, here it is. Sorry it has been so long since the last post. Life around here has been pretty busy. I have two new listings that i have been working on that i am trying to get on the market along with my usual work load.

For These days Toby has really started to show his true colors and man he is such a character. He is so independant most of the time.i can not believe how interesting he is. he is so independant most of the time, he likes to play mostly by himself but when he wants company you better believe you needed to be there about two minutes ago. He rolls everywhere I can't believe it i will take my eyes off of him for just a second and he is halfway across the room. I know that I am going to have my hands full when he starts crawling oh and definatly when he starts walking. man I don't even want to think about that.

Just recently he has started to really notice the dogs and cats oh and the fish. He thinks that the dogs are really funny he laughs at them all the time. He likes to pet the cats and i am amazed at how all three of them are with him even if he accidently pulls their fur. When he sits in front of the fishtank he tries to grab at the fish but the glass walls are in the way.

Here are some pics

Time Flies

2008-01-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Man I can not believe it is Friday yet again. This week Toby and i spent a lot of time at home. Toby had a chance to play a lot in his new Johnny Jump up seat he seems to really enjoy himself no matter what he is doing. We started him on rice cereal yesterday, i was a little reluctant to do so until he started being hungry all day long and went through almost a whole can of powder formula mix in one day. i had to make the desicion.
troy fixed the clutch in the Chevy and that day the rear end went out. I have come to the cinclusion that we must always have one vehicle in our posession at all times that does not work.

Wow I Can't Believe It's Friday!

2008-01-11T18:23:00.000-08:00

Well this week has had it challanges but overall everything worked out quite well I think.

To start yes it snowed on Monday and Wednesday, Toby has been sick all week long and now I have the bug. Toby rolled over for the first time this week and i can't for the life of me get it on video. Every time I have the camera in my hand toby stops and just stares at me with this expression of what are you doing with that thing.

I sold the Focus on Monday on Wednesday the new buyer tried to sell it back to me. Yesterday i finally got a new vehicle, I bought a 1990 Ford Bronco XLT. It runs and drives great it only has 150K miles on it and the interior is in great shape no tears in the seats and it has been a non smoking vehicle since day one. It is white with blue interior and it has 4 wheel drive so now I might not get stranded at home if it snows and i absolutley have to leave for some reason. I know that it is not that great on gas but the initial price was right. hopefully in a few month I will be able to refinance the house and get something more economic.

A Note To Aunt Emily.........

2008-01-08T12:46:00.000-08:00

WHAT THE HECK IS UP WITH THE SNOW????

Well here it is January and we have snow on the ground for the 5th time this season. This morning I woke up to having 5 inches of snow on the ground at my house. I am beginning to wonder if Emily is sending her Minnesota weather our way. I don't think that I can recall a winter that snow had stuck around here like this. At least it has been a really long time. Maybe when we all lived on Bangor we may have had snow like this then. Well anyway with the snow I am now stranded at home and they have started the work on the road so i can't even walk up to the store.

On a lighter note I finally sold my crappy Ford Focus I can't believe it. I listed it on Craigslist at 1:30 in the afternoon on Sunday for an asking price of $1,250. By 9:00 PM I had one person come and look at it and offer me $1,000 and at least 60 calls and two appointments set for lookers for Monday morning. The first showing Monday morning was at an early 7:00 this guy offered me $1,000 cash on the spot but he needed to get a car dolly so the transaction would have to happen in a few hours from then. The next appointment was set for 9:00 I was not able to be at the house due to Troys clutch went out on his way to work so I had to get AAA and be with him. The lady looked at the car without me being at the house and called me with an offer of $1,150. Well needless to say the biding had begun. I was on the phone back and forth between both parties and the price just kept going up. i ended up selling it for an astonishing $1,300 and it was out of my yard by 11:00 AM. Wow less than 24 hours i can't believe it.

This weekend I am going to look for a car that Will work better for Toby and myself. I am very interested in a full size Bronco in Port Orchard it looks to be pretty clean and well cared for. I guess we will see.

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas, or am I?

2007-12-26T16:12:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard yet we had a white Christmas this year. We got up around 9:00 AM and made breakfast and opened gifts. When all the gifts were open I thought that we could take the cardboard and paper out to the burn pit in the back yard before it started to rain. when I looked outside i saw the first flakes starting to fall. I told Try and he could not believe it he thought that I was kidding around. In all we received about an inch of snow.

At around 2:00 PM we we climbed into the Chevy and wade the short trip down the hill to my mom's house for dinner and cheesecake. Toby received all kinds of clothes and toys. He even tried to open a few gifts by himself you know by slobbering on them until the paper was soft enough that it would just fall apart.

After the festivities with Grandma Debi and Grandpa Joe whe payed a visit to the Cash house to see Tom and Ester. They has company over and we cought them just in time for dinner. We had been invited to share in the feast but we were so stuffed from eating earlier in the day. Toby seemed to be really hot at Toms so we stripped himn down to his skivies and he decided to take a nap.

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas. I know we sure did. This was by far my favorite Christmas so far. I can not wait until next year, I have already started shopping for new things for Toby to open. I want to thank everyone for making this a year to remember.

Silent night,

2007-12-25T01:35:00.000-08:00

Well it is the night before Christmas and all the presets are wrapped and under the tree. Toby is in his Christmas PJ's and he has gone to bed. I can't wait until morning as usual. This is my absolute favorite day in the whole year. I never sleep on Christmas Eve.

Any way here are some photos from this evening.

Busy, Busy

2007-12-22T22:55:00.000-08:00

My goodness it seems like only a minute has passed and here it has been almost three whole weeks. For those of you that wished that i would update faster I do apologize.

Well here it is, to start after I had last updated Toby spent his first night over at Grandma Debi's and Grandpa Joe's to give me a night off for my birthday. He did really good he whent to bed on time and I was there in the morning when he woke up.

After that he caught a little cold that lasted the next week and since I am around him and his drooly fingers 24/7 I caught the little bug. We were both sick for one whole week, it was awful. I tell ya,there is nothing worse than caring for a sick fussy baby when you yourself feel; the same way as they do. However we both made it through it.

This week I have been really busy with property inspections due to both the flooding and the unfortunate rise in foreclosures. This week alone I had 30 reports just for foreclosures and 20 for disaster damage. Toby and i spent most of Wednesday and Thursday in the car. Probably about 14 hours overall this week until Friday. On Friday we did not go anywhere for work but we did make it to aunt Paula's house for dinner and presents.

Today i spent 10 hours in the car driving around finishing up my inspection. Thank goodness for my mom and Joe. they watched Toby all day, I don't think he would have done one more day out on the road with me. As it was on Thursday he was so mad at me and Friday he did not want to be in his car seat for the short ride to Paula's.

I still have a lot of work to do on the computer and one more day of driving around but nothing like the past three trips. I have to get all of my work done by close of business Eastern time Monday, which isn't even a full day so really I have until 11:00 AM Pacific Time. This wouldn't be so bad but all of the sites are down and I am at a stand still with about 2 whole days work to submit.

As for the damage report from our storm our road will be closed until late spring early summer. I take this as being more like late summer early fall, you know county projects never go as planned. I have driven around the canal twice since the storm and i can not believe the damage. Some places you would not even recognise. I saw a house today that had been ripped in half by a landslide that had occurred in the back yard. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen the house was just bent like a toothpick with its siding all splintered outward. The saddest part about this was that i had seen the home owners over the summer re-side and install new windows.

Any way, for those of you who need to see pictures here are some of the latest of the Tobester.

Wow, What Weather We Have Had

2007-12-04T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well if you haven't hear or if you are not in the area, what a crazy weekend and beginning to this week it has been. It all started on Saturday morning wee woke at 6:00 Am to snow it seemed a little early in the season it only being the 1st of December but it had snowed on Tuesday but not enough to stick around it just fell from the sky but it did;t stick to anything. Well this snow was sticking and it was falling and sticking fast.

We had a birthday party to go to it was Kierens Birth Day party Toby's cousin we couldn't miss it.

By the time we came home from Aunt Paula's house we had 5 inches of snow. Around 10 O'clock Saturday night the snow had turned to rain and we thought that it was the end and that by morning the snow would be history. Boy were we ever wrong. When we woke on Sunday morning it was snowing harder than the day before by the end of it all we had received over a foot of snow.

Late Sunday night it tuned to rain and that is when the craziness began.
Monday morning I was out early shoveling trenches in our yard to divert the rain and snow drainage away from our septic tank as it was starting to overflow, YUCK!!! After being outside after only 2 minutes in a thick jacket i was soaked to the bone. Poor Scotch Dog tried to hide from the rain under the deck in the back yard but the wind just blew the water right onto him, poor thing. Our closest neighbor had her basement flooded with three feet of water and her yard and the driveway leading directly to our house was a lake. I wish I had taken a picture but I don't think it would have turned out I only have one with snow.

This whole area where the deep snow is, is where the water was it was about 1.5 feet deep in the driveway and more on either side.

This is one of our neighbor's houses after the water started to recede a little. This Gray house sits right next to our driveway and the water was in their basement. There is a small creek to the left of the house that under normal weather conditions you would not even know it was there.

This is the creek bed to the west of the house above. This is about 20 yards from our driveway. Just to the right (not shown) the road is starting to go down into an embankment. I walked past it today on the way to the corner store to see how bad it had gotten since yesterday, the dirt is completely washed away from under the pavement and the road is closed at our driveway to Clear Creek Road until further notice.

This is the driveway right before ours there are two homes behind the white home that were fully engulfed in water.

This is a picture of the Marine gate of Bangor Naval Base look to the north, it does not do it justice. If you could have only seen it. There is a large storm drain outlet just south of the gate that was shooting water out as if it were a fire hose. Just imagine this drainage outlet is a four foot by 2 foot outlet and it was spewing water out at an astonishing rate.

This is a single wide manufactured home located on the west side of Clear Creek Rd across the street from our corner store. In all I believe that at least a square half mile of property was under water in this area. It was incredible, I have never seen anything like it. If you think that this was Clear Creek that did this you, are wrong. It was just a small stream that feeds into Clear Creek downstream a little ways closer to Silverdale that did this damage. If you were to see Clear Creek at Mountain View on Monday you would have thought that it was the small stream. Clear Creek itself did not crest its banks hardly at all.

Well I will keep you all poosted on the damge as we are still getting hit with some pretty hard winds.

Oh Glorious Heat!

2007-11-27T15:10:00.000-08:00

Well it has been a while since I last posted, Thanksgiving has come and gone and i have not had much time as Toby has become quite needy latley. Anyway Stan and Beaver sent Troy home from his hunting trip with a new pellet stove for our house and I am lovin' it. Our house it so warm now and I hope that our power bill decreeses some. Our power bill can be a bit out of control in the winter time due to stupid baseboard heat and small inifficient heat sources such as electric space heaters. Last year I swear we wasted at least $1,000 on heating our house.

Well anyway we are set for the christmas season Aunt Paula gave us a really nice little fiber optic Christmas tree it is really pretty. Toby has a few gifts so far. We will be making the trip accross the mountains to Stan and Beavers house on the 21st of December and most likley staying until wednesday that week.

A Weekend Without Daddy

2007-11-19T19:11:00.000-08:00

Well Toby and I spent our first weekend home alone without Troy. He left on Friday to go over to Stan and Beaver's house to try and get his white tail buck. Unfortunately he didn't get it but that is only because Stan shot it on Thursday.

On Saturday I took Toby to go take pictures for work and we stopped by my moms house for a little bit. On Sunday we spent most of the day with my mom shopping and just hangin' out at her house. When Troy got home Toby spent some time in his new baby seat he decided that he likes it for now, he especially likes the Watermelon tray liner.

Well today was back to usual except for one thing. The filter on my gigantic 50 gallon fish tank failed on Friday and I had to do a thorough cleaning today because my fish were starting to suffer the consequences. Oh my goodness I forgot why I hat cleaning a the fish tanks in the winter. Instead of just hooking up a hose and a siphon and running everything outside I have to empty the tank into buckets and carry them into the bathroom to empty them into the bathtub. After that I have to Take all of the gravel out and rinse it a few pounds at a time. When this is all done then it the task is to refill the tank bucket by bucket. I think in all it is something like 60 round trips to the bathroom. Anyway it feels like a lot, it took me 4 hours where in the summer it takes only about 1.5 hours. Oh well my fish are happy again and Toby is happy that he can watch them.

Presents!

2007-11-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

Toby turned 3 months old yesterday and the UPS guy came to our house with stuff for him. He got his new Bebe Pod chair and some other stuff he will get for Christmas. The chair is his now though. He can't decide if he likes it or not, I guess only time will tell.

It has been this way with everything that he has, like his bouncy seat he hated it, then he liked it, then he hated it, but now he likes it again.
Poor Toby had a fever yesterday and today and his ears have been bugging him. He pulled on one of them so hard that it cracked. This is no way to spend a B-Day.

The Blustery Day

2007-11-12T21:25:00.000-08:00

Well Toby and I made it through the small windstorm that we had. Our power flickered a few times and few branches from the many tall trees in our yard fall but nothing to bad. I always worry about that stuff, I hate the wind. Toby and I stayed in the back room of the house for most of the day. I feel that this is the safest room in the house. He talked a lot you know baby talk. He is too cut. I just know that when he finally starts to form real words he will always have something to say.

Toby spent most of his day hangin' out with his kitten Leonard. We did make it out to go to Costco with Grandma Snyder and Grandpa Joe.

At the end of the day it was time to take a hard nap with his frog teether.

Ta Dah

2007-11-10T21:04:00.000-08:00

Well I finally got this up and running. I will try to keep it as up to date as I can.

If you haven't talked to us in a while here's the scoop. Toby will be 3 months old this tuesday, man time flys I can't believe how fast he is growing. I wish that he could stay little forever but I know that is impossible. We whent to Stan and Beaver's for deer hunting season last month I got my deer while Troy hung out with his mom and Toby. Troy will be going to get his White Tail Buck next weekend. I will be staying behind so I can See Kaelee and the girls before they go to Texas.