A Weekend Full of Fun

So last month. . . I know it is old. . . My sister and her husband came to visit us for the weekend and we had a blast.  We went out to dinner to Friday's and John introduced me to the huge . . .and Delicious. . . Jack Daniel's Burger.  It was so good!  I loved it!  Brooks got some yummy mac 'n cheese with some grilled chicken which was really good too.  David thought he would be brave and try something out of his usual.  He got some special burger that was being promoted. . . when our food came he discovered that there was a layer of something chunky and yellowish orange on his burger that looked funny.  He licked it and was disgusted and he looked like he just smelled a poopy diaper or something. . . I wish I had a picture of the face he made because it was the perfect disgusted face!  He scraped this layer of stuff off his burger and put it on a napkin in the middle of our table.  We all tried it and didn't think it was nearly as bad as David did, but couldn't tell what it was either.  It was cheesy, with a twang of something in it and it had the texture of cottage cheese.  It was interesting. . . and it threw David off enough that he is now convinced that trying new things is not worth the risk and he will stick to his burgers with only lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and ketchup. . .  and maybe some bacon if he's in the mood!

We went to the zoo the next day while David was at work.  It was a clear sunny day but it was a little chilly in the shade. . . Not bad for January weather though!    We had fun looking at all the animals and as we were going through, some of the fences seemed a little shorter than what would be needed to keep those animals in.  The tiger's fence and the wolves' were the questionable ones. . . but we only live a couple of miles away and I haven't seen any animals cruising around so I guess they are fine.  I love this picture of the bear. . . I mostly like the paw with all the toes showing.  

This video of the polar bear is pretty goofy.  The bear was just walking in circle around the pillars and as he would come around the corner he would turn around and start backing up.  I don't know if you can tell very well, but as he backs up, he is swaying his head like he's bobbing/dancing to some music.  You can hear Brooks' laugh in the background.  That bear was pretty entertaining!

I love how tigers look with their stripes, but the tiger was just sleeping and we didn't get to see him very well.  I like the stripes on Zebras too and I like how thestripes go all the way up on their mane too.  I think I liked zebra's partly because I learned about them in my animal alphabet book when I was little and I think they are the only animal that I can think of to this day that starts with a 'z'.  I stillremember being completely confused at the fact that zebra started with a 'z' and that xylophone started with an 'x'. . . they sounded the same to me so what difference should it make!?

After the zoo we went to P.F. Chang's and loved it and then browsed around for a while until David was off work.  We were smothered by a tie salesman at Men's Warehouse that was trying way too hard to get his commissions check boosted a little.  John fell in love with some Puma's and felt guilty for not wanting to settle for the cheap brand shoes. . . he was like a little boy trying to convince Brooks how much they meant to him and how he didn't want to get them but that he really did need them.  He ended up getting them and I wouldn't be surprised if he tried to wear them to bed every night because he was so proud of them.  

That night we all went out to eat with my cousin Dustin and his girlfriend at Macaroni Grill. . .oohhh that place was good too!  We loved the food and thanks to my sister-in-law, Elizabeth, we were able to use our gift card we got for Christmas!   We were goofy and having good times while we were there and we were all soooo full!  

As we were coming home, we realized that the power was out around my block.  It was so windy!  That was kind of scary because I noticed because the stop lights for the intersection were out.  I hope everyone didn't just assume they had a green light!  We got home and pulled out all the candles we had and luckily Brooks had some matches!  We played Balderdash and were getting pretty creative.  We came up with some interesting explanations about who people were, what certain acronyms stood for, what random movies were about, crazy laws around the world, and definitions to weird words. . . and I ended up pulling ahead of John and winning!  

We went to bed but left one light switch flipped on so we could tell if the power came back on.  Just as we were getting to sleep the light turned on and I think it scared Brooks and John a little!  It was good that it came on so all the stuff in the fridge and freezer didn't go bad, and so we could save the leftovers in the fridge too . . . we really didn't want to lose those!

On Sunday we took a day trip out to Tillamook.  It was nice to see Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob!  We ate lunch with them and then went out to Rockaway beach.  We couldn't believe it, but it was so nice out there!  We had clear skies and absolutely no wind!  We really couldn't ever remember any time during all of the summers that we spent on that beach where the weather was ever that nice!  It was awesome!  The water was probably still numbingly cold, but we didn't swim.  Brooks and John wanted to try out some of the kites that they got from their wedding, but there wasn't enough wind.  John said it would have been fine if he could run 15 miles an hour and keep the kite up.  Maybe next time!

We just built a sand castle instead.  Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob approved!  It was pretty neat!  You can tell how deep our moat is since we are standing in it. . . Brooks even put an alligator in there to protect the castle, but John killed it.  John said this was a secret. . . but he made an underground railroad. . . I bet he was thinking along the lines of it being Martin Luther King day and Harriet Tubman and her history leading the black people out of slavery. . . very thoughtful John!

David enjoyed the sun as he laid out on a blanket and read a nice book on the beach. . . Financial Accounting!  He said it was a good book but I don't know who would really consider that a beach read.  That is my nerdy little husband alright!

He got up to take a picture with me. . . Man I can't believe how beautiful it was that day!  This picture makes our majestic castle look more like a pansy of a mountain. . . sheesh!

We went to Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob's place and had some yummy Tillamook Ice Cream!  We also got to play the Farming Game with Grandpa Bob!  It is such a classic memory to always play that game with him. . . and I think that he always won when I was little so I was ready to show him up this time.  We taught John and David how to play and Grandma Honey kept our water glasses full for us!  When the time was up we all got one more turn to try and get some more money to win.  It was all really close until John had his last roll!  He nailed his harvest on his fruit that he had and it wasn't even worth counting up anything we had.  I'd say it was just beginners luck, but then again. . . I also say whatever works is fine by me!

Right before we left the raccoons came to visit!  I always love to watch them eat the dog food that we put out on the porch for them.  They just grab the little pieces with their hands and scrunch up their noses as they chew on them.  They are so cute. . . but I know they can be vicious!  I am just glad that they keep coming back every night!  

We played some games that night and all wanted to win!  We had fun and enjoyed the weekend with them!  I think they might come again and see a Blazers game with us.  Thanks for the visit and fun weekend Brooks and John!

The hunt for Chili's

So ever since we have been here in Portland, David has wanted to take me to Chile's since I have never been and we have had two gift cards.  We have tried on three different nights to try to track one down but have had no success.  Apparantly they have all gone out of business around here.  We looked on the internet and there are four or five of them posted there and also in the phone books so we will take down directions and out we go.  Each time so far, we look and look and drive in circles of where our directions tell us it should be and then finally give up and just go somewhere on our way home instead.  One night we were out to eat with my sister, Brooks and her husband, John, and my cousin and we saw one just across the parking lot!  We got excited and I tried to remember the drive home so that maybe I would be able to drive back out there sometime with David.  So last weekend we were determined to find it again.  We drove somewhat in the right direction, but we still couldn't find it.  We saw Chipotle's and Panera Bread and got a little sidetracked and we got a burrito and a sandwich and just shared those with each other instead.  So tomorrow for Valentine's Day we are going to try again. . . frustration on V-Day is not quite the date I am hoping for.  Hopefully we make it and I get to try these yummy chips and salsa that David tells me about. . . We'll see! 

What to do???

Finding a job wasn't really happening and volunteers weren't needed yet.  I have never in my life had this much time each day completely to myself and I was stumped.  When I started to get really bored and thought there was absolutely nothing to do David and I started thinking of possible and productive things I could do throughout the day. 

#1. David had the first ideas. . . He had me doing some of his homework for an online class and he wanted me to do our taxes by hand ad the business ones too. The homework was boring just because it was homework, and we didn't have all of our tax forms mailed to us yet and I didn't understand the business tax forms and where I was supposed to put all the numbers. . . .So those didn't work out.  I really felt like I needed to get out of the apartment.

#2. I went to the grocery store any time we were out of anything. I thought I was probably using a lot more gas than necessary, so I started making more grocery lists and fewer trips to the store.

#3. Then I thought it would be good to start exercising and go for a run through the neighborhood behind us. It started out great! It was all down hill and it wasn't too cold and everything was so new and interesting to look at as I went down the windy road. I had driven this route to make sure that I would know where to go and how far I was going to run. So when I got to my half way point I felt great. I blazed down that windy road and was hardly even tired! I almost kept running down further, but I really didn't want to get lost, so I turned around and started going back towards home. I was doing fine for the first five minutes or so going up the hill and around all windy turns. I felt like I made it down in five minutes so I would probably be back up and home in ten or so. . . ya right!

I tried to lean and peek around each corner to see if I was close to home, but it was so disappointing. There were hundreds of more turns on the way up than there were on the way down. . . I promise! By this point, I think that my run turned into more of a trudge. I knew I would get home sometime. . . and as long as I made it before David did in a couple hours, I would be okay. I just kept going though. It felt like a hallelujah moment when I saw finally came to the dead end right before my place.  I have never been so glad to be back at my place since we have been here...I didn't care how bored I was.  I knew that I needed to find a new (and flatter) route to run.

#4. So the whole running around the block thing wasn't quite my thing here either. I even got to the point where I went and got my very own library card and four books. Now I have never been a reader by any means. In school I just read what I have to read and I hardly was able to keep up with that, so I have never done it on my own either. I was just never that interested. Maybe it was the whole textbook thing, or that it was something that I had to read. I don't know but I have been ashamed to say I want to be a teacher and that I don't like to read, so I thought I would give it a chance.

I didn't even know where to start looking for a book. I browsed around and saw lots of dragons and knights books that weren't quite my type. (The funny thing is that those were the books that David liked to read before he found his love for reading business strategy tips books!) I thought maybe a good biography or something historical, but I wanted to get something that was fun and eventful and I wasn't seeing anyone's life story that caught me. I randomly found four books that looked worth giving a shot. I checked them out and later that day I started into one of them. I tried to get into it for a few days, but it wasn't happening. The other books were just as bad. I fell asleep almost every time I read them. . . and sometimes I read during the day when I wasn't even tired. So those were a no-go. So I took those ones back and thought I would try again.  One of the librarians suggested that I read one that was from the same author that wrote Princess Diaries. I liked that movie and thought it was a cute and fun one so I gave it a shot. It was such a fun book although it was cheesy. . . I may have lost some brains reading that one, so I hope that I like other kinds of books too. But I finished it! It only put me to sleep once! I was pretty proud of myself. . . and glad the librarian suggested it. So now I am off to find another book that keeps me reading to the end without dozing off. My friend, Sarah, recommended one so I think I will give it a shot.  Feel free to suggest some good books that you liked and I will give them a try.  I am up for anything at the moment because I don't really know what I like yet.

So I tinker around and read here and there and keep on going.  I am starting to enjoy having lots of time to do whatever because I know that once I go back to Rexburg that I will be in school full time until I graduate next April and I probably won’t get very much of this kind of time to relax and enjoy the little things I can do.  

Hi Mom and Dad!

A couple weeks ago I was able to go home and see Mom and Dad and play around with Matt, Abby and Luke too.  I left Portland on Thursday night and came back on Sunday morning in time to go to church with David.  It was a nice little trip for the few days.  I figured that David wouldn’t miss me too much since he works so much of the day. 

When I got home on Thursday night, everyone kept saying they were going to bed, but I think we were all up talking ‘til midnight. . . and Mom and I just kept chatting away ‘til 1:30 or so.  It was nice to be home!

On Friday we all went to Yakima to watch Abby’s basketball game.  It was a fun one.  The teams kept flopping who was ahead and so it kept us all anxious to see who would pull out in the end. . . and Abby’s team won!  It is such a better car ride home when you win.

On Saturday was the game against Richland.  This was the one we were all excited about.  This was the team that gave Abby the pretty black eye earlier in the season. 

In memory of Abby’s pretty war wound, Dad used some of Mom’s eyeliner to give himself a real pretty black eye.  He was definitely seen by all that night and Abby’s team and coach really thought it was pretty cool looking.  Everyone else in the gym that didn’t know him were all trying to figure out if it was real or not.  Dad had fun with it.

The game didn’t go so well though.  The referees were frustrating and were calling every little thing on her team.  Five of her team’s nine players fouled out so they had to play most of the fourth quarter with only four girls on the court.  They were winning until all of their starters were fouled out.  It was such an irritating game and we thought that Abby’s team deserved to win that one for sure. . . but those refs controlled that one.  We all pouted and griped about that game all night.  Abby and her team played really well and Abby was a powerhouse of a post down low!   She did awesome against their big girl.  Abby said that she started to get frustrated because she could never do anything when Abby was guarding her.  Once Abby got her 5 fouls, that girl scored so many points.  Nobody could guard her as well as Abby did.

Luke’s game on the other hand was, uh, how do I say this. . . I think I am safe to say that it was interesting.  They don’t have anyone who can really dribble the ball. . . well there was one guy, but he was over 6 feet tall so his dribble wasn’t so quick like it needed to be. . . that ball took a long time to go all the way down to the ground and back up.  Luke had a good 8 points or so.  He even made a lay up type of shot off of a break away.  His team has some outside shooters, but they are lucky if the ball hits the backboard, let alone the rim.  They also have some baseball players that have passes that might rip an arm off if anyone tried to reach to catch them.  Dad asked me what he should coach them on during half time and I didn’t know where to start.  They were quite the church ball team!  Luke had fun and was proud of his points that he had . . . if anyone said anything about his turnovers, he just made sure that they remembered those 8 points he scored! Good game Luke!

The rest of the time while I was home I got to go to the temple with Mom, I went and redeemed a coupon for a pedicure that I got from my bridal shower (I know it has been so long, but I have been busy the other times I was home), and the rest of the time we all just sat around and talked.  It was such a good visit.  I did miss David and he was excited to see me when I came home which was nice.  While I was home, and had a queen sized bed to myself, I realized how much I move around and use the whole thing.  No wonder David says it is like a wrestling match to keep me on my side at night… I thought he was just complaining but I think he’s right.  He’s a good sport and doesn’t make me sleep on the ground!  Thanks Babe!

I'm still trying to figure this out...

I started this blog during Christmas break when there was a lot going on and I felt like I could write forever about all the fun we had. Then when I came out here to Portland, David started working 65 hours a week and I was looking for a job. It then turned into a desperate job hunt for me. I wasn't hearing anything from hardly any of the places I had applied, and I was getting so bored. I had about 12 hours each day with nothing to do and I couldn't find anything to do. I tried to volunteer and babysit, cook dinners for sick people, or volunteer at the temple, but the temple is closed all this month, the dinner cooking list was filled for a couple weeks and nobody needed any babysitters for a couple weeks when all the babies in the ward were due. It seemed like a joke for me to be able to get out of the house. I really couldn't believe it.

So I felt like there was nothing eventful going on to write about so I didn't tell anyone about the blog.  Mom told me to tell her what it was anyways so she could add it to her bookmarked sites.  I have been thinking about  how we have been here for over a month already and that there had to be something that we have been doing.  I knew we have had some adventures, big and small so I will write about those. . . Enjoy!

David's back!

David got back from San Francisco last week from training.  He got sick the last couple of days of training, so he was very glad to be home so he could take some medicine for his cold, have some chicken noodle soup, and crash for the night with a box of Kleenex at hand.  It was good to have him back, but he was pretty miserable.  I think that the worst part was that his head was all stuffy while he was flying home, so as they took off and landed, he felt like his head was going to explode.  That was just a bad time to be sick.  But I was ready to take care of him, so I think that was a relief.  David loves his new job.  He is still learning like crazy and he is the baby of the office, but I think he is proving himself.  David is working 12 hour days that start at 6:30 am.  He said that it goes by really fast since everyone is so busy in the office, and since he is still trying to wrap his head around all the things he is supposed to know how to do.  With this job he is mostly doing audits and taxes for low-income housing properties...I think.  That is what it sounds like to me.  He tries to explain things to me sometimes, but I don't think very much really sticks for me. 

I get up with him every morning and make a little lunch for him each day and make him breakfast while he gets ready.  He rides the city bus in to work, so I wave him off each morning as he gets on the bus with his lunch pail and backpack.  My cute little boy doesn't want to grow up.  He has his back pack to carry his laptop and other little doodads to and from work.  I told him he should get a laptop bag, but he thinks he's fine.  I think it is fun to watch him in the morning, because he is trying his hardest to get himself in this firm and leave an impression.  He makes sure that I think he looks alright and that everything matches.  He has me proof read some ideas and suggestions that he sends off to people at work.  He is trying to do his best so they don't forget about him.  

I still don't have a job.  I had an interview on Wednesday with the YMCA to lead one of their after school programs at an elementary school around here.  They said that they would get back to me today or on Tuesday, so I am really hoping that everything went as well as I though it did.  It would only be a part-time job, but I'll take it.  I really want to work with kids and this would be perfect.  I applied to some restaurants and ice cream and smoothie shops around here, but I haven't heard much form them either.  

I'm not sure if I can stand it everyday at home on my own.  It is pretty boring now that I have run out of things to do around here to make the days go by.  I have even got to the point where I want to do David's homework for an online class he is taking.  I went to the library and got a library card and checked out some books...and I have never been a reader, but I think I am desperate so maybe that will help keep me going.  

Brooks and John are coming today to spend the weekend with us.  I think it will be fun to hang out with them.  We might even go over to Tillamook on Sunday to visit Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob.  I should be a nice day trip.  We are just hoping that the weather stays nice.  It has been sunny all week...not that warm...but not raining!  

Christmas and the New Year

We are in Portland, Oregon now and the holidays are over. We spent our vacation in Kennewick at home and at the lodge.
The lodge was great! When we first got there, David and I volunteered to help out with dinner. We were having chile and cornbread. We got going on the cornbread, and since we were making it for about 30 or so people, we decided to use the mixer there. It was like a 2 gallon heavy duty kitchen-aid, so we dumped all the water and mix in. David turned the mixer on and we didn't realize that it was set too high and about 1/3 of the mix came flying out and splattered all over us. I think Nick and Amber were standing close-by and they got a little bit on them too. We all just laughed about it and we weren't wanted in the kitchen anymore. There was still plenty of cornbread for everyone, so we didn't feel too bad about it.
There was always good food to eat, and plenty of it. There was a whole counter of food that we were allowed to snack on and Mom made sure we knew where that was so we didn't eat everything that she needed for the meals.
We took a trip to the mountain and did some snowboarding and skiing. It was a nice day up there and the snow was nice too. There seemed to be a lot of moguls all over the place which made it harder for us to just fly down the mountain like we usually did. It was pretty cute when Luke thought that they were called Mongols. Not quite, but I think we did a good job at plowing right over the tops of them and flattening them down a little.

Another day there, we found a hill that we went sledding and tubing on. We were the first ones there I think and we had to pack down the snow. It was fun to go down and see how fast and far you could go. The hardest part was always walking back up for another ride.
One ride down we all made a train. David and I were in the back on a big tube. Nick was pushing the tubes to get everyone going and then hopped on our tube. So I had Nick and David piled on top of me and I was dragging on the ground the whole time. I was fine the with it until I went right over a rock and nailed my tailbone. I was done after that. I thought I had enough padding down there, but I guess I got some work to do... or maybe I better just avoid the rocks.
Later that afternoon was the hay ride. I wasn't feeling like riding on anything bumpy for a while. I had my fun for the day. My rear was, and still is, pretty sore. It's hard for everyone to remember not to wrestle and throw me down.
The rest of Christmas week we played lots of games. We played a lot of Settlers of Catan, Cities and Knights, Scum, Blockus, Imangine If..., Scategories, Nerts, and some other card games too. We stayed up way to late every night and had too much fun with each other. All of us Bare kids were pretty lazy during the day and crazy at night.
On the way home, Mom and Dad let us stop at Miner's for the big ol' burgers and some fries and a yummy shake. It is always so good as you are eating all that food, but I feel like it does a number on my stomach.

We were all pretty lazy once we got home. We had a little celebration for Mom on her birthday, but it was pretty little. After church, Dad and all the boys put aprons on and cleaned up the kitchen and made lunch. They made grilled cheese and tomato soup, which was perfect. I don't know what could have tasted better. It is definitely one of my favorites. Mom got special treatment as she got real Tillamook cheese on the good and healthy bread. Nick even put a candle in it so Mom could blow it out for her big day. Brooks made cobbler too and of course it was all eaten by the time we woke up from our naps. What a party huh?! We really do love you Mom.
There were a lot of football bowl games on which were fun to watch. I spent one day applying for jobs in Portland in hopes that I get to do something with kids at a preschool or daycare.

For New Year's Eve, we weren't too exciting. Abby and Luke went out with their friends and so it was David, Nick, Mom, Dad and me. We watched a movie and Nick and I fell a sleep. Dad made bread, mom made the hamburger/cheese dip, and that was about it. It was nice to relax and I am glad we didn't have anybody there, because we would have been pretty boring entertainers.

We moved in to our apartment yesterday and Mom brought down a big load of stuff for us on her way out to Grandma Honey and Grandpa Bob's place. We like our new place a lot except for parking. David starts his internship on Monday and goes right down to San Francisco for training, so hopefully I can stay busy and find a job while he is gone next week.