Basement Construction Has Started

We have lived here at 1918 Benson Ave for almost 2 years now and have wanted to finish the basement since the day we moved in. Well the time has finally arrived. It has been just a couple of weeks now and things are looking good. We (I mean Ryan) has put up some walls to separate off an office area and another storage room. We( I mean him and I) hung sheetrock on both the walls and the ceiling. If you have never hung sheetrock on a ceiling it is an experience, one that we do not recommend doing with your spouse. We ( I mean Ryan ) are now down to taping and texturing. Things are looking good.

The walls are up.

Sheetrock and Tape.

Getting ready for texture.

Fire!!!!!!!!!

A couple of times a year the fire station burns a vacant house down (on purpose) to learn more about fire and how it grows in a structure. This year I was invited down to take pictures of the event. The fire crews involved included the City of Sunnyside Fire and Yakima County Fire Dist. There were a lot of fire fighters there.

What they do is set a fire in a corner of the house and watch how it grows. When it starts to get large, they put it out. Then another group goes in and they do it again in another corner. Once everyone has had a chance to watch the burn, they let the fire take over the house. Very cool.

Ryan and his friend Chad getting ready for their turn in the house.

Them coming out of the house.

Time to let it burn.

Ryan's shift.



Fire fighters don't usually stand around and take pics while a house is burning down.

My very own HERO!!!!

Day Of The Notables.

Day of the Notables is a right of passage for those attending the 5th grade at Prosser Heights. For those of you who are not familiar with this, it is a day that every student in the 5th grade dresses up and gives a little 50 word speech about a notable person in history. Cameron chose Benjamin Franklin. He did a great job. His class spent a few weeks before their presentations researching their notable person.

The day of the presentations (aka The Day of the Notables) each student has an assigned area in the halls that they stand and when you give them the password (a word listed on their poster) they begin their little presentation. It was very cool and quite informative.

Cameron as Benjamin Franklin

Cameron's friend Taylor Giles as Henry Ford.

Cameron's friend Logan as Albert Einstien.

Getting in the Christmas Spirit.

So my sister Jill and I decided we needed a little shot in the arm to get this Holiday season really rocking. So we planned a morning to hit all the fun Christmas type places. We first hit Beaver Bark. If you have never been there, you should check it out. They have some of the cutest home decor stuff. You would never know from the freeway, but it is very cool.

Jill and I in front of a tree that looks like it is covered in giant candy at Beaver Bark

Second we hit the Heritage store over by Costco. They have a bunch of Christmas trees all decorated up. We just couldn't resist taking a few dorky pics. We are such rebels, the hole time we were afraid we were going to get caught and kicked out.

Jill striking a pose with the safari tree. Totally not practical, but very cool.

Here I am hugging a huge tree covered in all gold ornaments. It was awesome. What this picture does not show you is that when I went to step back away from the tree, I stepped on my own foot and about knocked the whole thing over.

We only had a half of a day, so we decided to round out our morning at Costco. After all who can resist Christmas in bulk. Not to mention Pizza for two for lunch for under $7.00.

Colby's Hair Cut

Believe it or not, he finally did it. Colby cut his hair. It was the darnedest thing. He just came home from school one day and said he was ready to cut it off. Not just a little trim, but a real hair cut. I must admit it was a little hard to do it. Part of me had gotten used to all that hair.

The good new is he can still play his guitar like a true rocker and he is as handsome as ever.

Minutes before the big cut.

Wow that is a bunch of hair.

Colby after. Did I mention that he is as humble as ever.

Child's Play

Today had to be one of the most beautiful November days ever. I couldn't get enough of the sunshine and I don't think the boys could either. Fortunately for them they had early out from school and that gave them an extra hour of play. They wasted no time taking advantage of their precious sunshine.

Colby and his friend Allen spent their time playing a little one on one.

Cameron and Taylor were doing a little skateboard skiing.

It is so wonderful to live in a community where our children have such great friends.

Hard At Work

Well it's that time of year again, the time of year I get busy working on vinyl. The Christmas bazaars will be starting soon and people will be thinking about Christmas gifts.

Wanted to share some of what I have been working on the off season. We have a local Winery plaza that I have done most of the exterior signs for. I guess you could say that I'm in the wine business. Just kidding.

This was my first sign out there.

I have a friend that works there and she got me the job.

This was number two. These people were awesome.





This one I just finished.

I thought the M was going to be the death of me.

Girlfriends 1/2 Marathon

As many of you know, I participated in my first 1/2 marathon in October. I allowed peer pressure to get the best of me and I regretfully paid $60 to run 13.1 miles without any good reason what so ever. I guess that is not totally true, I got to spend the day with my good friend Jodi Wrathall (my peer who pressured me). I however would have rather spend that day at the mall or something. The upside to all of it is that not everyone can say they ran a 1/2 marathon.

The marathon was called the Girlfriends 1/2 Marathon and it was in Vancouver Wa. There were 1,500 competitors and we finished in the 640th place range. We were hoping for better, but at about mile 10, we got over it.

The event was awesome and it was a blast to be with that many women who love running like we do.

We look so chipper!!

That's more like it!! Can you say 13.1 miles!!!!

After a shower and a massage...

Mustang Football

Cameron had a heck of a football season this year. He played on a team made up of all 10 year olds. They basically split the seasons wins and losses, but It was enough to make it to the play offs. There they met their demise against Richlands Cowboys.

Cameron played on both offence and defence. He was very fun to watch, but he is glad to have the season over and have a little more free time on his hands.

Cameron #26

Cameron going for the tackle.

Cameron got him. Nice job Cam!!!!!

Purple Belt

Colby has been very successful with his Teakwondo. He tested for his purple belt and actually kicked through a board. It was very exciting.

Here he is going through some of his basics.

Here he is working through his form.

Here he is demonstrating his "One-steps"

He breaks through the board.

Receiving his new belt and award.

Colby and his teacher.

Friday Night Football

Fall is here again and what would a Friday night be without a high school football game. This crew chose to spend last Friday night in Umatilla at Ryan's old stomping ground to watch his nephew Taylor play his first game as a senior and the starting quarterback. It was a great game. Taylor played awesome as he led his team to their first victory of the season.

Taylor #25 (starting Lineup)

Taylor getting ready to pass.

Taylor running the ball in for a touchdown!

The Hood to Coast Relay

So it has been just over a week since Ryan and I ran in the Nike Hood to Coast Relay. It has been about 3 days since we have been able to walk without crying. 197 miles is a long way to run, even if you are sharing it with 11 other runners. It still works out to be aprox. 18 miles per person. An accomplishment that I still can't believe I managed.

Our team was named Team Dragginass. (Get it?) It consisted of 12 members. 6 members per van. Van #1 (our van) began at the Start Line at Mt. Hood and each of us ran our first legs. We then handed off to the first runner of Van #2 and they took over. Their runners each ran their first legs, and so on. The cool thing about having 2 vans, was that it gave us a few hours off the course to eat and rest a bit.

It worked out so that we ran about every 10 to 12 hours. You would think that would be plenty of time to recover, but that was certainly not the case. It was just enough time for the stiffness and sourness to set in.

Van #1 at the Start Line.
We obviously had no idea what we were in for.
Ryan's first Leg. (What a view)

Me handing off to Michelle after my first leg.

Getting ready to hand off to Van #2 that Ryan's Sister Soni and Brother CJ are in.

I know that it sounds crazy, but even with all the pain and lack of sleep, we can't wait to do it again next year. There is just something about doing something that you never thought you would have been able to do.

The Water Park

Of course it would take my sister Jill and I until the end of summer to decide to go to Moses Lake and check out their water part. Her and I are the biggest procrastinators that I know. At least it was worth the wait.

My friend Kari's son was having his 13th birthday and they invited us up for the day to celebrate. Moses Lake is a bit of a drive from here, but they have a few attractions that Hermiston and Pendleton don't offer.

Cameron

Colby

Dawson

Kayla

Jill

Me.

We all played way to hard. It was all we could do to stay awake long enough to drive home.

Taekwondo

Colby started Taekwondo a couple of months ago and is doing really well. He has already advanced to his yellow belt and will be testing for his orange belt tomorrow. He attends a dojo here in Prosser a couple of days a week. It is very cool because not only are they teaching him about taekwondo, but they are also teaching them how to listen, follow directions and respect for others. It has been fun to watch him participate.