hi ho hi ho...it's off to work I go

Maybe Dale should have been one of the seven dwarfs for Halloween because... he is off to work today!!! He got the all clear from the surgeon yesterday. After three (long) months he is back to the daily grind.

lego mania

A wonderful surprise arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. A 1400 piece Star Wars Lego spaceship. I don't know if was more for Dale or Aiden but they both enjoyed putting it together. It took most of Labor Day week end and now it has a spot on Aiden's bookcase where it dwarfs all the other Lego creations!

update

Dale had his surgery yesterday morning and everything went really well. He was back in his room before lunch. He spent most of the day snoozing and pushing his pain med button. Last night they switched his pain medicine and it really seemed to help. Dale has a large incision over his right pelvis area covered with a dressing and a drain to collect extra blood and fluid. Hopefully, the drain will come out tomorrow. He got out of bed before lunch today and made a few steps with his walker. I missed the whole thing or I would have loved to gotten a picture of Dale in his hospital gown and chicken legs. Dale will hopefully be discharged on Friday in the meantime he is in room 612 and you can send him a message through this linkclick here
*I just realized there is a gift link on the same page, emails only please!

bad news

Yesterday, Dale was trying to impress his seven year old son by doing jumps at the bike park. He took a really bad spill and broke his plevis. We are currently at Harborview awaiting surgery for a top rated surgeon for this particular surgery but this could take several days. Poor Dale has 10 pounds of traction hanging off his right leg and they had to insert the traction pin twice last night through his femur bone. I think I was witness to a see one, do one, teach one that didn't go well. His surgery will take about 4 hours and he will be staying in the hospital a few days following with no weight bearing on the right leg for 6-8 weeks. Please keep him in your prayers and thoughts.

powder puff oil change

Amelia is really into helping and hanging out in the garage with her dad. Most Fridays find the two of them working on a project in the garage that holds her attention a lot longer than it ever did for her brother. Last week it was changing the tires and changing the oil on the ATV. Not my cup of tea but it kept the two of them busy for several hours. I think Amelia is going to ask for her own wrench in pink very soon!

man week end

Dale and Aiden had a great time in Moses Lake this week end. They arrived home yesterday with wind and sun burnt faces but twinkles in their eyes. Lots of bonding time for my guys.

picture this...

If you drove past our house around 1:00am last night you would have seen Dale hanging out our bedroom window. He was wearing my white fluffy house coast (to his elbows and knees) with a towel thrown over his head to block the wind. He was trying to locate the source of the loud noise that has kept us up two nights in a row. Possibly the wind is getting underneath the siding and making a very loud whirring noise near our bedroom. We never did figure it out but for the rest of the night anytime I pictured Dale hanging out our window in his ridiculous get up I started to laugh out loud.

thankful for...

this guy. He's fiercely loyal. Always puts family first. Is an amazing Dad that loves to spend time with his kids. Hard worker. Always has to finish what he's started. One of the biggest goals in his life is to make me happy. I'm thankful he chose me.

two very very happy boys

Last week Aiden and Dale got new quads. This has been something Dale has wanted since selling the boat. Apparently 'boys need toys.' They are thrilled and Amelia and I even joined them yesterday morning. It was a very surreal experience hopping on the back of your 6 year son's quad and having him take you for a ride. When did he get so big? Amelia wants a pink quad but I don't think I'll be joining them again anytime soon. Way too dirty and noisy fro me!

guys night out

Dale and Aiden went to pre season Seahawks game last night. The game didn't start until 7p and they didn't get home til after midnight. Yikes. Today was better than expected behavior wise. What a fun father/son tradition. They went to a game 2 years ago and I had to post the 2 pictures!

Dale's hike

Dale had a great time hiking up to Price Lake Saturday. They hiked up to a glacier fed lake, had to shimmy across a tree 12 feet above a river and someone (not Dale) put his hand in the same bear poop on the way up and the way down! Good times.

Father's Day 2009

Father's Day was:
-coffee in bed
-church and car show
-brunch at Bob's
-kickball game with friends
-family nap
-electrical experiments
-steak and shrimp for dinner
-family walk
-rhubarb crisp (rhubarb 'Christmas' according to Amelia) for dessert
-a day spent with our most favorite Dad

kitty cat rockstar

Amelia got a kitty cat piano for her birthday. Tonight Dale was playing with the kids and I overheard him singing into the microphone: "My name is Hans, I am a kitty cat rock star. I say meow, I say meow." I was too busy laughing to even try and take a picture.

december daily: day four

December 4th is Dale's birthday. I like to keep that the focus for the day. We celebrated with a nice family dinner. The birthday cake was rhubarb crisp (Dale's favorite) but I have to remember that you can't put birthday candles in something right out of the oven (they melt). We gave him a shadow box for his favorite football jersey and he can't wait to put up in his man lair.

Dear Dale:

I hope you have enjoyed your four day trip away from us, we sure have missed you! As you enter the house through the laundry room after midnight tonight please notice the coat rack that has fallen off the wall and the pile of coats stacked on the floor. Now as you enter the family room please don't turn on the stereo, the speakers are blown. Looking up to the ceiling you'll notice the giant hole above the pot rack where you took down the sheet rock due to a leak last week. Speaking of ceilings one of the recessed halogen lights in the basement bathroom is hanging from the ceiling. But before you leave the kitchen, do you hear the strange ticking sound the fridge is making? Oh, and speaking of strange ticking sounds the toilet in the master bath is making a weird sound. We are so glad you're home and can fix all these nuisances!
ps: your parents arrive the day after tomorrow! Better get busy.

here fishy, fishy...

Dale caught three fish over the week end. Aiden got a little fish anatomy lesson in the garage and then we cooked them up for dinner on Sunday. Absentmindedly, I put the fish skin down the garbage disposal and it has stunk ever since! I've tried white vinegar and ice cubes but the smell is lingering, yuck.

father's day 2008

We brought Dale coffee in bed and I had to post this picture of him. What says Dad more than crazy bedhead. I remember being mortified going out with my Dad on Saturday mornings with his crazy hair! We went to Dale's favorite place for brunch, Bob's, and enjoyed some deep fried french toast ( gotta love America!). We realized about 9 seconds after we sat down that Amelia is not at a good age for restaurants. All she wanted to do was wander the aisles and try and sit with other families. I think we made record time and were out of the restaurant in under 30 minutes. We spent the afternoon on the boat and enjoyed the beautiful weather. A nice bbq and special Father's Day cake rounded out a perfect day. We only have pictures from the morning because Aiden had 'packed' the camera for his underwater explorer pretend play and couldn't remember his special hiding place. I love the imagination this kid has but I'm frustrated with all the my disappearing items.

he's a keeper!

Last night I arrived home to this sight! It looked pretty good to me considering I thought I would be spending my Sunday cleaning the family room carpet. Last week I came home to list titled " Jen's Requirements for Satisfactory Living!" Dale had listed all the projects I wanted done around the house and how much it would cost. It was a lot. I think him cleaning the carpets was his way of saying lets just enjoy what we have. It sort of worked!

rock stars

Tonight I came home to the sound of our house rockin'. Dale and Marty were playing Rock Band and having a blast. I guess it's everyone's secret desire to be a rock star. The name of their band is DAM as in Dale And Marty. Clever aren't they? Gotta go, the DAM band is calling my name!

Happy Birthday Dale!

Today Dale celebrated the big 34! He had to take take a class in Seattle until 4p but managed to get home at 6p. He had requested steak oscar, mashed potatoes and cheesecake and that's just what he got! I ordered this banner off etsy a few months ago and was so excited to finally use it! I love how we can use it for any body's birthday and it fits right in with our home decor!