Oh SNAP..........!

Who are better drivers: Men or women?

The pics

We didn't do too much on our trip, thanks to the cripple (ME). Of course we got to see some trains, though! The next few pictures were taken at the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. It was really cool! We got to tour through this car, and if Bob the Tour Guide was here, he could tell you all about it, for a lot longer than necessary. And not get the hint when you start walking away. But, he's not, so I'll just copy and paste what the website says about the Pullman car. The Roald Amundsen Pullman Car was built in 1928 for $205,000. As one of the last cars built by the Pullman Company, the Roald Amundsen is best known for its presidential travel. The car provided maximum security and was used at various times by every president from Herbert Hoover through Dwight Eisenhower. It was on this car in 1940 that President Franklin Roosevelt and Canadian Prime Minister W. L. McKenzie King signed the Ogdensberg Declaration, an agreement that provided for the joint defense of North America, now known as NORAD.

This was the president's room

This is a picture of Roosevelt sitting in his favorite place on the train, and below that a picture of Maddie in the same place.

Maddie being cute and Tyler being himself

Some cheesy glamour shots

Casey and Jason's wedding pics

Riley found the snacks in the dressing room

He did it

I don't know how. Someone must have been praying or something, because Riley put on his tux, walked down the aisle with that little ring pillow, sat in his seat, danced with the little girls at dinner, and was GOOD THE WHOLE NIGHT!!! And to top it off, slept without a stir until about 9am!!!

Will post lots of pics later. Maddie was gorgeous and Riley was.......well, Riley was a big hit with the ladies.

This will make you laugh!

Picture this: Trying to get Riley to try on his tux for the wedding.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Yeah.

One good thing

about having a broken ankle. When you pack for a trip you get to pack twice as many kinds of shoes because you only need one from each pair.

"Gwish nuffin"

That's what Riley said he wanted for breakfast today. Made me smile.

OMG! Are you serious?!!!

Great follow up to yesterday's post....hahaha!

Houston....we have a really, really big problem

There are no words. To describe. How mad. This makes me.

The older I get...

...the less Republican I become, it seems.

I'm really torn on the election.

Our national debt is now over $10 TRILLION. I think people making over $250,000/year do not need any help with taxes the way that low and middle class Americans do and can contribute more to the pot. Maybe this sounds a little socialist but it's still how I feel.

We have got to get a handle on energy independence and the environment.

Like I said. I'm torn.

Don't disown me, family. :)

They won!

From the Bellingham Herald-

Bellingham bulldog wins Nick at Nite contest

Gabe the bulldog rocked his way to stardom at The Worldwide Fido Awards, a national contest sponsored by Nick at Nite. Gabe, who lives in Bellingham and whose talents include skateboarding and riding a rocking horse, won the top honor of Worldwide Fido 2008 and celebrated with a victory ride on his wooden rocking horse, Old Sliver. Gabe also won first place in the Best Trick category and competed for the top dog honor against five other category winners, including a deep-diving Labrador retriever and a bikini-clad boxer. Gabe's winnings included $15,000 and a Bissell vacuum cleaner. The awards show hosted by Fred Willard was broadcast Sunday, Oct. 5, and included celebrity judges Kevin Nealon, Vivica Fox and dog trainer Tamar Geller. Gabe, his owner Cheryl Knapp and Knapp's 21-year-old son Micah, were flown to Santa Monica, Calif., for the show and put up at Le Merigot, a pet-friendly, luxury beachside hotel. The hotel had a gated garden with shrubs and flowers just for the pets to do their business, Knapp said. But the trio didn't confine themselves to the hotel. During a day of sight-seeing before filming, Gabe, 11/2, wowed a crowd in Hollywood by skateboarding down the Walk of Fame. A stranger had put the skateboard in front of Gabe, but he had no idea Gabe could actually ride, Knapp said. Knapp said she felt confident Gabe would win because of all the support he received nationwide. He had the most page views of any of the dogs on the Worldwide Fido Awards Web site, and Knapp said she received hundreds of e-mails from people saying they had voted for Gabe. Since returning to Bellingham, Gabe has been taking it easy at home, but Knapp said she expects more opportunities to open up for Gabe after all the national attention. "People (at the awards show) kept saying he's got 'star' written all over him," Knapp said.

This scares me.

I mean........WHOA. If you ever come to my house and there are a bunch of freaky dolls everywhere....you know what to do. Just put me out of my misery. Tell my kids you took me to a special farm where I could run free all day or something.

Unliving Dolls

Art Imitating Life

Poor Toby from The Office! I laughed hysterically when this part aired, for obvious reasons!

Broken Ankle Haiku

Insomnia

I can't sleep. This makes 3 nights in a row.

I hate this.

Any volunteers for keeping me company at 3 in the morning?

Doc appointment

Went to the ortho dr yesterday and got my stitches taken out, and a brand new cast! Yippeee! :( At least I got to choose the color.....black. The cast was really warm when it was put on. I pretended I was hanging my leg in a hot tub and really enjoyed it. So, while the nurse, or assistant, or whoever she was, was taking out my stitches she was checking out my fresh-out-of-the-cast-ankle and she said something like "is your ankle always that chubby?" I'm thinking: ONLY SINCE I BROKE IT IN THREE PLACES AND HAD IT IN A CAST FOR 2 WEEKS, HELLO???? I put my good ankle up on the table and said that they normally matched.

DUH.

Lonely Already

It's going to be a really long day. Tyler took the kids to my parents this am and will be at work all day :(

I hope everything goes smoothly here. Know what I'm sayin'?

Gabe the WonderBulldog

Yay for Cheryl and Gabe!



Please vote for Gabe in the Nick at Nite Worldwide Fido Awards here!

If you do one thing today:

Please do this. Go to Oprah.com and follow the instructions to send this message to Senators across the country: Please pass the PROTECT our Children Act, Senate Bill 1738. This has nothing to do with endorsing a particular political party, it's about having the funding and resources to stop internet sex predators and protect children.

It will only take a couple of minutes.

Cast Art

Look at the awesome picture that Tyler drew on my cast today.


It's TROGDOR, the BURNINATOR. If you need a little background on Trogdor watch this vid:


Visit the coolest site ever here.

Wheelchair Adventures

Today was a big day. Took a shower AND made enchiladas! If you ever need a good exercise for your patience, do easy tasks but do them with a cast on and in a wheelchair. Here's a tip: keep a dish towel in your lap when you attempt to cook.

It's 6:45 and I'm ready for bed.

For Ryan

It is somewhat comforting to know that you died doing what you love but you will be missed by many. Rest in peace, friend.

Ryan Triplett 1977-2008

When I grow up, I DON'T want to be a stuntperson

By now, you probably have all heard about my weekend. My hand slipped off of a zip-line and I fell to the ground. About 15 feet or so. Maybe more, I don't know. The result: a fractured and dislocated left ankle, surgery, some screws and a metal plate, and a sprained right ankle. I'm rolling around in a wheelchair for now because my right ankle isn't strong enough yet to go long distances on crutches. I go in on the 22nd to get my stitches taken out and a new cast.

I'm trying to find something good about this happening but am struggling. It's hard going from the person who keeps this house running to someone who is utterly useless in almost every respect. Tyler, Maddie, our parents, and our coworkers have been very helpful and wonderful and I am so thankful for them.

I really appreciate the get well wishes and prayers for healing. Thanks everyone.

Great. Just great.

Riley has taught himself to burp on command.

That is all.

Funny

This was a little before my time....I was 3. Stumbled onto this the other day and have been laughing about it ever since.

Back to School

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Maddie goes back to school tomorrow, and she couldn't be happier about it! She is going to be a big 5th grader this time around, it just doesn't get much better than that.

Been doing some school shopping the past week, finished up yesterday and also got her in for a haircut. Watch out 5th grade, here she comes!

Look at what else Old Navy was selling: Buy one for $20 or two for $15 each. I just took the one. One is plenty.

Is there middle ground...

between being labled a "scrooge" and going overboard on Christmas? What do you think?

Hahahaha.....

Thanks for this email, grandma!

THE BROKEN LAWN MOWER

Marriage is a relationship in which one person is always right and the other is usually the husband.

When our lawn mower broke and wouldn't run, my wife kept hinting to me that I should get it fixed. But, somehow I always had something else to take care of first: the truck, the car, e-mail, fishing, always something more important to me than the lawn mower.

Finally, she thought of a clever way to make her point. When I arrived home one day, I found her seated in the tall grass, busily snipping away with a tiny pair of sewing scissors. I watched silently for a short time and then went in to the house. I was gone only a few minutes. When I came out again I handed her a toothbrush."When you finish cutting the grass," I said, "you might as well sweep the driveway."

The doctors say I will walk again, but I will always have a limp.

This explains so much.....

Warning-Don't exercise! You could die!

http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/07/16/1202623.aspx

Riley's Birthday

What a big weekend for Riley! On Saturday night he opened a few presents and had cupcakes after dinner. Sunday, however, was the main event. The four of us and G&G Coleman went to "Day Out with Thomas" at the Northwest Railway Museum in Snoqualmie. How lucky that this traveling show was nearby on the weekend of Riley's birthday! It was a beautiful day for the train guru.


After a minute solid of huffing and puffing, the candle finally went out.
He really enjoyed his cupcake. You would think we'd never given him sugar before.
This picture is the first moment Riley saw Thomas the Tank Engine pulling into the station. Sort of like the first time you see Santa Claus, I'm guessing. Unless you hate Santa Claus, of course.

Riley and Tyler on the train. Living the dream, you know.
Some old rusty cars we saw-

Riley was watching this little girl, probably thinking "This girl has no clue what she is doing. Amateur."
After Thomas, we drove home and opened some gifts from G&G.
There's a lot going on in this picture. Riley is playing with a new train he just opened, Maddie is posing with one of Riley's new pirate swords (Yes, pirate swords.), and Grandma Shaaron is filming "incognito" from inside the train. See, mom? I told you I was going to put you in my blog.
Papa Jim. Ain't he great?
Tyler+pirate swords=hours and hours and hours of fun.
The cutest 10 year old in the world.How old are you, Riley? "I'm free!"

Happy birthday Riley!

The Park

We went to the park yesterday. Not just "the park" but THE Park, Lynden City Park. What a cool place! I would have loved a park like this when I was little. But, as you know, when I was little all we had to play with were Sticks & Rocks tm.

Here are our pictures from the park-