What we are up to...

This is what I think about health care also....

2010-04-02T14:19:00.002-06:00

Mitt Romney today issued the following statement on House passage of the health care bill:

"America has just witnessed an unconscionable abuse of power. President Obama has betrayed his oath to the nation — rather than bringing us together, ushering in a new kind of politics, and rising above raw partisanship, he has succumbed to the lowest denominator of incumbent power: justifying the means by extolling the ends. He promised better; we deserved better.

He calls his accomplishment “historic” — in this he is correct, although not for the reason he intends. Rather, it is an historic usurpation of the legislative process — he unleashed the nuclear option, enlisted not a single Republican vote in either chamber, bribed reluctant members of his own party, paid-off his union backers, scapegoated insurers, and justified his act with patently fraudulent accounting. What Barack Obama has ushered into the American political landscape is not good for our country; in the words of an ancient maxim, “what starts twisted, ends twisted.”

His health-care bill is unhealthy for America. It raises taxes, slashes the more private side of Medicare, installs price controls, and puts a new federal bureaucracy in charge of health care. It will create a new entitlement even as the ones we already have are bankrupt. For these reasons and more, the act should be repealed. That campaign begins today."

2010-02-27T16:48:00.028-07:00

We finally went on a vacation....

So we finally went on a much needed vacation. Our last house went under contract and we closed the day we left. YEAH!!!! We have been doing so many houses and Jake has been working full time we really haven't had a chance to have an adult only vacation in a long time. Jakes parent watched the kids, thanks mom and dad, so we were able to enjoy a week long cruise. We even meet some great friends from Brigham City, Utah who were our same age. Thanks Tami and Trevor for making our cruise so fun!

Puerto Rico

Our cruise left from Puerto Rico so we were able to see a little of the city before we left. This is the really old fort that has been there forever. Parts of it were even renovated and use in World War II. It was lots of fun because it was huge and you could walk and crawl into anything!

St. Thomas

Our first stop was St Thomas. I wasn't too impressed with this overly crowded Island. It really wasn't kept up well. We took a walking tour of down town that was real disappointing. But these are the really old 99 stairs. The water was beautiful and we did step into a few jewlery stores, just to make Jake sweat a little :)

Dominica

This is a water fall that a ton of people go see. But the boulders you have to climb to get there are as big as you. There were about 300 people there and there were only 6 of us that made it to the falls. And out of all those 300 people my monkey of a husband was the only one to climb to the top of the big rock under the falls. And yes he did ask me if he could jump off.... and I gave him the look like are you crazy. We even took our snorkel gear and saw a bunch of fish and a few crabs in the water below.

Hiking up the stream to the falls...

Here he is swimming to the rock...Jake at the top of the rock...

We saw a bunch of sulfur boiling pots. Here you can see the smoke coming out of the jungle.

They stunk really bad and made me kind of sick. But I guess they have "healing" powers because the crazy tourist can buy the sulfur mud in jars to rub on there body. I can think of about a million other things to rub on my body that would smell a lot better :)
The base of a huge ficus tree on the Island. People were even swinging from the vines.
A bus that had a tree fall on it in a hurricane in 1980. They just left it here and the tree is still growing.
Here are some of the best black sand beaches. The waves were great because it went really deep really fast so we could ride the waves in with just our bodies. But you had to catch the waves just in time. I just about drowned twice. Salt water in your sinuses doesn't feel that great. But it was so fun and was totally worth it!

A visitor that came to see me when I was laying out on the beach.

Grenada

Here is a picture of Grenada. It is called the island of spice. Jake took a picture of me looking at all the spices that I bought there. I talked to these little old native women who were so cute. I learned so much about Nutmeg and Mace and a ton of other spices they grow on the island. It is really neat to see how spices are grown.

Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

These are the beaches in Bonaire. This side of the Island had really neat beached it wasn't sand it was just a ton of old white coral.

Here is a picture of Jake trying to wind surf, he got pretty good. It is really hard you have to balance and judge how the wind is going to throw you around. I got up twice but not for long. This part of the Island was a really neat bay. It was white sand and water up to your waste with strong winds and the water was so warm. You would walk around and fish were going under your feet. It was really a neat spot.

These are the salt farms. This Island is Dutch owned and they flood the southern part with sea water. Then it dries out in the sun turning the water pink as you see in the picture then they harvest it when it is all dry and sell it as sea salt.

Aruba

In Aruba we went deep sea fishing. It was insane! We went to the tip of the island were the ocean is like black because it is so deep. And I have this fear of sharks, silly I know, but I got a little nervous when our guide told us that his father swam in these water and was bit four times by a shark. The waves was as big as our two story fishing boat. Going out there was crazy because we were going up and down and I was literally holding on for dear life. But I did really good with sea sickness considering my condition but Jake..... He lost everything just for about five minutes and then went right back to fishing. That boy is obsessed! But we caught 6 Wahoos and lost about 10. But once I got over my fear of the crazy sea and riding the waves it was really fun. It was definitely the biggest fish I have ever caught.

Well now back to reality.......

2010-01-09T20:16:00.007-07:00

Just some pictures of the boys sledding in our backyard. Jake made a jump and they thought it was the coolest thing ever!

Best day to go sledding, it was almost hot!

Merry Christmas to me!!

2009-12-26T21:34:00.018-07:00

We put our last house on the market the day before Christmas. Here are some pictures. Christmas was a wonderful relaxing break for us. Jake didn't have to work and the house was done!

Before:

AfterBefore:
After:Before
After:Before:After:Before:AfterBefore:After:
This is my favorite bathroom we have done. I loved the backsplash I put in!
BeforeAfter:Before:
After:
Pictures really can't show all the work we really did. We had so much cleaning and sterilizing to do on this house. We also put in all new 6 panel doors and base boards in the whole house. Changed all electrical and part of the plumbing. But it is done and we hope to get it under contract soon!

2009-11-12T20:25:00.005-07:00

This post is dedicated to all of our friends who always tell us that they want to fix houses like we do....

The last two days consisted of filling two full size dumpsters with rat infested garbage. This house we bought this month has been vacant for over a year and the previous owners left food everywhere!! It was so gross these pictures really don't do justice to what I saw the last two days. But the house is finally empty and we can start working on the fixing up. There were also reports of random parties over the last year in this vacant house. I think a bunch of drunk teenagers took a bat to all the drywall in the basement. We will be replacing most of it. I am still excited that this house will be the biggest transformation we have done yet, however I need to get over the back pain of raking up over 40 bags of leaves that were rotting all around the house from 5 years of no care. Fun Fun!!!

Oct. 31........

2009-11-05T15:34:00.006-07:00

We finally carved the big pumpkin! I was glad to finally pick the huge pumpkin that was going in my yard. It was starting to take over the grass. Here are pictures of us carving it and of a Trunk or Treat we went to. Russell was a pirate and he loved saying ARRRRRR the whole night. Landon was Tigger and he hopped the whole time. It was adorable.

Jefferson Lake

2009-10-19T21:41:00.003-06:00

We went fishing today at beautiful Jefferson lake. The fishing was horrible but the wildlife awesome...I was eating a muffin and turned around to see a fox about a foot from me. I panicked at first and just threw the muffing at the fox thinking it was going to go after it in my hand. It really liked the muffin (pumpkin cream cheese Yummy) so it wouldn't go away. The kids didn't understand why we couldn't pet it or take it home. I couldn't believe how tame it was. What an adventure!

Another fishing picture

2009-10-08T20:27:00.002-06:00

Jake took Russell for a day of fishing. They had fun despite Russell falling into the stream a couple of times. This was the big catch of the day.

School

2009-10-04T18:11:00.004-06:00

Russell is doing great in Preschool. He loves his teacher and is learning a ton. Last week they had cowboy day and the parents were able to show up early for a little show. Here is a little of it...

The Blanket..

2009-09-23T12:06:00.003-06:00

Landon has a blanket that was made by my good friend Missy. He loves the thing. This is how my laundry day goes...

Fishing boat

2009-09-19T21:58:00.005-06:00

This last month has been crazy for our family. Okay I know that is the usual for this family. We went under contract and just closed on our last house. It is nice when they go fast and we can move on to the next one. So once again time to drive my loving husband nuts with me finding Real Estate. It takes about 15 houses that we want before we actually close on one. And last time it took us two months. Every house we sell we get a little bonus for ourselves. This last one Jake bought a little fishing boat. Nothing big just something small that we can stick in the back of the truck and still haul our trailer. The kids had a blast and we were able to get a ton of fishing in a small amount of time!

Russell

2009-09-19T21:53:00.002-06:00

My Little boy went off to school this last month. He is in Preschool and loves it. His teacher is really great and he has already learned so much.Russell also turned 4 this last week. I love this picture because he is sneaking a peak at the present from Grandma and Grandpa before he opens it.

More of our Garden

2009-09-19T21:48:00.003-06:00

We are finally in Berry heaven. I have made 5 batches of Jam. My favorite is definitely Raspberry Peach. Raspberries from our garden and peaches from Grandma Bowden tree. What treat!

Ferron

2009-09-19T21:42:00.004-06:00

We went down to Utah a couple of weeks ago and had a blast. We took the kids four wheeling and they loved it. Well Landon fell asleep in the middle so trying to make sure he didn't fall down was a little tricky! We had a blast! Thanks to everyone for feeding us and letting us go on your adventures with you.

2009-08-17T09:20:00.011-06:00

House is done! between family reunions and Jakes work we are glad that this house is done. It has been a stressful 4 weeks. We put it on the market Saturday and have already had 8 showings. We just hope we can get it sold soon so we don't have to worry about two houses!

Before:
After:

Before (well just after we took out the nasty old cabinets):
After:

Before:

After:

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Before:
After:

2009-08-16T22:32:00.004-06:00

Goodbye Grandpa, you are loved and will be missed!

Kenneth Jacob "Jake" Baily
1919-2009

2009-08-16T22:08:00.003-06:00

This last week we had the Bowden Family Reunion at our house. It was a wonderful that our family supports us enough to drive and fly out to see us. We had a blast going to the White Fence farm, playing at the beach at Bear Lake, Going to Monkey Bizness and Hiking at Roxburough park. I have some other pictures but my computer is having problems but it was really fun to see everyone!

Jake Sister Jenie and her family

The kids having a late night snack!

2009-07-24T13:38:00.003-06:00

As many of you have heard by now Jake and I bought another house to fix and sell. We have been working on it for two weeks and in two more weeks we will have it on the market. We are trying to get it on the market while it is still summer and a good selling season. Here are some pictures:

So far we have taken out all the kitchen as you see above. We have scraped popcorn off ceilingand re textured them, tiled bathrooms, Painted the whole house and installed all new lights. This next week we are installing wood floors and the kitchen. Should be fun!

our yard... our loss....

2009-07-11T20:28:00.019-06:00

We had a supper strong storm on Friday night. Our vegitables will once again make it but I am afraid to say we lost one of our big cotton wood trees. I was upstairs taking care of gushing water coming out of our windows when it fell. I thought it was thunder because the storm was so loud. The kids came running up stairs telling me that the thunder was so loud it hurt thier ears. So I calmed them down and went back to the window and saw the tree on the ground. We are so blessed that it didn't hurt anything. It really couldn't have fallen in a better place.

Russell was really sad when he realized his swing was on the ground!

While I was out there I thought I would show everyone what our back yard looks like! Here is our flag stone patio

Some of our many fruit trees. Still no fruit but in a couple of years we will be eating good!

Here is our garden this year. We have really awsome raised beds. It took many weeks of weeding and preperation but we are finally eating out of it. The whole first and last row are berries. Russell and Landon can't seem to keep them alone. We only have raspberries right now but soon we will get black berries!

Here are our tomatoes...

Carrots..

Squash..

Beans..

Peas... I really haven't had a chance to cook with any of these I can't seem to keep the kids from eating them. They are really yummy and sweet.

Corn... Well it looked alot better before this last storm. They got a little wind blown.

And here is a picture of our first carrots. This kids were really cute eating them with the leaves still on them!

Well that was our exciting weekend now what to do with the tree??????

HAPPY FATHERS DAY

2009-06-20T13:01:00.005-06:00

Since fathers day is coming we thought we would share some of our recent camping photos. The photos are sure to bring back old memories of when Grandpa Bowden took his boys camping. Russell and Landon ask me everyday "when will we go camping again". It must be in their blood.

Boys night out at Jefferson Lake Campground. We froze that night but had a lot of fun

Daddy taught Russell how to kiss a fish, now Russell gets to share the knowledge

Russell showing Landon his big catch

Landon having a marshmallow overdose

2009-05-27T14:03:00.004-06:00

Sunday we got the biggest storm of this year. It hailed about an hour (destroying our garden UGH) We had funnel clouds in Highland Ranch which is about 5 minutes from us and lots of thunder of lighting. Here is a video of the kids they thought it was pretty neat.

2009-05-27T13:51:00.007-06:00

We have our house painted and the land scape almost done. Here is a before picture:

Here it is after:

You can't really see it in the picture but I really like my red door!

garden....

2009-05-01T21:16:00.004-06:00

Here is a picture of my obsession I have had this last month. I have started our garden from seeds this year to try to save money. It also gave me a chance to get some unusual vegetables. So this is what I have so far. My tomatoes just started to turn yellow yesterday I think they are saying I need real sun not a small lamp in a bathtub! Also my eggplants have done very well. I am not sure what I am going to do with four eggplants and all they are going to produce, so if any one has good recipes with eggplants I need them! I am proud of my little green house.

camping

2009-05-01T18:30:00.005-06:00

Yesterday we went camping in our new trailer for the first time. It was a little windy but a lot of fun. Our trailer has a great heater we stayed nice and warm. Jake, the master fisherman, caught us dinner so we had lemon pepper trout for dinner, yummy!

Here is a video of the fish we ate. The kids thought it was really a neat thing to be able to hold it.

Easter

2009-05-01T18:25:00.006-06:00

We had a great Easter this year! This is the first year we died eggs and it was a lot of fun.

2009-04-09T17:24:00.004-06:00

Russell has found if he digs in our garden it is crawling with worms. He said he found a big worm and when I saw it I thought it was a snake at first it was so big! He thought it was really neat, it just kind of grossed me out.

the big reveal

2009-03-28T19:02:00.033-06:00

Here are some pictures of the new house. There is still a lot to be done but we are getting to the point that it is starting to feel like home.
Our front room:
My favorite part of this room is the front light that Jake put up, the wood floors and curtains.

The kitchen: well we pretty much did everything here is a before picture:

And After: Here is were I really brag about my husband. He did the cabinets all by himself. We moved out a wall, took out the saufet, took out a window so we could put in new cabinets, refinished hard wood floors, put in recess lighting, and new countertops. We are getting new windows for the house in a couple of weeks to keep some of the noise out and so we can open them. The old windows were really bad. This is by far my favorite room,

My countertops, my favorite because you can never tell when they are dirty. So my kitchen always looks clean.

Downstairs or TV room. This room we painted, well we painted the whole house including ceilings (what a pain!) and refinished the wood floors. This is also Jakes new couch and TV since the buyers of our old house bought ours from us.

What a cutie, my boys love Geo Trax.

Downstairs bathroom:

Russells room: this is one of my next projects but at least he isn't using a pink blanket any more. Grandma saw it and brought over a red blanket and a picture of Mickey mouse that my brother had as a kid. Russell thought it was the neatest thing! And yes, his bed is still on food storage. Bunk beds are on my to do list!

Landon's room:

The boys bathroom: We tiled the floor. It is nice because there are two rooms.

Upstairs hallway: The master room is actually another level up and it connects to the den or what they called a master suite.

Master bedroom:

Master bathroom: we are still working on it but here it is so far. Another thing Jake did for me was put in my favorite tile. He is so good! I love how it starts

My bathtub before:

And After:

I am currently using my bathtub as a green house. I am attempting to grow tomatoes and peppers from seed here and Russell is growing a Sunflower:

The den / master suite: We're still unpacking...

Hi Russell Say Cheese:

And here is our basement. It is a walk out so it really doesn't feel like a basement. This is what it looks like a lot of the time. The kids take it over with their toys. I think next summer we might try to finish it. But until then play on!

That's our house. I will save pictures of the outside for a day that it isn't covered with snow and when I get more of the weeds under control! It is so nice to be in a bigger house and have lots of room for the kids. We miss you all and hope that we will get lots of visitors since we have more room now :)

Stuck

2009-03-28T18:50:00.003-06:00

So a week ago I hear Russell screaming for me and I go down stairs and see him stuck in the cat door that the old owners had. Landon was trying to pull him out. It was so funny. Someday we will replace that door...

Stairs...

2009-03-06T09:02:00.003-07:00

So most of the house is packed up because we are moving tomorrow and there really isn't much for the kids to do but they still find activities that keep them busy. Russell was going so fast down the stairs I had to get a video of it.

bath time

2009-02-27T17:52:00.002-07:00

Just a cute picture of bath time. Not sure what Landon is doing. We are moving in one week! I can't wait so if I don't post anything for awile you know why, off to pack my house. I am getting pretty good at moving. I hope we don't have to do this again for awhile!

Landons new hair cut...

2009-02-19T10:17:00.002-07:00

Landon looks so much older with his new hair cut.

Another video

2009-02-01T23:36:00.007-07:00

I got a new camera! Russell dropped my old one down the stairs and it officially doesn't work at all. It wasn't a big lost, it would only take a couple of pictures and then shut down. My new camera isn't fancy but it takes really great pictures. Here is a another video for Gil and Heidi of Russell practicing his ABC's:

2009-02-01T23:24:00.004-07:00

I leave to go to a doctors appointment the other day and keep in mind I am gone for little over an hour. This is what happened while I was gone: Every room in the house has had some mess made in it, games spread out all over the den, sticky notes torn about and placed all over the floor and walls, clothes in rooms taken out of dressers and thrown on floors. Russell decided that Landons high chair would be a great place to go to the bathroom, toys from the toy box all over the floor and Russell somehow feel off the kitchen table. So I walk in to my house that use to be clean to find this mess along with Jake holding Russell and his head looking like this. I think Jake decided we were done having kids that day. Russell and Landon have the sense that they know when mom is gone to go into destroy mode. Jake tried really hard it was just a bad day. I think Russell is going to have a permanent bump on his head.

For Grandma and Grandpa

2009-01-24T20:27:00.005-07:00

These videos are for Gil and Heidi Bowden, Jakes parents, who are serving a mission in Russia. Just wanted to let them know we are thinking about them and want them to see how much the kids have grown.

I hate cats!!!!!!

2009-01-17T15:21:00.006-07:00

Yesterday I cleaned out the basement of our new house. The old owner had two cats and they spent a lot of their time down there. So when I go to clean it I have a major allergy attack and sneeze about ever 10 seconds and caugh all the time. I just hate cats! But here is some pictures of what we are doing. The usual new floors, new texture, knocked out a wall in the kitchen, took out a window and paint the whole house. We are thinking we will be done in a couple of weeks. We also ordered our kitchen cabinets today, it was really fun. Here is what the kitchen looked like before we moved the wall way out. It mad a big difference.

Here is a picture of our really cool wood floors. They haven't been stained or sanded yet but I wanted you to see the cherry outline we have all the way around the walls.

Never a dull moment.....

2009-01-05T15:52:00.003-07:00

We sold our house!!! We got a contract on Saturday and accepted it. We are closing January 30th. So that means mega time cruch. The last owners of the house we bought in December are moving tomorrow so we are starting remodeling tomorrow. We are going to knock out a wall in the kitchen, put in new kitchen cabinets, and take off all the popcorn on the ceilings. Who invented that stuff anyway it's horrible!!! I am excited to be in a bigger house but not for the move. We will keep you updated when our address changes, again. We plan on staying in the house for awhile!
Our new home:

As you can see it needs a lot of work but awesome potential!

Christmas

2009-01-05T15:30:00.008-07:00

This was the first year that we made sugar cookies. It was a blast but boy did my kitchen take a beating! My sister Melissa and her kids came over from Utah and helped us make them. We had lots of frosting and sprinkles!

Later that night we got together at my parents house and had a HUGE fondue party, (thanks to mandy the official fondue queen)and then Grandpa told the story of Christmas while grandma showed the grandkids the cute nativity set that she has. It was all plastic so the kids loved it!

We were able to snap a few family picture shots in our red outfits and then our camera died so no pictures of Christmas. But we got lots of film. But the best news is Jake got me a gift card at best buy so I can go buy me one!

My mom...

2008-12-29T15:36:00.002-07:00

My mom got a blog! I am so proud of her. She really did a great job. If you want to see it is:
http://www.carolandgreg.blogspot.com/

Going to church

2008-12-07T13:53:00.002-07:00

I was making a small book about our family this last year and realized I don't have hardly any pictures of me and the kids. I guess I am the one behind the camera. So we were able to snap this shot while the kids were still clean and before our camera died. I don't think our camera likes us very much. Someday we might get a new one...

New House

2008-12-06T14:36:00.003-07:00

This week was a big week. We purchased another house on Wednesday. However there is a small chance that a second loan on the property might buy it from us. But it is a really nice house built in 1996 and the best part..... it's on one third of an acre. A huge lot with garden beds, a stream, walk out basement, and a trailer gate and pad. Finally my boys can have a place to run around. Here is a picture from the top. We will get to start remodeling this house the end of December. We hope to move into it in January. This week we are putting our personal house on the market. So here we go again. I will get more pictures of it in a couple of weeks!

My famous husband

2008-12-03T20:46:00.008-07:00

So I was doing some research on past properties we have owned and a name search brought up a newspaper called the Washington wire and they have some quotes from Jake about when he worked the Democratic national convention. Not the best writing but it was really funny you can read it here:

Lakewood Police Agent Jake Bowden had one word for his convention experience:
“Painful.”
The five-year veteran, from a mountain town just west of Denver, pulled 15-hour days all week. And while some of his buddies got to meet the Clintons and Obamas, Bowden was working security outside the media pavilions.
“I saw the media personalities,” he offered. He didn’t sound enthusiastic.
All the standing has put Bowden in a world of lower back pain, leading him to joke that he’ll be spending his overtime pay – he expects his check for this week to be triple his normal take-home – on medical care.
[Democratic Convention]But despite his frustrations, Bowden said it’s been a good week, mostly because it could have been a lot worse. “I thought people would be a little more grumpy because of the heat,” he said. “But everyone’s behaved themselves. Even the rioters.”
Just then, one of his fellow officers – resting in the shade of a tunnel under Invesco Field—looked through an open gate at the stadium’s giant TV screens. “Hey!” he called. “Is that Al Gore?”
Sure enough, it was the former vice president, larger than life on the jumbo-tron as he performed mic checks on the podium. Bowden looked interested for a moment. Then he went back to sipping his energy drink, hydrating for the long day ahead.

Don't touch the camera......

2008-11-14T15:38:00.003-07:00

So I go to upload the movie and Russell had found my camera earlier and got some pictures of Landon. I was up stairs sending faxes for our Real estate stuff(our sewer line in our other house collapsed and we have to fix it before we can sell it YUCK!)this is what my kids were up to....

Snowy day

2008-11-14T15:31:00.006-07:00

Two days ago Jake and I bought our first snow shovel. So Russell has wanted to shovel snow for a couple of days now but there was no snow. So, When Russell got up today he was so excited to see that there was snow all over the roads. By the time we got ready and went out side all the snow on the ground had melted so He shoveled the grass. He also thought that his gloves were really neat. Every time he would set them down I would hook them onto his jacket so he could find them. After about a minute he would forget where they were at!

SOLD!!!!

2008-11-06T21:37:00.006-07:00

Well maybe not sold yet, but our investment house is under contract. We had 7 people look at it the first weekend. We have been in negotiations for the last couple of days. We finally got a solid deal today. Now we just have to make it past the house inspection on Monday! If all goes well we hope to close November 25, 2008. We are really excited because it is the worst time of year to sell a house and so we thought we might have to sit on it for a couple of months!

This is my office! I love my job!

Halloween

2008-11-05T14:57:00.003-07:00

For Halloween this year we went to a church party and Russell got a ton of candy. It didn't take him long to figure out the whole trick or treat thing. Landon however got a sucker at the first place and wouldn't put it down. He didn't want any other candy so I let him have the sucker. Something I normally wouldn't do but it was Halloween. He mad the biggest mess but he was so happy. Russell was a train conductor. He had a shirt that made train sounds. You could tell where he was all night long because he kept pushing the button and making sounds. Landon was waldo from Wheres Waldo. I know it was a stretch but we just used what we had. Jake and I didn't dress up. We are still getting over a really bad bug that we had. We both had to go to the doctors twice and Jake took a whole week off from work. The doctors put us on all sort of medications because they didn't know what we had. I am so grateful to be able to swallow. When you can't eat well because your throat hurts so bad for two weeks it really gets to you. Well Enjoy the pictures!

want to buy a house

2008-10-29T22:32:00.018-06:00

So after six weeks of major remodeling we are finally putting our investment house on the market! We listed it today! We have been so sick this last week it has made it really hard to finish the final steps. So here are some before and after pictures. It still doesn't show everything we did like all the bathrooms and such but it will give you an idea. Let me know what you think!

Before

After

Before: The picture doesn't do the smell it had justice!

After, MMMM Smells good!

Before: (no, we didn't keep the piano it didn't work and smelt bad!) After: This house has my dream wood floors!
Before
After

Before

After

Before
After: ahhh a white tub! Took lots of scrubbing!
So you get the idea. But here are some picture of the back yard. I didn't have before pictures but there was a HUGE deck that took up almost the whole yard. I mean this thing was the biggest redwood deck ever. It was horrible taking it down. But isn't it a cute back yard

For those who are voting...

2008-10-07T16:07:00.005-06:00

So I really study the Real Estate Market and Financial Market because that is my work, passion, and what I invest in. I really think that it is interesting that people are blaming Bush and the Republicans for this financial melt down that we have in our economy today. I was sent this video about what was happening in 2004 and the warnings that were given to the government about this potential meltdown. There is a little bit of strong language but it is really interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_MGT_cSi7Rs

OUCH!

2008-09-18T23:02:00.013-06:00

So today I finished scraping the popcorn off the ceiling on our investment house! We are going to retexture the whole thing. And My major accomplishment for last week was turning two black bathtubs into white again. Five chemicals later! So last week I told Jake that I needed to get into the garage to empty the piles of trash that the last owners left us. So he looks at it and tells me to be careful when I lift it because it doesn't look sturdy. So I unlock it and untie a rope that was holding it closed and lifted it up two inches and guess what it fell right off the track and onto me. So I didn't get hurt to bad just a really sore back and bruised shoulders but I think my budget is more in shock because we had to get a new garage door this week. The one that fell on me was an old all wood door that was about 300 pounds. I was alone so I had to shimmy out from underneath it to get out. The new one is a nice cheep metal one that is really light so hopefully we won't have any problems with it now. Stupid garage Door!

Our project

2008-09-18T23:02:00.009-06:00

Okay so I have been a little lazy when it come to blogging lately. We got back from a family reunion in Utah and Idaho and we have been working like crazy on our Second house that we just bought. We are hoping to have it done in 6 weeks but we will see how that goes. I work about 3 hours everyday on it and Jake works solid on his days off. So My camera died before I could take a picture of the front but here are some pictures of the inside. Keep in mind this is when the house looks clean. We filled TWO huge dumpsters with trash and yucky stuff. These pictures can't describe the smell that lingered in the house. Just imagine two teenage boys two dogs and carpet in the whole house, even kitchen and bathrooms! Yuck, People are such slobs.

How dare you!

2008-08-25T22:27:00.007-06:00

To all the criminals out there:

How dare you put my police officer in danger!
How dare you think that you can so violently protest at the Democratic National Convention. In a country that allows you such freedom to protest and freedom of speech.
How dare you think that you can so casually put my husbands life in danger
How dare you hate him with such passion at one moment and a day later beg for his help when it is so desperately needed.
How dare you put yourself in harms way attending a gang related party and expect the police to “save” you when the expected breaks out.
How dare you try to run my husband over with a car putting not only his life in danger but the suspect he is hand cuffing.
How dare you sue and get money for your problems when we live off a policeman’s salary our whole lives.
How dare you mention my husbands name in the lawsuit when you are the one who tries to run him over!
How dare you make me not only listen to your horrible stories but see you one TV not having any human emotions about it.
How dare you think your life is more valuable than a father of two little boys and a loving husband who is our main provider.
How dare you make a wife and family sit at home and worry about his safety everyday.

Okay I think I feel a little better now!

Police at the Democratic National Convention

Nice Shiners!

2008-08-16T22:59:00.003-06:00

Russell is doing fine after his fight with our cement step. He just looks really bad. The doctor said that his black eyes will change colors. They really do, they will go from blue to purple to green all within an hour. It is the strangest thing. The looks I get from people when I go out is priceless. They look at me like what have you done to your child. All I do is just smile :)

OUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-11T14:39:00.003-06:00

So Russell was running in the sprinklers this morning in our back yard when he trips and falls into the cement steps we have in the back. He hit the flat part of the cement but it still left a really big bump. He even got mom to cry because she felt so bad. But he is doing fine now just looks really bad. But the whole reason I wanted to post these pictures is because we used a bag of Frozen peas to try to get the swelling to go down. Landon and Russell were fighting who could eat them. This isn't unusual for Landon because he eats a ton of anything that is put in front of him, but Russell never eats peas. So at the end I gave them each a bag of frozen peas to eat and they were both happy.

Landon loves corn

2008-08-08T18:16:00.002-06:00

Our favorite food right now is fresh corn on the cob. It is Landon's favorite. He will not eat it if I cut it off the cob. He insists on eating it like a big kid! He is so cute!

A little older..

2008-07-31T13:12:00.002-06:00

Jake was looking at pictures last night and saw some of when we were dating. He told me that I should cut my hair so I look that way again. I explained to him that that was seven years a go and I just look older. He didn't believe me. So here is a picture for you honey! You just need a hair cut and you could look the same too!

New Printer/scanner

2008-07-31T13:06:00.002-06:00

So Jake and I went to Best Buy yesterday to see how much a portable DVD Player would cost because I am going to be driving with the kids and just me to Utah in a couple of weeks. We didn't find a DVD player but I got a printer/scanner! They had them on clearance because they were getting a new style. Long story short I got this printer for $40! A much needed upgrade from the old one that I had. It even has a screen and can print pictures from my camera with out having to go through my computer. I love technology!

What happens when mom leaves...

2008-07-18T22:45:00.001-06:00

2008-07-13T14:52:00.012-06:00

We are back from our Fourth of July Vacation. We went to South Dakota with my parents and My sister Melissa. Russell had so much fun playing with his cousin Trevor. We stayed in a cabin located in the Black hills. It was so beautiful. My dad arranged for us to do so many neat things. We went to Badlands national park, Wall Drug, Mount Rushmore, Flintstones amusement park, Bell Fourche Rodeo, Devils Tower, Historic D.C. Booth Fish hatchery, and Reptile Gardens. Here are some pictures of our vacation:

Here we Hiked Devils Tower. It was one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen. In the middle of all these rolling hills and mountains is this really strange formation. It is sooooooo big. It is actually the inside of a volcano from a really long time ago.

We went to a museum that had all sort of neat Fossils. I couldn't believe how big this croc was!

I had to post this picture. It is the best smile Landon has ever had.

We went to this really old amusement park that had a Flinstones theme. It was really corny but the kids had a blast. Here is all the grand kids (except for Emma who was born July 3, 2008) with Grandma and Grandpa.

I love this picture I think Russell's look is classic. You want me to hug this thing?

This is when we are hiking Badlands National park. jake thought it looked just like Ferron. Here is Russell and Jake after they had climbed to the top of a big hill. Russell is saying Yeah, I did it!

Mt. Rushmore was really big! I love this picture of Landon. We had a lot of fun hiking around it and seeing all the history that had happened there.

Russell and Trevor Hiking in the Grasslands of South Dakota.

We watched Fireworks in Lead, an historic gold mining town. They had a great fireworks show over a huge open mine.

Russell had a blast playing with Sparklers for the first time. He did really good except for hand a sparkler to dad that was hot and Jake got a burn on his finger. But the kids had a lot of fun with them, Thanks Grandma!

The boys

2008-06-24T19:34:00.003-06:00

Here is a picture of Russell showing off his Elmo on his underwear. Well Elmo is on the back.

Here is Landon playing with his really cool sunglasses. What a stud!

Our new home

2008-06-24T19:27:00.005-06:00

We are finally in our new home! It is a lot smaller then the one in Phoenix so we have some of our couches and stuff in the garage but it is a great starter home for Colorado. We bought it at a foreclosure auction sight unseen. Over the last four weeks we have done nothing but remodel the whole house. The only thing we left were the kitchen cabinets. Here are a couple of pictures!

At the beach in Texas

2008-06-01T20:01:00.002-06:00

While we were in Texas a couple of months ago we had a hotel on the beach and went out everyday to look for shells. Russell always seem to find the jelly fish but we still had a lot of fun!

Scrapbooking

2008-05-31T14:50:00.003-06:00

I have got one more page done for the kids scrapbook. I think that they are the cutest kids in the whole world but I am a little bias!

I am still alive!

2008-05-30T14:43:00.003-06:00

So you might be wondering if I am still alive because I haven't talked to anyone lately. Well you see I washed my cell phone and it isn't working that great. I really don't want to go buy another one because everyday it dries out a little more I get more functions back. My screen still doesn't work and it doesn't ring but the lights turn on. So I am going to wait another week before I actually buy a new one. So if you need to get a hold of me call Jakes cell phone.
We have gotten a lot done on our house. We have landscaped the back yard, painted the whole house, Tiled the Kitchen floor, torn out all the old carpet and now we are in the process of putting wood in the front room. We really just need carpet and we can move in! I am so excited!

2008-05-18T23:15:00.004-06:00

We are finally moving on. So this last year has been hard with us trying to move to Colorado, selling our house in Phoenix (a housing market that is still crashing) and Jake getting in a shooting while on duty. But things are really looking up. Within these last two weeks Jake is back at work! The investigation is over and Jake has been cleared of any wrong doing and his shooting was considered a “good” shooting. Which I am not sure if those two words should go in the same sentence, but it is finally over.

We have also bought a house at a foreclosure auction and are going to try to “Flip” and live in it. This house is small but what a great deal we got. It is a 4 bedroom house so if we have to live in it for awhile we can. We broke into it and it really isn’t to bad. We had to break into it because we bought it sight unseen. It was part of the deal. So minus the old couch, fish tank, and massive dresser that was left there it is going to be nice. Well it is going to need new everything except kitchen cabinets but the outside is in great condition. We turned on the water and yep you guess it we had a pipe burst. So with water falling through the ceiling and Jake looking at me like what did you get me into. But I am excited. We plan on moving in two to three weeks. I will post pictures when I get a chance so you all can see our little investment.

Just a cute picture of Landon's long hair!

OUCH!

2008-05-03T14:14:00.000-06:00

Russell got his first set of stitches last Sunday. He was jumping on a bed and hit his head on a sharp edge. After a lot of lost blood and tears we rushed him over to the hospital to get a bunch of stitches. The cut was over an inch long and was really deep. He was a real good sport, mom cried in the hospital room because he had a hard time with the shots and dad had to leave the room because he started to get light headed. The doctors really felt around to make sure there were no bone fragments. But we made it through and he even got his favorite treat afterwards a popsicle!

Another picture from Texas

2008-05-02T23:04:00.000-06:00

Here is some pictures of when we went to a railroad museum in Galveston Texas.
Russell LOVES trains! CHOO CHOO!

The boys

2008-04-30T22:14:00.000-06:00

I loved this picture of the boys in our family!

Temple Square

2008-04-18T14:48:00.001-06:00

In April we had the chance to visit Temple Square in Salt Lake City Utah. We loved being back to the place that we were married. We also Visited the church Museum that has a new children's activity center. Russell had lots of fun. We also ate at the Lion House, one of Emily's favorite restaurants.

Were back from Texas!

2008-03-13T14:53:00.000-06:00

We made it back safely from Texas. We had a lot of fun playing on the beach, going to a huge aquarium, visiting a sea turtle rescue center, going to the Houston Rodeo and stock show, and hanging out with some old college friends. We also ate a lot of Texas bar-b-que and sea food. Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Were Blogin

2008-03-03T21:36:00.000-07:00

We finally have a blog! We hope to update this more when we get our computer hooked up to the internet. That will probably happen when we finally buy a house. We are excited for our trip to Freeport Texas on Thursday. We plan to visit our friends there that we haven’t seen for awhile. We are all doing great and are enjoying this time that Jake has off from work.