The A Way: January 2012

Monday, January 23, 2012

Happy Birthday Tim!

Piper, Bobbi and I!

Finally snatched Piper up again...that little girl is sneaky!

The pregnant girls...could they be any cuter!!! Ashley, Tim and Corrie

The boys, Kyle and Tim

The classic Kyle and Bobbi picture

The birthday boy! Have a great one!!

The girls! Bobbi, Sara, Ashley, me and Corrie

Kyle and Bobbi goofing around

Wednesday night I caught Cade playing with paint in his bedroom, it was all over him and his bedding. Luckily (or unluckily as you read on) we have a laundry tub in the laundry room and so I tossed it in there and started soaking it. Then I grabbed Cade and tossed him (less figuratively) in the bath tub, then got him in his PJ's and put him to bed. Next I crawled into bed and had just turned my mind off when I heard Kyle screaming from the laundry room. My mind was already shut off, so I honestly had no clue what the problem was. If you havnt figured it out by now - the laundry sink had overflowed and clearly the faucet was still on. I grabbed all the towels in the linen closet and tried to get the mess contained. Obviously I was very naive to believe that the laundry room was the only victim. Kyle went downstairs to make sure the mess hadnt made its way down there. And when I heard the yelling, I knew it had. Not only had some water made its way down there...it was STILL RAINING when I ran down there. My first thought...s&*t...then after that was what can I get to catch the "rain"...because clearly stopping the next gallon of water was going to save our ceiling, couch, and projector. Lol. I grabbed Cades truck, and two coolers. Im sure you are figuring out that those did not save anything. While Kyle stood there in awe, second guessing why he married me :) I got on the phone with insurance.

At 1am Service Master walked in to begin the drying stage. 1 huge vacuum truck, nine commercial fans and a humidifier later placed. they exited at 3am. All the while I watched - wondering how I could turn back time. I also wondered how in the world I was going to sleep that night with all the fans going. It was like a tornado inside our house. The next day at 7am we examined the damage and realized our bamboo floors had also suffered. 3 commercial mat vacuums were placed and the noise level increased.

The kids were so confused. Camdyn kept saying that mommy spilled water. Yeah honey, something like that. Needless to say the house is no longer "wet", the fans are out but we are left with a few damages. The ceilings, the wood floors, the projector, the couch and a little bit of drywall. I just keep telling myself that things could be worse. Our car could break down too. Oh wait that did happen.

In all serious though, things could be worse so I am fortunate we have insurance - and that no one was hurt with my temporary memory loss. Pics to follow.

Car situation

Back in September we finally got a vehicle that I was so excited about. I have had more cars then I can even remember in my life...thanks to my Grandpa being in the car business, but I have never had one that I just LOVED driving. In fact, I really hadnt had a vehicle that I picked out, in the color I wanted or the model wanted. Each vehicle was just one that I came across and it was the right price at the right time. Dont get me wrong I have liked every vehicle (except the green machine...those of you from high school will know what Im talking about...tragic!) but they were just cars. Then in September of this year we found this beauty. It was exactly what we were looking for with all the equipment we were looking for. The perfect car you could say right?...

WRONG! The perfect car by beauty standards yes, but certainly not by safety standards. Unless you like stalling in the middle of a street that goes 50mph with your precious cargo (the kids) in the car. On that day we were flipped off for stopping in the middle of the road, and almost rear ended. It got a little scary, and obviously a little ridiculous...especially when I took over the steering and Kyle pushed us to safety in a parking lot (the hazard's wouldn't even work because the battery was so dead). Unfortunately this was the final straw (among many straws in the form of 5 visits to the dealership prior). The vehicle was towed to the dealership and we then began the battle of deciding what to do. After a long battle with the dealership of whether or not they would fix it or we would pay to fix it ($4500 - and we only owned it for 3 months) we concluded that too many things were wrong with the car and we were now on the mission of finding a new vehicle. Tear.

So on Thursday I went to the dealership, after a night of 4 hours sleep (another post to describe), with my negotiating mind set and spent a long long 6 hours (no drink or food mind you) arguing my point. Clearly all the leaks on the vehicle did NOT happen in 3 months. I even pulled in my amazing Grandpa for reinforcement - who by the way has taught me a lot about negotiating. I held my own until I felt like the deal was fair. Signed paperwork and left. At 9:30pm I had a revelation and had to take another look at that paperwork. Wow they charged me 5k more then we discussed. They were messing with the wrong girl. I marched back in the next day, paperwork in hand, walked right up to the cocky guy and said "Is this the deal we discussed". All the while holding Kyle back. He doesnt do well in negotiating situations, especially when he feels like someone mistreated his wife. Long story short, we spent another 3 HOURS at the dealership playing the game. "Here is what we can offer you" "Nope not gonna happen (while standing up)". Finally we get back to the original deal, also got them to pay for our sales tax, got them to pay for Headrest DVD's, and got a 3 year warranty. I got the butterflies in the stomach and knew we were finally getting a good deal. And while I feel as though we did get a good deal, I am not going to mention the dealer. It was a bad ordeal, and we had to work hard to get that deal. Im glad its over and I dont ever want to buy a car again!! But enough talk...here is the beauty we got. It doesnt get me quite as excited as our Denali did looks wise, BUT I feel safer in it - and after this week...that is the most important thing EVER!! It was the best lesson I have ever learned in life - its like the old saying "Never judge a book by its cover"

I should also mention the gas mileage is way better, so we will be leaving less of a carbon footprint...and surprisingly enough the vehicle seems roomier then the Denali and has all the same amenities that the Denali did plus some - like the Dual DVD players and dual sunroofs.

Also I will say that it was a great bonding experience with me and my Grandpa - I have a lot more of his personality in me then I thought, and I think I surprised him too :)!

Hanging with the Hansens

The Venue is the perfect place to hang out with the Hansens. We can actually sit and talk and not have to yell over bad vocalists performing their rendition of "baby got back". It makes for an awesome night!

Me and Bob

Tim and Kyle

Bobbi driving the big rig

Kyle pretending to know what is going on with our Denali and Tim watching over so he doesnt hurt himself :)

More broke down Denali pics :(

Goooo Huskers!!

Our first game with both kids. I will say it was pretty successful, minus the first ten minutes when Camdyn spilled a full cup of pop. Otherwise it was a ton of fun and we won!

Daddy and Cade sharing popcorn

Camdyn with her malt, the only reason she loves the games :)

Cade loved every second!

Happiest kid ever...maybe a future husker!!

SMILE. I also LOVE the picture of the kid in the background. Clearly he did not see it coming, lol

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Christmas Sweater Party

I should preface this post with the fact that I loved working at Fallbrook and leaving there was one of the toughest things I have ever done. I have honestly never left a job I loved so much. But I had to make some professional changes in my life, and so I took the plunge. I have never felt so lucky to have fallen into a team that I love just as much - and have maintained my friendship with some of my favorite people at Fallbrook. It really was one of the best decisions I have made. My new team makes me laugh hard every day - and you are about to see a glimpse of that!!

Me, Scott and Jen (sweet sweaters girls)

Me, Hai (the intern, and precious one :), and Jen.

A little background. When Jen first met him, she talked to him like he was a baby, and almost picked him up to snuggle him. I almost DIED I was laughing so hard. Hes hard to resist. I should also throw it out there...he is 28. It wasnt the end of the ridiculousness that is Jen. She has since thought about tossing him up in the air like she is the mother to a 9 month old son. And our VP rubbed his head like a 5 year old boy, and said "hey there fella". Its hard to explain what gets over you, unless you meet Hai.

Love this face! Really Hai!!

Hai apparantly cant make a normal smile...Atleast Amy and I can!

Me and Krista

This is where they won the big bucks! Ann, Jesse and Robbi

Hai with the winning ticket

Everyone rubbing on Hai for goodluck!!

Seriously...this happened. It looks like Hai is holding the golden ticket.

Nate and Hai go round and round with who is the tougher one - Im not joking. There has been mention of locking them up in the elevator and see who makes it out alive. Ninja figurines were purchased for Christmas - with each of their names on one. Its hilarious.

Im sure you are thinking...poor Hai, he is clearly not aware of his "cuteness" at age 28. But he is. The first time we all had lunch together he asked our boss for a high chair. Trust me, he is in on the joke.

Robbi and I. It is so funny how Robbi really looked the part. It was hard to tell if she was serious or joking! Certain people at work, would honestly compliment her...ha ha!

The people who make going to work a blast every day.

Nate, me and Jen

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

New Years Eve!

You know the quote, time flies when you're having fun. This definitely applied on New Years Eve. It went so fast that Brian had to set his alarm on his cell phone so we didn't miss midnight!! Also Jay put it very well..."it was so fun, that he remembers about two hours where people were just giggling - and we don't really know what about" (yes my friend Jay said giggling). It goes down as one of my favorite New Years Eve's and I have spent a lot of New Years with these hooligans :)!

Group picture. Take a closer look. Yes ~~Pippi~~ Sarah does appear to be a figment of our imagination. Ive never laughed so hard. So many jokes flew after seeing

that pic...this is what happens when you set a timer on a camera

Another group shot...much better!

The originals. I have spent more New Years with these ladies then anyone else. So much fun!

Although, this is what happens when we allow Bobbi to take a picture...Zoom much!

And this is what happens when we allow Matt to take a picture. We end up with Jay in the background.

These girls and I were all on the dance team together in high school...good times :)

Renee, Hope, Sarah, Bobbi and I (sorry for the sweaty mess that I am...that is what happens when you play just dance all night)

Me and Jodi :)

Tim and Kyle

Me and Dr. Steinkruger...almost Dr. anyways!

Me and Sarah!!

Brian and Jodi - munching on the amazing Taco Inn!

Matt and I - and Tim's hand! Nice!

Trooper of the night. Yes she is pregnant and loving the night. They didn't leave until 2:30, amazing lady!!

Hope and her straight hair. Killing Rock band!

Bobbi and Jay reenacting the 2005 New Years...only less dangerous.

Its not a party until Jay sings...the best!

I love this photo. This pretty much sums up the night. So many different things going on at once. Bobbi is in control of Rock band, Reese on the drums, Jay singing, Jodi playing guitar, Scott playing basketball, and Renee chatting someone up.