Obama For Change?

Anybody else disappointed with the outcome of the presidential election, although we knew it was coming? Obama said, "I was never the likeliest candidate for this office." Really? Who voted for him because he was African American? And because he's a suave speaker? I fear what our country has in store. And after 14 hours of working at the election polls, I'm disappointed to come home to find out the fate of our country. Yes, Obama will give us change. But is it really the change we are looking for? Pray for our new leaders! Please!

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold.
-Excerpt from The Second Coming by W.B. Yeats

Halloween Was Only a Few Days Ago...

Gosh! I know I'm a little behind, but that's how things are going for me and my family. We went to Boo at the Zoo, and I swore I would take pictures, but I didn't. We went trick-or-treating, and I swore I'd take pictures, but I didn't. We carved pumpkins, and at least I got a picture of the finished, lighted product. And the kids put their costumes back on one day for me to take a picture to post. So here for your viewing enjoyment, two whole pictures!

Ice Ice Baby - Twilight Style

Twilight fans must see this...

Tag

I was tagged to do this: What you do is open up your "my pictures" folder, go to the 4th folder, and find the 4th picture in that folder and post it. So, here it is ladies (99% chance you're female if you're reading a blog, right?)



This pic is of Spenser's motorcycle. He bought it a little over a year ago, and it had been wrecked. He spent many hours in the garage fixing it and putting on the new fairings, and this is one of the pictures of the final result of all his hard work, if I remember correctly. It's a replica of Nicky Hayden's, who is a Moto GP racer.

I tag: Mattie, Melissa, Sherri & Cate - have fun!

Yikes!

We were getting Brooklyn ready to go on a date with daddy last night, and she said, "I want to look cute, so I don't have to be funny, and so I don't lose my job." How does she know that already??

National Fire Prevention Month

That's right, it's Fire Prevention Month. After watching many people in our neighborhood lose their homes in the Columbia Village Fire, I think it would be smart of us to take the time to make sure we are prepared if a fire emergency arises. Check out this website for some great resources for fire prevention.

As part of Fire Prevention Month, Home Depot had fire truck kits as their monthly kid activity (first Saturday of every month from 9am to noon). Spenser was working, and the Eagle Fire Department was at Home Depot in Eagle, so the kids and I went to make our fire trucks while Spense was giving tours of the fire truck. Spense got to sneak away for a little bit to help us.

F Bomb Update

I just got done reading everybody's comments on my kids wonderful language these days, and I'm happy to report that Isaiah has not said the f word since that one incident. We totally ignored it, and he has not repeated. Likewise, Brooklyn has not said holy crap, let alone crap. Maybe I'm not as bad as I thought!!! I am definitely a fan of ignoring my kids bad behavior (okay, at least their bad language). If I don't make a big deal out of it, they don't say it to try to get attention. LESSON LEARNED!

Your Eyes Do Not Deceive You

Yes, this is a picture of my car! I finally have it back for good, and I couldn't be happier. The body shop only had to keep it one more day, and they said it was just the battery. They couldn't tell if it had gone bad because of the accident or not, but the insurance paid for it! How's that for a sweet deal?! She is almost like she was before. I can tell a few minor little things, like a scratch in the steering wheel, and a tiny scratch here or there, but she's as good as I could have expected, I guess. We picked her up last night and I got to drive home by myself and blast the radio like the "olden days". Oh, how I missed her. I am a happy camper. Now life can go back to "normal", right???

Bound To Happen

This is what happens when you leave a two year old alone for 2 minutes while you make an important phone call. By the way, these are NOT easy to get back on. My backspace button didn't make it through the surgery required to get the keyboard somewhat back to normal. Good thing I don't screw up...

Am I a Bad Babysitter?

This is in the van on the way to drop off my nephew after watching him for a few hours. I think he was exhausted (yes, he's sleeping). Don't you think he looks comfortable?

These Darn Cute Kids...

Cute Moment #1

Laura: Zay, do you want juice or milk to drink?
Brooklyn: He wants milk, because we can't drink too much water because we have to save it for Grammie's fish.
Laura: Oh?
Brooklyn: Ya, we can have a little bit, and then we have to save the rest for Grammie's fish.

Guess that's what she deducted from me telling her to "save some water for the fish" when she's drinking a gallon!

Cute Moment #2

We were in Isaiah's room this morning when he woke up, and Brooklyn happened to notice the little picture of Jesus on his dresser.

Brooklyn: Oh, how cuuttte! I looovve that picture. I love that Jesus. When I go to church I give him BIG hugs! But he's not there.
Laura: But he's there in Spirit, though.
Brooklyn: Ya. Oh, how I love that Jesus.

My Beautiful Car

What did you just say? Oh, you don't see the pretty pictures of my beautiful car, now that she's fixed? Just look a little closer.

Actually, the car saga continues. The short version is that I don't have my car. For those of you with time to spare, here is the long version:

I wake up on Tuesday morning and go in to work. While I'm in a meeting, I miss a call, so I decide to check my messages (I know, very strange for me!). Well, turns out I had received a call from the auto body shop saying that my car was ready last Friday. They had originally (well, not originally, but the final, final, final time)told me my car would be ready on Monday, so I expected a call on Monday, but didn't receive one, so was primed and ready for a call on Tuesday. Anyhow, I go and pick up my car, and there are nice black smudges all over the seats and door handles of my car from the workers dirty hands. So I schedule to come back in on Wednesday to have it cleaned, and head to the car rental place to return the precious minivan. When I reach the rental place, the kind gentleman tells me that the responsible party's insurance company will only pay for my rental through Friday, so I owe him $100 dollars. Not gonna happen. I immediately call said insurance company and have somewhat of a heated, um, discussion with the gal that answers the phone. After quite awhile, and some great moves on my part (threatening, mind games, etc.), the insurance company agrees to pay for the rental through Tuesday. I leave, and 5 minutes away I realize I forgot my garage door opener, and have to go back to get it. You would think the story ends there, but I go out to start my car this morning, and it barely starts. I go to a work meeting, thinking maybe it was a fluke, and it barely starts again. My horn sounds like a dying animal moaning, and my steering is very, uh, un-smooth. So, I drive back to the auto body shop, where I have to wait 30 minutes for my wonderful husband to pick me up, all the while with a stinky two year old with diarrhea. So, now my car is getting looked at and I will know by tomorrow how long it will take to fix, and how much longer I'll be in a rental. Until then, I will sit at home, since Spense is working at the fire department. Ain't life grand!

P.S. I'm crabby.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (& the Funny)

Good - Spense ranked 12th on North Ada County Fire's hiring list. That's good.

Bad - Although he ranked 12th, he won't be starting a job with them right away, as they're only hiring 2-5 for now, but he'll be on the hiring list for the next two years. We're trying to be patient!!!

Ugly - On the way home from celebrating Uncle Eddie's birthday, Isaiah decided to say the "f word". I have NO idea where he heard it. Although it is very distinctly the "f word", it may have been his way to say "frog", although he already knows how to say "frog". So I'm not really sure. We'll ignore it, and it will go away.

Funny - While Grammie & Grampie were watching Brooklyn & Zay a few weeks ago, they watched Jurassic Park for a little bit while flipping through channels. So, the other night, Brooklyn & Zay were telling stories about me getting hurt (like they remember my childhood), and out of nowhere, Brooklyn pipes up with, "And the holy crap dinosaur was eating the tire!". Probably much more funny when you hear it for yourself, but it cracks me up still. But I have to try not to let her know, because first of all, I'm embarassed that I taught my daughter to say crap, and secondly, I have no idea where she heard holy crap. For the record, I never provided the holy. Just the crap.

Tablerock

Last night we decided to go watch the sunset at Tablerock. To our surprise, Grammie and Grampie were up there when we got there. How's that for ironic? So we had them take a few pictures of us. It was freezing, but of course it was beautiful.





The kids and me with Grammie & Grampie

Another Family Reunion

This last weekend we spent at Spenser's parents for the Fowles family reunion. The kids again enjoyed the water (Brooklyn especially likes playing in Grandma and Papa's pond), and we loved spending time with family that we rarely see or have never met! Here are a few pics.

Brooklyn playing in the pond with Hailey


The men in the kitchen!


Spenser's Bronco artwork on the tablecloth


Daddy and Zay enjoying fresh peaches and shortcake


I do exist!

Last Trip to Roaring Springs

We definitely got good use out of our season passes, and I'm so glad we got them! I took the kids and my nephew, Caleb, for our last time on Friday. I was so glad that it was warm, and am already missing summer. Here are my water babies...





I wish I could have zoomed in better on this one, because Isaiah and Brooklyn were both giggling tons when my friend Jaymie took them down the slide with her son, Jonas. I had my hand on Caleb - he got in trouble on a different slide for going down halfway and the standing up and walking back to the top two times. The lifeguard at the bottom finally had to walk up the slide and bring him down. I was surprised we didn't get kicked out!

Better Late Than Never - Reunion Pictures

We had a family reunion in Dietrich on August 9th. Here are some photos:

The kids LOVED the tire swing. Isaiah was giggling so much I thought he was going to yak on himself.



The homemade Slip 'n' Slide. Isaiah loved it.



Stitches - farm style.



Smores time.

So, you decided to come early today, huh?

Let me start out by saying that my family eats a lot of fresh fruit and veggies. Spenser takes nectarines, grapes, oranges and bananas to work for lunch. And my kids eat lots of fruit for breakfast and lunch. And they also eat a lot of yogurt and stuff that doesn't keep for very long. So yesterday when I went to the grocery store while the kids were napping (Spense had the day off), I got my fruit and other items and went to the self check-out, where I ALWAYS go. The gentleman working the counter said, "So, you decided to come early today, huh?" What?! Do I seriously come that regularly that the kid at the counter knows my schedule? I was embarassed. I think I'm going to have to change my schedule...

9/3 Update: I went to the grocery store BEFORE putting the kids down for their nap in attempt to change my routine and get away from the "regular" kid at Fred Meyer. Well, to my surprise, he was working. So I steered my kids to the back of the store to get our milk, and then checked out in a REGULAR checkstand, and scurried to the door at the opposite end of the store, forcing me to push that heavy cart all the way across the parking lot to our lovely van. What am I going to do now? I absolutely have to go to the store about every other day for milk and fruit. Besides, it's like a getaway for my kids - they love riding in and steering the cars around Fred Meyer. My routine is all screwed up. Advice???

Long Overdue!

We've been talking about giving Isaiah a haircut for weeks now. Every time he goes to bed, he tells me he has hair in his ears! So we finally got the clippers out tonight. We let Isaiah choose the attachment size - all based on color. He chose the red one, which is almost the shortest attachment. Guess that means we won't have to cut it for awhile (I hope!). Here he is before:



And after:

Columbia Village Fire

Here's where it all started. My neighbors and I thought we'd save our homes with garden hoses. What did we know? Luckily for us (unluckily for others) the wind was blowing the opposite direction of our homes, so although we were evacuated, we were plenty safe. I took this picture propped up on our fence. The next day I noticed I had bruises in my armpits from being propped up there so long. Ouch!

No, I Have Not Joined The Minivan Owners Club...

Our car had a lot of damage from our accident last week, but we were so happy that they decided not to total it. HOWEVER, our car will not be ready until September 15th, so here is our sweet ride:

In Case You Were Wondering...

We are okay after last night's fire in Boise. The fire started in the field behind our house, and luckily for us, it was blowing away from our house, otherwise the house would have been toast. We were evacuated, but have been let back into our house. At least three people's homes in our ward were destroyed. Keep them in your prayers.

Happenings...

I promise you I have not intentionaly been slacking on my posts. I just hate not being able to add pictures of what's going on. Nonetheless, here are the Buhler family happenings since my last post:

1. The kids went to their first concert on August 8th. We went to see Randy Travis at the Idaho Botanical Gardens. It was a hot evening, but got much cooler as the sun went down, and the concert was great. The kids and Laura and Grammie sang and danced along to the music and had a great time. Brooklyn still talks about Randy Travis to this day.

2. We went to the open house of the Twin Falls Temple. It was gorgeous, and we were glad we were able to take a little time out of our family reunion to make the detour to see it.

3. We attended a family reunion in Dietrich, Idaho. Pictures to come soon, I hope. We had great food, water fun, and it was so nice to spend time with family that we rarely get to see. We're glad to say we didn't come home with a new puppy!

4. The kids and Laura had a stacation last weekend. We went to Roaring Springs (I know, not so much of a vacation, since we go there at least once a week) during the day, and then packed up our camping stuff to go camping at Grammie & Grampie's. We had burgers on the grill, and then took a trip to watch the sunset at Tablerock. The kids loved bouncing up and down while driving on the "dirty" road. Afterwards, we went back to Grammie's and roasted marshmallows, then slept in our tents. What fun!

5. Spenser had his interview with North Ada County Fire & Rescue. It went very well, and he should know whether or not he will get the job by the beginning of September. Ugh, the waiting process! But we've had plenty to keep our minds full (see item 6).

6. Laura and the kids got in a car accident on Tuesday after playing at the park with some friends from work. The three of us are doing fine, we just miss our car. We are waiting to see if it is totaled, and if not, it will be a month before it's fixed! The driver of the other car went to the hospital after the accident, and while getting checked out, they found he had a brain tumor. We hope that you will keep him in your prayers. He's in his 40's, and I know he feels a little down on his luck, with good reason. His situation has helped us to keep things somewhat in perspective, as we are just without a vehicle for a month. Again, please keep him in your prayers.

So, that's it for now. I'll try to get my camera back so I can get pictures of the kids posted soon. Today is the last day that Roaring Springs is open during the week - a sure sign that our summer has ended and football is about to begin! I am so sad, yet so happy. We have enjoyed the summer so much, but are looking forward to Boise State Bronco Football! And then before I know it, it will be tax season again! Yay!

Top 20

Spense doesn't think this is as big of a deal as I do, but just wanted to let you all know that he passed the written exam for North Ada County Fire & Rescue. He finished in the top 20, which is AWESOME, and means he's been invited to continue on in the hiring process. He has the physical agility test on Monday the 11th, which he will have no problems with. Once he passes, they will schedule the oral board interview. I am so proud of him! He has worked so hard for this over the past few years, and definitely deserves this job. Please keep him in your prayers. I'll keep you updated when we know more details about the interview.

No Knives Until You Finish Your Dinner

Spense will either kill me for posting this, or just think I'm retarded because I think this is so funny, but what the heck. Last night at dinner, Spense and I both used knives for our roast, so Brooklyn said she wanted a knife, too. Spenser promptly told her that she could have a knife AFTER she finished her dinner. I STILL think this is funny! We both started laughing. So, to all those that think we might be bad parents, alas, we are not! We make our kids eat all their dinner before we let them play with knives.

Oh, What Do We Do When Daddy's Gone...

When Spense first started working evenings at the fire department, I was so scared to be home by myself! Now I have learned to try and enjoy them. I don't have to cook lavish dinners (corn dogs and fries are a great kid pleaser!), and I can stay up until midnight washing my sheets and bedding, and it doesn't bug anyone but me! Here are a few other things we do when Daddy's gone...

Steal rides on Daddy's motorcycle


Ride to the store in mini aviators, just like Daddy's


Aunt Claire does silly things to Brooklyn's hair and Daddy can't make fun of it

Trip to the Park

Last night was Spense's only night home for a few days, so I talked him into walking to a park up the hill. On the way up the hill he wanted to kill me, because he was pulling the kids in the wagon, and it was so steep that I had to help push. It took us over a half hour to get there, and we only spent 20 minutes at the park before our 30 minute walk home, but the weather was great, and it was nice to get out. I still don't have my camera, so sorry for the blurry pictures, but here are a couple shots from my phone.





My Hot Husband!



The Walk Home...

I'm not so great at this...

I keep getting emails from friends to introduce their new blogs, and it just reminds me that I haven't been keeping up on ours that I only started two months ago, and have only posted to twice! Yikes. I am not so great at this. But since I left my camera in Dietrich over a month ago, I don't really have pictures to share. But here's a picture of Isaiah riding the mini 4-wheeler at Grammie's house. Eddie's little boy, Gabe, is riding with him.

I guess some things have changed for us. I am now staying home with the kids (no longer working at Bravo Entertainment), and I'm gearing up to become a partner of the tax firm I've worked at for 7 years. It's about time! I'm excited for the new adventure, and we're praying that Spenser will be starting a new adventure soon - he just tested for North Ada County Fire & Rescue. I can't believe what a hard worker he is! He works all day long out in the hot sun, and spends some evenings and weekends at the Eagle Fire Department. He's ready to give construction the boot, so we can't wait for him to get hired on to a fire department full time.

Nothing new with the kids. As energetic as ever. We go to Roaring Springs Water Park about once a week, and the kids love it. Other than that, we're just hanging out and enjoying this great summer.

The Boise Burn

We got tickets from the Qwest Arena to attend the first home game of the Boise Burn Arena Football team. We had a great time, and were so surprised at how well the kids did at the game. They really enjoyed it, so we're going to another game tomorrow night, cause they keep saying they want to watch football inside! As you can see below, they actually shared a lemonade without incident!




So sorry the picture of the cheerleaders is blurry. I'm sure you really wanted to see them...

And So It Begins...

Since everybody else in the world has a blog, I figured we needed one, too. How else will our family and friends know what's going on with us - since I never answer the phone, never email, never call, and never write letters. I just hope that a month from now I will still be making some kind of effort at maintaining this page! For now, I'm just going to keep it simple, since I have no idea what I'm doing.

Life is great for the Buhler family. I just got done working tax season, but I'm still working as the Ticketing Manager at Bravo/Knitting Factory Entertainment. So, I spend all my time working or playing with the kids. Spenser is working for Bearcat Builders, and putting in lots of time as a volunteer fire fighter for the Eagle Fire Department. He is also playing football (he says this is his last year...) and getting out on his mountain bike or motorcycle whenever I will let him!

As for the kiddos, Brooklyn just turned 3 in March, and I can't believe what a little sweet girl she has turned into. Just like her mom. She is always taking care of Isaiah and can talk up a storm. Isaiah just turned 2 in April, and BOY IS HE 2! I think he has alter personalities - one minute he is buttering us up with his dashing smile, and the next he is, well, acting like a 2 year old. We thought he'd be the sweet little boy he was for the first 2 years of his life, but we know he's got to grow up and hurry out of this stage.