Friends

Just a quick photo update...we had friends over for a playdate today...Ethan & Jessie and Ellie & Elizabeth. When Ellie and Elizabeth had to leave, the boys stood at the door to say good bye. It was so nice outside, we decided to leave the door open, which the boys quite enjoyed. Here's the views from inside and outside!

The Week in Pictures

January Update

I've been really bad about keep you updated recently...we've been busy. January has been a busy month, each weekend that rolls around I can hardly believe that the week is gone! Time is flying, and we are having a great start to 2010 as a family!

Progress continues to be made in the basement, thanks to Ben's determination and the help of wonderful friends! Electrical is the current project and it looks great. There's still some framing to be done, but I am excited that it looks like we might actually have twice the living space by summer!! Yay!

Caleb is learning more and more words every day. His vocabulary includes "mama", "dada", "dog", "woof", "bawk bawk" (chicken sounds!), "let's go", "please", "cheese", "up", and more and more all the time!! It's so fun to watch him learn so quickly. Of course as the parents we think that he is brilliant and far ahead of his peers!! He'll be 13 months old tomorrow and he's more fun and sweet than ever! We've had a few nice days and he has loved being able to play outside. One of his favorite things to do currently is to climb the stairs to our front door, and say "door" as he touches the door, then climb down the stairs and walk to our side door and do the same thing. He goes back and fourth...and apparently finds it highly entertaining! We think it's really cute!

Yesterday and today, Ben and I took a wonderful little respite to a local hotel and left Caleb with friends. It was in celebration of our 3rd wedding anniversary, which is coming up next week! We had a great time talking an outdoor walk, enjoying the hot tub, talking, eating out, and just enjoying each other. It was very fun!! We are so thankful to have wonderful friends who were willing to keep Caleb, and we heard that he did great! We are so thankful to have such an easy-going son...but I did miss my boy! He'll have to enjoy another sleepover with his buddy, Ethan, sometime soon!! Go HERE to the Fallon's blog for pics of the boys together!!

2010 US Figure Skating Championships

I watch ice skating in the Olympics, but never really cared other than that. Though I can't say as I've reached "passionate", I now have a new appreciation for these skaters and the feats they accomplish. I've been assigned for two shifts at the championships, held this year in Spokane, and watched the champion men, pairs, and dancers practice and compete. Wow!!!!! The things they can do take on a whole new dimension from my rinkside post. (I took the shots below from where I was assigned) I watched most of it from just feet away from the ice. I had the chance to chat with several of the competitor's family members, media, and other people. I learned a lot about this sport, and if it ever comes back to Spokane, I'll be there as a spectator next time. Behind the scenes as the athletes prepare, the coaches mingle, the media is interviewing the stars, etc., is pretty cool as well. A first hand view of the stress of the competition, the joy when a routine went well, and the frustration when it didn't. The spray of ice chips in a tight turn, seeing the intense strength it takes to perform some of the stunts, all made for a very impressive show.

"Hey officer, want some weed?"

I don't know if I mentioned this before, but I just found the press release in my files from a few months ago. (Italics are my own comments within the press release)

Pair arrested after selling marijuana to security guard

Two women were arrested yesterday evening after selling $20.00 worth of marijuana to a uniformed STA security officer.

Judy C. Kirchoff (1/29/91) and Crystal M. Weissenfels (6/23/80) approached STA Security Officer Mike Hill (in full uniform with a duty belt) and asked him if he was a "cop". Ofc. Hill's primary duties are patrolling the STA Plaza, downtown Spokane. (Security, limited commission, not an officer) Ofc. Hill explained that he had a limited commission, and the women commented on his duty belt. Weissenfels asked Ofc. Hill if he could arrest people, and he explained that he could but only for "certain crimes". She then asked if he wanted to buy marijuana. Ofc. Hill told the gals he only had $5.00, and they told him they would sell him what they had for $20.00. (entrepeneurs, they are)

Ofc. Hill left, contacted Neighborhood Resource Officers Wayne Downing and Shaney Redmon, and advised them of the situation. Ofc. Hill returned to Kirchoff and Weissenfels, gave them $20.00 and they handed over the small baggie of marijuana.

Ofc. Hill then detained both women and advised Ofc. Downing what had occurred. Ofc. Downing and Ofc. Redmon contacted Kirchoff and Weissenfels and placed them under arrest. Both were booked into Spokane County Jail for Delivery of a controlled substance.

Inlander Comments on a Spokane Night

(Ben) Police work has not slowed nearly as much as it did last year. We've been staying busy, even having a few busy nights that are abnormal for us. One Friday night just before Christmas, police responded to 175 calls in 8 hours. (This is a lot, especially for December, and with a lot of violent crime on that night) I took the night off, though my team was working. I found the following little ditty in the Inlander, thought it was clever:

"There were Eight 'saults assaulting, seven drunks a-driving, six brawlers brawling. Five. Car. Crashes! Three armed robb'ries, two gunshots, one gunshot more...and some suspects in custody!"

Family Photo Album

I just finished making our Family Photo Album on Shutterfly. Hopefully it will be in my hands soon! Since we've been married I have made a book each year. They're such a nice (and easy) way to have a pictoral review of the year.
Please check out the book and let me know what you think! You can do this by clicking on the link below or by watching the video that may be at the top of our site. Thanks!

Click here:
Green Family Album 2009

Google Solves All My Problems

Somehow we got three white stains on our nice wooden table. I think they're heat stains, but I had no idea how to get rid of them. Today I Googled "how to remove white heat stains" and I was surprised to find that several hundred people have this same problem! I opened several pages and there were many obscure ideas about using mayo, olive oil, and sandpaper, but the most common suggestion was to take an iron to the stain. I decided to try the iron since it seemed like the one that most people were using successfully. Here's the steps I followed:
1) Wash and dry table thoroughly
2) Heat iron to high steam heat
3) Use iron to hover over white spots, emitting steam
4) While hovering, make sure that you move iron around
5) Ta Da the spot is gone!

Here's my pictures of one of the stains:

BEFORE and AFTER

Birthday Pictures

We had a wonderful birthday dinner with the Fallon's and the Briggs! Here's some pictures from that day:

Did you know you can get a FREE 1st birthday cake at Albertsons? Just order 24 hours in advance and you get to pick from a few different designs, and you pick up this beautiful cake...did I mention it's FREE?!?!

Ethan got all excited when we sang "Happy Birthday", and he started clapping!!

Some goofy pictures of my one-year-old!

And of course we had to do a pic with the two buddies together! Ethan will be 1 on January 19th!!

I'm Not Ready For This

This is the one blog post I have been dreading for the past year. It's time to wish my little Caleb Michael a HAPPY 1st BIRTHDAY! We just can't believe how fast 2009 has gone by, and we know that life isn't slowing down now! We are so thankful to God that Caleb came to join our family on December 29th, 2008. He has changed us in so many ways, none of which we are willing to give up! He brings us much joy and laughter throughout each day, and we wouldn't trade him for the world!

We don't have huge birthday celebration plans. Ian & Jessie and their son, Ethan, are coming over for dinner and cake. Then the boys will go to bed and we'll play some games!

This is a little tough for the Mommy here, because (as Ben said today) we only have 17 years left! Ahh! Since he started walking, I guess he was officially a "toddler", but with the passing of the 1st birthday, I feel like that is even more so - he is not my baby any more. He only moves one to bigger and better things from here. His first haircut will be one of the next milestones!

Here's my boy just a couple days after he was born, and here's one of his one year photos! Wow.