An Update

Sorry we haven't posted since the crash. The insurance company totaled the Jeep. I know it doesn't look like much from the pic, but the undercarriage took the brunt of the blow....transfer case torn, exhaust manifold ripped out of the engine, front axil bent. They gave me a fair offer so now I am looking for a vehicle. I want the vehicle below, a 4 door Jeep Wrangler, which has been my dream vehicle for a long time...yes, I dreamed this up and somehow Jeep stole my dream before I could cash in on it.

I am going to have to wait though for financial reasons, so I am looking for a midsize pickup, 4wd, preferably with 4 doors.
Something like the the Ford Eplorer Sport Trac or the
Nissan Frontier . I am leaning toward the Sport Trac, just not sure I can find it in my price range.

Do you remember this pic
, well Cindy is now rehabbing a torn Left ACL. We go back to the Orthopod next week to discuss whether or not she will have surgery. Be praying for wisdom for us on this, because she doesn't have to have surgery. Need to know the right thing to do.

I am now working nights and my body is trying to figure out when night and day is and how to sleep in small spurts. It is hard. You feel tired all the time. Thankfully it is only two weeks at a time.

USC vs Hogs in 1.5 weeks! I am not as confident as I was before Casey Dick hurt his back and McFadden hurt his toe. I hope the team is not feeling like me. I will still cook BBQ and call those hogs.

This is how my day started

12am Finally get in bed after working a 6 hour shift in the ER.
1230am Still not asleep. Change alarm from 5am to 6am.
0100am Finally fall asleep.
0600am Alarm goes off. Hit snooze.
0610am Alarm goes off again, role out of bed.
0745am Leave for work. Traffic is heavy.
0750am....This happens.


Girl pulls out in front of me trying to make a left across traffic. This is why you never turn across two lanes when you can't see who is coming in one of them. I wasn't hurt, at least not yet. Only a sore knee. Thank God for seatbelts.


My wheel is bent back some and is rubbing against the wheel well. Meesa thinks that is going to be hard to fix. Only a little "body" damage thanks to a tuff steel bumper. It too is bent back, as you can see.


Transmission fluid...that means I probably get a new or rebuilt transmission. Not going to be cheap either.

Thankfully, neither of us were hurt and the other party has State Farm insurance, which has been really good so far. I am now driving a Kia...not a Jeep but it does have a tradeoff....air conditioning.

If you have any advice for dealing with this stuff, I am all ears.

surrounded by beauty

 
this is my favorite pic of us from the trip. you might be seeing it again on our christmas card. :-) we had just come from American Basin and were almost near the top of Cinnamon Pass at this point, which i think is around 12,000 ft. it was awesome. more pics to come... 

Colorado Index

In an effort to remember and narrate the details of our recent Colorado getaway, here is an index (thanks to Lafe) of memorable moments/ observations that we made while there.

Number of deer we saw: minimum 20
Number of times we almost saw a moose: 1
Number of people who commented on Jason's fishing poles in the airport: 4
Number of stewardess's who asked if he was deep sea fishing in Colorado: 1
Number of times we cracked up when we saw our camper: every time
Number of perfect cups of coffee I (cindy) sipped on with delight: 6 (and only 1 was Starbucks! I am NOT a Starbucks snob, i promise)
Highest elevation we hit in our mint green Ford Escape: 13,000 ft (we're considering buying one in the future- it performed surprisingly well in the mtns)(steger's we thought of you guys the whole time) :-)
Number of feet we could see ahead of us at 13,000 ft: 20
Number of times Cindy was scared for her life: 1
Number of times Cindy had to remind Jason that the 'altitooties' are a real medical condition (that he would quickly agree she needed treatment for): 3
Number of waterfalls we saw: at least 15
Name of banjo/ viola duo that serenaded us as we ate amazing calzones at Poker Alice's one night: the Olde Battleaxe
Number of pictures taken: 533
Number of times we were in awe of God's creation: 5,033
Number of times we commented that "our families sure would love this": 5
Person with the most overactive bladder: Jlo (for the first time ever)
Highest gas price we paid: $3.35
Number of animals we talked to: 2 (a friendly marmot & deer)
Number of awesome people we talked to: 10 (Heather Teel- the best host ever, her beau Jessie, Doug & Julie, Lily, Julie's mom- Ruth (who knows some of the missionaries in Oaxaca), Micah- our awesome river guide, her sister, Abby, & of course, each other)
Number of times Jason said "Suzie sure would love this...": 5
Number of pagers that beeped: 0 (mission accomplished)

More pics to come. Check FLIKR for most of them, otherwise I'll post like 30 more times. It was a truly refreshing retreat into some hidden jewels of God's creation. We highly recommend all of you to visit Lake City sometime. Better reserve your trailer now! You don't want to miss out on that experience. :-)

reason why

 
Nightly stay in cousin eddie's RV: $55
Stunning mountain view 20 yards from our door: priceless. THIS is why we stayed here. 

National Lampoon's Colorado Vacation

 
Yes, folks, you guessed it. We had the privilege of staying in cousin Eddie's RV for our 3 night stay in Lake City (not literally, but it felt like we'd see him any minute). We were very proud of the fact that our little camper was 1/2 the size of all the others, and appeared to be on the verge of falling apart. Jason is now seriously considering buying one just like it, b/c he thinks you can fix up the inside to look real nice, and leave the outside looking like a junkpile so that no one is tempted to break in. Brilliant! That's my little Dave Ramsey. :-) After the initial shock, we ended up being very pleased with our accommodations. The next pic will show why... 

reaching for the nose...

hi, my name is cindy, and i am an avid nose-holder when i fall in the water. i need help. am i the only 25-yr-old that still holds her nose? jason thinks it's hilarious, hence, him making sure to get footage on the camera. any tips from none-nose-holders out there? i'm at a loss.
note to self: wear knee brace on knee that's been hurting, not the one that already had surgery on 5 years ago. about 2 seconds after this pic was taken, my none-braced knee collapsed. go figure. i'll probably be wearing a cast on each leg next time you see me. gotta love wakeboarding. :-)

reaching for the stars...

i couldn't resist. jason's wakeboarding skillz are just too cool to not post. if i remember correctly, this one here, he saw a big plate of bbq-d chicken smothered in Head Country on another boat coming towards us and had to at least attempt to get while he was so close. you can figure out yourself if he was successful or not. :-)