Is this our "welcome to the neighborhood" deal?

The concrete has been stained!

The name "stained concrete" can give off the wrong impression on how the whole process works. You are not actually staining your concrete, but using a mixture of acid and other materials to cause a chemical reaction that changes the composition (and color) of the concrete. 

Hobart - No more popcorn ceiling!

Hobart - Bye Bye Cabinets

Moving right along, the kitchen cabinets have been removed!

Habob

We got hit by another Habob this week and I got a picture!

And the construction at Hobart begins...

Day one of the remodel! We stopped in this evening to see how it was coming along, all the flooring on the main floor are gone! Tile and carpet piled in the dumpster out front.

Lily cleans Bentley

http://www.youtube.com/embed/p0U03XXoDLo?hl=en&fs=1

It's official! We own 2 houses!

We signed paperwork today!

RIP Dana

Name – Dana Matney / Our Hamster (male hamster)

Age – 3 or 4 years old…who keeps track

Residence – The office, in our house

Place of death – See above

Time of death – Last couple days…but she/ he had a full bowl of food and water

Cause of death – Little Dana was old…just plane old.

Our little Dana comes from a foggy background, her/ his heritage is uncertain, but somehow ended up for sale at Animal Kingdom (Superstition Springs Mall location) during Claire’s tenure at the store. Dana passed away, while asleep in her favorite spot…the upper balcony of her multi-level condo. She is survived by her human family, Claire and Tyler, and her other siblings, Bentley, Topo, Tinker, Lily and Tommy…and the clown fish. Dana enjoyed the finer things in life; seeds, grains, fresh water…a nice walk on her wheel. When Dana was feeling adventurous she would go for a stroll in her clear ball…and run into Bentley (who could have eaten her with out even chewing). She/he laughed in the face of danger.

Dana will be sorely missed, and her memory will live on as a funny little blonde hamster with a girl’s name…and a definable set of nuts (which we didn’t notice at first).

Paddle for Pints Trip

Tyler and I bought a Groupon for Paddle for Pints! It was a great trip with a few of Claire Co-workers from LifeLock (Brandon, Laura, Michele, Phil). Definitely worth doing again, so we will be keeping this in mind for any out of town visitors!

Combine a Verde River kayak trip with a cold frosty brew for a Fun & Adventurous Verde Valley Experience

There will be just enough excitement on the river to make it fun, but you don’t need to be an experienced kayaker. Our inflatable Ducky Kayaks are wide and stable and perfect for beginners.
After your Verde River adventure you can take a leisurely cruise (in your own vehicle) to the Rendezvous restaurant and beer and wine bar in Old Town Cottonwood. The Rendezvous features an eclectic, delicious menu and is located at the “Gateway to Old Town Cottonwood” the newest, hippest scene in the area. The setting is intimate, social and casual with over 20 micro brews and 25 wines from Arizona and around the world. It is the perfect way to end an epic river day in the high desert, in the beauty of the lush Verde Valley with a place to relax, socialize and enjoy a frosty brew.

Essential Tour Information:
Tour Time:
Approximately 3 hours from start to finish.
• 9:00 – Trip Launches for fun and sporty sections of the Verde River, such as Treasure Island, Clear Creek Rapid, Rocky Drop, Tunnel of Love and more!
• 11:00 to 11:30 – Verde River Trip takes out at Beasley Flats. (Time depends on season and water flow conditions). Snacks & water provided. Now in the comfort of your own vehicle you can leisurely make your way to the Rendezvous for great beer, wine and food!
• 12:00 to 12:30 Arrive at the Rendezvous at the “Gateway to Old Town Cottonwood” for a well deserved frosty pint, chilled glass of wine and lunch.

http://www.sedonaadventuretours.com/river-trips/paddle-to-pints-adventure/

New pool!

New POOL! Due to our loan type, the pool had to be filled and working, so we were lucky enough that the bank re-plastered the pool as well as all new pool equipment! Cant wait to to go swimming!

Seattle Half Marathon

The marathon was great! Cate, Diane and Claire walked the Seattle Half Marathon in 3.5 hours. Dustin and Julianna (12 weeks pregnant) ran the marathon in 2.75 hours. It was fun and the weather was great. It was definitely good to do it with a few other people. There were bands all along the way and cheerleaders as well. It felt great to finish it!

Hike at Woods Canyon Lake

In preparation for Claire doing a half marathon we decided to go for a hike at Woods Canyon Lake. It is normally about a 5.5 mile loop around the lake but there are bald eagles nesting here so there are we think it was about 6 miles. We took Topo and Tinker, but Tinker got a nice backpack ride after about 5 miles because her "house" paws couldn't take the outdoors anymore. It was a great 75 outside and a wonderful hike!

Vegas Girls Trip!

Claire went to Vegas with 4 other co-workers.

Happy 6 year Anniversay Claire and Tyler!

The wine tasteing crew!

To celebrate our 6 year wedding anniversary, Tyler planned a trip to Arizona wine country! We rode the motorcycle down and stayed at the Duquesne House Bed & Breakfast in Patagonia, Arizona. I would recommend doing this trip to anyone! It was a perfect romantic weekend.

We met a couple there, Mark and Barb, and spent most of the weekend with them. Terrific people...and complete southern Arizona wine experts!

Here is an excerpt from the Arizona wine country website:

The Wine Country is about 55 miles from Tucson, Arizona. The areas you will want to visit are Sonoita and Elgin and the beautiful rolling countryside in between.

The first experimental vineyard was established in 1973. Arizona wines have gained an international reputation. There are 14 vineyards and wineries. According to the Arizona Wine Grower’s Association, climate and soil studies have revealed that this region is similar to Ribera Del Duero, Spain, Southeastern Australia, Southern France and is almost identical to that of Paso Robles, California.

Arizona Wine Country isn’t like Napa or Sonoma Valleys of California. There are no crowds, no in-your-face commercialization and you will drive along windswept plains from winery to winery. Some of them are so simple that they don’t have signs on the tasting room! But as you travel you will find that you have discovered a diamond in the rough. The wine growers in the area know their business and are slowly earning a world-wide reputation.

Winery Map:
http://www.arizonawines.com/southerntrail.html

The Duquesne House Bed & Breakfast:
http://www.theduquesnehouse.com/

Ranee Walker's wine tours:
http://www.winectours.com/

We would like to make a couple of personal recommendations while you are in the area too....

Make sure to try the Naughty Monkey Sweet Reserve at Village of Elgin Winery, and then finish your day off drinking the sangria at Wilhelm Winery until you fall off a bar stool!

Claire and I on the ride home...the bike is riding a little low from the 8 bottles of wine we squeezed in amongst our clothes! :)

LifeLock May Event

LifeLock holds a May event every year. Here are some pictures from that night:

Zuma - SOLD

So long little Zuma, it was fun!

ITS FOR SALE:The Zuma just sits these days and it's time to find it a new rider. I bought this little scooter from a friend who had driven it as his primary vehicle for several years. When I got it, I didn't feel safe maxing out at 33-35 mph, so I changed out the exhaust pipe to a Leo Vince ZX, lighter roller weights, and new clutch springs. At the same time, I replace the drive belt, rear tire, brakes, speed cable, mirrors, air filter, spark plug, drive oil, and the entire clutch assembly. This little bike is incredibly reliable, runs up to just over 40 mph with a 185 lb man on it (45+ if you give it enough room). It gets in the neighborhood of 80 - 90 mpg and it's a kick in the butt to run around town on. I have some spare parts to go with it, another set of brakes (that you won't need for a long time) a front tire, spare mirros, some oil, a few tools and two DOT helmets. There is also a commuter luggage box on the back which the helmets fit into, or a brief case, sport equipment, groceries...whatever you want. There is also a lot of storage space under the seat. $900 takes it.

Emerald Park is Finally Updated!

Emeral Park Disc Golf Course is just north of our house, about 1/2 a mile away. 5 years ago, Tyler started the "Monday Night League" to encourage course etiquette and bring a good beginner league to the valley.

Unfortunately with work and life getting in the way, Tyler has had to hand over the reigns of the league to a few people along the way. But, the league has grown and grown through new leaders and it has turned into one of the best leagues in the valley and a community that I would assume is even rare around the country!

The league has raised enough money over the years to completely revamp the dilapidated course with new baskets, tee pads, and signs.

It looks amazing!

http://www.emeraldparkdgc.com/

Here are the new baskets, tee pads and signs.

Tyler testing out the new teepads!

CLU comes to AZ

Candace and Claire went to the CLU alumni baseball game! It was great to see Rachel and be with other CLU alumni!

Parents Visit AZ

Cate and Wayne visited Arizona 3/3-3/8. We drove down to Bisbee and did a mining tour and????

Matneys Visit AZ

Claire got her wisdom teeth out.

Typically something done as a young child, both Tyler and Claire decided to wait as long as possible to go through the thrills of wisdom teeth removal!

Tyler had his done late last year and Claire was the latest big winner.

The surgery went well, and despite a little discomfort she powered through it in a few days and was back on her feet in no time at all.

Claire goes to Big Bear

Claire headed to Big Bear for the Lundring Christmas Reunion from Dec 26-29. There was lots of snow and she almost got snowed in! The drive down the hill is one Claire will never forget!

Tommy's new House

Tommy has become quite the member of our family, and even though we have no idea why, WE LOVE HIM!

A few weeks ago I found a great deal on a HUGE dog house! It's so big I had to rent a u-haul trailer to get it home, and round up 4 buddies to carry it into the back yard. Just this week, I got the shingles all done, added the plexi glass window, door flaps, and built a small framed in area to protect the heater from Tommy (and Tommy from the heater). Tonight will be his first night in his fancy huge new house! Hopefully he will adjust to calling it home. Here are a few photos.

My baby sister....get's married!

Claire and I flew out to Cinncinati this week to participate in my baby sister's wedding. We had a great time, at a beautiful wedding! We also both want to welcome Michael Dooley to the family...unless he keeps beating me at disc golf!

FREAK WEATHER ATTACKS!!

It may not happen often, but Arizona does get it's fair share of extreme weather. This week has taken that to a new level. Yesterday around 3pm, the Phoenix Valley was bombarded with a furious wind and hail storm. Our house sustained over $10,000 in hail and water damage.

Claire came home from work on Tuesday, and from the door to the garage could clearly see that the dogs had made a COMPLETE mess of the house, there was stuff everywhere. Turns out...that was just were Claire's mind took her on an inital visual survey. Upon further inspection...and the feeling of water hitting her on the head (IN THE DINING ROOM!) she looked up to find that we no longer had sky lights. The hail blasted out all 5 of the skylights in our house, and then let a 30 minute down pour come on in. Our roof was heavily damaged, the AC unit sustained damage, our kitchen table and chairs have water damage and the outside of the house has chipped paint on the west and south walls.

Allstate insurance has deemed this a catastrophe, so we will be compensated for all damages...but what a hassel! And of course...this stuff always happens when Tyler is out of town!

New beginnings

Tyler has accepted a position with GlobalMedia Group in Scottsdale, AZ as "Manager of Training". This position was offered to Tyler several months ago, before the layoff with P1, at the time it was not the correct descion. Funny how things work out! Tyler called back after the layoff, and they had not found someone to fill the position and were eager to get back into negotiation talks with Tyler.

The offer was finalized today, and Tyler will begin the day after tomorrow (they were obviously excited to have him get started!).

GlobalMedia Group is a Telemedical company that manufactures telemedical solutions. Tyler's position will be to expand their training department both inhouse (new hires, and continued training of existing staff), as well as end-user training (nurses, and doctors) on how to use the high tech equipment.

For more info, check out www.globalmedia.com.

Every good thing must come to an end. Last night we traded our beloved little MINI Cooper in for a brand new 2010 Mazda CX-7.

So long MINI...Hello Mazda!

Every good thing must come to an end. We traded in our MINI Cooper last night for a 2010 Mazda CX-7. The decision was based mostly on the fact that the MINI needed a host of basic maintance done, and the current new car interest rates are phenomenal right now! So, we have a brand new car, lower payments, far more comfortable for daily commuting, in need of nothing but "breaking in the engine", and when the time comes...room for a baby seat (WHEN THE TIME COMES!).

Protection One Downsized

For the past several months there has been rumors about the new investment firm that recently bought Protection One. The rumors came true today, and Tyler's 4 years with Protection One Security have ended. The layoff was wide spread and despite the heart brake, Tyler was pleased with the severance package and the nice talk he had with his boss before departing for the last time.

This is the first time in our lives that either of us have had to deal with a lay off, either us or our parents. It's been scary, it's been stressful, but it's also been educational, and we can finally stop worrying.

Tyler has already began the process of seeking out a new job, and has several strong possibilites so hopefully the down time won't be to long term.