Most people write up and send out Christmas letters that recaps their past year. But I don't have the patience to do all that, with the mailing addresses and sealing envelopes and all that. So instead I'm just going to write my "year recap letter" on here.
I got my 3rd kidney stone near the beginning of this year. It was by far the most painful episode I've had with kidney stones and it was the largest one (6mm) I've had.
Jaime and I took a week vacation to Mesa, Arizona and stayed with Andra and Dustin. We spend 6 days hanging out with them and doing fun outdoor activities. It was really nice for us to be able to hang out in the warm sunshine and for me to be able to spend time with my sister.
This year Jaime got his Papa's 1966 Chevrolet pickup truck running. It has been in his family since it was brand new back in '66. His Grandpa LeBlanc gave it to his son, and Jaime's dad gave it to him when he got home from his mission in 2003. After a motor and tranny swap, Jaime finally got it running and is continuing to restore it.
Jaime acquired some new dirtbikes this year so we now have 5 dirtbikes in our garage. Somehow we are still able to fit 2 cars in our garage as well. One of the bikes he got was one he designed and a friend built. The other is an XR200, which is his favorite kind of bike.
For Memorial Day, we went on our campout to Little Naches. We had a lot of fun riding our dirtbikes during the day and hanging out by the campfire at night. On the last day, Jaime blew up his motor on the new dirtbike he'd designed. He is still working on getting it running again, but has many backups to use in the meantime.
Andra and Dustin FINALLY moved back here to Washington in June. I can't even begin to explain how much better it is having them live close by. They lived in Arizona for about a year and a half, but it felt like 10 years! We had a big birthday/welcome home BBQ at Lake Wilderness which was a lot of fun and the perfect activity to kick off the rest of our summer adventrues.
During the summer, Jaime and I went camping as much as possible. We went to Little Naches, which is over Chinook Pass, each time we went. That way we could camp AND have hundreds of miles of dirtbike trails. We also spent a lot of time hanging out on the
shore of the Little Naches River. We love spending time out in the wilderness and we do it as much as our schedules allow.
One of our goals this summer was to ride the "Naches trail" from Greenwater over to Naches. It's actually been a goal of ours for a few summers, but we haven't gotten around to it till this year. Jaime, Kevin, and I did the ride and it was such a fun trail! We had a great time and it was actually far easier than we had expected. We had amazing weather and got to see some of the most amazing views of the Cascade Mountain Range. On our way back over the pass, my chain came off my bike and left me stranded up on a ridge in the middle of nowhere. I had to sit there for about 45 minutes all by myself before Jaime and Kevin came back for me. Other than that , it was the perfect ride.
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This summer, I was able to get a new job!! I am still a Dental Assistant, but I now work in an office in Newcastle, WA for Dr. Chen. It's a much better office in so many ways, and I don't feel like ripping my hair out everyday after work. I hate the stress of new jobs and learning new things, but it was well worth it to be out of the previous office I was at. I especially LOVE having the weekends off so Jaime and I can actually go and enjoy our lives and have fun together.
Over Labor Day weekend, all 5 of the Hinckley kids were all together for the first time in a few years. It was great to all be together again and spend time together. We went on some hikes, shooting, played Rockband, had bonfires, and BBQed. It was the perfect way to end the summer.
Since we went out of town on many weekends during the summer, we had to leave Pawsi home all by himself. I felt really bad for him so I started to bring up the idea of getting another kitty for him to have a companion. We ended up getting another pixie bob. This time we got a girl and Jaime named her "Roll-a-Lexus" but we call her "Lexus" for short. It was an interesting experience introducing Pawsi to the new kitten. It took him a good month or so to be okay with her and not try to kill her. Now they are the best of friends.
In September, Jaime and I celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary! In the past, we usually do something pretty low key for our anniversary. So this year, we planned to go to the Oregon Coast and spend the weekend hanging out on the beach. We had the most amazing weather for the end of September. It was sunny and in the 70's. We had a great time and hope to do it again next year.
We got a new cat named "Lexus" but we also acquired a REAL Lexus. Jaime has wanted this specific car for about 2 years or so. Every once in a while he would get online and look for one in his price range. One day I got a call from him saying "I'm buying a Lexus." When I
got home, there was a 1992 Lexus SC400 in the driveway. He is in love with this car. Even though it doesn't look all that great (its got some cosmetic issues) it sure does have some serious power. We have had a lot of fun with it this summer driving in the snow. Unfortunately, Jaime got pulled over recently and got a ticket for $550.00 for negligent driving. He is hoping to get it dropped, but we'll see what happens.
Just this last week, Jaime and I celebrated our 2nd year in our house in Black Diamond. I can't believe we've already lived there for 2 years!! Even more, I can't believe we've been able to make the monthly mortgage payment each month for 24 months. But we love our home and hope to stay there for a couple years to come.
I know you are all dying to know, but we still are not pregnant and we don't really plan on it for a while still. But ya never know what might happen......we will keep you posted!
