Just another day at the WSDOT

A week ago last Friday I had a chance to make a little bit of overtime by helping with the unclogging of a log jam on the Tieton River up in the mountains.  We had a huge snow fall over about a week, then another week later we had unseasonably warm weather.  Needless to say there was a bit of flooding.  One of the rivers had some trees that had fallen and was diverting the river into the bank of the highway and washing out the ground underneath it.   So myself and one of the guys I work with in my office got to go and play in the water and unclog part of the river.

The best way for us to get over the river was to get in the bucket of the boom truck and be sent over.

they tried to get me and the operator in the bucket together, but it was two heavy with both of us so we went on we at a time.  It was a little hairy to be hoisted over he river like that, but I was tied of with a full body harness, hard hat, and a Life vest.  I was prepared for about anything.

Once they got me over, I had to jump down into about 18 inches of water, but it was pretty much out of the main current so it wasn’t too bad.  After I got out, the took the boom back and brought Del over.  Then the work began.

 

 

 

 

We brought a rope over with us so we could drag a steel cable through the river and choke it around the bottom of the tree to dislodge it.  THAT one went pretty well if not for the hole in my wader.  THAT WATER WAS COLD!!  

It really wasn’t too bad if I could get the standing water out of it, and let my foot warm up the two pair of socks I had on.  But I knew that I would have to get back into the water again and get all cold.  It really didn’t help that it was only about 22 degrees out there.

 

 

Every time we got out of the water I had to sit down on a rock and take off my boot and drain out the water.  If you see the look on Del’s face you can tell that he is very concerned.  It was all in good fun. I know that if I got too cold I could always go back to the other side and warm up.

We had one more Log to do, and that was a bit trickier.  It was about 3/4 submerged, so we had the bright idea to tie some of the floating rope to the find of the cable and fish it through.  But the current was so strong, that we never found the rope, so I volunteered to reach into the water and grab it.  luckily we knew exactly where the cable was, so it just too about a second or two.  but it was still  really cold, and I had wished I wasn’t the one to volunteer.  It had to be done and somebody had to go for it.  We choked it and they pulled it to the other side and we were done.   We were taken back to the other side and got into a nice warm truck.  I had the forethought to pack an entire change of clothes if I needed them, so I was able to change, get dry and warm.

We had a lot of fun that day, and our Regional Safety Officer was there and commended all of us on a job well done and how efficiently and safely we pulled it off…

New clothes!!

As Arin put it, Moms beware when the Dad takes his sweet little daughter out shopping...

This is what happens when a dad takes his daughter shopping and find a great sale on clothes! I gave her a choice on what she wanted, and i will let you know hich one she picked soon!!

We already picked one of them...but I'm curious, which one do you think SHE picked?

New clothes!!, originally uploaded by marksphone.

The end to an exciting season...

Well, it's official. The San Diego Chargers are done for the season. I just began what will be a new tradition for me at the end of every NFL season. I sadly hung my #17 Chargers jersey in the closet for the last time until next season. I was hoping I could wait until February to "rest" it through the off season, but not this year.

This was the most involved I have been with football since Arin and I lived in San Diego. I was the commissioner of our office fantasy football league. (Which I came in third out of six.) I almost won one of the weeks for our office pick 'em pool. And I also got to go to TWO NFL games this season!!

First Arin and I went to a pre-season Seahawks game against the Raiders with some friends. We were excited to watch the Raiders lose. Although it was just a pre-season game, it was our first trip to Qwest Field and it was just as loud as they mention on TV.

Then I hosted our first Fantasy Draft for an office league. we had some laughs and all realized how little we actually knew about the players once we drafted the ones we had all heard of. (I had the opportunity to get Tom Brady as my first pick then watch him get hurt for the season the first week.)

Then we were able to upgrade our DirecTV to get the NFL Sunday ticket for nothing extra than we were already paying. So we got to watch every San Diego game of the season. I really hope that they have the same deal next year. we got pretty spoiled. (I love to have a wife that loves to watch football with me.)

We had plans to go to San Diego for Christmas, and were excited to find out that my father-in-law was able to get us tickets to the final home game of the season. At the time it was just the last home game, but as I have told many people, the planets suddenly aligned and gave us a game that we were lucky to have tickets to. since we were in SD, I had wanted to buy a Philip Rivers (yes, I said it.. Philip Rivers) Chargers jersey, and I wanted to get one for the game. We had so much fun there!!

We then got to watch them win against the Colts at our friends house... who is a colts fan... What a great game to be with friends to watch!! Then today we sat at home quietly and watched the season end by the hands of the Steelers.

So farewell to another Chargers season, and I look forward to getting ready for next year.

A sledding we will go...

Luckily when we got back from San Diego, there was still snow left here. It had turned a bit icy, but Grandpa was dying to push Maggie down a hill. So we went to Roosevelt Elementary, because they have a really great little hill that is perfect for little kids to try out their mad sledding skills.

It was nice and sunny so it made it slick and fast. She had a great time last year, so I was excited to see how she would do this year. A little older, and a little braver. We found a little ramp and I had fun trying to aim her towards it. She hit it the first time and turned around with the biggest smile, so like a good Dad, I tried to aim her towards it every time. Good times.

Great form like a champ!! It looks like she will be ready for the Skeleton in the Olympics soon!!

That's a kid that she thinks she can conquer anything.

It looked like she was having so much fun, so I had to join her once. But as you can see, I made us a little nose heavy.

It was such a fun day. The one thing I would change for next time, is that I need to get my own sled. I would push Maggie down the hill, then she would wait for me to come down to get her. That way, I can at least slide down to meet her. Why should she get all the fun?