What girl didn't do this when they were 5?

Here is my Ry with her lovely long brown hair. When she was born she pretty much didn't have any hair and it took her about 2 years to grow a decent amount. One afternoon Ry came running downstairs and ran right into the bathroom. I followed her to find out she had cut her hair.

yep, she cut off about 4 or 5 inches and only on the right side. I didn't get too mad because I know how much Ry loves her long hair and she is going to be sad when she gets it all cut off. So for her punishment I get to decide how we will cut her hair. I'm thinking a cute A line. I will post a picture tomorrow after we get her hair cut.

Lazy sundays....

Who doesn't love a lazy sunday afternoon just kicking it with the family. My hubby has to work every sunday, for the time being, so we like to BBQ on sundays. He brings home something new from Harmons, our favorite store for BBQ creations. And he cooks for me, I'm not the best cook it's ok I admit it. But it has become quite the family tradition.

And to end the day with the two of them actually getting along...
honestly how cute is that!

And here comes the white flag...

It's official....I am raising up the white flag. My house wins.


My hubby was on the roof a couple of weeks ago turning on the swamp cooler (for the first time all summer) and he almost fell through the roof. We have a very soft spot on our roof, and so we called in a claim with the insurance co to be replaced. The guy came out, took some measurements and left. A couple of days later we were told that they are not going to pay for it because it is a PRE-EXISTING CONDITION!

Of course we argue that if it was pre-existing then why wasn't it caught 3 years ago when we had the house inspected before we bought it.

Insurance co: no comment.

We were told by another insurance co to rip off the ceiling under the soft spot to check for mold. No mold-they will pay, mold-they won't pay.

We did that and called the company to send the guy back out to check for mold and were told it doesn't matter, mold or not, they won't pay for it.

House: 1
Smiths: 0

So because the house is extremely hot from no a/c we have the windows wide open. Yesterday I sat down by my front window and smelled something funky. I thought it was just my dog, and let it go (there is a reason why we call him stinky link) Then I noticed my carpet was wet, really wet. I looked a little closer and saw the wall had bubbles from water damage. I have a sprinkler that has been spraying into the house and now has ruined my carpet and wall.

House: 2
Smiths: 0

we called and filed claim number 2, didn't want another pre-existing condition issue to arise, but knowing the insurance co they will find another fine print way to get out of this one as well. Why do I even pay for homeowner's insurance, it hasn't helped us one bit.


So I officially raise my white flag and surrender to my house's flawless victory.


This little situation has caused me many sleepless nights staying awake stressing and now my lip broke out in cold sores, and my freak'n shingles came back...UGH!!!

Don't ever pray for patience...

My Grandma once told me, "don't ever pray for patience". I asked her why? She points to my mother and says, "because then you get a child like her". Everyone who knew my mom as a child probably knew what a handful she was. Well my son as a part of her crazy, I am going to annoy the crap out of you whether you like it or not, behavior.

For example my mom told me a story about her and her little sister, LeAnn. My completely innocent mother convinced her younger sister (who I believe was 3 or 4 years old) to grab an electric fence. And when she grabbed it, it scared her so bad she couldn't let go of the wire. My wonderful mother couldn't stop laughing long enough to help her, so my Grandma had to come over and get her to let go of the wire.

And my mom thought I was mean to Manda.

Well for some reason I get the joy of having a little boy who acts not only like his father, but also like his grandma. What did I do as a child to deserve this....Don't answer that. Anyways my wonderful son was in the front room playing with Ry. After a while I couldn't hear him, uh oh what's he into now. I came around the corner to see him in my camera bag and my lens cap on the bench. He took off the lens cap and was looking at the camera. I started yelling, "Brent NO!" He immediately dropped the camera, thanks bud, and started crying. I tried to give him a hug to calm him down, but he ran to his little sister instead. I looked at my camera for damage, the back part looked fine, the sides looked fine, and now for the lens.
The lens has Cheetos fingerprints all over it and it looked like he licked it too.

NO!!

Who can stay mad at such a sweet faced little boy, who after I calmed down, came over and said, "Hold me mom". He is such a little sweetie when HE wants to be, but he can be such a little stinker too. Just like his Grandma.

Our 4th of July!

This 4th of July we decided to kick it as a family, mostly because Brent had to work...sad. But we managed to have a fun day. We went to the park with the kids, played with the crazy dogs, and then headed over to Thanksgiving Point to watch the fireworks.
We started out the day just kicking it, taking some pics....

Then Daddy came home...

And it was off to the park...


Ry and Brent are at the stage where they actually enjoy playing together. Don't get me wrong they annoy each other like normal siblings (ex: Brent grabbed his dad's drill and started drilling a hole into Rylee's barbie)
But then there are those times when they are just so cute together.
Well this was one of those time...
They were going down the slide together

firework time!

Look my parents are actually in a picture together!

My parents are quite the couple. I have been asked many times at work if my parents are still together and I completely understand why they ask me. My parents rarely travel together, but that is because my dad is usually already here for work or can't come down because of work. In the past 9 years that they have lived in Oregon I have only seen them travel on the same flight about 3 times. So it is not unusual for us to only have one parent at any function. It's crazy, I know.
So these pictures are for my family and everyone else to show you that they do love each other and they both traveled out to see Panda in MN (I know it's a miracle!) And look they are even hugging each other....oh how cute!

My dad had the best laugh by far!