The most non-memorable of memorable moments…

I think Chw was wishing, going into this past three day weekend, that this is what his trilogy of days off might look like. (With a veggie burger, of course.) I went into it imagining the photo moments with which I could post and share with you all. 
Photos I have to share from 72 hours of togetherness and summer kick off weekend bliss= BIG FAT ZERO! 
We had originally planned to go camping. Nope. Big fat fail there too. 
No picnics. No long bike rides. No barbecuing. 
what did we do, you ask? 
Stayed inside, mostly. Played the wii. Got caught up in watching Dark Shadows on Netflix. {No, I am not kidding… I love that silly show, and now Gen does too. Chw hated it, until this weekend, and now he wants to watch it all of the time.} At one point the girls went roller skating. For an afternoon we all ventured the rain and black clouds accompanied by gross wind to go to lunch and a movie. Over all though, our three days lasted almost forever because we did a whole lot of nothing. Aimlessly sleeping in as long as we needed, no planned meals… (since we were supposed to be camping and stuff.) 
Though I am a planner and am left with the guilt that we wasted our time- secretly I loved it. We aren’t the people who let any weekend pass like this- much less an extra long one. So, I guess the hammocked hopes of my husband weren’t far from the truth, after all, only he was laying around dry and in the house instead of wet outside… he totally deserved a long weekend of nothing! 
Oh yeah, and (aside from togetherness with my family) the absolute highlight of my weekend was listening to Ellie Goulding. If you aren’t familiar, I STRONGLY encourage you to become so. It’s been quite awhile since I stumbled across someone, musically, that I really loved almost instantly. 
So, what was the highlight of your three day weekend? 
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What I’m most excited about…

Seasonally speaking, it’s the first day of summer… :) (even if it’s cold and rainy outside!) 
  1. Sparklers
  2. Read a book in the grass
  3. Visit a waterpark
  4. Road trip
  5. Amusement Park
  6. Blow bubbles
  7. Go to the beach
  8. Evenings under outdoor twinkle lights
  9. chopped salad patio dining
  10. picnics in the park
  11. homemade apple pie with fresh vanilla bean ice cream
  12. Lemonade stand
  13. Water balloon fight
  14. Sun tea
  15. Drive-in theater
  16. watermelon
  17. Farmer’s market
  18. camping
  19. outdoor concert
  20. float the river
  21. fireworks
  22. garden
  23. visit a zoo
  24. go fishing
  25. movies, outdoors at the park
  26. family bike ride
  27. feed the ducks
  28. paddle boating
  29. smores
  30. attend a baseball game
  31. sangria
  32. sleep under the stars
  33. meet friends at the pool
  34. homemade strawberry shortcake
  35. fly kites
  36. make snow cones
  37. ice cream cones at the fountain
  38. host a BBQ
  39. learn something new
  40. visit a town we’ve never been to before
  41. homemade freezer pops
  42. run barefoot in the grass
  43. sink toes in the sand 
  44. mason jar candle lit evenings
  45. can peaches
  46. summer reading
  47. pedicures and flip flops
  48. dandelion wishes
  49. hula hoops
  50. ice cream sandwiched between gooey cookies
  51. hand held walks through the neighborhood
  52. grilled salmon
  53. coco-butter lotion
  54. sprinkler rainbows
  55. clear blue skies
  56. swinging
  57. face painting
  58. nearly midnight sunsets
  59. projected movies in the back yard
  60. patio dinners
  61. limes
  62. downtown dates
  63. summer evening talks
  64. fireflies (not here, but I’ll see them somewhere) 
  65. washing the car
  66. outdoor bathing, of the dogs
  67. smell of fresh cut grass
  68. the world in bloom, around me
  69. crystal clear, star-dotted skies
  70. margaritas
  71. an abundance of fruit
  72. fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade
  73. camps
  74. smell of chlorine
  75. sunlight streaks on heads of hair
  76. wine tasting
  77. frozen yogurt runs
  78. grilled flatbread pizzas
  79. laughter making the sunshine brighter
  80. sleeping a little later, in the morning
  81. horse rides
  82. Farmer’s Markets
  83. fresh berries, tart on my tongue
  84. cocoa butter
  85. sun drenched photos
What about you????

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Categories Uncategorized

A letter AND an explanation…

Dear Crazy home owners, who also own an un-named appliance and repair business in Nampa Idaho; 
Thanks for sharing your beautiful, though incredibly neglected rental property with us! Truly, we love how readily you allowed us to come in and fall in love with this house that has so much potential- if only it could have just a little bit of love… 
We were even willing to accept that the two of you, husband and wife, had COMPLETELY different ideas of what property was actually for rent, what the rent and deposits actually were, when the property would actually be available- or what was going on in general… 
We were cautious but non-judgemental when it seemed like two of your daughters were beyond terrified of you- their dad. 
The part we absolutely didn’t love, however, was how once we proved not to be complete morons- you backed out of the rental deal. Really, did you think we would just hand over almost $2,000 to you- 5 weeks ahead of time- when the house still didn’t pass safety regulation due to black mold???? Time and time again, over the 5 entire days that we knew you, you attempted to manipulate and swindle us out of money- and yet we repetitively gave you the benefit of the doubt because you were, after all, just looking out for your family… 
When you finally got the clue that no, we weren’t morons who would just trustingly hand over even 5 cents to you until you owned up to your responsibility as property owners- that you just bailed on the whole thing in search of someone else a little more naive and stupid- you only made yourself the fools. Gloatingly you seemed to get off a little on thinking you’d left our family “high and dry” with no where to go. If only we’d bailed you out of your health code issues, slaved away on your house and paid you for it too... right? Stupid, stupid us… EXCEPT that, we had no desire to move, before finding your house. We haven’t packed a thing. We are still happily in our lease. Our lives, apparently, only changed for the better because we don’t have to deal with you after all. I mean, seriously… You guys are insane, you don’t communicate with one another about your manipulative/deceitful tactics so that you at least appear on the same page, and you are going to end up with a massive law suit on your hands if you don’t own up to the health hazards in your house and your business practices. 
The point of this thank you letter is two fold: 
One: Thanks for showing us your crazy true colors BEFORE we were renting from you and your greedy, dishonest selves. 
Two: While we are going camping, happily settled into our currently lovely home and planning a great family vacation to California- you still have to deal with the black mold and the condition of that house… looks like you’re the fools after all. :)
Sincerely, 
the people you gloated about screwing over who are WAY BETTER off, (and obviously far more intelligent than you are.) 
P.S. 
to further drive home the fact that we aren’t complete idiots, we did talk to the BBB and read reviews about your appliance repair business BEFORE doing any professional dealings with you. THAT is the reason we knew you weren’t a man of integrity and why we were so adamant not to trust your “word” on anything. Word to the wise, buddy, no matter what your religious beliefs are- karma has a way of balancing things out and you, my friend, are a dirty businessmen. Have fun dealing with the effects of that… Need proof about the whole Karma thing? We are good, honest people and life bailed us out of this mess with you before it was too late… 
P.P.S. 
Everytime you guys didn’t seem to have a clue about what your spouse lied about; promised or mentioned- both my husband and I were on the same page. And our kids, they aren’t scared of us… Well that’s not entirely true. Our daughter’s get a little nervous if something spills on the carpet because my husband is super anal about taking care of stuff. {Gosh, it’s a good thing you didn’t let someone like us rent your abused and totally trashed house… } but otherwise, our kids don’t cower in fear of us. 
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On Gossip…

Over the weekend a dear family friend spent some time with Genny. During their time together Genny said some things that weren’t entirely honest about her sister. Perhaps it was that feeling of power that comes from having information no one else has, but soon Genny started talking about things that weren’t true at all. When we spoke with her about it, Genny’s bright idea was to begin telling us things about other people. Though there was a shred of a possibility that there was some truth to her words- most of the things spewing from her mouth were just wrong. 
Tonight, for family night, before the dessert and games came out- we had a bit of an object lesson on gossip. 
i had Gen hold her hand out, and I filled it with Elmer’s Glue. 
Your mouth is the glue bottle, the glue your gossip and your palm is people you are gossiping to. 
I took her hand and smeared it onto a blank piece of paper. 
The paper is the people you’ve talked about. 
She looked at me, confused. 
Take it back Genny. What you said. Put the words you gave to others back into your mouth. 
She tried. i will give her credit, but no matter what she did, the glue made a bigger mess. 
Well, at the very least try to take away the damage your gossip did to the people you talked about. 
No matter what she did, the paper was wet, wrinkled and ruined.
It definitely brought the message home more so than just telling her would have…
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