Time to decorate.

I'm holding down the fort for a couple of days while Ryan is at a sales rep meeting in San Luis Obispo...I know, lucky him. Although is schedule is pretty jam packed for the 2 days he'll be there, so I'm not sure how much "fun" he'll have.

Again (I know I've mentioned this before) when he's gone I always have a major desire to spend money. Why is that? Like go grocery shopping and buy junk food, or order pizza for dinner, take the girls to something that costs money. I guess when he's gone I feel like it's a break from the "housewife" role...I don't need to think about dinners (mac and cheese or pancakes will do just fine), laundry doesn't get done, and I don't worry about making sure everything is picked up...basically, all chores get put on the back burner.

Speaking of spending money, I'm getting the itch to start painting the walls in the house and sprucing up my decor. We've lived here for about 10 months now and I haven't really done anything yet. Walls are still white and the girls room still has ugly flower wall paper (although they love it). We don't even have a single piece of artwork in our bedroom...or anywhere upstairs for that matter. I think it's time to do something about that. My only problem is I'm incredibly indecisive! It takes me FOREVER to pick something or pick a color for the walls. So I may be getting the desire to decorate, but it will probably take another three years before anything gets done (that's about long it takes me to decide on anything). We'll see what happens.

Freedom Days

Hope everyone had a fabulous 4th! I have to say ours was pretty darn good. Although, I woke up a bit sad and down. Around the holidays I really miss family. All around the neighborhood you see tons of cars parked around different houses and lots of kids jumping out of them to run into grandma's and grandpa's house. Tons of cousins all around for all to play with. I'm lucky to have my brother and his family here...at least one cousin for the girls to see. But we didn't see them this weekend...their neighborhood does a pretty big bash for the 4th. So, it was just us.

We spent the afternoon at Freedom Days, a festival in our little downtown area. It was actually so much better than when we went three years ago. They had a huge kid area with crafts and different activities for them to do. We basically spent most of our time there.

Although, there was this one "game" that I thought was pretty lame. Okay, so there's this big sandbox thing, pretty huge so lots of kids can be in it at the same time. The idea is the kids dig around and find coins to turn in for a little prize. Well, after about 40 minutes our kids found NOTHING! And keep in mind that the sandbox is in the full sun...kinda miserable if you ask me.

Finally, they come out covered in sand, and sweaty, disappointed and empty handed. So I told them to go over to the booth and tell the ladies that you've been in there for close to an hour and found nothing and can I please have a prize. Well, that old hag said "NO" to my children. "Sorry, you have to find a coin!". So they go back into the sand pit to try again. Another 10 minutes and still empty handed...so they ask again. Now, if you saw my children at this point (looking like they came out of some mine, and little Morgan's bottom lip quivering holding back tears she's so upset) how can any person say no to that?!! But again, she said no. So I decide to go over there and punch her in face (okay, not really)...I explained that my kids have been searching for close to an HOUR in that box, don't you think maybe you should put more coins in there!!! "Sorry ma'am, I can't give her a prize...she didn't find a coin!", is all she kept saying to me. Turns out, the "prize" were little trinkets (maybe worth 10 cents each)...something you'd find in a gumball machine! And, she had a FULL basket of them in front of her!! Keep in mind too that this was the last day of the festival, and only a few more hours left...you have fun with all those left over trinkets at the end of the day. It's a freakin' festival you old lady! Lighten up!!

So, other than that, the festival was great.


The girls loved the hair dressing booth.

So pretty!

On our way home...exhausted.

We ended the day with some grilled hamburgers and more ice cream. The girls stayed up extra late watching all the aerial fireworks coming out of the neighborhood through their window upstairs. Every now and then I would hear Haley clap.

All is well...so far.

Morgan and the dogs are healing up nicely. Morgan gets her stitches out tomorrow morning and the dogs are returning to their normal hyper selves. I even gave them a bath the other day (the dogs that is) and now they are super fluffy and clean! No more oil smell!

We went to an evening crit Friday night. Apparently the course was absolutely insane...it was definitely under a kilometer long...it should NOT have been passed as a course to race on! Anyway, our good friend went down after winning. His speed was too fast to make the turn and ended up breaking his elbow in several pieces. He's been at the hospital for the past two days and we have been taking care of his little poodle. We have learned, bottom line...this is NOT a household for little poodles!! Or any little house dog for that matter! The little thing is terrified at all times! Terrified mainly of our children. It's too bad because the girls absolutely love him, and all he wants to do is get away from them! He doesn't like to be walked by them and they basically just drag him along...they have no idea of course that the dog is miserable. They just skip along, oblivious, like he's having the time of his life! I bet he can't wait to get home! It definitely makes me appreciate our dogs a bit more. They don't mind the kids in the slightest! They actually put up with quite a bit!

In other news, our little Piper is starting to walk a bit more! Although she still relies on crawling, especially when she's in a hurry.




Last night was the stadium firework show in our area. We made a super good dinner of grilled Tri-tip and stayed up late eating cookies and ice cream. We live pretty close to the stadium so we thought maybe we would be able to see the fireworks easily from our backyard. Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we thought, but the girls loved it regardless. We didn't go to bed until close to 12 and now I'm exhausted.

When it rains...it pours.

Seriously...I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry. Well, I've already cried, so I might as well laugh now. But life just seems to be HARD this year...lots and lots of stress...lots and lots of worry. From Ryan's job change, to finding out I was pregnant, which was a big surprise, (remember that post on spontaneity...yeah, I guess we had a little too much spontaneity around here...hence, the pregnancy), then came 7 weeks of bed rest, health insurance woes (still dealing with that one), dogs escaping, strep throat, ear infections, and then the stomach flu...which now brings us to this week.

On Monday the dogs got out yet again. Ryan spent a good three hours trying to find them with no luck. We went to bed without knowing if our dogs were safe...it was awful. The next morning we found out they were at the local shelter. They had both been hit by a dump truck the evening before. Belle was doing okay, but Etta wasn't looking good. They suspected some internal damage and suggested taking her to a ER place that would cost us around $400...that wasn't happening. So, they gave her some good drugs and told us to keep an eye on her and make sure she rests.

We were on pins and needles all that night. Ryan even slept downstairs to keep an eye on her. Belle stayed outside...I know, not fair...but they needed to be separated. Well, I'm happy to report that she has perked up quite a bit since yesterday. Tired, but very alert at her surroundings. And she has even trotted around the yard a bit. Belle woke up with a major limp...she is really favoring her front leg. So currently, both dogs are quite gimpy...not sure if they're out of the woods yet. Etta especially...I'm worried about her.

They are incredibly mangy...just covered it dirt and oil. We can't give them a bath until they recover a bit.

When the girls got up this morning they were so happy to see Etta...gave her lots of love. My first thought is to give these dogs to a home that can handle them...obviously, we're having trouble. But then, I look at these pictures. How could I ever do that to these girls who absolutely adore them? It would break their heart. I think we need to invest in an electric fence.

So our house has now become a sick bay for dogs as we keep a very close eye on them. Then, if things couldn't get any worse, Morgan biffed it on her scooter this morning. She got a pretty good knock to the head. About an hour or so after she fell she started to get extremely sleepy and even started to fall asleep...which worried me. Then she got nauseated and thought she may throw-up. When that started to happen I was at the doctor's office within 20 minutes. Well, about two hours and three stitches later we were home. Because her symptoms dramatically improved while there the doctor did not think it was necessary for a CT scan. And she was so brave getting her stitches...not even a whimper. She kept saying, "Well, mom...I didn't cry, because it didn't hurt!!". Well...she was way braver than me! I was sweating buckets while we waited for the stitches...I was so nervous for her!

I think helmets are in order with those scooters now.

So, yeah...there's never a dull moment around here. But honestly, dull is sounding pretty good right about now.

Cascade Springs

Cascade Springs outing: success! Photos: failure.

What is up with our children and taking pictures?!! It's pretty simple right? "Look at the camera...smile!!", and usually kids will follow through...NOT MINE!

Let's take a look at the photos we took today.

First up...a family photo taken by a stranger.

This person did a horrible job at centering us...perhaps they wanted to capture some of the background...who knows. Ryan and I look pretty decent. But then there's Haley and Morgan...they look like they're being tortured! Can they look any more miserable? And then there's poor Piper...she looks like the forgotten child off to the side, while the four of us are all cuddled up...poor little thing.

Photo: Fail

All the girls on the bridge picture.

This is Ryan while he's taking the picture, "Haley, look at the camera! Haley, look at the camera! Haley, LOOK AT THE CAMERA!!". And this is what we get. Oh, and Piper again...the forgotten child.

Photo: Fail

Second attempt.

"Haley, look at the camera! Haley, look at the camera! HALEY, LOOK AT THE CAMERA!".Okay, you get the idea.

And....still not looking.

And what's up with Morgan expression in this photo...I can't help but laugh every time!

And does Piper look constipated to you?

Photo: Fail

Photo number four.

I promise this is not a swamp behind them...it's actually a very beautiful part of the springs. But you wouldn't know it...it looks very swampy from the picture.

Again, the girls look miserable! Honest, they had tons of fun...all smiles until you tell them to pose...and this is what we get.

Photo: Fail

Second attempt...and our last picture before we threw in the towel.

Haley got the smiling part down, but she sill won't look at the camera!!

And then Morgan..oh, Morgan.

Photo: Fail.

So, you wouldn't tell by these photos, but we had a really nice afternoon today. It was an absolutely beautiful drive up the canyon. And the weather was perfect! Drive with your windows down perfect. Couldn't have been better. Now if we can just get decent photos!!

Who needs a pool...

...when you have a perfectly good irrigation ditch to play in?

( I was totally making a cross-eyed goofy face to get them to smile like that.)

This ditch runs the length of our side yard, and the kids love to play in it. Can you see you Haley playing in there through our over grown jungle yard? When the water is running we keep a close eye on them. It's never gotten too deep and it doesn't move too fast. And then of course when the water stops they play in the left over puddles...aka: mud.

Exploring. I think they found a spider or something.

In other news...we had movie night with the girls last night. I read the book The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe recently to them...they really enjoyed it. Me...not so much. I'm not big on a fantasy for one, and also I really don't like they way C.S. Lewis writes...too many run-on sentences. But yeah, the movie was really well done. And they followed the book VERY well...that is very important to me! So yeah, I made pizza and we all ate in the living room...Piper too. Then topped it off with ice cream. Good times. The girls have been playing Narnia ever since.

Back to normal...well, as normal as we can get.

So far I've managed to avoid the stomach flu that EVERYONE else is this house caught...go me! Lets hope it lasts! Everyone is now healthy and good to go...I'm glad. I don't want to see any barf for a long, long time!

Now...time to put my happy face on and start enjoying Summer.

This will be hanging up somewhere in our house...just not sure where yet.