Dan Patch Days Parade

For the second year in a row - the Dan Patch Parade in Savage was a smashing success! Parades get a little crazy around here with people "marking their spots/staking their claim" on the prime parade watching spots up to 24 hours in advance of the start of the parade! The police actually issue tickets to the crazies that put their blankets/chairs, etc down more than 24 hours in advance. I don't know if this parade is a not-so-good one or if no one knows about it or what - but for the second year in a row - we got a nice prime spot an hour before the parade started, complete with shade from the hot sun. The kids enjoyed the parade sitting curb side catching candy, popsicles and coupons, content to sit and watch - Miss H. from a distance after the crazy Shriners came through in their go carts - she was highly unimpressed with their shananigans and I don't blame her one bit - they race their cars around and do spin-outs right along the parade route - they are loud and stinky and a tad bit scary -
After they went through - Miss H. watched the parade from the safety of her Daddy's lap - Thankfully the parade participants were still fantastic to her making sure that she got her fair share of junk even though she wasn't right up close anymore!

Happy Summer!

Summer is officially here! Thank goodness we roll in the big bucks here in suburbia and splurged on that pool last year! Got the end of the season clearance special - the picture on the box told me that our entire family would fit inside this luxury item, maybe not so much I see now that it's actually inflated...but at least all three kids fit! AKA the girl, the boy and the dog...and there is a little room left over for Chester, our step dog who lives next door, should he ever decide that Golden Retrievers are water dogs!

All that splashing around really makes a person want a popsicle! Good thing that they didn't get too worn out in our big ol pool - because look at the concentration required to eat these things!!

Steve Irwin - The Legacy Lives On

My husband the snake wrangler. Seriously. The guy deserves a medal of some sort. Wait, he finally got his Mustang - so that might be good enough - oh how he earned that damn car tonight let me tell you! So husband is mowing the lawn and I'm doing this and doing that - trying to build the world's most beautiful lawn/landscaping on zero budget and zero knowledge/expertise/time/energy/etc. So I am up near the shed and decide to move this piece of plywood that's lying on the ground and low and behold - a S N A K E! Well, I drop the plywood and take off running down the hill, screaming my head off! The kids start following me and Rob looks up at me (apparently I shriek louder than the lawn mower) and after a brief second he realized just exactly what was the matter. (I'm sure his first thoughts were the children but after seeing they were ok - he just KNEW!) ok, ok, we've been through this a time or two before...I can't help it - I HATE those things! The great man that he is, he took a shovel from the shed and rid us of that snake. The fourth one this "season" mind you! Our neighbor Denny got one out of our rose bushes last weekend (and I promise you this isn't the same one!) and our other neighbor Dustin disposed of one a week or so before that...
*sigh* Yes, I know these ones can't hurt me but they are just so creepy!! I honest to God can't help myself I just start shreiking and screaming and running for my life! And if I said I almost wet my pants, I'd be lying. After all, I did have two babies in less than fifteen months!!

AND PS - that must be a HUGE shovel because it was a HUGE snake but it doesn't really look so huge on that shovel when I look at it now...guess who's having nightmares tonight?

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all of you wonderful Dads (and Moms!) out there. Especially to my husband and father to our two adorable children! Again, seems sort of silly to have a special day - we should tell our loved ones EVERY DAY how much we love them and how much they mean to us but on this special day set aside just for the dads...HAPPY FATHERS DAY! My husband didn't get breakfast in bed or any elaborate celebration, it was hard to top the Mother's Day gift he got - but he did get a couple of small gifts and he has us! Isn't that all he really needs???
ILY Baby!

Pick Me! Pick Me! Pick Me!

(she says waving her hand frantically in the air like a child waiting to be chosen for the kickball team!)

There have been lots of questions from folks asking me how the "scouting" went this past Tuesday for the Bathroom Makeover for the DIY Network. Well...it's been said before that waiting is the hardest part...and it is! As much as I'd LOVE to say we've been chosen for "Bathtastic" we have not yet heard, and supposedly won't for a week or two. We were told by the very very nice gal who scouted us out that we would hear one way or the other so I do so hope we hear something soon -

I sit here wondering wondering wondering. It was a very low key, uneventful process really. Our scouting gal could not been nicer, she came in, video taped our charming bathroom(s) and a little bit of our home and then "interviewed" the hubby and I on tape. Whole process maybe took 20-25 minutes...Were we charming? Most likely not - it was quite nerve racking...even though this footage is not for actual TV show purposes...and I know the hubby wasn't thrilled with the idea so I tried to do most of the talking - as I typically do anyway! He's the more charismatic one - but I didn't want him to be annoyed with me so I tried to make it as painless as possible for him.

The gal DID mention that if we are not selected for this show there is the possibility of being chosen for another show as they currently have five in the works right now - she asked us what else we'd like to see done to our house, etc etc.
oh, how long my list is...if only she knew! I just need the design/contractor/financial help being on one of these shows would provide!
*sigh*
for now I wait. and wait. and wait.

good thing the sun is shining and we have a billion other things going on to keep my mind off of the waiting part!

Let me tell you 'bout my best friend -

I don't know HOW on earth this happens - he seriously weighs FIVE TIMES AS MUCH as she does - but for some reason, he lets her "walk" him. I hold the leash and I'm running down the street with one shoe on trying to keep up, but she takes hold and he literally just walks beside her...It's amazing to watch and melts my heart to pieces. He drives me crazy, barking at nothing, puking on my carpet a few times a week (why do they NEVER get to the hardwood before vomiting?), hogging the bed and always making fresh paw prints on my freshly scrubbed floors...but to watch him interact with our children really is pretty amazing. Each of our kids does the - "a bite for me a bite for you" with him and the little girl is always wanting to "show him" things...I'm over being a dog mom, but I guess I just pass the reins on down to her because she's pretty good at it!

Where's the sun??

It's been awhile since the view from our little boy's window looked like this - man was that tree pretty just like the tree out front was for a short short time - today is dreary and overcast in the land of 10,000 lakes. Seems to be the norm around here with this long crappy weather snap that just won't end!

Thank goodness for pictures to brighten up the blah days and remind us that the good ones are just around the corner!!

GAS(P)! AGAIN!

Now it's almost funny! Gas prices at 4.09 a gallon here? I mean, seriously. Come on! Wasn't all that long ago I was choking on 3.45 a gallon! Glad we got that Mustang at 25 mpg than a new SUV with only 15! Now the hubby can drive the shiny new car while I drive the shiny old car and the trailblazer acts as a playhouse for the children on the driveway! HA!
(yes, people - I know kids aren't supposed to play in cars!)

Speaking of the children - at 4.09 a gallon - it brings us back to the daycare question - do we continue to drive the kids down to Prior Lake four days a week to a provider we know and love, or do we take the gamble and find a new provider closer to home knocking off 40 miles a day of daycare commute? Seems like an easy answer to that question - but it's not. And I think I might throw up!

you think you've got problems?

Check out this AMAZING and devastating video from our neighbors to the East of us a few hours - this video is out of the Wisconsin Dells - I cannot imagine my entire house, my entire life - floating down the river!

The Camera Adds 10 pounds

So if the camera really does add 10 pounds then I am in trouble. A. lot. of. trouble. This may be our fifteen minutes of fame and tomorrow is a big day for us. A HUGE day for us. Well, more for me than for Rob cuz he could really care less - but...tomorrow afternoon we have a television producer/scout coming over to scope out our bathroom for a new home makeover show they are currently working on for the DIY Network! Finally, I have convinced someone in tv land that our bathroom really is ugly enough to warrant some professional makeover help! This by no means guarantees they will pick us for the show, but having a scout out to the house is further than I've ever gotten before and I've applied for these shows hundreds of times over the years! I'm finally getting excited about our house - after living in it for seven years!! I recently saw our same model of house with the wall that divides the kitchen and living room taken out and a nice large kitchen counter top in it's place...I want that...I need that! And a new deck, and a four season porch, and...and...and...recession schmession!

One thing at a time...so tomorrow - the bathroom - the possibility of a new bathroom - oooh! I'm giddy with excitement!
Wish me (us) luck! They want to interview us on camera and check out our bathroom - from there - we'll have to see what happens but I couldn't be more excited about the possibility of getting that dreary old bathroom a face lift!! I am with Rob in the fact that I'd rather not be on camera myself - perhaps I can convince them to show just my hand with a hammer knocking out some crusty old tile?? I'm willing to go on camera for a few minutes if it means getting a shiny new bathroom - but if only I could get the camera to take AWAY 10 pounds...