What are Little Boys Made Of?!

Snails, Snakes & Puppy Dog Tails, right?!!? SSSSSSSSNAKES!!!!!

Nick came running in from the garage today.....mmmmmooooooooommmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyy

There's a gardener snake in the garage by the butterfly net.

Wonderful!! I head out to take a look & end up scaring it under Phil's workbench. oh great, now how do we get that thing out??! Lexi's freakin' out of course just because I am!

Zander's speech teacher comes (forgot she was coming today) so we all go inside. After she left I decided I better check it out to see if it's still there or not. Stick a fishing pole under there to try to scare it out...nothing. We wait awhile & then it pokes it's head out at me & sticks its tongue out & hisses at me. I poked him w/ the pole. He didn't like that so hid back out of sight from me.

So what do we do?!?! What else...enlist the help of Eddie!!! He says just a minute, I'll get a broom. Huh?! Ok, so he comes back & the broom isn't going to fit under there so he uses the fishing pole & ends up scaring it out but it goes along the back wall of the garage behind some other stuff...sucker is so fast!! He finally gets him blocked & beats him with his broom. Oh, during this Lexi is crying so I send her & Zander in the house. Just Nick & I saw Eddie beat the thing up!! Not quite as bad as when Luther beat the fish we caught while fishing in Alaska!! Now THAT was bad! LOL

He gets him out of the garage & gets a shovel to dispose of him into the ravine.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Oh the fun we have here every day!!

Never Fails.........

Why do these things always happen to me!??!

Yesterday (Saturday) Lexi was invited to a birthday party. Her first one!! She was so excited about it! Since it's just over a half an hour to the lake, I didn't think it would be a big deal to drive her back home for the party. The party was from 1-4 so I thought I'd come home & get some Ebay work done. So I took her to the party & came home to one HOT house! Well I figured since I would be down in the basement, I wouldn't need the air on. I lasted until 3:00 & then turned it on!! It was hot down here!! So I worked right up until the end....left the house at 3:55 to pick her up at 4:00!

I backed out of the garage & then thought I better lock the side garage door cause I don't think we did on Friday when we left & some wierd stuff has been happening in the neighborhood (kids.....misbehavin'). So I get out of the van...leave it running...and go lock the door. Back to the van & it's LOCKED!!!! Keys in it, running...house key in it...PURSE w/ cell phone IN IT. Oh *)@@)#$(* now what do I do?!?

I sort of remember that Phil took his van key with to the lake (which he normally doesn't do) but I get the spare house key & go in the house to confirm that his key is gone. Yep. Van still running and I'm freakin' worrying that it could overheat in the 100 degree weather. So I RUN to the neighbors...Eddie & Burnell...I wonder what they think of me & all my crap that happens!! She sees me running over & comes to the door & asks what happend. She thought someone was hurt the way I ran & expression on my face!

So we have no other keys.......my cell phone is in the van so I couldn't even call my girlfriend who happens to be camping down the road from the lake. I don't know her cell phone number, it's programmed in you know. So no way to get ahold of her to get the key from Phil and then they would of had to drive it over.

So then we decide to try the old hanger method. It just so happened that the driver's side door wasn't completely shut....Eddie managed to get a wire in there & opened the door. Phew! Oh & of course I had a FULL tank of gas so if we had to let it run......that could have been $50 down the drain! And I'm so glad that neither of the little boys were in the van either...although I did have the A/C on.....

I still can't figure out how the doors automatically locked......usually it's when you go over 10-15 MPH that they will lock. I backed up like 5 feet...didn't even get the gage over 5 MPH.

Lesson Learned.....never leave keys in running vehicle..unless you have a spare key on you or someone is in there that is old enough to open the door if it does lock!

So I was a little late in picking Lexi up...but she didn't seem to notice as they were all playing with the new bday presents! She enjoyed her first bday party!

Oh...and so since I was a few miles out of Courtland, I decide to take a different way to the lake. Cause I'm all about SHORTCUTS you know (if you heard the Valleyfair story, you'll know what I mean!). So I asked if it was quicker to take Hwy 5 to St Peter or go back to Courtland & then 14 as usual. They said 5...but then it was under construction..and some teenager said it was open, they made it through. Ok, so I say! I try it....it's gravel for a few miles and I hate gravel! I made it & it just so happens that Co Rd 5 drives RIGHT by MGM Liquors. As long as I was driving by.....you gotta stop right!? Especially after the little incident I had just had!!

Lexi jumping in!

Lexi is so proud of herself now. She can jump off the END of the dock now! She was just jumping on the side, but the water has been lower & she can touch the bottom at the end of the dock so she was brave & tried that this weekend & loved it!

  

Swimming wiht the boys! (Why is my mouth open all the time for pictures!??!)

  

Swimming!!

  

Pontoon Ride!

Friday night our neighbors took us for a boat ride on their new pontoon! We had a full boat! It was:

Rick, Lynda, Mark & Adam (the neighbors & their 2 boys)
Uncle JP & Carolyn
Phil & I and our 4 kids & our adopted child....Eric!!

We cruised around the lake a few times & enjoyed the beautiful sunset!

  

Eric, Zander, Lexi, & Mark (don't worry, that's MY wine cooler, not any of the minor's!)
  

Uncle JP & Nick

  

Mommy & Zach

  

Phil, Zander & Carolyn enjoying the pontoon ride!

  

Nick's Lego Creation!

  

Mr. Zander JUMPS in!!

Zander has gotten sooooo brave in the water now!! He LOVES it!  He will now JUMP in at the lake.  A few weeks ago, he wouldn't even go INTO the lake.  So we have really made some great progress with him!  Zachary enjoyed the water as well.  Course it helped the water temp was like 90 degrees!!!  And the outside temp was about the same or probably higher!  Click on video to watch the Zan Man JUMP in!!

New Record!

I picked Nick up from Grandma's today. He has been there since Sunday night....FOUR nights! And then he called today to see if he could stay at Eric's tonight. Of COURSE!! Then he asked how many nights we were staying at the lake...I said Fri & Sat so two nights. And he says "cool, that means I will have not slept at home for a week!!" He was all excited !

Zander stayed at Grandma's for two nights too. What a nice week it was for me!! I didn't have a headache at all this week. Last week, every day I was getting bad headaches. Hmmmm....coincidence?? Less kids = less aches........

So after I picked Nick up from Grandma's & dropped him off at Eric's, I took Zander & Lexi swimming. Zach stayed with Grandma. Zander just absolutely LOVED LOVED the pool. This was his second time at Washington pool. He had so much fun!! He went down the slide I don't know how many times.......and then he got daring & went down it on his belly..backwards. I don't think you are suppose to go down that way, so I had to tell him to turn around. Course he didn't listen! Then after awhile our neighbors showed up. We hadn't even planned it. Lexi had fun swimming with her buddy Nolan & Zander played in the water with Jayden. It was really a fun day at the pool!!

Swingin''

The girls enjoyed pushy Zachy in his new swing. (Forgot to add on the picture below that Lexi dressed herself today. Green & Red....not quite the two items I'd put together!)

  

Back/side view

This thing is so small...I can't get over people paying over $100 for it. I think Zander may even be too big for it!

  

He likes his new swing!!

  

New swingset!

I picked this up today for Zander & Zachary. Whooly cripes, after seeing what they sell for on Ebay...I may have to sell it!!! I paid a whole $5.00 for it...got it home, couldn't figure out how to get it together (the swing part was off), thought I was missing a piece. Looked at one of these pictures & was able to figure it out. Had to take a few screws off but got the thing together. Lexi wanted to play on it, but I told her she was too big. So her, Emily, & Nolan are playing with their dolls on it!! Zander hasn't seen it yet, him & Nick are at Grandma's. Zachy got to swing in it for a little bit & he really liked it!

I can't believe this one sold for over $100.!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Tikes-Swing-Set-Platform-and-Slide_W0QQitem
Z200007242061QQihZ010QQcategoryZ2574QQrdZ1QQ
cmdZViewItem

Ours has the red slide. Here is one that sold for $60.

Item 120009387599

Another one that sold for over $100...with $40 shipping charges too!!
WTH??
140006613347

Hmmmmm should I keep it or sell it!?!? After what I spent today on
inventory, I probably should SELL it!!! Nah...I'll let the boys play with it & hopefully in 2 years I can get my $5.00 back!!!!

Working Boy!

Nick went to work with Grandpa on Monday. They took a load of pontoons to the St Cloud area. Nick's highlight...(or what he had to tell me right away):

"I ate more than Grandpa. I ate 3 double cheeseburgers & a medium milkshake & Grandpa had 2 double cheeseburgers & a medium milkshake."

It's all about the food.........that's what makes that kid happy these days.


  

An Ugly Double

For those of you that were unable to make Nick's last games today, here's a little video.  Not the best, fence in the way & too sunny I couldn't tell what I was shooting!  Here's his single...that turned into a double because of an error in the field.  Final score was 13-6....Nick's team won!

We *think* the season record was 8/2/2.

Bavarian Blast Parade!

It was a nice day for a parade (if you stayed in the shade!!). Grandma, Grandpa, & Ashley sat by us as we watched the parade go by. Kids filled up an ice cream bucket with candy which Phil will end up taking to work tomorrow. His co-workers love that!

  

High Fivin' with the NARREN!

  

Future Liberty Tax Employee???

  

Zachary!??!?!

I'm working on some Ebay listings right now & am listing a bunch of Lexi's old clothes. I was looking for some pictures of her in the clothes because a cute picture of the kid in the item always boost sales. Anyhow....I came across this picture....and thought it was Zachary for a minute!! What do you think?!?!?


  

My Little Posers

  

Schell's Brewery

Took the kids to the Brewery today. We saw a doe, fawn, 2 male peacocks, a female peacock with two babies and some big goldfish. Kids enjoyed walking around the beautiful flower gardens. I would have liked to have gone into the new gift shop but with the kids and all the glass displays I didn't think it would be a good idea!!

  

Lexi doesn't like b/w pictures....she said she likes to see her skin. LOL

  

PEACOCK!

  

Car Update.....

Well it's still in the shop & will hopefully be done tomorrow. It could have been VERY bad if Phil would have been driving down the highway....he said he probably would have been killed. The steering totally went out. The whole front suspension went out. A bolt rusted or something & the whole front end fell (at least that was what I got from the tow truck guy).

No idea if we should contact Buick on this or what. If it's some safety thing, other Buick owners should know about it and a recall should happen. Or if it's just something that happens, I'm not sure.

So we'll get the bill for the damages tomorrow, but a rough estimate was around $500...so not the worst but still sucks. Especially when we just decide to fill up our LP tank & do a summer buy on our gas to the tune of $500.! I guess I should get to work instead of updating here!! I've got a few things sitting here that are easy money makers but I just have such a hard time getting myself motivated to list!! SO much easier doing the shopping part than listing/picture taking!
Also got the news yesterday that Ebay is raising their fees on store features. I'm not sure what I'll do....have to take a hard look at things on that end I guess. I wish someone would come along & give Ebay a run for their money!

***They just called & said it was ready.....$577....and something happened that they broke the airbag. Sounds to me like it was their fault & they should fix that, right? They told Phil it was $360 to fix the airbag. Ummm, we can do without if that's the case!!

Broken Car........

Didn't I just mention that we don't need anything else to break on us!?!?

Ugh Ugh Ugh

Phil left for work tonight about 10:40...few minutes later I hear him come back in. He comes in & says his car BROKE. Huh? How does a car just break?!!? Well something happened with the steering I guess. He was on the county road & ended up putting the car into the ditch to get it off the road. Not sure what he should do....leave a note on it or what? I said I would call the police department to see what we should do about it. So he left with the van & punched in at 11:00 pm. Right on time ;-)

I called the NU Police Dept because I wasn't sure if I should call them or the Nicollet Co Sheriff. I told dispatch the story & was asking what I should do when she put me on hold....she came back & said that Nicollet County had just recieved a call on the vehicle in the ditch so she was going to transfer me to them. I told that lady the story & she said that a Sheriff was on his way to the scene & would call me when he got there. I said ok. Boy someone was sure quick to report it!

Waited for him to call.....he called & asked if my husband was here...could he talk to him. I said no he came home & got the other vehicle & went to work. He asked if he had been drinking at all today. I laughed...and said no, he was on his way to work and the car broke! The steering went out & he wanted it off the road because he didn't think it would be ok just on the shoulder. He asked where he worked. Than he went on to say that the report was he walked away with a cooler & an open can. I said he takes a cooler to work with his food in it...and he had just opened a can of pop. I'm sure it looked pretty bad to whoever drove by & saw it!! He said the car would be fine where it is at for tonight & that if it's not gone in the morning, they will have it towed. I said I would call someone in the morning.

Can't wait to see what the bill will be for that! I'm sure it will be cheaper than a DWI though!! I wonder if the Sheriff will show up at Kraft tonight to give him a breathalyzer........will be some good gossip for sure!!

Sunday night update!

Let's see...I should be working but have to post to the old blog first! A few highlights from the weekend:

*Grandpa & Grandma came over to the lake with me & spent the night. I realized there is NO way I can stay over there by myself w/ the kids. NO WAY. Grandma was a big help with the kids as usual...thank you!! (I did manage to get the grill started & grill our supper though! Course today when I put the damn thing away the wheel feel off & I got my white shirt all full of grease. Augh.)

*Grandpa installed our new A/C unit in the living room!! Thanks Dad!! It felt so good to have the whole place cool....(we have one unit in the porch, but it didn't quite reach to the living room/kitchen area). Phil should thank you too....puting that thing in when it's suppose to hit triple digits...not the BEST time to do it! We got it installed, it works, however, we won't mention what happened when I was helping.

*Zander bumped his mouth/teeth on the couch and bled....

*Grandma left her coffee in a bad spot & Zachary spilt it on himself...a little & thankfully it wasn't HOT

*Nick caught a nice bass Sat night...about 9 pm....no one there to clean it for him....(Grandpa doesn't know how, I certainly don't!).....Uncle JP had just gone back to his house.......Nick cried...was proud of his fish & was NOT gonna throw it back......JP came over & ended up cleaning it for him. Thank you! At what age can he learn to clean fish!??!

*My new blender makes good margarita's..........

*Nick had a baseball game tonight but neither Phil nor I were there (Phil had to work & it was just too hot for me to sit out there w/ the other kids) & Nick hit a GRAND SLAM!!! He was so proud of himself!!

*Had an awesome night for Ebay auctions.....I've been slacking lately & finally last week was able to put some auctions up. The couple highlights... one was this FUGLY dress. My Ebay friends asked me why I would buy that...and the reason...the size & because it's so UGLY!! I've learned through the years that if it's UGLY, it usually sells!! And the other was these overalls. Also sold two pumps tonight...one for 90 & the other for $110. Still have FIVE of them sitting here! I wish I could find more time to work!! When I do, it does pay off! It's too bad the money isn't FUN money like it used to be for me....I enjoyed it more than. Now it's a job ;-(

Tired girl..

Someone got tired out from the lake!!! She fell asleep during the last 10 mins home...........so cute I had to take a picture!

  

Hi Nick!! Is that too fast for you!??! Grandpa took Nick & I out tubing on Saturday afternoon. NO BRUISES for me !!!! YEAH!!! Grandpa could NOT throw Nick off the tube!! He went pretty fast but Nick hung on. And it was pretty windy out there so we hit lots of good size waves too. What a difference in Nick in just a couple of weeks.......we would barely be moving in the boat & he'd say slow down....to now we can't go fast enough to throw him off!! He would let go to show a NO HANDS.......and then give the hand signal for faster (that usually only Daddy uses!). We somehow got a hole in our tube & brought it home to fix. PRAY that it is fixable & we don't have to buy a new one.....they are over $100 new & this one is only a year old!! We've been having too many new things go out on us lately.....microwave, blender, bulb for projection TV, hot water heater.....yikes!! Too many bills we don't need!

  

*HI Lexi!!* Are you helping Grandpa paddle?!?