Monday, June 30, 2008
Let the games begin ...
mine, Mine, MINE!
Monday, June 23, 2008
Ode to Bear Lake
I know it's totally lame and probably not even a true "ode", but it sums it up. We opened the cabin the beginning of June and went back up this past weekend for a long stay (well, not long, but longer than usual as Ry took Fri off work so we could go up Thurs night). And what a blast it was. The weather was awesome, the beach wasn't crowded Fri or Sun, we had a nice hike in the mountains, Frisbee in the park with Ryan, leisurely walks, and the Raspberry Shakes from Hometown (yes, Hometown is my fave - sorry La Beau's lovers!) were to die for!
Here are the kids playing down at the water. I would have taken more pics of the whole weekend, however my battery was dead after the first day at the beach thanks to all the wonderful pictures Finn took (see previous post). This is the first year Finley really took to the water. It's FREEZING right now, but he didn't care one bit. He loved getting in, throwing Bentley his ball or Frisbee, and chasing/splashing Ryan and I. He was so cute with Ryan building sandcastles (Ryan built, Finley destroyed with buckets of water).
Berlin however, didn't love the sand. She did alright at first but soon decided she didn't like the dirt on her legs, feet, or hands, and she freaked out the minute any of it got on her. She much preferred feeding Bentley her goldfish crackers and of course Bentley didn't mind one bit. Bentley found a new best friend in Berlin as she fed him everything all weekend long.
It was a great weekend and I am so grateful to be able to spend time up there - minus the rotting dead deer carcass back behind the cabin and the gazillion mosquitoes (they have yet to spray). These I can do without. Never-the-less, oh how I LOVE Bear Lake!!!
to Firestation, to Firestation to climb a big rig ...





Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Rave Reviews

Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Dear Collegeworks Painting & Jace Kellogg (our Branch Manager)
1. You guys said you would start the end of April, yet you didn't start until the end of May and every start date you gave us kept getting pushed back farther and farther. Yet amazingly the weekend you knew we had to go out of town you are able to paint the house and do so with us not being there. Um, you shouldn't be painting houses when you can't do the nightly walk-over. But I guess that's what you wanted, an easy way to do crappy work and not have to answer for it. what's the point of the when we aren't there to go over problems or concerns during "daily walk-thrus."
2. You didn't finish painting the chimney. Yes, I did notice the top 2 feet didn't get painted - I do have eyes and occasionally I actually look up towards the sky. Did you think we wouldn't notice it. And I know it wasn't a matter of running out of paint because you left the remaining paint with us.
3. You left stain all over the vinyl siding of my house, on my hose & spray nozzle, and on our brick patio. Yes I noticed - it's kind of hard NOT to notice the big oil spots on the vinyl from where you tried to clean up the stain, yet for all those oil spots, you seemed to have overlooked the actual stain marks which are still everywhere. Apparently you need to go back to school to learn that vinyl siding doesn't need stain, but decks do. Honestly, how hard is it cover the vinyl with a plastic tarp/sheet while you do the staining??? My 3 year old son could have done a better job.
You also left a bunch of overspray on our door weather strip. The painter said that it's because the door was closed with wet paint. If this were true, the paint would only be visible with the door open and only from the inside of the house. However, the overspray/overbrush can be seen when the door is closed (it's quite obvious being that it's white paint on brown weather-stripping). And they are total brush strokes which prove that your painters didn't tape it off like they should have - but I guess that's what you get when inexperienced morons paint your door. hello - painting 101? You might want to make sure your crew has taken this course.
4. Despite the fact that the contract specifically states extensive prep (scraping, sanding, brushing, priming) of the 3 front porch columns, it is clearly obvious that all you did was prime and paint. No sander touched those columns, and yes, I did notice this fact. The peeling paint that was previously there is still there, just covered in whiter paint than before. If you say (and the contract specifically states "scraping, sanding, brushing - extensive prep work on columns" then you had better do it because obviously we are going to be looking for it to have been done.
5. If you choose to go out of town upon our return from vacation, don't send another guy to come over and pressure us to pay up for the work that was obviously not done to our satisfaction. It's obvious that you know the work was not done properly. And don't tell my husband that we have to pay the balance to this other guy and that we can go over our concerns when you get back. Obviously you are back and have been for weeks now but have yet to call us to address the concerns I noted on the contract when I was forced to pay the balance.
6. Finally, if you ever want to have a successful business, the first and most important thing you must remember is that when a customer calls (repeatedly) you should always call the customer back. We have now called you 4 times since we've returned from our vacation and you have yet to call us back. Honestly, we don't bite - or atleast we didn't until our 4 calls went un-returned. Now we are chompin' at the bit to chew you out. Oh - and don't answer the phone and then hang up on me when you hear my voice. Really, that's just childish.
Honestly, did you think we were just going to fade into the background and ignore it? We paid good money and we expect a good product in return. And yes, I will be upping the calling from once a week to once a day until you call us back. And if we do not hear from you or the company in regards to this matter, then fine, I'll suck it up to poor judgement on our part, but I'll be damned if you get once bit of positive press from me. I plan on posting and voicing this complaint where-ever and whenever I can.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
I've been tagged ...















Pillowcase Dresses
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
5 years ago today
As we were sitting in church a few months ago, 3 different newlyweds got up to bear their testimony. Each person kept saying how the last few weeks/months had been the hardest in their life and how rough married life had been yadda yadda. Ryan and I just looked at each other and said, "Really?" When we got home we both had a good laugh because we were both thinking how our first year was so easy and awesome. We loved that first year of marriage - just the two of us hanging out, going to football games at the U, playing video games, going to movies, still going on dates and all that. Not that the last 4 have been bad, just different. With kids now in the picture, the alone time just isn't there like it used to be and though we miss that alone time, we wouldn't trade our current life - kids and all, for anything. When I look back on the past 5 years I have to say that I have no regrets. I love being married - even with all it's ups & downs. I love Ryan more now than I did then. I probably don't show it or tell him enough, but I do. I'm so grateful that we chose to love each other for eternity.
Here we are 5 years ago:
Here we are today (last month actually):

How are we are celebrating our special day? We went to SF last month, but we had to cancel dinner & movie plans tonight so we could nurse 2 kiddos sick with the pooks (vomiting & diahrrea).
Friday, June 6, 2008
Starstruck
