SKUNK!!!

Bailey our puppy (14 months old) was behind the pool area and Jacob and Rileigh were swinging. Bailey didn't come right away, so I asked the kids what she was doing...."EEEWWW she's sniffing a dead skunk!!" Well EEEEWWWWW was right! And I knew what I was going to have to do! OMGoodness!!! I DON'T want to clean him up!!! But if you have ever owned a dog, you know that they LOVE to roll in smelly stuff! And really you could smell it at the pool, so it had to be done! So off I go to get a bag and shovel, coax Jacob to make sure the bag stays open while I shove him in.......OH DEAR LORD, I didn't know just how awful it was going to be!!!! He was decaying into the ground and was STUCK!!! One swipe with the shovel let the oder EXPLODE into the air!!! Down went the shovel!!! I had to turn away! Jacob must have been up wind because he didn't move...he stood there like a trooper holding open the bag....and LAUGHING his full little head off at me! So I get myself together and think the quicker I do this the quicker I'm DONE!!! Shovel in hand, I loosen his dead little stinky body loose from the ground.....which is stained black, WOW!!!, wasn't really expecting that, go to scoop him up and I thought I had him....NOPE...his head falls right off the shovel!!! HOLY HECK!! This is AWFUL!! So I throw the shovel load into the bag that Jacob has now left on the ground and I had to do a second scoop to get the rest of him! Then there he was in the bag on the ground, but not quite in the bag enough for me to touch the bag and lift it up to tie it, so we get another bag and scoop up the first bag and get it tied! Throw him into the garbage can and grab the keys....we're taking this straight to the DUMP! We load the trash cans into the truck and off we go! While empting the trash cans I notice something moving!!....oh my...we've got MAGGOTTS!!! Really? Really?

There's water in my BED!!!!

Rileigh comes into our room at 4:30 AM..........which is almost never good....Mike ask her 'what's wrong?' she says nothing...so I ask her 'Rileigh, what's the matter?'..Her reply "there's water in my bed" which is code for 'I wet to bed'!! Poor thing didn't want to admit that it happened to her! I'm hoping she was so exhusted from swimming for hours on end that she just simply didn't wake up this ONE time!!

Rileigh's way of thinking

Well I have just recovered from a stomach bug that TOOK ME OUT! I mean I feel like I've lost 4 days of my life! So it's without saying that the bug is moving through the house and has landed with Rileigh. So, she's sitting on the potty doing her business telling me how yucky it is and I said 'I know it's going to last about 3 days and it will be gone, but there is nothing that we can really do.....Rileigh replies with 'you mean I'm going to have this on my weekend?' Yes, you are I'm sorry, but just think you get to have some sprite and it's not even a party! Rileigh's reply 'Who made sprite law when you are sick? Couldn't it be root beer?' I love that kid!

I'm such a mean Mom!

We have a new puppy and we talked about it before we got her that EVERYONE was going to have to help....well Jacob wanted her sooooo badly that he said he would do it ALL. Of course we haven't made him do it all, but we did assign him the poopper scooper job. I am in the office and I can hear them outside laughing and saying how GROSS this is....it's so funny! Rileigh is saying EEEWWW!!! they have shovels and a wheel barrow. Rileigh just came in and said 'hey mom, I evened picked up poop!' They are talking things out and working as a team.

Finally Some Adult Time...ZIP-LINE!!!!!

After seeing Mike with the height of the ferrous wheel...I thought my chances of zip-lining were slim to none...but he sucked it up and away we went! First you suit up and they give you a whole 3 minute talk and up up up up up the 90 stairs you went on the first tower. You go the first a bit more blind then the rest. After we got to the second tower, they told you how to TRY to steer, but really that's just for laughs, you pretty much just go.......I happen to end up backwards every time. Mike did a little better with the steering then me. Our room was right in front of tower #4, so poppy snapped a few pictures for us and Jacob and Rileigh was able to see us land and take off once. There were a total 6 toweres and took about 45 minutes. AWESOME!!!

American Girl

We woke up in Chicago and gave Rileigh her birthday gift early; Kanani, the Hawaiian doll of the year. American Girl Store in Chicago! It's every doll lovers dream come true and is a destination it self! We arrived about 9:30 am and your mind and eyes go into over load. Displays are every where! There are displays of all of the dolls in every outfit that they have, displays of life size rooms for them and then also the doll size rooms. Upstairs was like a main street shopping area with shops,a salon, bakery, hospital, and bistro. We had Kanani's ear's pierced at the salon and while we waited for her, we shopped. Little girl clothes, pets, and doll outfits galore! We lucked out and were there on the day that they launched new products, so it was the first time that we had seen some things....like Kanani's party dress and ukulele....which we just had to bring home :) We did try to control our selves, but it was hard to resist the cuteness and we bought more then we should have! Pictures tell more then 1,000 words in this case, but shhhhh!!! It's our little secret!

Chicago....Look Out

Well we arrived in Chicago right on time...for the traffic :( So, after 3 hours in the car, we made it to Navy Pier...and as soon as we stepped foot on the pavement, RAIN!!! Are you kidding me? Thank goodness it was a quick shower and didn't ruin our evening. Navy Pier is simply beautiful! Very similar to our Inner Harbor. First we looked around inside then ate at Harry Carey's Baseball Bar & Grill. Then outside to do the ferrous wheel. Wow is Mike afraid of heights!! He made it though, but did the happy dance when his feet hit the stationary ground! Jacob and Rileigh lucked out and rode twice, once with Mike and I and once with Mom-Mom and Poppy. The skyline was amazing from up there!