Boating Weekend

FRIDAY. 
 
I spent all day loading boat with stuff. Washed new towels.

Hubby came home and after we were all loaded, traveled down to the park. Put boat in water at Farragut Park with assistance from Rick, Austin & Earl. Hubby and I stayed overnight on the boat while at the dock there

Woke up at 3AM thinking it was dawn. Hubby walked Bud. Went back to sleep.

 Bud dog on boat

SATURDAY.
I went home to pack more things at 7AM. Forgot hubby's shirts. Whoops. Stopped at Cydco for necessities.

Kids came at 10:00 with lattes & boarded boat for fun.They brought Boat Warming gifts. Plates, bowls & cups in blue for me. Pirate hat & eye patch & pirate flag for hubby!

Pirate Greg

Cruised to Garfield Bay, Hope. Checked out Marinas for moorage. Then ate lunch at Hope Floating restaurant.

Swam in special swim area that was recommended to us. Matt was eager to get floatables to pull behind boat. Cruised into Sandpoint & Dover. They were having a wake at Dover. Odd.

M&K decided they wanted to stay overnight so they could have more fun. Boating Addicts!

Boating Addicts!

Matt jumped off the back of the boat while it was going full speed several times.

Moored for the night at Bottle Bay. The owner said that they had never moored anybody overnight and did not know what to charge. They had washer/dryer on land that we used to clean towels. No soap, however. Found showers around the side later...Had excellent dinner at the Restaurant. Walked dogs up steep hills to potty them. Some idiot in the middle of the night went flying by on boat & rocked our boat. Huge waves.


SUNDAY.
Woke up early. Waited around Bottle Bay for Rental store to open. We finally left at 9AM to go back to Hope Floating Restaurant for Brunch. Re-fueled there & walked dogs again. Yummy brunch! Then cruised back to Farragut to meet up with Earl & Family with their boat and Rick & Family with their boat. Matt got to get pulled on float behind Earl's power boat; also first time Waterskiing for Matt. He did GREAT!

Took kids to drop them off at 3:00PM. Loading at Farragut Park boat dock was INSANE! Too many Dumb & drunk people!

We boated around to Bayview & moored boat at McDonalds temporarily.

Boat Moored

Walked dogs to boat dock at Farragut to pick up FMF. Then drove back to Bayview to pack our stuff off boat. Then drove hubby back to Farragut boat dock to pick up dually & trailer. Stupid people still loading boats. Idiots.

Drove home exhausted. Unpacked & cleaned things.

MONDAY.
I washed melamine plates. Washed laundry. Picked up dog poo. Started packing stuff to put on boat.

Stocking

This is worse than having a 2nd home! We went to Wal-Mart at 9:00 last night & did not leave until 11:00. Had to purchase a lot of stuff for the boat. Difficult to anticipate what we might need on it. Towels, RV toilet paper, food, snacks, water, rope, band-aids, sun protectant, shampoo...

Then we picked up tacos and went home to unload the perishables. I unloaded the rest of it this morning onto the boat.

Hope it floats because that is an awful lot of weight in that thing.

Clean Day

Cleaned boat. Cleaned house. Tired.
Went to WalMart to get supplies after hubby worked in shop tonight.

Plop In Water Day

Boat on dock

PICK UP BOAT DAY

driving boat home

Sunday Sailing

SUNDAY:

Breakfast at Cowboy Cafe

Memorial for Samson at CDA Dog Park

Angus Pink Kiss

SATURDAY:

 Athol DAZE RMOR Car Crushing

 

Undetermined

Friday August 12
Watered plants, transplanted plants into pots, picked up dog poo, did laundry, did dishes.

 Bud

Nails

Tuesday August 9
Went to get my nails done this morning at 9am. Bud came with me. Traffic was not bad. Got a strawberry/pina colada jet tea in town. Let Kitty outside to roam.

Kitty

Wednesday August 10
Hubby texted me he found boat. Drove into town with Bud. Washed car & got latte. Picked hubby up at 4:30 on the dot. Drove over to Freedom RV. They had traded boat in on new RV. Boat was nice. Filled out paperwork.

Went to eat at 5 Guys Burgers. Hubby thought it was real good! Too many fries. Put them in sack for doggies at home.

Took hubby back to work to pick up his truck. He took Bud & went to Wendy's for burgers.

I drove home by myself. Hubby worked in shop tonight.

 

Boat

Thursday August 11
Dropped Angus off at 8:45AM to get shaved again. Then got my toenails done at Nails2000.

 Pink Toes

Shopped at WalMart to waste some time. Purchased Wendy's burgers at the Barker Road exit. Got over to S.C.R.A.P.S. by 12:00 when they opened; LOTS of people in line. No black kitties left at all.

Drove home to puppies & let Kitty out into yard again. Apryl's Grooming called at 2:30 to let me know Angus was done. Went into town to pick her up & came home again. Exhausted.

Endo cramps in the middle of the night. 3AM. Got up 3 times. Took multiple aspirins. Because I had so many drugs in my system, hubby scared me when he tried to kiss me Friday morning!

Why?

Why is my family so insensitive to all that I do for them? Why is it so difficult for them to acknowledge anything I do? Why do I even bother anymore?

Why does my husband buy crap all the time? After 30 years, there is not  going to be any big celebration for our anniversary. Why is it so difficult for him to understand that I don't like living in crap all the time?

Why?

Why does my husband think it is "fun" to drive 6 hours in a truck that doesn't work on a Sunday? Why can't we have any fun on a motorcycle? Why can't we do anything I want to do? Why is it that there is so much shitty fucking trucks in our yard that it looks like a dump?

Why doesn't anything work?

Moose & Deer

Moose this morning. Deer tonight. Love the wildlife.

Depressed

I have just not been feeling "right" lately. Am experiencing an overwhelming sense of depression. I really have to force myself to do anything lately. Do not want to clean, it only gets dirty again. Don't want to organize anything, so the house looks like a mess. Don't want to clean the cars, but they smell absolutely awful.

Wish there were magic faeries to take care of everything every night!

There are termites eating our wood in the house. The side deck is sloping and needs to be fixed. We need spend lots to get propane to prepare for fall. Ick. One of my favorite evergreen plants is dying. And what the Hell is with all the dead birds I have been finding lately? In the rock garden, on the basement patio, on the driveway. I am sick of picking of dead little bird bodies. The summer sucked and it is almost winter again. Another LONG winter. 

#3 left for a vacation of two weeks without planting the rest of my plants. So they are out in the circle driveway, just waiting for him to return. Hubby says he won't plant them.

I saw some other plants on sale at Lowe's when we were there this weekend, but I keep thinking "what's the point?" Saw some mid size lilac plants. I want to get a lot to surround the house. Love the Lilacs.

Found a boat to buy, but hubby was very negative about it. Had to remind him repeatedly to get him to call and reserve a room for us at the Davenport for our anniversary. He is still whining about the cost & just going. His mood has been negative lately and I wonder if that is feeding my personality so that I have become negative.

Last night he stayed home with me instead of going to the shop to work. He sat on the couch and slept for 2 hours after coming home. Then I had to wake him up so that we could take the dogs for a walk in the park. He lagged behind the whole time. And I really can't blame him because he works in the hot and the heat every day lately because the powers that be at work decided to purchase vehicles WITHOUT air conditioning. Can you even imagine? The vehicles CAME with standard A/C. But they specifically paid MORE to have it taken out. Dumbass Verizon.

There really needs to be an end to this melancholy mood I have been in lately. Hope the end comes soon.

"They" seem to be chip-sealing every road in the county lately. Can't drive anywhere because that awful tar & those rocks ruin the car. There was a road crew even doing all the streets in Athol, so I cannot take the dogs thru town to see all their puppy friends. Depressing.

Tonight I have to take kitty's food away from him at 8PM because he has his neutering surgery tomorrow.

I really enjoy my iPhone. Not only the songs that I can carry on it, but I have all my To-Dos and Bills listed. So much easier to consult it than a calendar!

Buck up! Think positive.

We are babysitting the Bravo this weekend. Pick him up tonight. The kids are going on a "secret" get away weekend. Why can't we?

(Another) New Truck

Sunday was too hot to walk the dogs. We sat on the back deck in the rocking chairs enjoying the morning. We decided to install a gate for the back deck so we can open the door & dogs can walk around on back deck, also.

Jen-Bunny had returned from her trip to see her boyfriend, so we were overjoyed to see her at the latte stand.

We picked up the new truck that hubby purchased in Post Falls. All leather interior. Quite a steal.

 New Ford Pickup

I ran the FMF thru the car wash while he drove over to the bank for a deposit. Then he returned and ran the new truck thru the car wash, also. We drove home.

While we were home, hubby called on a couple boats. Still looking. Running out of season...

Then drove into town with the FMF to purchase fence gate parts at Lowe's. I observed quite a few plants that I wanted to purchase. We decided to bring the truck in tomorrow to get them. Got Wendy's burgers on the way home for puppies to eat. Decided to have steaks on the barbie tonight for dinner. Went to Spirit Lake Grocery for steaks, hamburgers & buns.

Kitty is still doing well. He likes his new carpeted sleep area. Likes to sleep in the box we got from the emergency vet. Is going potty quite well in his cat box. Just have to keep him in the basement until after his surgery on Friday. Dogs have been going down to meet him and reacting to him quite well. Sniffing butts & occasional growls.

Sleepy Saturday

I got up at 6AM as the dogs were stirring. Opened the door for them to do their "business". Tripped back to bed with my eyes still closed.

Hubby got up at 9AM and got dressed. Went down to say hi to kitty for a while in the basement bathroom. He was very happy. Purring & eating his canned cat food. We sat on the deck for a while until the sun peeked over the trees & it became too hot to sit outside. Went inside to sit on the couches with the dogs. Hubby fell asleep until 11:45 when we went in to A-town to get lattes from Amber.

I took care of plants at house & picked up poo. Austin and his friend Tanner came up to mow around circle driveway. Then #3 came up at 4:00 to dig holes for plants.

Shopping

Met KRN in Spokane at the Costco to go shopping. I got a latte in Post Falls on the way. Before I met with KRN, I filled the tank with gasoline at Costco.

We parked cars & waited for 30 minutes before Costco opened. KRN got all her coffee supplies for the week (lots of  yummy muffins!) and I got cat food & cat litter. We definitely HAD to stop at the latte stand on North Sullivan Blvd. - Shotzy's Coffee. They were having their 8th year anniversary and gave away a free pre-paid card to KRN as she paid! Yippee. Afterwards, we shopped at the Valley Mall. Picked up sunglasses & sandals at JCPenney, sweater at American Eagle (returned the other stuff I had ordered online).

 AE Sweater

After we were done shopping at the mall, we went to Petco to get carpeted cat box & fish plants then next door to 5 Guys Burgers & Fries for lunch. YUMMY burgers!

Drove to Fish place on Barker Road but it appears to be permanently closed.

Also went to Kohl's briefly but did not find anything for KRN. She was looking for a blouse.

KRN drove me back to Costco so I could get my car & drive home.

Hubby came home late. Then he worked in the shop til past midnight.

"Roadkill"

Our new kitty. Took him to Dr Mike vet today at 12:00. His chin & neck are still swollen. Dr gave him anti-inflammatories, antibiotics & pain medication. Treated him for ear mites. Made appt for neutering in one week after Roadkill has healed up! Hubby happened to stop by & surprised me by knocking on exam room door. He was concerned about cat. Nice to have him up in this neighborhood working again!

Dr said does not appear to have ringworm (our friends Chachi & Joanie got a rescue kitty that had ringworm. Spread it to all their dogs...then had to bleach everything, special medicine & wash dogs/cat several times with special medicine shampoo; so hubby was extra worried that cat not have ringworm!)

Got drinks for Earl & #3 while I was in town at latte stand. Had Deralee show me through the trailer she is trying to sell. Then came home.

Sore Throat & Road Kill

I was not feeling very well today, yet I picked up dog poo; did laundry; watered plants; and called Tickets West about our Parking Ticket error.

My throat has been sore & I have been running a fever.

UPS brought my original KEDS that I had ordered! Yippee. I knew that if I held out long enough, Keds would bring back the original canvas shoe! My feet/toes are in heaven.

Hubby came home in the middle of the afternoon long enough to kiss me & grab a sandwich.

When he came home from work, he ran down to the shop for an hour. Then we drove to Post Falls to pay for the shortbed extra cab white pickup that we will be bringing home. He plans to put dually axles and a lift kit under it. Will look nice. Then we picked up Wendy's burgers for the dogs.

On the way home driving through Rathdrum, I accidentally hit a cat. We drove around the block to make sure of what I had hit...and it was a cat. My heart dropped. Hubby got out to drag the dead body to the side of the road. However...it was NOT dead. Only in shock. We dialed the closest Emergency Vet and took kitty there in the back of the car. Which was kinda difficult to do. We had no blanket or anything. Also...the dogs were with us. Bit & Bud. They went nuts sniffing the cat!

At the Emergency Vet in Post Falls, hubby took the kitty in while I took Bud & Bit to let them pee. Hubby came out with the cat in a box; he was told there was nothing other than a severe cut on his mouth. He is a intact male cat - probably the luckiest cat ever to survive a car hit! So should we name him Lucky or Roadkill?

We stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get cat food, litter box & litter.

Kitty is in the basement bathroom recovering tonight.

Sunday and No Dogs

Saturday -  Horrible drinks with Heather at latte stand. Took dogs for walk at park. Nice. Was cool & partly cloudy. Took drink back & she made WORSE drink. Then I went to Spirit Lake to get a better drink and got crappy regular coffee instead of white coffee. I really want a home machine. 

I exercised for 2 hours on Saturday. Picked up dog poo. Did laundry. Watered plants.

Remote control came for TV already! Played new game on iPhone - Pet Hotel. Very addictive. Similar to Farmville. LOL.

Also, UPROAR tickets came! Yippee!

Tim came down at 10:30 to look at fixing deck. He made list of wood that hubby needs to pick up. Will fix deck next week.

Hubby put air in tires on bike & fixed handlebars.

About 6:00PM hubby came home exhausted from shop. Decided to stay home & do running errands tomorrow. 

Angus on grass, Happy dogs Harry & Bud on deck. See Bud smiling!

Sunday - Hubby awoke early at 6AM & opened the door for the dogs. It is still too chilly at night to leave the door open. Has been an odd, cold summer. Tho it did finally hit about 88 today, 90 in Spokane.

Sat on the deck for a while before hubby whined to take dogs for walk before it got too hot.

We walked the dogs at 8AM at Farragut Park. I talked hubby into taking a different path & the dogs loved walking through a different area of the woods on the trail. New smells. Isabelle especially had her tail held high and her nose up!

Drinks with Amber. Yippee. Good drinks for once.

Dumped dogs at home. Removed everything that could be chewed. Hubby and I took FMF to Costco (where he saw cool 4WD Van complete with pop-top and living quarters). Then over to WalMart in Post Falls and on to Fish Place in Spokane Valley (which happened to be closed on Sundays. Darn.)

Picked up Wendy's burgers on way home & washed FMF.

Hubby tried to grill corn on the cob when we got home, but he fell asleep & it all burnt. Darn.

He went later to get milk at Lil Town Market while I stayed home with dogs to make sure they did not chew anything up.

Rested for the night.

Nails & Exercise

Went to get my nails done today.

Exercised for 2 hours.

Laundry word cloud for the top of washer/dryer.

Clean & Vacuum & Mow

It seems the work around here is never done. I now HATE vacuuming.

Worked all day yesterday (Wednesday) cleaning house.

Mowed back yard today.

While I was mowing the dog area which is over 1 acre, Bud was mad that I had left him and the others in the house (for their protection) so he chewed up our Surround System remote!

Kids Over

Kids over this weekend.

Saturday - Dog walk at Farragut.

Sunday - Stopped at Big Lots to shop...no summer stuff all the school supplies are out.

Guys went over to Big 5 so hubby could try on boots. He could not find anything. We then all went over to Lowe's. I got plants!

Plants...

and More plants

Doggie Spa Day

Took hubby into town to work this morning as he had to pick up his Dodge. Then came back with Bud & Lil Bit. It was already starting to warm up a bit after a cold night.

At 10:30, I took Isabelle, Bud, and Lil Bit to Apryl's for their grooming. It was a nice drive in, but people are driving crazy.

Went to get money from the ATM, then picked up a latte at Higher Ground Espresso in town. Saw a motorcycle cavalcade for a funeral. Then washed car at the automated car wash. Drove to Rathdrum to meet hubby at the Street Fair at the high school grounds for Rathdrum Daze. He was manning the Frontier booth for a couple hours.

Drove home to Angus & Harriet, but had to stop for an EXTREMELY long coal loaded train. Watered plants & picked up poo. Did some laundry.

Angus at home

Hubby brought other dogs home at 5pm. Bit is SO very soft. All of the dogs were wearing cute little scarves. They smell SO very good and have their toenails trimmed!

Dogs

We have 5 dogs. I pick up their poo everyday so they have a clean area. They have access to fresh water outside in a large barrel and 3 inside bowls inside available. They are fed quite well.

My dogs are licensed, vaccinated, and chipped. 

They have over 1 acre of fenced area to roam around upon and another 20 acres that are non fenced. Bud & Isabelle are the only ones that I can trust outside the fence. Usually they wander down to the shop to be with daddy.

I play with them daily. Usually we race around the house or toss balls outside. They love it when I walk with them outside.

My dogs are groomed by a professional groomer that I have total trust & faith in. They regularly have baths & their toenails are cut before they grow too long. I brush them at home so that they do not have matted hair.

Most of them go everywhere with us. They go to the dog park, they go shopping with us, they go for walks with us.

In the rare times that they have to be left at home, when we return they greet us like long lost friends that are so excited to see us after such a long time.

Two of them sleep with us. Not only is it warm at night, it is also comforting to have their trusting little bodies scooted up to us so closely.

The hubby and I usually manage to take them walking on both days of the weekend and more often during the week in the summer.

They see the vet as often as they need to for shots & misc visits. If they exhibit signs of illness or injury, we immediately taken them to the doctor.

I love my dogs. That is why I have them. It is enjoyable to see their joy in life, their excitement and their love. they bring me happiness.

My dogs are not starved, ignored, chained, beaten, or abused.

They are healthy, happy specimens of canine life.

It's a dog's life!

Took Harriet our Boxer to the Vet today for a pocket of infection on her lower left jaw. Dr Mike prescribed antibiotics & warm wet compresses.

Bruised

Monday - Took a lot of rest on Monday to recover from the weekend. I need another weekend to recover from the weekend.

#3 had a horrible accident at the racetrack on Friday night we learned. Fell on his head & got a concussion.

I oiled all the gates & frost-frees to make it easier to get into things. Watered the plants. Washed clothes.

Found a couple other boats to look at.

Hubby came home & then went up to Priest River to get the truck he bought with a friend who has a rolloff.

4 Wheelin Compressor Creek

SUNDAY July 10 - Roc Bronc all packed & ready to go on the trailer we picked up from Mike last night. Loaded Bud in the dually at 6AM for a fun day. Stopped at WalMart to pick up trail mix, then at Higher Ground Espresso in CDA for hot lattes. It was quite cool this morning; only 48 degrees. Wore sweatshirts with our t-shirts underneath. Met everybody at the Tesoro 7:30 AM and got acquainted. Only one other girl was there with me - Kristin. She was nice. Her husband was Matt.

Got on I-90 and traveled to exit 68 Mullan and off loaded the Bronco at 9:30; started up a steep trail just outside town and then 4wheeled the Compressor Creek for the next 4 hours. It was quite intensive & stressful. Lots of huge rocks & trees downed in the creek; slippery & difficult trail. We got to a particularly difficult area & I hiked up a bit. There was no trail to take off of the creek, and it narrowed quite a lot. Hubby had already fallen in the water and scraped his arm & leg. I happened to go around the same side but forgot about the log only to fall where hubby had fallen. Soaking wet, a massive bruise on my left leg & my right forearm scratched to high heaven! We were both throughly done for the day. With a huge fallen log across the way near the bend ahead, hubby & I decided to turn around to go back to the nearest dirt trailhead. A Toyota guy came with us and we made our way slowly back. Around 3:30 we finally got back to Mullan to again load the Roc Bronc onto the trailer for our trip back to CDA.

Got to CDA quite quickly 4:30 and picked up Wendy's cheeseburgers for dogs & KFC chicken for us. We were EXHAUSTED. Unloaded everything at home. We ate dinner out on our rarely used deck. It was very relaxing in the shade and I started the sprinklers so it would be cooler.

hubby & Bud fourwheelin'

SATURDAY July 9 - Hubby and I got lattes from Jen-Bunny in A-Town, then headed up to Priest River to pay for a truck hubby was going to pick up. Used my iPhone GPS (what a lifesaver!) to find this address in the boonies. Paid the guy then stopped at a Garage Sale to pick up some funnels, trailer hitch & other tools for hubby. What a deal! Hubby was very amped to get truck & garage sale finds! Then took the dogs to wild dog walk along the river. Watched them VERY carefully to make sure they did not roll around in Goose Poop!

Returned home to unload the puppies & hubby went to the shop to work. I relaxed by doing a couple loads of laundry and then vacuumed house.

Had to borrow a trailer from Painter Mike so that we could haul the Roc Bronc up to Mullan tomorrow for the 4wheelin' with the North Idaho Trail Blazers clubs. Will go wheelin' with Joe H, Dave G and others...

Cooler and Sunny

Only a high of 75 today. So I got to work after getting lattes. Mowed the front yard again, picked up more pinecones from the strong wind last night.

Mowed the dog yard in back. Also picked up more pinecones and dog poo. Transplanted my plants that I got the other day at Home Depot into pots.

Washed laundry. Did dishes. Rested for a while. Took a shower before hubby came home. Picked up more dog poo in back yard & branches. Hubby came in highway from Spirit Lake & beeped at us. Dogs were walking with me in back yard.

Hubby went down to shop to work for a while. I vacuumed house.

Mowing Day

Mowed from 8:30am until 11:30. Picked up pinecones, watered plants, & mowed lawn.

Need to do lots after holiday weekend.

4th Holiday Cupcakes

Making cupcakes today. Pictures to come.

Got latte from Deralee this morning, then went back home to water plants. Washed clothes. Made cupcakes. Ready to frost this late afternoon.

Took Harriet to Vet at 2:15PM. She has fungus growing in her ears. They packed them with antibiotics. Should be better in about 2 weeks.

Angus

Angus resting on the deck.

We were too late to get the boat. It had been sold just minutes before we were supposed to view it at 5pm. Original owners found it and wanted it back. Was very disappointing as Greg thought it was the best value for trailer & engines.

Oh well. Came home & walked the dogs at Farragut. Then hunted online for boats until midnight.

Happy Fourth of JULY 2011

Got lattes from Deralee at 8:00am. Went to get nails & toes done for me, pedicure for hubby. 9AM to 11AM. Then picked up plants & cedar wood chips from Home Depot. Saw Bonnie Graham & talked to her for a while while hubby loaded our wood chips. Got Wendy's cheeseburgers for dogs. Went all by ourselves with NO dogs today.

Then went home to feed puppies, dumped wood chips out and unloaded plants. Packed up Buddy & left other dogs at home. Loaded Roc Bronc on trailer & drove up to Pinehurst, Idaho to go four wheeling. On the way we passed Lake Coeur d'Alene with some BEAUTIFUL patriotic Red, White, & Blue clouds in the sky. It was awesome. Stopped to get snacks in downtown Pinehurst & another latte. Hubby got lost for a while before we finally found Forest Road path. Was fun.

Drove thru the old age Cedar forest and got out to inspect the river. Bud had great fun sitting in the back of the Bronco. We had brought his new dog bed to cushion his ride. Four-wheeled until around 6PM; Headed towards home. Saw Chris Howard in his white Ford Bronco in town and waved at hime. Headed home where we then loaded up all the dogs for a one mile walk in Farragut Park. Hurried home to rest for a while. I watered plants outside & vacuumed Dodge. Then we dashed over to Silverwood to watch fireworks at 10PM.

Plant Day

Took dogs to walk in Athol Cemetery today. It is private and the dogs thought it was exciting to be someplace new.

Drove up to Priest River and bought plants at PJ's Tree Nursery. Only paid $137 for a truck bed full of plants. Now have to get #3 to plant them.

On the way back, we got cheeseburgers & famous fries at Burger Heaven, then had a picnic at the park with Lil Bit. He behaved like a perfect little gentleman!

Got home and unloaded plants, I hooked up sprinkler to blueberries.

Took a bath, then I fell asleep at 6pm for a nap and ended up sleeping until 10:30. Felt horrible. Low grade fever and all my joints hurt.

RoadKill

Wednesday - During the day, it was cloudy & cooler. I worked on cleaning the house. I frosted the rest of the cupcakes that I had made. Hubby brought home milk when he finally got home at 8PM. There are several employees at work scheduled off for this 4th of July week vacation. So he had to cover over in Kellogg.
He worked in shop til late. Angus was surprised by a bee that wandered into the house. We had to catch it and release it outside.


Thursday - I cleaned up dog poo in the back yard. It takes a lot longer as there is so much area to cover. And the dogs love to hide their poo. Also cleaned up Isabelle's poo in front yard. Watered plants as it has not rained yet. Blueberries are getting bigger & healthier. Bumble bees are everywhere. Ants are also really bad out on the front deck.

Hubby came home late again 7PM. He ran down to the shop to work for a while, then came back and said he wanted me to drive into CDA with him to pick up bolts. We stopped at Home Depot (where Bud & Bit saw a massive black Great Dane in the back of a pickup) and then a cute little brownish PitBull in a car next to us.

We drove over to Lowe's to find more bolts, then returned the other stuff to Home Depot. Stopped at Wendy's to get burgers for #3 and Tim in the shop. Hubby ate his in the truck while I drove home. On Hwy 54 just west of Clagstone I narrowly avoided a dog hit in the road. It was awful. It looked like it had exploded. Poor little thing. Took Bud & Bit home and gave burgers to the other dogs. Then I took the truck down with hubby so he could get the poor dog off to the side of the road. There was blood for almost 1/2 a mile it had been hit so bad & repeatedly. Hubby got the leash with tags off the dog. I called the owners. The wife was in Montana and contacted her husband who lived just about a mile from where the dog had been hit. He said that the dog was very old and totally blind. It had escaped the yard. So very sad. I am still shaking from thinking about it.

I know that we have lost a few dogs & cats to the Hwy. Now with the extensive fence in the backyard, they are safe to roam & wander to their hearts' content. Hopefully the Hwy will not take anymore pets.

Wild Dog Walk in Goose Poop!

On Monday morning, I picked up a latte with Bud & Lil Bit then rushed to the doctor at 9:45am because my right eye swelled up.

The doctor prescribed anti-biotics and warm compresses. He also repeatedly keep asking if I was "SURE" that I was on no medications. Is this because most people are on medications or because of my age? I did not ask.

Then went to grocery store to pick up laundry detergent & bought store out of patriotic napkins for KRN. I was sure that the drug store next door would have filled my prescription after 15 minutes. When I returned, they could not find the order. It appears that somebody had forgotten to fill the fax machine with paper and I had to wait a further 15 minutes.

Finally got out of the drugstore and went to McDonalds for cheeseburger treats for dogs. Went home and fed them to puppies.

Rested for a while after taking my medication then vacuumed house, cleaned out FMF, and did laundry.

Hubby came home and he rested on the couch for a while, then we took dogs up to Wild Dog Walk. However, wild geese had moved into the area and pooped EVERYWHERE. The dogs proceeded to roll in goose poop and all of them stank! We had to return home to wash every single dog. Tiredly, we dragged ourselves to the couch to watch TV for a while before we went to bed.

Tuesday - Austin is mowing back yard for the dogs. I am having to water plants outside as it has not rained in 3 days straight!

Angus was extremely tired today as it was so hot outside. Inside was nice and cool on the floor with the A/C blowing...

tired Angus

I also picked up all the pinecones in the dog back yard. Below is a snapshot of Bud relaxing in his new BIG yard.

 Bud in new big back yard!

URM

We got lattes early this morning around 8:30am. Then while hubby, Bud & Lil Bit waited patiently in the car, Jen-Bunny french braided my hair again. It was nice to be so fresh & clean.

Drove over to Spoky-Jo to meet K&M at URM wholesale grocery store. Never had been there before. Lots of restaurant supply equipment & food.

Then we took the dogs for a short walk in the grassy area and decided to eat at Flamin' Joe's. Followed the kids there, and took seating in the outside patio. Was a wonderful sunshiny day! Had a great lunch. Good drinks.

Bid the kids goodbye and we walked the dogs again. On the way home, after stopping to test sit on some Harley Davidson's, we also stopped at Walgreens to let me pee & pick up some hairspray to keep my hair together from the wind. Tried to wash Bud & Bit at the dog wash, but Bit ran away and Bud was not interested. Bought cheeseburgers at Wendy's for the dogs.

At home, we fed the cheeseburgers to the dogs, then loaded up all the dogs in the newly cleaned Dodge for wild dog walk up by Priest River. We found a couple bird feathers for Jen-Bunny.

 bud & harry on wild dog walk

Drove home the long way around and stopped in Spirit Lake to get milk. But forgot laundry detergent!

Gave Harriet & Bit bathes at home. Will have to wash Bud & Isabelle on the deck tomorrow.

Hubby grilled hot dogs on the grille. Was a nice night, so we sat on the deck for a while.

Saturday, Sunny but Cooler

On Friday I took Harriet into the vet for her 10 day check up. She is clear & free. No more incarceration!

I cleaned the FMF. It does not take long to do. Vacuumed, scrubbed the carpets, washed the windows & detailed the interior. Picked up hubby from work as he dropped off his work truck. This was the end of his on-call. Got lattes in town & took the FMF through the automatic car wash in town. We got burgers from Wendy's for the dogs on the way home.

Saturday dawned sunny and cooler. Had to wear my sweatshirt today.

Got lattes from new girl at stand. Horrible drinks. Will not be going back if she ever works there again.

We took the dogs up to wild dog walk along the river. It was so fun. Harry did her "BOING" jumping through the grass. Lil Bit had to "swim" through the tall grass because he is so short.

I printed more muffin labels for KRN's business.

When we returned home, hubby went to shop to work, while I cleaned the truck today. Vacuumed, scrubbed the carpets, washed the windows & detailed the interior. It took almost four hours to do it.

Angus is Shorn

Took Angus to Apryl's at 10:00 for her shearing/spa day. She got her toenails clipped, hair shaved & a wonderful bath. She is a fresh clean girl.

Jen-Bunny french braided my hair at 12:00. Hung around for a while to talk while Buddy waited in the truck for me.

Went home to briefly supervise #3 while he was finishing up fence. He put up the chicken wire so that Bit could not escape.

Fence Day & Cupcakes

Frosted the cupcakes that I made yesterday. Was very warm & sunny today. #3 worked on the dog fence with Austin. They finished up the basic design & got the gates put in. Tomorrow they will put up the chicken wire fence so that Lil Bit does not escape.

Went down to get drinks for them & myself at 12:30. Said Hi to Deralee.

Father's Day Weekend

KRN did not come over as MSN has been gone for a couple weeks off base. So hubby and I walked the dogs. It was a very laid back Father's Day Weekend.

Made cupcakes. Vanilla & Dark Chocolate.

 

 cupcakes

Gave Bit a bath in the sink.

 Lil Bit bath

Picked up cattle panels to enlarge the back yard for the dogs. They will have just a tad bit under 1 acre to roam around.

cattle panels at Ziggys

Rain & What Else? More Rain!

It has been raining steadily here for the past two days. Hubby has not gone down to the shop to work as he is tired.

We tried to take the dogs out for a walk on Tuesday night, but Harriet got in trouble and we are having to deal with that now.

I have not been able to clean the house or vacuum because of my back injury. Life sucks in general right now.

Rain & More Rain & Flooding

Lake Pend Oreille is 1 foot above flood stage. There was a torrent of rain today. It has been a horrible spring/summer thus far. The news is reporting that we won't see 80 degrees for the first time this year until the end of June.

Spokane Dog Walk

Up at 7:30 and got lattes from Jen Bunny. Drove to Spokane, WA Humane Society to do the "2011 Parade of Paws". Took Angus, Bud & Bit. Met KRN there at 9AM to register. Her friend Jeff from the base walked Angus for her (a dog is quite a "chick magnet") and went for the 2 mile walk. Saw lots of dogs. People that lived in the neighborhood were kind enough to have water out for the dogs to refresh themselves! Was a real great time.

Afterwards, I rode with KRN in her Jeep and hubby followed with dogs over to Costco where KRN had to get supplies for the week. Muffins, cookies, chai tea. We got dog food. Also stopped at Wendy's to pick up cheeseburgers for the dogs. They were quite pooped after the long walk.

Followed KRN over to URM but did not have time to shop. 

Then hubby and I went to funeral for his friend at work's wife. She recently died of brain cancer at age 57.
We came home and let the dogs sleep for the rest of the day. Fed the rest of the burgers to Isabelle & Harriet.

Watched TV. Free HBO/Showtime weekend.

Angus resting on the deck after her exciting dog walk...

Angus

Mowing Lawn

Thursday dawned with cold weather. It was sunny for a short time, then clouded over. 60 degrees in the house this morning when we got up.

Drove down to get a latte. Jen Bunny was there along with Deralee.

Austin worked on the circle driveway - mowing, weed eating, picking up pine cones, and raking. It looks better. Now he just needs to do the rest of the property.

Dogs were mad that I made them stay inside while he was out working...

Crack-A-Back

Went into CDA today to get my nails done. Got hot latte at Higher Ground Espresso by the car wash. Yum. Went to Nails 2000 and got pink/white nails.

Walked dogs - Bud & Bit after getting nails done by 10:00. Then washed car at auto car wash. Went to banks to deposit life insurance check from my dad & Paypal settlement check! Yippee.

Time for appointment at Chiropractor at 11:00. Then by 11:15 went to Wendy's to get burgers for dogs. Dropped off donation stuff at Goodwill.

Stopped to say Hi to Jen Bunny at latte stand. Then came home. Got mail - new dog sweatshirt in it for me! ABS sensor started acting up again just as I pulled into driveway.

Earl said he would talk to his friend about ABS sensor. Picked up check that Matt had dropped off from this morning.

Raked pinecones out of driveway. Back still hurts. Drank lunch protein drink & took more pills.

Sunday & 75!

On Saturday, I was so bored. Woke up at 830. Kids had come in at 11:30 last night. Bit barked and hubby had to get up with him.

My back still hurting, so I stayed home while kids got drinks from Amber at latte stand. Hubby finally went down to shop. Kids walked Beebo around property. Beebo went "swimming" in filthy pond water. Kelsey had to give Mr. B a bath in our tub.

Hubby went to Spokane to pick up Tim's sister & husband as their car had broken down. Hubby got into a minor accident when he did not realize which lanes turned into the street.

When he returned home, he installed the A/C with Matt and cleaned it out.

Grad Night

Thursday - Rainy day. Continuing from a rainy night. Our spring in the Northwest is dreary and dull. Too much rain almost killing the plants. Ick.

Drove down to get lattes with Bud & Bit. Then home to rest on heating pad.

When hubby came home from work, he changed clothes & we drove to Post Falls at Real Life Ministry for Timberlake graduation. Saw #3 graduate from the comfort of chairs in the lobby watching remote TVs. Hubby had also gotten a latte at the stand in the lobby!

Left after the presentation and got cheeseburgers for dogs & tacos for us before going home.

Friday - I stayed home with bad back. Had to vacuum and clean house before kids came. Back started hurting worse even with meds. I stayed home while KRN, MSN, and hubby went to Spirit Lake for Jen-Bunny's graduation. They had to sit on bleachers in gym. Good thing I did not go.

The kids went out later with Addison & "grandma" for dinner.

Hubby brought home milk. I went to bed in pain.

Fire Pit

Tuesday May 31 - Hubby returned to work while I took Bud into the Vet. I also scheduled Chiro appointment for me at 10:30. Hubby was too busy to meet us in town for lunch. So Lil Bit and I picked up Wendy's cheeseburgers and then met Bud at the Vet's.

The vet had given Bud a mild sedative in order to x-ray his left leg. Turns out he sprained his ankle quite severely. Poor little Bud was quite groggy from his sedative. Loaded him in the car & returned home so he could rest.

Vacuumed house. It started raining. Washed dog beds. Rested.

Monday Memorial Day - Took dogs to wild dog walk. Harry ran everywhere & was exhausted by the time she returned to the truck. Got lattes from Deralee.

Ran to town with FMF. Shopped at Walmart. Picked up Dually at Equipment Rental where kids had dropped it off last night. Washed Bud & Bit at Dog Wash.

 Bud bath

Hubby washed Dually while I drove thru Car Wash with FMF. Ate at Wing Stop on the sidewalk under umbrella. Wonderful sunny day. Hubby got cheeseburgers at Wendy's. Drove home.

Had first fire in pit of the season until cowboy neighbors started up their backhoe to clean up horse shit. Too noisy & smelly. We let fire die down & went inside.

Fire pit

When we were in the house, we discovered Bud was limping on his left front leg. Poor dog.

Owww.. Back.

Friday May 28 - Hubby miraculously has a day off! He scheduled today off for holiday weekend! I am shocked. So we leisurely hung around until he got word to go pick up a Bronco south of CDA

I went about my chores in the morning and while picking up dog poop, I injured my back while bending over! I literally could not breathe. Hubby had to help me around.

I ended up going with him to pick up the Bronco anyway, although in severe pain. We took Bud & Bit in the Dually along with the trailer. Not a comfortable vehicle to ride within.

yet another project...

We stopped to get a couple of horrible nasty lattes in town and hubby returned to get his money back. Then walked the dogs at Riverstone park. Went to get Bronco. It rained while we were there. Hubby realized that it could not be put on trailer as it did not have tires. So he called the tow truck company and we waited until they got there.

After a brief stop at CN Diesel, we got cheeseburgers from Wendy's and went home.


Saturday May 28 - Greg and I picked up lattes from Jen Bunny. Hubby drove Dually while I took FMF with Bud & Bit to CDA to pick up trailer. Drove over to kids' place.

Kelsey and I went to make drinks while guys had to pick up rock in Rathdrum. We also stopped at BX to purchase Lancome for me.

After guys returned with rock, Matt shoveled some out. Kelsey made steaks. My back was hurting so bad that I had to take a bath while they were eating. Hubby drove me home in FMF.

Sunday May 29 - My back still hurts. Can't bend over. I have been dosing myself with Ibuprofen, Aspirin & Naproxen. Not good. Damage to internal organs.

hubby & Harriet

Sat on the deck this morning with dogs.

Ate at The View for breakfast. Never again. My omelette was tiny; hashbrowns were raw; and there were cigarette ashes on the orange.

Fed leftovers to dogs. Then went on "wild dog walk" again.

L to R - Harriet, Bud, Isabelle, Lil Bit & Angus

By this time, my back was hurting again so badly. Came home to sit on heating pad for the rest of the day. Watched TV. Boring sucky holiday weekend.

Rainy Days & Thursdays

It has been unreasonably cold here. And rainy. Today it is raining. A lot. The weeds are almost up to 3 feet! No time to mow them in between the next rain storm.

Latte Training

I had a discussion with Deralee and since I wanted to learn the latte business, she invited me to come down & learn. So it has been train train train lately.

May 23 Monday - Went down from 8:30-1:00 to learn latte. Took notes & made some drinks. Took Bud with me and he stayed patiently in the car.

May 24 Tuesday - Rained today. Could not go down to train. Dogs scared of thunderstorms. Can't leave door open for dogs to go in/out. Cleaned house. Got down to below 50 degrees tonight with rain & cold. Hubby came home exposed to Human Parvovirus because he stopped to get parts at Garwood Wrecking.

May 25 Wednesday - Went to A-town for espresso training from 8:30 - 11:30. Made lots of drinks today. Flustered...and sprayed milk out...made drinks backwards? Trying to learn how to get "rhythm" down. Left is on/Right is off for handle on steamer. Forget to blow steam out afterwards. Forget how many shots to put in each drink. Trying desperately to get the hang of it. Need to learn drinks...then taking orders...then how to collect money. Aaaaah!

Dogs calmed me down when I got home. Had forgotten my iPhone at the latte stand. Had to go back. When I got back home, vacuumed & cleaned house. Did laundry. This work stuff really cuts into my life! LOL.

Bud was a great baby today. Posed nicely.

Bud

As did Bit...

Lil Bit 

When hubby came home tonight, we walked the dogs in the park. It was raining a little, but the park seemed fine. Went on an extremely long walk. All the dogs were tired at the end. Dragging tongue. We drove through the park to look for deer. We saw NONE. Not even one. It was depressing. Where are they all? On the way back on Hwy 54 just out of the park, we saw one lone buck. He was trotting through the cut brush. He looked very majestic. Hope he is OK.

Got ice cream cones at Athol grocery. 

iPhone

May 18 Wednesday - My new iphone got delivered in the afternoon by Fed Ex and I have been busy playing with it ever since.

May 19 Thursday - Cleaned house. Vacuumed. Cleaned out FMF & Dodge of dog hair. Went to Spirit Lake with hubby to get groceries & graduation cards. Ice Cream place downtown was closed. :(  Hubby wanted to get Raffle tickets for vintage 1968 International Fire Department 1-ton Brush Truck. He bought the last raffle tickets they had left. Came home & unpacked groceries.

 Harriet & Isabelle

May 20 Friday - Went to train from 9:30 - 11:30 with Deralee at Espresso Stand. I will be filling in for her when she needs help.

Hubby & I went to deliver Toyota Tacoma to Moscow. 2 hour trip down there. Took Bud & Lil Bit with us. I walked dogs at WalMart that was closed while he did deal with guy. Then we ate at wonderful Italian place - Gambinos! Had lasagne, garlic sticks & spaghetti/meatballs. Yum. Long way to go for a great meal, tho.

 Lasagne & Garlic Twists & Spaghetti

We drove back in dark. Deer everywhere. Had to drive slow to avoid them all. 4 huge elk in the road that hubby had to hit the brakes for-the elk just sauntered off; not even worried about the truck!

Rained off & on throughout the whole trip.Got back home at 1AM. Really tired.

May 21 Saturday - We got lattes in morning. It was raining. Hubby went to work at shop for a while. Delivered another truck to guy in town to fix. Then stopped at Macy's to pick up my Mother's day gift that was pre-ordered & Kelsey's bag with samples. Arby's to get a part to fix for Curt & roast beef burgers for dogs. Then Walmart to pick up cover for iPhone, watermelon & bath salts. Saw Deralee there with Ashley.

It was really raining when we came home. Watched TV & I went to bed early.

May 22 Sunday - Up at 9AM, walked dogs in park by 10AM. Rainy day again. Hot & humid. Gave Jen-Bunny her graduation card.

Nails & Toes / iPhone

May 17 Tuesday I went into town to get my nails & toes done. Deposited life insurance proceeds check at bank. Picked up cheeseburgers for dogs at Wendys. Met hubby for lunch over in Post Falls. Walked Bud & Bit in a skateboard park. Then I came home to girls to give them their cheeseburgers. Idiots are shooting again so Harriet is scared out of her mind.

I vacuumed again because Angus is shedding terribly.

Ordered my new iPhone 32GB in black. Should be here in 2 days.

On May 16 Monday I made homemade baked Mac-N-Cheese for hubby and cleaned the house. Vacuumed & washed clothes & dog bedding.

mac-n-cheese

The area set a record for cold temps this time of year. I think it was about 45 here for a high? With rain. And rain. And cold rain. Icky.

Hubby only worked in shop for about 2 hours and then came home to watch HIMYM season finale with me.

Still taking allergy pills for wasp sting. Hurts.

On May 15 Sunday, got a text from Jen-Bunny that they were going to Montana to do gold-panning. So I raced down to get drinks. They were very nice & made drinks for us before they left! How sweet.

Hubby and I walked dogs at Farragut, it started raining briefly. 

We dropped other dogs off & took FMF into town to go to Costco for dog food & other misc things. Then got gasoline in FMF. Picked up Wendy's cheeseburgers for dogs. Washed FMF at Car Wash. Then took Bud & Bit to dog park in CDA. They played briefly. Lil Bit really does not enjoy the dog park that much. Bud, however, loves to visit EVERYBODY & all the dogs. Has to go over to greet every person & get a head rub! He is such a social dog.

When we got home, we posted the Toyota Tacoma on Craigslist, updated hubby's RMOR blog, and looked up info on internet for events we want to attend this summer.

May 14 Saturday we got lattes in morning, took dogs for brief walk at Farragut, then hubby went to shop to work while I stayed at home with dogs. I kept taking more allergy pills & actually fell asleep for a couple hours. When hubby came home, I took more pills and we both fell asleep in front of TV! LOL!

Eye Hurts

On Thursday, I rested because my eye is still really bad. It just won't heal. Woke up with crusted pus all over it. It feels scratchy & burns.

Hubby came home with the Dodge right after work. We loaded up the dogs, drove to Sandpoint, got parts for hubby and I walked dogs. Then we picked up hamburgers for hubby & dogs at Burger Express. Drove to wild dog walk in deserted subdivision by Priest River. Beautiful area. The water was in draw-down & the beach was exposed. Isabelle jumped down & played in the water as did Bud, Bit & Harry. But Angus was too scared to walk over the rocks. On the walk back to the truck, Bud spied something in the trees & took off. We saw he was trying to "herd" 12 deer than ran out of the woods. Bud came running back - out of breath & completely soaked. He must have run through some low-lying area.

When we got home, it got seriously cold. Ran out of propane. Oh. no.

While paying bills Friday, I came across this.

Still Here
I stood by your bed last night, I came to have a peep.
I could see that you were crying, You found it hard to sleep.
I whined to you softly as you brushed away a tear,
“It’s me, I haven’t left you, I’m well, I’m fine, I’m here.”
I was close to you at breakfast, I watched you pour the tea,You were thinking of the many times, your hands reached down to me.
I was with you at the shops today, Your arms were getting sore.
I longed to take your parcels, I wish I could do more.
I was with you at my grave today, You tend it with such care.
I want to reassure you, that I’m not lying there.
I walked with you towards the house, as you fumbled for your key.
I gently put my paw on you, I smiled and said “it’s me.”
You looked so very tired, and sank into a chair.
I tried so hard to let you know, that I was standing there.
It’s possible for me, to be so near you everyday.
To say to you with certainty, “I never went away.”
You sat there very quietly, then smiled, I think you knew .. in the stillness of that evening, I was very close to you.
The day is over… I smile and watch you yawning and say “goodnight, God bless, I’ll see you in the morning.”
And when the time is right for you to cross the brief divide,
I’ll rush across to greet you and we’ll stand, side by side.
I have so many things to show you, there is so much for you to see.
Be patient, live your journey out … then come home to be with me.
Author unknown

Eye Stye

I have not been blogging or texting any lately because of a Stye in my right eye. It is very painful and I can hardly see out of that eye.

Monday was finally a beautiful day outside. No rain. Lots of sunshine.

However, when I arose this morning, it was storming. More depressing clouds & wet.

Tuesday And Falling Cupcakes

Since I had not made cupcakes for the guys in a LONG time, made preparations to start cupcakes. Obviously the wonderfully warm weather was not cooperating as they fell in the middle! Stupid things.

I vacuumed the house & did laundry. Another boring day.

Hubby said we were going to walk tonight with the dogs, but forgot to bring home the Dodge truck as this week he is on-call & driving the company work vehicle.

Mother's Day Weekend

Sunday - Breakfast at The View; Dog walk at Farragut Park; No Cupcakes in CDA; Brief walk at Tubb's Hill in CDA;

Mother's Day Cleaning

I REALLY need a break. I want to have a few weekends alone with the hubby. The kids are nice, but I need time away from them. LOL.

Cleaned the house again today so that the kids could come over for Mother's Day.

Cold Again Today

On Wednesday, May 4...it was a beautiful day. I believe it got up in the high 50s and the sun was shining most of the day.

Hubby had taken the Dually into work so that he could pick up a truck and I had full advantage of the Dodge. Bud & Bit went with me to get drinks at the latte stand. Deralee was very busy and had 5 cars in line. No talk time. The Dodge was full of dog hair again from Isabelle, so I detailed it...again! Vacuumed, washed windows, and cleaned with Clorox wipes. It smells fresh again because I left the windows open all day. No more wet dog smell!

I also washed dog beds & cleaned the house. Cleaned out the refrigerator, vacuumed the house, and Swiffered. Floors were clean for two seconds...until the dogs got in again. But it smells much better. Just need somebody to come clean my windows.

Thursday, Cinco de Mayo is cold. About 45 degrees out right now with clouds overhead. Dreary. Not much left to do as everything has been done.

Could go out and pick up pinecones, but I think I will leave that to Austin.

Happy Dogs For Happy People

On Monday, I vacuumed & cleaned the FMF just before the rain started again.

Matt had texted us last night that they had finally gotten Osama Bin Laden. So it was all over the internet news & television news all day.

It seems that it took 9 years & 9 months too long to get this bastard.

To me, I was happy that he was dead because he caused so much heartache for so many people. And he will probably rot in hell. But his dead does not indicate that the Iraq/Afghanistan War is over. Far from it. And gas prices are not falling yet.

Hubby had to work late because of High Speed Internet connection problems. He came home around 9PM. Dogs were sad having to wait for daddy to get home.

Tuesday, I cleaned out the refrigerator and did laundry.

Great Birthday Weekend

Today was hubby's b-day! I woke him up with a candle in the cupcake and sang happy birthday to him. It is our family tradition.

I cleaned & vacuumed the whole house. Then swiffered the floors. The house was Clean. Clean. Clean. (for a short while) Then it rained in the afternoon on Friday. Kids came late. They had to stop & do a few errands for me as the helium birthday balloon I got at the grocery store the other day deflated. Sweet kids picked up a whole bunch of balloons! They also brought dog cookies.

There was fresh made cheeseburger macaroni on the stove & homemade crescent rolls. The house smelled delish!

M&K unpacked all their stuff while Beebo tore through the house playing with his friends. I finally had to walk down to the shop & get hubby to come home as he was piddling down there talking again. Ate dinner - famished! Celebrated hubby's birthday. He got some sweet presents from the kids - M went nuts setting up a great off road bag for the Roc Bronc. I had already given him a BBQ set in a case, a set of Thermacare Heat Wraps, & an Auto Detail Kit (for me to use).

Then went to bed for an early wake-up call for the NAPA 4x4 & Off Road Event on Saturday morning.


The guys got up early at 6am. Got vehicles loaded & took off. K&I got ready with the dogs & went to the NAPA Event. Everybody was unloading. Briefly saw Bonnie Graham & Cindy Holman. Then handed the FLIP video cam off to Austin to take video for the day.

KRN and I then went shopping to pick up her supplies for Red, White & Brew. We decided to shop at Old Navy as KRN wanted LOTS of cheap tops. Drove over there on the interstate. When we waiting at a light near Best Buy, a woman opened her truck door & threw up orange vomit! It was disgusting. We were in shock! Both of us suddenly started laughing hysterically! It was bad. We parked in the mall lot to pee, KRN visited a store in the mall. Then on to Old Navy. Walked Bud after shopping a little at Old Navy. There was a circus at the mall & they had two huge red&white striped tents set up.

On the way back to CDA, we stopped at latte stand to get our favorite jet tea strawberry/pina colada. Then on to Costco gasoline, supplies at Costco, multi dog leash at Petco and our final stop at Wal-Mart for bath salts.

Stopped to see if the guys were OK in Rathdrum and they had just finished when we pulled in at 3pm.

Met the guys at home, then unloaded stuff. Everybody got changed for birthday dinner in town. However, when we took the MegaMatt into town Olive Garden had a 40 minute wait & was packed! We decided to go to Ciao Mambo - it was excellent. A little on the greasy side but food was delicious! A table of 8 was set up beside us which made us nervous at first - especially when they came in with little kids that should have been at the babysitter's! But we were amazed to find that the kids were excellently behaved and we were so impressed that we bought the parents' drinks! They thanked us profusely. While we were dining, the prom attendees started coming in so we had a Runway Show with the girls in amazing dresses & the guys dressed in studly tuxes! There was only a slight mishap when the food attendant who seemed to have nothing to do besides waste space at the order counter...brought us out the incorrect food twice! Our waitress came over and corrected the mistake, but I could have waited. It was ridiculous that this dumb girl put food in front of people they had not ordered!

We then decided to go to The Mill to have another beer & play a game. Girls won! We headed home where KRN fell asleep on the couch at 10PM. M had to cancel their get-together with friends in Sandpoint.

Sunday morning we got drinks from Jen-Bunny. Then took dogs for walk at Farragut. Came back home to change then kids packed everything up. Drove with Bud & Lil Bit & Beebo in the FMF to Verizon store (assholes) for kids to get new iPhones.

The Following is a Complaint Letter I submitted to Verizon.

We wanted to upgrade phones to the new iPhone on Sunday May 1, 2011 at the Verizon Wireless Store on 540 West Prairie Avenue #108 Coeur d'Alene, ID 83815.

When we the girl at the entrance asked our name, she wrote it down and said it would be "just a sec". My wife asked if it would be an hour, or a sec. First of all...your customer service should be more accurate...say something like - "thank you for coming to Verizon - the wait will be about 20 minutes." Why would a service rep ever have said "just a sec". This is not an accurate wait. You need to train your representatives better to actually serve the public.  What was the MOST rudest customer service I have ever seen or heard is that the MANAGER of this store pulled the girl aside and told her "Make Them Wait!" in a whisper-however, we overheard this comment. All of us were shocked that somebody; especially the Manager could be this nasty in front of customers!

When we were finally helped, there were no white iPhones in stock as we required. Even though the customer service representative was able to check stock in other stores, and we offered to go pick it up in another store, we were told "You CAN'T do that." That is really NOT customer service. We offered to drive over 25 miles to go get the phone we wanted.

After settling for a phone we did not want, the customer service rep...even after verifying two different phones to transfer service to two different iPhones - one being the 32GB and the other being a 64GB...still managed to transfer the Contacts to the incorrect phones.

The final nail in the coffin to the customer service was that after we left the store, the phones WERE NOT ACTIVATED. We had to call into customer service and go through a step-by-step activation.

After this fiasco, we will not be ever going to this store with its horrific customer service & rude management. Not to mention the stock & wait time is appalling at this Company owned store.

I HATE VERIZON.

We had lunch at Schlotzsky's because the guys were hungry. Their sandwiches were not good. Our salads were old & brown. Ick.

Then our final shopping for the day was at Lowe's to pick up shop lights for hubby. I got an aloe vera plant. KRN & I walked dogs for a short potty stop while guys checked out.

We decided to take dogs to the CDA Dog Park. It was fun. Sunny day and the dogs had fun. Lil Bit wanted me to pick him up and then snapped at a couple dogs. I don't think he was in the mood for the dog park.

Kids left to go home. We went to Wendy's to get cheeseburgers for dogs at home. Then drove home. We were exhausted. Unloaded everything & relaxed for the rest of the night.