business in the front

party in the back!

And so it was that Mummy realized her littlest Snowflower was supporting quite the mullet! Yes, Paisley was half an inch away from singing Billy Ray Cyrus songs in a Honky Tonk in downtown St Paul! Something had to be done of course so I took my chances with the local 'Kids Hair' salon, even though we had a few mishaps with Piper and her locks in previous years, but I was willing to give them another try....

Paisley was BRILLIANT, she barely moved an inch during the entire haircut! She loves to have her hair brushed, so it didnt come as much of a surprise that she actually enjoyed the pampering. We left the salon happy, but realized after bathtime that one side was about 1/2 an inch longer than the other, so we went back for a repair job. Luckily it looks a lot better, and with a little time will grow into a nice bob.

strike a pose why don't ya Paisley!

Vespa chic

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

On Tuesday Mike & Piper left for Denver! Mike piggybacked a family trip with a business trip so that Piper could travel with him and hang out with Nana and Papa and her Cousins Rhys & Mollie for six whole days! Let me just tell you that this wasn't an easy thing for her poor mummy...quite the opposite, but I am breathing and staying as sane as possible in her absence!

Piper was so excited to go on an airplane again, and from what her Daddy reported, she did a great job! So far her days have been filled with lots of fun...one day spent with Papa, the next with Nana, and today Mike is taking her to Boulder for a special lunch date and Daddy & daughter time. Lucky girl! Tomorrow she will get to visit one of Mummy's online friends at her beautiful daughters birthday party! I can't wait to see photos!

FREE FALLINGLooking back at our trip to New Zealand last year I came across some photos of Mike and my Brother in Law Andrew white water rafting in Rotorua...it was quite the adventure, and I don't think I ever posted any photos of the waterfall drop. The truth is, they rafted over the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world...yup, and they lived to talk about it! Mike wisely kept his mouth closed during the plunge, but to be honest, the water in this river has to be some of the cleanest on the planet but I guess it was more of a precaution to not drowning!

I'm infinitely proud of the adventurous spirit my husband has, and I hope that as my girls traverse through life that they too embrace the desire to jump in the deep end...even if their Mum is sitting on the sidelines with heart palpitations! Life is meant to be an adventure.

Yes We Can

I'd rather be Kayaking!

I took this photo of Mike last year when we were in New Zealand, Piper was splashing in the paddling pool on my Dad's patio overlooking the water as her Daddy took a morning kayak on the still waters below. Life seems simpler in New Zealand...more peaceful, less ridiculous. I wish I was back there.

SUBURBAN HELL

warning : foul language to follow..if you would rather not experience it, please don't read any further, I will post something sweeter tomorrow which might be more palatable for those with delicate constitutions

We're living the dream! Guess who ended up at our door at 5.45pm tonight? C'mon, it's not hard to guess...we've done this before...

The lovely Sheriff of Nottingham and his Henchmen aka Animal Control

NO FUCKING WAY...YES FUCKING WAY!

Here's the funny part...I've been home pretty much all day, except for 2 hours when I took Piper to Chinese School. Olive had been in and out of the back yard most of the day and had spent the previous hour laying down and enjoying the last of the summer sun when she started barking...in the time it took me to scoop up Paisley and head up one flight of stairs and open the door, I had Olive inside. The total amount of bark time was probably less that 1 minute MAX! 45 seconds later I find out the reason she was barking...ding dong...there were THREE Police cruisers in our street in front of our house...THREE...you'd think we were planning the next Jihad or something!

Wait...wait...the really neat fun stuff comes next....

The Sheriff tells us that the 'complainant' is so angry at Olive barking that they are ready to make a citizens arrest...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!

Then...we finally find out(after we'd asked on every other occasion) that the complainers are our NEXT DOOR NEIGHBORS!

We rarely talk to them, but are always cordial, but for the past 12-18 months the Mom has been avoiding eye contact and we rarely see her.

So...now here's the crazy stuff...they have two dogs that BARK all the time! In fact when the Sheriff came over before we asked if the person could be confusing us with our neighbors because they leave their dogs out at night and year round even in the winter, and the big dog howls like a wolf as it sits on her doghouse roof in her pen, which happens to be 12 feet from our bedroom window! We have even broken the ice on her water in the winter because we were worried about her not having water during the day!

Their dog by the way has bitten several kids in the neighborhood in the past few years but no one has ever made a big deal about it!

We've lived here 3.5 years and it's only been an issue for the last 3 months?

There's gotta be something else going on

I know someone reported their teenage son for reckless driving, but it wasn't us

hmmm...curiouser and curiouser

oh, and they told the cops they'd tried to talk to us about it!...I said "really, so why on earth would I have asked you if the complainants lived behind us and possibly got us and our next door neighbors dogs mixed up?"....they agreed that our neighbors probably hadn't talked to us....no shit Sherlock!