Big Poppa

I mean isn't this the greatest picture on earth? We are so adorable in our trucker hats.

I know my dad would do anything for us...he is the nicest and most patient person I have ever met. I mean I guess he would have to be living in a house full of girls for all these years. He used to tell us that we gave him every gray hair on his head...I don't see any gray so we must have been angels, right?

My dad has taught me a lot about being sincere and loving and I hope he knows that I appreciate everything he has done for me over the years. Happy Father's Day!

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The first real day of summer...finally!

Logan finally warmed up and the sun came out. I love everything that summer brings with it. Today Tanner and I woke up early and went up to the stadium to run stairs. It was so nice to get some good ol' vitamin D and exercise. We got home and did our Saturday chores and interestingly enough the sunlight has put me into a crazy want to clean every inch of the house mood. I have been talking Tanner's ear off about things that I want to take to the dump, take to goodwill, put on Craig's list, sell at a garage sale. Poor guy...especially because he is the one that will end up moving everything.

Today my cousin Shantel had a birthday party for her son Casey. It was pretty fun for a four-year-old's birthday party. You know summer has really begun during the first cookout when you are sitting around spitting watermelon seeds everywhere. It took me back to all of my summer memories over the years at my g-ma's house. Some of the best moments happened right in my grandma's backyard with all of the same people plus a few extras. It was great to get together with everyone and just relax, have fun, and talk.

My mom and her sisters got on some pretty random topics. One that sticks out to me was about my gram'pa, who if you don't know is the most loving, sarcastic, charismatic grandpa you'll ever meet. They were telling stories from their childhood that I really find hard to believe. My mom told a story of a time that she had a really terrible cough and my gram'pa got so annoyed with her that he made her eat Vick's. She listened out of fear and then after looked at the packaging that read "for external use only." According to Courte, and I would have to agree, my mom's parents were so much different than our grandparents are.

The rest of the day consisted of birthday presents and excited kids high on birthday cake running around. It was a perfect way to spend the first day of summer.

p.s. Happy 20th birthday Courte!!! I think this is the first birthday that we haven't spent together...sniff, sniff.

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TC: Greatest lunch break Ever

Due to a torrential downpour today I was unable to ride the scooter home for lunch. Luckily Kirsten was free to pick me up. Screw going home for lunch, 5 dollar foot longs. So we walk in and as all ways, a line (we are people watchers so we love lines). The conversation that we witnessed was unreal.

Lady ordering: I'll have tomatoes, lettuce, and olives.

Worker: We don't have tomatoes today.

Lady: Why?
Worker: Because of the salmonella.

5 year old in line: Dad, why don't they have tomatoes?

Dad: Tomatoes have germs.

5 yo: Deep in thought, "Never eat another tomato!"

Lady: In that case....I'll have mayo and ketchup.

Worker: We actually don't have ketchup here either.

Lady: .....How about some Russian dressing then.

Worker: ???? (Looks at other worker) Russian dressing?

Me: Did she just say Russian dressing?

Kirsten: (Laughing)

Me: Why not some Samoan sauce too!

Kirsten: (Laughing)

Lady: Well just mayo I guess.
Worker: (Wipes brow) Alright. Next!

I mean, this was the single greatest exchange between a group of people I have ever seen. Where in the sweet hell is that lady from? Has she ever been to Subway before! Russian dressing! What is that? Do you think she meant Italian, the country that actually does have a dressing? I guess she thought instead of tomatoes and ketchup she wanted some of that new eastern European stuff. Wow!

Needless to say, it was a great lunch break.

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Sunday morning at the Cooley residence

The Sunday morning goal at our house is to sleep in. It is increasingly hard to accomplish this with our alarm clock, Jack. As soon as he is ready to get up he uses his highest pitch bark and literally digs us out of bed. He doesn't give up no matter how hard you try to ignore him. He looks like a really sweet pup but he is a maniac. After we get up and have breakfast it is time to study (that is about all we do these days). This morning he had so much energy I swear he circled our coffee table about 72 times and managed to leap and bound across our laps and laptops as well. There is never a dull moment at our house and we love it.

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Hot Pants

Last week Tanner showed me a video of the new Redskins coach, Jim Zorn, in one of his finest moments as a quarterback for the Seahawks a few years back. The video was utterly amazing. Well Tanner had a bright idea that came out as an awesome article. If you need a good laugh check out his post and video on Chris's blog...

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LOVE

My mom has been dying to see Sex and the City...she honestly made a countdown (you know like one of those Christmas chains). We decided to make it a family event and went when everyone got off work. It was soooo good, one of the best movies I have seen in a while. I didn't really know what to expect but I was satisfied to say the least. We all laughed until we cried and cried until they made us laugh. The girls behind us were honestly weeping, weeping. It was great. What I took to heart out of the rollercoaster of a movie was to always be honest with yourself, love without holding anything back, and the importance of forgiveness. Sounds all serious for Sex and the City, huh?

When we got out of the movie my dad said he got a text from Courte that said "The new Ford Taurus looked really cool." We all kind of just moved on with our own thoughts I honestly thought she was kidding because my dad is the biggest Honda/Toyota guy. We couldn't decide where to go for dinner and then finally decided upon Firehouse but my dad said that it made him sick last week (everything makes him sick, he is lactose intolerant and refuses to admit it) so we changed our direction to Sabor. We have so much fun with my parents, they aren't much like real parents, no offense. I feel like they are good friends that you can just be yourself with. They really have great stories too (about circumcision, drinking, and interesting things like that). At dinner pops mentioned that Courte said via text "It kind of looks like the Ford Focus" (like it was a good thing). I lost my mind. If you are reading this Courte, what has gotten in to you?

Whul all in all it was a great Thursday night. I thought it would be appropriate to post this cute photo of my high school sweetheart parents...

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TC: Scoot scoot...

Before gas prices decide to hit $12 per gallon I decided to take some initiative. So purely by good fortune I asked a friend of mine, who happens to own a scooter and does not use it, if I could "borrow" it for the summer. His response "It doesn't work right now but if you can fix it you can ride it." "YES! New ride!"

Also by good fortune, the "Car Doctor" (my dad) happened to be in town for the weekend. He and I went up to the mansion to check out the bike. The simple diagnosis was a bad battery. We had two choices; One, charge the battery or two, buy a new one. So off to Renegade Sports we went. A new scooter battery only runs about $30 so that's what we did. After a short scuffle between "Car Doc" and "Behind the Counter Guy" (about "venting" the new batter) we left Renegade without the battery because it had to be "vented and fully charged."

5.5 hours later I was in and out of the store, battery in hand, and back to the mansion to attempt a possible fix on my own ("Car Doc" was M.I.A.). Upon arrival I quickly noticed I wasn't the only outsider at the mansion. There was an entire window cleaning crew (advantage). After putting the battery in and having no luck starting the damn thing, I managed to putz around the rest of the bike like a monkey would on a computer. I tipped it on it's right, on it's left, upside-down, and right-side-up. Nothing seemed to do the trick. Finally, after likely being quietly ridiculed, one of the washers decided his two cents might help. "Has this switch (shut off) been off the whole time?" he asked. I hadn't even seen or touched any switches but I'll be damned if that wasn't the problem. One quick flip of that little guy and "zoom zoom" I was off and on my way down the driveway.

To make a long story short, I got an awesome ride, learned a bit about scooters, and met a new friend. Now who gives a shit if gas prices are through the roof, my scooter gets 60 miles per gallon! Look out open road, here I come (max speed 45).

Tanner has taken an interest in the blogging world...so hopefully he will continue to make more posts on our personal blog because this was a good one.

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