Kaitlyn's Puzzle Talent

Kaitlyn is now 2 1/2 years old! She LOVES to do puzzles. She got this ABC puzzle from her aunt Lori for her 2nd birthday, and she's actually really good at it. She can do the entire puzzle in about 2 1/2 minutes! I'll hand her a letter piece upside down and turned around so she can't even see the front of the letter and she still knows right where to put it! It's pretty crazy to watch her do it!

She also has her "Elmo Puzzle", which is a 24 piece puzzle that doesn't have a back, it's just free floating pieces. She worked diligently on it for about 20 minutes tonight without even saying, "I can't do it"! She completed the puzzle all on her own. Good job Kaitlyn!

The Horror of an Oil Change...

So I've probably told just about everyone I know this story, but here it is in its complete form. Last Saturday I was out running errands with only Michael (Kaitlyn was at a cousin's house playing). I happened to drive past a famous national company that changes oil. I won't name any names, but it rhymes with "Biffy Gube". Anyway, one of their employees was out waving the "Open Bay" sign, so I thought I'd do the unthinkable and go in and get the oil changed.
I parked my car in the bay and an employee, who I will refer to as "Doofus", leads me into the waiting room where he proceeds to ask me which type of oil change I would like. He tells me about three different types, ranging up to $70--for an oil change!! I simply say, "I just want the cheapest oil change you have."
Then Doofus proceeds to ask me questions like:

"Would you like your engine flushed?"

"Ford recommends that you have your transmission fluid replaced every 30,000 miles...Would you like that done today for $169.00?"

"Would you like us to change your radiator fluid for $64.99?

"Your fuel filter should be replaced ever 15,000 miles, would you like us to do that for $49.99 today?"

"Would you like your tires rotated?"

(Now think of at least 25 more services that they could offer me and he asked all those questions, too.)

Seriously, I was already annoyed after being asked 30 questions of how they could take my money, when all I wanted was an OIL CHANGE! I sat back down in the waiting room, and after another 5 minutes Doofus walks back in. I'm thinking to myself--Wow! That was pretty fast! Until he smiles and says, "We've had a little problem". He walks me out to my car to show me that they have somehow cracked the part in my Ford Explorer where they put the oil nozzle in. Doofus then walks me back into the waiting room and tells me that they will reimburse me for fixing it. Yeah, they better!! I'm thinking that they'll just fix it there, but he then tells me that I will have to take it to a Ford Dealership where they'll have to order the part!! He tells me that I'll just need to bring the receipt back in and they'll reimburse me for fixing the broken part.

I waited another 5 minutes while they finished the "oil change" and then he brought me up to the computer to pay! He said he would give me $7 off (which I'm sure he does for everyone since that's one of their summer promotions). I say to him, "You can't charge me any less when I'm going to have to take this to the Ford Dealership to get it fixed?" Doofus replied, "Well, all I can do is give you another $5 off. So I still paid $24.99 for an oil change!! Yes, I know at this point I should've refused to pay, but it was just one of those situations where I was in "stunned" mode and didn't even know what to do. Oh, and then he tells me that I should probably get the thing that they broke fixed as soon as possible because oil will be leaking out, even though they tried to tape it. I did have Doofus write down that they would pay me back and sign his name.

Monday morning Steve took the Explorer to the Ford Dealership. He pointed to the part that had been broken and asked them to fix it. Tuesday night (so we were out of a car for two full days), we went to pick up the Explorer. Do you want to know how much the bill was? $551.00!

Wednesday Steve called the manager of the oil changing company to tell him how much the bill was that we would need to be reimbursed for. When Steve said, "Five fifty-one", the manager replied back with hope in his voice, "Five DOLLARS and fifty-one cents?" Anyway, the manager said that he didn't have that much cash in the store, but to bring the receipt in that night. Steve went in and the manager said he'd have to talk to corporate and would get back with us.

So the next day Steve calls the manager to see if anything is being done to get this $551.00 off of our credit card. The manager then claimed that Ford had something extra fixed that didn't need to be fixed. I wasn't there, but Steve was not a happy camper at this point and demanded that they figure it out and pay us back. The manager kept saying that they would only be able to pay for part of it and that the rest was our problem. It would've never been a problem if they didn't change the oil in our car!!!

So yesterday we finally got a phone call from the manager saying that Ford actually did everything right, and that they would pay us back the full amount. Now we just need to get that check in our hands!!

Needless to say I'm going to be very careful where I get my oil changed from now on, and it won't be there!!

Kaitlyn's Swimming Lessons

Kaitlyn finished swimming lessons today! They lasted a week, for 20 minutes a day. Her teacher's name was Megan, and they were one-on-one lessons to mostly learn survival skills. She's so close to being able to float on her own, but she needs to put her knees down. Kaitlyn cried, "Mommy, I want my mommy" the entire time her teacher was helping her float. One day amongst the crying for mommy Kaitlyn even said, "Oh my gosh! I want my mommy!" She also pleaded with her teacher saying, "I need a towel", "I'm done", and "Ouch".

It was cool watching Kaitlyn swim under water to the stairs with her eyes open. Then her teacher would have her swim back to her again, and then with her hand the teacher would help Kaitlyn flip over onto her back into a float. Now we just need to keep practicing!

Same Old "Do"...

I "chickened out", according to Steve and have the same hair cut--just an inch shorter and a little blonder. I still plan on chopping my hair off sometime in the next few months, though. Thanks for all the suggestions, though!!

Help Me Decide...

So I'm getting my hair cut tonight and I'm thinking of possibly cutting it short. So if anyone reads this before 8:00 tonight, please give me your opinion...should I keep it long or cut it to right above my shoulders? THE STRESS OF DECISION MAKING!! Oh, and bangs or no bangs--that is the question! I posted some pictures so you can tell what I look like with shorter hair. Don't be shy, I want your honest opinion...what do I look better with: short or long hair? I guess I'll tell you tomorrow if I actually chop it off. I don't know if I feel that brave yet.

Here's the look I have going now...(actually it's usually in a ponytail).

Here's more of a medium-long length (with bangs):

And here's me with super short hair (I wouldn't go quite that short):

p.s. The short hair pictures were almost 4 years ago, so I guess it does grow back, right?

Strawberry Summer

My sister-in-law Allison stopped by on a walk with her kids. Kaitlyn had fun looking for strawberries in our yard with her cousins.

Melanie, Kaitlyn, Madison, and Benson on the rock in the strawberries

Feed me strawberries!

Happy Father's Day

I got Steve a "Fry Daddy" for Father's Day! He's been wanting one to make french fries forever. Now he tries to think of anything that can be fried (not good for my diet). Let's be honest, though...everything tastes better fried.

I also made Steve a book of pictures of him and the kids. He's a great dad. He always takes his turn changing diapers and doesn't even complain about it, loves to give the kids baths, and just play with them. He is just a natural at being a dad! I've even had a few people tell me he should write a book on how to be a dad! I think he should--he's great at it!!

We went to my parents' house for dinner after church. Lori, Todd, and Brooklyn were there too. We got my dad's mission slides and put them on CD's for his father's day present. Me and my sister are going to make a "mission" book for him out of the pictures.

Michael playing with Grandpy's hair.

Grammy and Michael

Remembering Kaitlyn's Laugh at 14 months

After watching Michael's uncontrollable laugh, I couldn't help but remember this night with Kaitlyn (once again taking place on a late Sunday night). She is about 14 months old in this video. Steve is throwing a little ball against the wall to make her laugh.

Michael at 8 months old

Michael is now 8 months old! He finally cooperated at the ENT last Monday where they tried for a third time to do a hearing test in the sound booth. After having the tube put in his left ear three weeks ago, they tested his hearing at his follow-up visit. He sat on my lap in the sound booth as the technician spoke into a microphone and put on different sounds to see how he would respond. Although he doesn't have hearing in his right ear, they said he is in the "normal" range for his overall hearing! This is great news!! They said he will probably always have trouble being able to tell where sound is coming from, because he only has one ear. Even in the sound booth he would turn the opposite way that the sound was coming from about half of the time, but he was still responding to sound.

Michael now has 5 teeth. He doesn't really like playing with baby toys but loves shoelaces, string, and the plastic container that holds the baby wipes. He is now crawling all over the place. It doesn't seem to matter where I put him down, he usually ends up under the kitchen table scavengering for anything to put in his mouth (which isn't hard to find when you have a 2 year old around).

He can crawl really well now and can go from sitting to crawling and back to sitting again. I even found him standing up next to a chair a few days ago!

He is extremely ticklish and loves to laugh at his sister Kaitlyn. He loves baby food now, too!

Michael's Laugh at 8 months

Sunday nights seem to bring out the extreme personalities in our children. Whether it be laughing, crying, giggling, or throwing tantrums, it seems like after a day of nap deprived children you never know what to expect. Last Sunday night Michael was laying on the floor when Steve threw a sock at him and well...Michael thought it was absolutely hilarious!