Being Domestic

I made Ady a dress. She even likes it. Here it is. It has pockets, a zipper, and sleeves. I also even made a scrunchy to match, and I even made me a skirt out of the same material. I think I am pretty proud of myself for doing it. It always feels nice to finish something. The fact that I know how to sew is something I should probly be more grateful for. I remember not liking sewing growing up. My mom taught me to sew, and then a few ladies from 4-H helped as well. I had to do a project or two every year for the fair. I usually got it done the night before it was due, had to unpick and sew everything five times, and was a big frustration to finish. Now that i am just trying some things on my own, for my family, with no time frame(other than my kid outgrowing it before I finish), and nobody to judge the inside to see if it was correctly sewn, it is not so bad. So thanks Mom for being persistent and giving me a talent to make and repair things. I think it is diminishing these days in the world, but is worth a lot.

Also, since staying home with the kids, I also get to hear alot of Ady and her funny sayings. The latest has been "Don't talk to me Pigtails." I don't know where she gets it, but whenever she doesnt' want to hear what I am telling her this is what she says. She will once in a while change pigtails with Sam(Sam-I-Am, from Green Eggs and Ham). So "don't talk to me Sam!"

Ady also says "I love you too" alot. You never have to say it first, but she always adds the too. The other day it was very funny because I wasn't real happy with her and was lecturing her and she just looks at me and says "I love you too, Mom" all sincere. It was one of those times you just have to stop and think and laugh. I'm glad she knows she is loved no matter what.

The last funny thing, I think I can blame on Adam; whenever Ady or Brock may do something not quite convenient, like spill milk all over, he'll say "oh, Kid!" Well Ady has also picked it up. It is so funny to hear something go not quite right for her and she'll yell out "oh, Kid!"

Some of you may have noticed that this is my first blog post in quite a while...more than a half year to be exact. We have had a lot of crazy or unexpected things happen this year. Adam is the one who has all the credit for keeping our posts updated. I am glad he does. Adam has been a rock thru all of it and I am really glad that he is a team blogger with me and picks up my slack. Plus, he is a good writer as well. If I could only get him to finish writing that book he started!

Grandpa's Funeral and Glacier National Park

My grandpa Hamner passed away last week. He was 81 and had cancer and Alzheimer's. He had been suffering for a few years now and is finally not in pain. Being as we had no company to take over, we decided to go to the service which was in Idaho. The service was nice, and short-which is a definite bonus in my book. Now we are on the way home and we decided to go through Glacier National Park on our way home. Here we are at Lake McDonald.
And here is Brock smiling while walking around at a lake in the park.

I have been trying to teach Ady how to skip rocks this summer. So far I have failed miserably. Well here we are at this beautiful lake and there are millions of rocks so I thought we'd try again.

Take a look at this picture and you can see one of the reasons why Ady has been unable to pick up the concept of skipping rocks. (Look at the size of the rock in her hand.)Tomorrow we will be taking the "Road to the Sun" drive through the park. So we'll leave you with this last picture of the Lake McDonald with the mountains and sky reflected and the perfectly clear water.

Our deal is dead

Well after 4 months of negotiating, studying, debating, dealing, praying, thinking, arguing, auditing, working with banks, and all the other stuff you have to do when you pursue a purchase of a business we have pulled the plug on the deal. Although we actually terminated the contract almost a week ago, we've been feeling somewhat discombobulated and didn't feel like blogging about it. However, it has been made clear that ignoring the situation, isn't changing the situation. What a weird and crazy ride this summer has been. Those who have been aware of the collapse of the deal have asked some interesting questions to us, such as: do we feel that we wasted several months here?, or do you wish you hadn't tried?, did you make a mistake in your timing?, and of course the standard-what now? Being that this blog is something akin to our family online journal I thought I'd address some of these questions.

The first question being was this summer wasted? That answer is no, and I am responding emphatically no. We have had many adventures, learned a ton and met some great people. Kasey and I have had a goal for some time now to pursue the acquisition of an outdoor recreational venture, preferably one that is family oriented, and this experience in no way detracts or hinders us in our pursuit of that dream. In fact we still feel that we have progressed and furthered our capacity to operate such a venture when we someday get to that point. As for do we wish we hadn't tried, well some days it does feel that way a bit. Knowing how close we were to being in possession of such a property and business is a bit painful. However, we do feel that we would have regretted not trying, and sometimes one needs to chase a supposed dream to find out if that is what they actually want. Then when one arrives at the supposed destination, one is more fully able to decide if that is actually the desired destination or merely a launching point for a larger more grandiose or simpler more realistic dream. Simply put, we feel that we made a good decision to pursue the opportunity that was presented to us, but have now decided to change course a little bit. As for the third question, timing. Timing is always an interesting thing. Especially in today's economy with banking regulations being tightened, property values falling and lines of credit being more difficult to obtain. The short answer is that we have determined that the time wasn't right to make this specific purchase, but the time was right for us to investigate and put ourselves in a position where we could make an educated decision. All along our goal has been to pursue such a business venture. But our goal was not to simply possess or own the business, it was to operate and be successful in the endeavor. During the process or pursuit of this business we have learned that the business was not cash flowing as we had originally thought. While the location was fantastic, the general facility was incredible, and a decent foundation of repeat business, there were issues that were going to cost money, fairly substantial amounts of money to rectify. I put together what I felt were very realistic projections. They included my assumptions on the current marketing needs, gear/equipment overhaul and such along with a gradual growth due to the current economy. The bank asked a ton of questions and then approved us for a loan of 80% for the value of the business. However, they used my projections as a base and did not value the business as highly as the seller had, thus the total loan amount was less than what we needed. After having a week to step back and look at the situation we have realized how important timing is. Did we mess up with our timing? I don't think so, but I do think that the time is not right for this venture at this location. Given the continued decline of the economy; risk and return on investment is all important. So while the timing was a factor, it is not something we are upset about. As for the final question-what now? That is being worked on. I am working on the next step. We are looking at some job options, along with starting the process of investigating some other businesses that are for sale. We feel that we are in a good position to make a great decision and find a great deal. We are not looking for a deal, we aren't looking for a good deal, we are looking for a great deal. We don't want to settle for good when our pursuit is something great. The effects of this economic recession have driven and are continuing to drive down prices of land and businesses. We feel confident that there is a great deal out there and if we look hard enough, we'll find someone who wants to sell at a price that makes it a great deal. Until then, we wait patiently and continue to work and learn so that we are prepared when the right opportunity presents itself.

On a more lighthearted note, I threw 9 strikes in a row on Wii bowling the other day and shattered our Wii bowling record with a score of 279! Here is a photo to prove it.