Summertime fun

Summer is finally here and along with Summer comes busy summer fun! Lately we have been keeping busy with just that, lots of summertime fun.

It all started with a little family time in Star Valley. My sister Nicole is taking my adorable little nephews and leavin us for her husband and Alaska fishing for the rest of the summer, so we decided a little "Brough Family Reunion" was in order before she left. We decided on last weekend...fathers day and my mom's birthday. The original plan had been to go camping at Bear Lake and spend our time playing in the water. Well, of course, the weather did not cooperate so instead we moved the party to SV. It was so fun to have everyone together (minus Cody and Bill, my sister's Alaskan hubby) and kick off the summer together.

We came back to Blackfoot Sunday and Tuesday we met my sister Lyndi and her husband in Pocatello to steal 2 of their hooligans while they went on to SLC for the 3rd hooligan to have surgery. My niece Abbi was born with one leg longer than the other. The difference in length has grown to about 4 1/2 inches. She had surgery this week to staple the growth plate in her long leg and to twist the knee in her short leg so it won't keep grown knock-knee-ed. So...little brother and sister got to come play at Aunt Heidi and Uncle Dillon's while poor big sis had to have surgery. But I have to say, WE. HAD. A. BLAST! They were not here near long enough but we filled every minute we could with fun, fun, fun! I really hope they had as much fun as I did...cuz seriously, I had a blast. They left early yesterday morning and although I'm still exhausted and recovering from a nasty sunburn, I'm bored and wish they were still here! :) Thanks for coming Gabe and Payzli, we LOVED having you here!!!




We also made homemade ice cream, ate pizza, colored LOTS of pictures and watched movies and cartoons (which I didn't get pictures of)! Thanks again Gabe and Payzli for the fun time! :)

JoAnn's Fabric....never again

You know when something upsets you and you just can't let it go? Something like getting SCREWED on a recent purchase? Well...that would be me as of late.

I am really not the kind of person to complain when something goes wrong at a restaurant, store or whatever. I'm just not that kind of person. On the rare occasion that I do complain about a miss price or bad food (and it has to be really bad) I always feel terrible and try to make the person I am complaining to realize that I know it's not their fault...cuz I know that they have no control over it, and cuz I'm nice like that :) Well in this case, for some reason, I am WAY more worked up then usual.

So let me tell you what happened.

Last Friday I went into JoAnn's Fabric in Idaho Falls. I needed to get some ribbon for a craft I was making for my girls at girls camp. I am really not craft-savy and didn't really know what I was doing. So, I did the best I could and came out with a little over 16 yards of ribbon (split amongst 3 different kinds) and having spent just under $20. Oh and did I mention I had a 40% off coupon that I used on the ribbon I got the most of/was most expensive? Well I did, that's why I went to JoAnn's in the first place. Well...I knew I did not have enough ribbon for what I needed but I was being rushed, I didn't know what I was doin, I couldn't do the math fast enough in my head and they didn't have much to choose from. I was all around flustered so I got what I could and just left. I thought it sounded like a lot of money for not a lot of ribbon but being the craft-illiterate that I am, I didn't think much of it. I got home to Star Valley Wyoming where I was having my amazingly crafty mother help me make said craft. As I knew we would, we ran out of ribbon just over half way through our project and had to go into the teeny tiny craft store in Afton WY (population 1,818). I was a little worried because our small little town tends to be quite a bit more expensive on things and I still needed about 9 yards of ribbon.

To make a long story short, I purchased 7/8 inch groisgrain ribbon at JoAnn's Fabric for $1.29/yard then turned around and paid $0.35/yard for the EXACT same ribbon at above mentioned teeny tiny craft store.

Giving JoAnn's the benefit of the doubt, I checked out the same ribbon at Walmart when I got back to Blackfoot. Sure enough, $0.31/yard.

I just got off the phone with JoAnn's fabric in Idaho Falls to which the only response I got was, "Hmmmm, that's interesting. Well, that looks like what we charge normally. If you can bring an ad in saying the price at the other stores we can give you that price." To which my response was, "Well I don't think I will be able to find an ad since that is their normal price also. But I will do some checking I guess and see if I can find one. Otherwise, I guess I'm just stuck with what you charged me."

She did tell me "sorry" before hanging up and I did let her know that it was ok, I knew it wasn't her fault I got screwed :)

The only plus side to all of this, I get to turn the receipt into our ward and make them pay for the ridiculously priced ribbon.

*Thanks for listening. I feel better :) *

Day 30!!!!!!!!!

Day 30 - A photograph of yourself today and three good things that have happened in the past (and the present) Most days of this challenge I have just been doing what it said to just get done. I was so close to finishing that I didn't wanna give up but just wanted to be done! But today, I actually like this one. I get to focus on the good in my life. I have to be honest, lately I have been feelin a little bit down about life. I know there are good things happening, I really do, it just seems like more often than not things are going in the opposite direction of where I want them to be going. I see all the good things that are happening in the lives of others and want more than anything for those good things to be happening to me. But they aren't...so things seem bad.
So today, I am going to focus on the good that has happened and is currently happening in my life :)

1. I had the privilege of going to and graduating from college with a degree in something I love to do. And while there I got to enjoy my "care free" college days, be crazy and make memories and friendships that I will never forget!!!

2. I met and married the love of my life who is my best listener, my best comforter, my best supporter and my best friend.

3. I get to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, the songs of the birds, the serenading of the toads, the smell of the lilac trees and see all the beautiful blooming trees and flowers. All just right out my front door!

Day 29

Day 29 - Something you could never get tired of doingseriously, i LOVE to sleep! i truly think i could sleep 20 out of 24 hours of the day if i was allowed. that probably makes me lazy...oh well

Day 28

*(So. Close. Almost. Done!!!)*

Day 28 - Your favorite movie
I dunno if I have one favorite movie but this one is definitely near the top of the the list

Day 27

Day 27 - A picture of you last year and now and how you've changed since then

June 2010: fishing in the rain
June 2011: after a day fishing in the sunshine :)Well...not much has changed. Just much longer braids and slightly chubbier! :)

*It was just too perfect to not take a picture today to compare to last year. I didn't even mean to have my hair the same and wear the same hat, just got lucky :)