RIP Michael Jackson

I am shocked and saddened to learn that Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50. Michael Jackson, while eccentric and weird, was a musical genius. He changed the face of pop music and forever changed the entire music industry. Both Andrew and I loved his music, Andrew has won many contests doing lip syncs and dancing like Michael and even did a lip sync at our wedding reception to my fav MJ song - PYT. I can't believe he's dead - the king of pop is gone. I'm just in shock. RIP Michael Jackson.

Father's Day 2009

We took another hike this Sunday to celebrate Father's Day and went up to Hell's Hole trail, then had brunch at the Echo Lake lodge, and hung out around the lake for a little while. The weather was unbelievably perfect and it was a gorgeous day. We had lots of fun and Greg has decided he'd rather try and hike by himself as he thinks he's too big for his backpack! It was a fun day to celebrate my awesome husband who works so hard to support his family and take care of us! We love you sweetie!!! Happy Father's Day! Love, Lisa & Greg

A chilly day at the park

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

"Erin-isms"

Last night Andrew and I had a date night after church. Our friends and neighbors, Matt & Erin were kind enough to watch Greg after church so we could have a nice dinner out, just the two of us. Erin is notorious for saying hilarious things which she is totally oblivious to. It is serious comedy in my opinion. It's not like being good at delivering a joke, but she speaks with 100% raw honesty and says whatever comes to her mind. What makes it even better is that she's a college professor and is getting her PhD in literature, which means she has a fantastic vocabulary and uses cool words that most people probably don't even know the meaning of.

So last night when we went to pick Greg up, he was running around on their wood floors playing with their daughter Sylvia, and the adults were hanging out just talking for a few minutes. Greg slipped a little and his legs went out from under him, sliding into the splits! Erin very matter of factly said "Greg, be careful! Don't tear your little scrotum! There will be no scrotum tears on my watch." 2 questions: 1.) Do scrotums actually tear? 2.) Who says "scrotum tears?" I was laughing my butt off.

I looked up at her and said "Did you just say scrotum?" and burst out laughing. So there was the "Erin-ism" or hilarious Erin quote of the day. Scrotum tears....who knew?

Love ya Erin! Thanks for always making me laugh! You're a great friend!

"Buck"

Last night we were watching "So you think you can dance" and one of the choreographers praised a dancer, describing his performance as "buck." Being a smart aleck, I repeated the word sarcastically to Andrew, making fun of the newest slang term in Hollywood. "Buck," I said confidently and arrogantly. Greg, who was sitting on my lap, didn't miss a beat. "Duck!" he exclaimed, sounding very proud of himself for contributing to the adult conversation.

It was one of those moments where I was so overwhelmed with his cuteness, I could hardly contain my tears. Greg's favorite word is duck and he loves to run into the bathroom to look for his duck in the bath tub. He was so confident in his proclamation last night; joining right in with his Mommy while she was making schput. I was so proud.

I look forward to many more moments like last night's where I laugh until I cry and am overwhelmed with the joy of being Greg's Mama.

Creepy neighbors and the Douglas County Sheriff

So let me start off by saying I love the Douglas County Sheriff. Everyone is so helpful and nice! I decided to call them this morning because of a problem we've been having with a creepy neighbor. A guy that lives around the corner from us has been parking in front of my house and just staring at the house while taking notes. He'll sit in his truck, stare at my house, and write stuff down. I've literally seen him with a clip board writing stuff down as he sits in front of my house in his truck with the windows rolled up. It's very weird. This morning was the 4th time in a month that he's done this. This guy is definitely weird.

We've had 2 encounters with this guy since we've lived here. At the times they occured, I didn't really think anything of it. Pretty soon after we moved here (about 2 years ago or so), our garbage disposal broke while Andrew's parents were visiting. I had seen a truck and red trailer with handyman ads and a phone # parked in front of a house around the corner so I sent Andrew and his Dad over there to see if the guy would/could fix our garbage disposal (I always like to support local neighborhood businesses if at all possible). So after walking over there, Andrew and his Dad came back and said whoever answered the door said that the guy doesn't do handyman work anymore and he was either disabled or retired (I can't remember which) and that he hadn't done handy work in years. Weird. Why would he still have all the phone #s and ads on his truck? Why would he still tow around that enclosed red trailer all the time? Whatever.

Our next "run in" with him happened this last winter. Andrew and I went out for a walk and had the stroller and the dog with us. His house is across from the open space and trails that we always walk so we pass his house every time we go on a walk. Angel stopped to pee on the strip of grass that is shared between his house and the house next door. This man came out of the garage and said "Excuse me, can you please not let your dog pee on my lawn. It's killing my grass." Ok, this was the dead of winter - everyone's grass was dead! So I said - "I'm sorry sir but she didn't pee on your lawn, technically it was on the side of your neighbors house," to which he replied "I own that house too so that IS my lawn." Very weird.

Then I start noticing him parked right in front of my house; multiple times. He doesn't try to be inconspicuous at all - he's in his handyman Ford truck with the beacon on top and towing that enclosed red trailer. What the heck?

So this morning I was fed up. I think it's totally creepy that this guy is somewhat stalking me (or my home). What good reason would he have to park in front of my house and just sit there for 10 - 30 minutes at a time, taking notes? So I called the Douglas County Sheriff and they sent someone out right away. Unfortunately, I think the guy saw me standing in the window, reading off a description of his truck while on my cell phone because he left shortly thereafter. By the time the Sheriff got here, the guy was long gone and didn't go back to his own house so I don't know if the Sheriff got to talk to him or not. I explained all this to the Sheriff and he said to make sure to call them right away the next time I see him in front of the house and they will try to catch him while he's sitting there to see what he's doing. WEIRD!!!

ps - I also forgot to mention that when I walked by and tried to get his address, he has taken down the address #s from his house above the garage where all the houses in our neighborhood have them and instead, he's put up security cameras!

I just want to say that I am so thankful and grateful for men and women who serve us in law enforcement. Seriously, they deal with creeps like this guy and total scum every day for a living. I am so thankful that they do their jobs to keep our communities safe every day. So today, I'm giving props (and many thanks) to the Douglas County Sheriff for keeping my family safe and giving me peace of mind on days like today.