Another flood! AARGH!

Today was not so great. Our house flooded again. And it happened the night before we leave for New York for 5 days - of course. (Thank goodness it didn't flood tomorrow while we are gone!) For those of you keeping track, this is our 2nd flood in 2 years. It flooded everything that the first flood didn't - including the theater room this time.

The culprit was the small kitchen sink - it was one of the ONLY TWO LINES not replaced in the first flood with braided steel - you can see from the picture why. The shut off valve is UNDER THE CABINET. If I ever find the guy who plumbed our house, I will cut off his nose.

As I write, I smell wet hickory and drywall and there are men in the house ripping out the basement ceiling and carpet. Sloane is asleep, blissfully unaware. Guess we get new carpet and our hardwood redone again!!

Sloane made the news!

When we went to the Snake River Stampede last week, we went on the "tough enough to wear pink" night to raise funds for breast cancer. Everybody was supposed to wear pink, including the cowboys so I dressed Sloane up in her pink John Deere cowboy boots and big pink bow on her head. After we went home, a friend called us to say that Sloane was on the local news! I tuned into the 11:00 and sure enough, there we were! Watch closely, can you spot her?

Some (short) video clips

More summer fun!

It's been a wild start of summer! This is what happens when you leave the umbrella up on your patio set and a rogue gust of wind comes whipping up the backyard... On the bright side, we get new patio furniture - yay!! You can bet your last dollar that it will NOT be glasstop.


We had a BBQ in the park and invited all of our friends. Too bad it poured rain but about 60 people still showed up for hotdogs and rainy fun. Sloane got to hit the swings for her first time with her friend Brian Churchman. Dads are so much fun!




Sloane went to her first rodeo! It was the Snake River Stampede in Nampa and we went with Auntie Julie and Uncle Jesse. It was "tough enough to wear pink" night in support for breast cancer so all the cowboys and even security was dressed up in pink! We were no exception and we even made a cameo on the local news!! Sloane is a celebrity already!


We made sure to bring the horsey purse that goes with us everywhere.


And we got out the pink cowboy boots...


We really had the best seats in the house, too. Right above the pens! Perfect for watching the mutton bustin competition!
Till next time!

4th of July week!

4th of July was such a blast this year! For the 3rd time, we headed up to the cabin in McCall for a family getaway and this time it was for almost a whole week! JJ and Sloane drove up with Grandma and Grandpa Suitter on Tuesday then Phil and Auntie Julie flew up on Wednesday followed by Uncle Jesse driving up on Thursday. Robert brought the Gator (which is now street legal, by the way) and we had alot of fun driving back and forth to the marina, the grocery store or the hardware store - we were just looking for excuses to hop on and drive somewhere. Sloane is getting some big new teeth in so this trip was a bit of a challenge for her with a fever and general unhappiness. She needed coddling THE WHOLE TIME and everyone was happy to oblige.

JJ and Phil golfed 3 days in a row - twice at Jug Mountain and once in New Meadows. Any chance we get to use a free babysitter, we take FULL advantage. 4th of July we were able to watch the fireworks from the front porch instead of the melee downtown.

The new park in McCall 1 block from our cabin!

We made the now traditional "crab pot" dinner, too which is a concoction of red potatoes, corn on the cob, shrimp, lobster and king crab legs which all get thrown in a pot and eaten off of a table covered in plastic wrap. When finished, the kitchen looks like a butter drenched seafood massacre and we are all wishing we hadn't eaten so much.

(Last year's photos - when Sloane was still in the oven)

Sunday, Sloane got her first ride in a boat, courtesy of Auntie Julie and Uncle Jesse. She wasn't too sure about her life vest that practically swallowed her up, but she got used to it and by the end of the ride she was smiling and watching all the water and boats go by. Next year, she'll be wakeboarding! Hope everyone's 4th was happy and safe!

Sloane's first purse with a little horsey in it to carry around!

Pebble Beach

The Winters Family had a fantastic weekend in Monterey! It has been a dream of Phil's to play the famous Pebble Beach golf course with his Pops and this was finally the year. We flew in the trinidad to Monterey on Thursday in about 3 1/2 hours. Monterey was a bit chilly but it was bearable considering the sweltering heat we had left behind in Boise. Friday the fog lifted enough to drive around the Pebble Beach area on the famed 17 mile drive and had dinner that night at the Pebble Beach lodge. Saturday Phil and Roger played at Pebble Beach and Sloane and JJ and Grandma Dyer played at the pool. That night we had dinner in Monterey at a nice italian restaurant. We have found that Sloane is much more active than when she was born and can be quite a handfull in a restaurant! (I have written an open letter of apology to every mom I have ever scowled at in a restaurant, on a plane, with a stroller or in any other public place...) Sunday we flew home after breakfast. Sloane fell asleep after her in-flight movie and beverage service of Baby Einstein and bottle.

At the Lone Cypress

The Lodge At Pebble Beach

The lodge at Spanish Bay

Watching Grandpa Dyer very carefully

The 18th hole at Pebble where Roger sunk a 30 foot putt

Phil and Roger's "gallery"

How Sloane wipes her mouth at fancy restaurants

In flight movie and beverage service of (what else?) Baby Einstein

Sloane is crawling!

Summer is here in full swing - or so it seems. In between rainstorms we have been trying to get outside and have some fun. We found out that Sloane loves to swim, so we go with Auntie Julie to get in the pool where she lives. It is tons of fun! If we have to stay inside, we play basketball, sit up, scatter toys and practice our crawling! Bring on the babygates!

Sloane's first swim!

Another video?!

I guess it's all about the rites of passage... Again, it's long but enjoy.

First swim and other miscellany....

Sloane had her first swim today at Crane Creek! It was an awesome day and the pool temp was about 85 degrees so we decided to go for it. Dad got in the water with her to see how she would do. Turns out, she's a water baby. They spent about 45 minutes in the pool while Sloane kicked and splashed her way around. She may have drank more than we would have preferred, but fun was had by all and I have a feeling this is how a good portion of our summer days will go....





We've been experimenting with new headbows...

Hangin with peeps on the beach... (Brian Churchman is 3 days older than Sloane.)

Hanging with peeps on walks with mom and her friends... (Danika is almost 3 and loves to baby Sloane.)

The coolest shoes ever....

Still representing BSU -go broncos!

Summer flying weather is here!

It's been a looong winter it seems. It's finally good enough weather to get out the airplane and fly up to our cabin in McCall! Even though Sloane is a world traveler by now, she has flown in a PC-12, flown to Mexico and Atlanta on the airlines, she has never been in our airplane until now. We looked all over to find her some hearing protection and found some cute pink (of course) little headphones. Turns out they were too small, though. Had to resort to what was on hand. It looked like it did the trick. Sloane loved it (as evidenced by sleeping right through it to and from McCall.) Future woman aviator, she is.

The ones that didn't fit...Sleeping through the whole ride!Met up with some peeps Sure is bright outside.Whew that was a long day in the sunLearning how to pattycake at Fogglifter cafe in McCallLove from november eight two tango tango!