free to be

Our weekend was the best because we got to see this little face for 4 whole days!! If only we could get a dose of her more often!
Jim, Lori, and Riley came to visit this past weekend and it was sooo good to spend some time with them. We grilled out, went biking on the greenbelt, rocked out to the veggie-tales (something I thought I'd never see my brother in law do!!) and ate until the point of nausea on more than one occasion. Oliver did way better with Riley then I ever hoped. He was all packed and ready to be shipped off to camp but he suprised us! No traumatic humping episodes like last time (although I dare say he considered it a time or two). Our little guy is growing up. haha.

Once upon a time, Jim and Lori didn't think they would have kids. And now we have Riley which is the best thing that ever could have happened. She's so funny with her independent personality-vocabulary of a 5 year old-and a disposition that allows us to drag her anywhere. We talked a lot about who she gets what traits from...& so far they don't have to do any finger pointing. Not yet anyway.

Being around her all weekend caused kyle & I to wonder a bit about what personalities our kids might have should we ever have any of our own. Thanks to my brother, we already have visuals of how mutant-like they could look. :) We're convinced we'll have little monsters-especially in light of how amazingly good Riley is.
From my gene pool alone we have the following things floating around, just waiting to crop up in our off-spring.

the X factor:
We all know a certain woman in my life wears animal print and leather. She paints her nails hot pink, and has a collection of shirts that carry sayings on them which forces parents of small children to divert their kids' attention and to shield their eyes. She loves drama, uses the phrase "it's all about me" and vacations with cruises and trips to Vegas. There's occasional snorting with laughter. She blasts country music so loud it gets her into trouble with the golf association. She has a ring on every finger and they clink when she talks in her animated way.

the Y factor:
My dad likes to mount animals on the walls where the pictures of Chris and I used to be. We're not just talking birds either...oh no, there's deer, bear, & mountain lion. Interior design may not be his forte but he makes a mean fish soup (yes, if that just made you gag--welcome to the club). We have more pictures of him and his brothers in camo then in any other atire. He has this disease where he absolutely cannot simultaneously watch TV and carry on a conversation over the phone-on in person. He 'vacations' to the woods or on the lake, or up in a tree stand. He IS Wisconsin...all things that represent that frozen state are among dad's favorite things.

chris and I: It's been said that we bribed our cousins into jumping out of tree houses and barns when we were little. We both drove illegally (only one of us was smart enough not to get caught). We picked, and fought and screamed at each other all the time swearing hatred but inwardly loving every minute of it. One of us threatened to call social services to report emotional abuse for having to take piano lessons--which clearly, is abusive on many levels. One of us also wrote a letter begging our parents to trade the sibling in for his/her best friend.

So there you have it. That's what I bring to the table. :) Look out baby Longs!
Funny thing is, it's all good. The animal prints, the camo, the attempts to bribe our parents into getting a new and improved sibling. We like it just the way it is. Always something to talk about...

Riley will likely always be the golden child.

(more pics from the weekend to come).

taking a bath




Cracking herself up.