Family......

So, my brother and his family came thru Topeka on their way home from a wedding and we met at the Arby's right off the highway so we could at least have a meal together before he had to get home for his job.

Of course, we had to get a picture of all the cousins together... Jensen 9 3/4, Griffin 5 1/2, Abbey 13 1/2, Marinne 3 1/2, Logan 12, Elley 11. And a successful picture is rewarded with a "silly" picture!
(seriously, try getting a good picture with 6 kids and one of them being 3 years old!)

This is my brother, Randy.
He's awesome and I love him!

This is my sister-in-law, Lori. She's so funny.
I was chasing her with the camera.
She took a picture of me, so I took one of her.
She's laughing so hard, her eyes are squinty! Then, she agrees to pose....but it's too late, she's still laughing so much she's squinty! But, you can see her marvelous personality!!All in all it was a good visit, but WAY TOO SHORT!

I'm back!!!!!

Well, I'm finally home. I ended up staying a day longer than originally planned.



We had a good trip.....it's a little longer drive than I'd like....but WAY BETTER than the 1050 miles it's been for the past 3 years! (it's a bit over 4 hours)



We had a blast. My brother and his family came down and met us at my dad/stepmom's house in Bixby. We took the kids to Build-A-Bear in honor of my niece's birthday. And we had lunch at Chili's, but those were the only places we went while we were there. We spent hours and hours and hours outside, watching the cousins play. It was so nice. And relaxing. In fact, on Thursday, the kids played outside from 9am till dark, only coming in to eat lunch and go to the restroom!!! They had so much fun! It's sad, because the older children are pre-teen, which means the days of moody are coming. This may be the last Summer they spend where they actually all enjoy playing together....



They played baseball, swang on the tree-swing, gave each other turns riding in the wagon, rode bikes, played in the playhouse, looked for bugs, played pirates, played "Swiss Family Robinson", played frisbee and even took a walk around the block w/ the parents after dinner. It was a picture perfect couple of Spring Days.



My bliss was ruined, for a few hours, by an unsettling phone call from one owner of the scrapbook store. I returned her call w/ my heart beating fast. She told me "the other woman's" story was completely different than mine and that she didn't know what to think. (I took this as they believe her over me.) She went on to say that they had never really had a conflict in the store and they didn't really want to deal with one now. And with that, they said that because this woman has worked for them for 7 years and she works 3 Saturdays a month and that's what they hired me for (Saturdays,) they didn't feel like it was going to work out. (I was stunned, I truly didn't think they'd decide to let me just walk away.)



I told her I was very dissapointed and I was having trouble hiding the fact I was on the verge of crying. I told her I had told the truth and I had no reason to lie or make up what had happened. She told me that they'd still like me to teach some classes if I wanted to and we could try that. (Again, I was hugely dissapointed. I could teach classes for them, but I think I might always feel like I was the "stepchild" or something like that. I don't want some "consolation prize" job. I know I might be being a baby, but I am really dissapointed how this all worked out.)



She told me to think about it.



I told them I knew I could rise above it and I assumed the other girl said she couldn't work with me. She says the other girl says she can work w/ me, but they are afraid it would just be conflict all the time between us. (So I guess she's gonna call me this week to see what I decide. What do YOU think I should do?? Am I being a baby? Tell me the truth, please.....)



I think what they said about the conflict is dumb. Are there people who really conflict all the time? I suppose it's possible if your personalities are completely just uncompatible, but really, can't most people get along with anyone. I know I can. Anyway, I just don't know if I can work for people who never fully stood up and said what happened to me was wrong. Because IT WAS. I don't care what the other girl told them, they should know that no one would make up a crazy story like that. And let's not forget, all of this happened to me when I was THEIR CUSTOMER!!



I guess my dissapointment stems from knowing this is the ONLY store in town. My only opportunity to do what I love and meet people who love scrapbooking, as well. Oh well, enough whining about that......



How was your week?????