Home invasion!

So I don't have any pictures, but I should.

I don't have much good to say, but maybe I will.

We have been home invaded!

For 2 WEEKS! Our electrical system went all haywire and at the same time we discovered we had a soggy front yard with a river, and a swampy back yard that would soon be a lake. On top of that we had no HOT WATER!

So we made some phone calls to the landlord. He made some calls to his handy man. I waited around all day on friday, the handy man NEVER showed! Saturday (the 13th) was Dominicks birthday party, we waited all morning for the handy man and still a no show. So we headed to Dominicks party.

The landlord calls, says he will have someone there on Sunday for sure, we tell him...... um sorry we wont be there! He gets a little upset and says " Well we need to get this taken care of right away!" Which I replied " Well right away would have been thursday night, Friday, or saturday morning, all of which I waited around when I had other things I could be doing!"

Monday rolls around, I wait ALL DAY AGAIN! The handy man doesn't get there until after 9:00 PM! He was there until mid-night and managed to re-route power to our t.v. and microwave. Still no oven, no hot-water heater, no other outlets! Tuesday comes and goes, Wednesday the city comes out to fix our problem. They tell us they have to cut our cable and internet, but hey we have electricity through-out the whole house!

Thursday, the cable company comes to fix what they should have done right in the first place. But wait, they can't do what they need to. They tell me they will have a crew out in a week or two! I tell him heck no! I am not going without cable or internet for a week or two, so now I have some wires running up my driveway, over a fence and up to the side of the house. Temporary cable until they can come fix the "real" issue.

Friday the handy man comes back to find where the water leak is and why we still don't have hot water! He digs, and digs, and searches. Finally after 8 hours of hard work he asks me if there have been any "hot" spots in the house. I tell him yes, since we moved in. He swears (a bunch), excuses himself, and then proceeds to tell me that he has found the problem. A hot water leak in the slab under the house and with all the evident water it's no little leak! He then tells me he has called the landlord but cant get to anything until he approves!

I start re-searching rental laws, I start freakin out, and I have a full blown "b*tch" attack! I have already been without hat water for a few weeks, now I am without any water and the landlord is taking his sweet time doing anything!

Well to make a long story short, or shorter at least. We are now on Tuesday, week three! We have electricity, we have hot water (sort of), we also have a handyman in our house everyday all day, we have lots of holes in the walls, and we have lots of dust and debris around the house!

What the landlord "promised" would be a 2 day job and very unobtrusive. Has now been a 4 day job of hell! To top all of that off I don't see the end of the tunnel and Payton has been having asthma attacks. All of the dust and debris has been wreaking havoc on her breathing, but I can't leave. I have to be here at all time with the handy man!

The only good thing.......... WE DONT HAVE TO PAY THE BILL!

The Cherrey's take on Disney!

IN ONE DAY!!!!!!

YES, we may be a little crazy! But on Sunday we headed to Disney with Jay's cousin and her family. Lauren's birthday is on valentines and she was kind enough to invite us to share the day with her!

Payton and Lauren with the Mad Hatter, beginning of the day!

This is Paytons first time to Disney, at an age that she will remember! She was so excited by everything! Our fist ride was the new (new to us) Nemo submarine ride.

Dominick, Payton, and Lauren in the Submarine

The kids were really entranced by this ride! What an experience!

Next we were onto Space Mountain! This was Paytons first "big" roller coaster. I was nervous, I really thought she would be scared. Then she demands to ride with Lauren not me, oh no what will happen? They rode, they screamed, they laughed, and she held her hands up the whole time, SHE LOVED IT! Nope, my little girl was not scared she begged to go again and again!

Lauren and Payton getting ready for Space Mountain

So we took out Future-land first thing! The kids were having a blast, so far the lines were short and we made great time!

Now we were on to the Jungle, a river safari, a treehouse climb, and a fast pass for Indiana Jones!

The kids looking on intently for all the sights the guide pointed out!

The Beautiful Birthday Girl!

Next we took on New Orleans, which means a pirate boat adventure, a haunted house, and the new princess Tiana! We didn't get to meet her up-close, but we watched her from afar and Payton was mesmerized!

The arm reach picture on Pirates! If you think we look tired now, just wait!

Dominick refused to ride with anyone but us at the haunted house! He held on tight the whole ride.

Once again Payton and Lauren brave it on their own!

Jennifer and Jon

Now for some kid sized fun! Even the "big" kids enjoyed this part of the day!

Yummy, look at all that honey!

Sleeping Beauty's Castle

Watch out people! We have some "Wild" drivers in this family!

Jon was such a great trooper. With seven people there can be an odd man out, but he enjoyed himself! And when Jen couldn't ride he took over and joined all the kids. He even climbed the tree house and castle with the kiddos, while the other adults rested our feet!

Yup, we made it the whole day! Payton was fascinated by the castle at night. We watched the fireworks and she exclaimed " Look it's Tinker Bell, look Dad she's really real!" That one comment made me forget that it was 10:00 at night and I was bone tired! My heart melted and I was really glad we made the trip!

Yes, it was a long day! Starting at 6 in the morning and heading home at 11:30 at night! The kids were troopers and made it through the day with minimal fighting and complaining!

Will we make it back to Disney, you betcha! Even Jay (who really really hates crowds and Disney) enjoyed himself. I think the difference is that the children really get it at this age. Everything is so fascinating and real to them! But I think next time, we will stay over night!

Seven, SeVeN, SEVEN!

I can't believe I am the mother of a seven year old! I don't know where the time has gone, I really don't. Dominick's favorite color is green, his favorite sport is baseball, his favorite saying is oh snap or wicked, his favorite food is spaghetti or steak, he has lost 5 teeth (one on his birthday), his favorite hobby is building legos, he loves to read (currently started Captain Underpants) and he loves to "invent" new things.

Dominick and Ethan

Dominick, Lauren, and Payton

Happy Birthday!

He was so excited about every gift! So gracious to everyone and grateful!

Wild Party!

The day was perfect for a party! Warm and sunny and the park was perfect. We are so glad we had a chance to celebrate, even though things kept going wrong! Dominick just kept saying it's ok, I have my friends and thats all I need. We love you Dominick and are proud of the man you are growing into!