we took Aiden to his first real movie...Horton Hears a Who.  we were definitely not sure of how it would fly...would he freak out and we'd need to leave?...would he talk and disturb others?...etc.  i guess we went in hoping for the best, but expecting the worst.

 

well...here are some of the highlights...

a) when Aiden sat in the seat...bc he's only 35 pds, the seat kept popping up, making his ankles basically go to his ears.  jon & i sat on each side of him and had to hold the seat down with our knees for the whole movie.

b) so, there were like 15 previews.  Aiden would get completely sucked into them and would say "What happened?!?!" really loud after each one ended...clearly thinking the movie he was about to watch just ended.  we found it hysterical and of course tried to shhh him, with no luck.

c) he LOVED the bucket of popcorn plopped between his legs.  the only random piece about the popcorn is now any time he watches a movie at home, he MUST have popcorn.

d) Aiden didn't move the entire time - which was awesome and surprising.  of course if you go in thinking it'll be a nightmare, there's no where to go but up.  and i was happy he wasn't that random kid go'n up and down the aisles testing his flashing shoes...yep, i definitely thought..."woohooo....not mine!" when i saw that kid.

 

overall, the movie was pretty good, but nothan i would recommend watching.  at one point, it switched to a fake fight scene in anime for like 30 seconds...that was definitely the weakest moment.  so, it's not one we'll purchase, but still a positive experience and that's what matters!

 

 

ok, i'm not a lawn extraordinaire but, my neighbor (the one on the other side that isn't a douchebag) needs some serious guidance with the fertilizer spreading.  now, we really like these neighbors, but that doesn't mean they should be excluded from ridicule.  i had to take these photos the other day bc i just can't believe how insane of a fertilizer job he did.  the front lawn - yes, funny streaks.  the side lawn - i don't even where to begin or how to explain...seriously, is he trying to send cryptic messages to passing planes?  whatever it is, it's funny enough that i needed to share and i guess proof that fertilizer works...

 

   

 

 

we've recently found out that my neighbor is a douche bag.  here's the back story...

 

my neighbor was completely in the know about the pool and fence-to-be, as we told him about it a year ago (when we had the property surveyed).  the construction has now obviously started.  the neighbor came outside all shocked and mentioned a few things to jon & i...to which my feelings/thoughts are below... (and no, i didn't say this stuff to his face)

 

1.) "i don't like the look of natural rock and i don't want to have to look at this.  i prefer the clean look of blocks."

     (a) if you can't tell by the pictures, all those rocks for our retaining walls came from our property.  our entire development is one big rock.  you drive in and the entire entrance is a hill of rocks that they use to landscape.  the development has RIDGE in it's name bc of all the rocks.  if you don't like rocks, why the F did you move here?

     (b) who does this?  the nerve to walk up to us and say i don't like what you put in your yard and i don't want to look at it...just blows my mind.  it's so disrespectful, inconsiderate and just rude.

2.) "I've been reading blogs and you shouldn't put the rocks right up to your property line.  you need to move these back 3-6 inches.  it'd be too bad if you had to move them after the project was done."

     (a) you're an idiot.  the fact that you're reading blogs to get property regulations and restrictions proves to me you're a buffoon.  you're wrong...do your homework.  oh, and i'm not moving shit bc everything we did is 100% legal...so, best of luck with your back-handed threats. 

3.) "I think you should put your fence on my side of the rocks so i don't have to look at them."

     (a)  i think you should go screw.  i'm putting the fence on top of the rock wall.  i'm not putting a fence on the outside of a 3 ft rock wall, which would then make the fence only 3 feet tall from my side...yah, that'd be logical.

4.) "if/when we decide to sell, no one will come to look at or buy our place if this rock wall exists."

     (a)  clueless.  we tried to mention that you can plant on the rocks or put shrubs in front of them or whatever - there are a million options that can make it even more beautiful than it already looks now.  his response: "i can't plant."  one week later - he's planting shrubs in his back yard.

5.)  "i'm going to have to put up my own fence so i don't have to look at this rock wall."

     (a)  so this buffoon plans to basically create a moat.  have you EVER heard of a fence - then a rock wall - then another fence?  he's worried about selling the place bc of a rock wall, yet he thinks the property value won't plummet when he tries to put a fence in front of a fence with a 3 ft wide rock wall in the middle?  whatever.  the funny part (for me) - since our fence will be sitting on top of the rock wall - unless he gets a fence that is 9+ ft high, we won't be able to see his.  oh, and just some background re: fence regulations - if you try to get a fence that's over 6 ft, you have to get a special permit and your neighbor's permission.  HA...let me think about that...yah, that's a big not going to happen.

6.) "we're planning on moving in a couple of years bc we wouldn't want to raise our children in this town or send them to this school system.  we'll probably go back to India."

     (a) need help packing?  yah, just pile on the inappropriate shots at us.  first - the school system is just fine (we checked prior to moving here).  second - to each their own, but you don't need to say that the education our kids will get isn't good enough for your kids.  lot of nerve.

 

so, with all that said...the part that bothered jon & i the most was that we've busted our asses to get this project to happen.  we've saved $, lined up financing, lined up permits, jumped through hoops with zoning boards and the town board, coordinated with the developers, coordinated and signed agreements with multiple vendors, etc....and you have the nerve to take all our hard work and pride in what we've done and basically take a big poop on it.  grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

there, i got that out of my system.  now, i will not give another thought to the buffoon that is our neighbor and will instead happily continue with our pool project and not allow him to taint it.  here are the updated photos from the past couple of weeks...from gravel & forms to re-bar to gunite to then plumbing and tile...