Can't Fight City Hall

About 2 years ago we had some new neighbors move into a new house they built and we had a tree that blocked their view. I loved this tree, it shaded by backyard and house from the early morning sun. It blocked the view from all of my other neighbors all summer long. It was a walnut tree and it provided food for all the neighborhood squirrels. I loved looking out at the green leafs filling my view. Destina said that she always knew when summer was coming by looking out at that tree. 

Back to our neighbors they were mad that they could not cut the tree down with they moved in, they thought, and were told by their builder that since the tree was on the other side of our fence on the alley right of way that it could be cut down. The tree was still on our property and there was no way we were going to cut it down.  Until the city got involved. I am not sure how the city knew we had a tree on a 100 foot alley, but one day I got a letter in the mail tell me I needed to cut down the dead and decaying tree branches and /or tree.  So I thought that was a little strange, I had Scott go out and cut off the two dead branches that we could see and we thought that would be it.

 About 6 months later I got another nasty letter telling us our tree was decaying and it was now a hazard and “might” blow over in a wind storm. Again we looked at the tree it was in full bloom and beautiful and it has survived many wind storms without so much as losing a branch. So Scott called the guy from the city and he came out and told Scott if you look at the tree from the alley side you could see that is was decaying from the inside, and true enough there was some decay. We told the guy that we loved this tree and that if it fell in a storm it would land in our yard or the alley no house or power lines were in danger. He left and we thought we were ok. Then about 3 months later I got a notice in the mail that I was summons to criminal charges for a public nuisance because of my tree. We called the city again and they told us we needed to cut the tree down or hire a lawyer. I read the code and it was vague enough that the city had the power to make us cut the tree down.

 So sadly, Scott cut our tree down. We called the city back and sent them the pictures and thought that would be that. Not the case! I still needed to appear in court, but since we cut the tree down, and Scott got in trouble for not getting a permit to cut the tree down that the city was making us cut down, they were going to reduce the charges to a littering fine of $100.00. My court date was on a Friday and Friday’s are my busiest day at work so Scott asked if I could come on a different day and the city prosecutor agreed that I could come on Monday. (My name is on the house not Scott’s that is why I am getting the nasty letters not Scott.) 

(This is the alley that my tree is causing a public nuisance outrage!)

 I showed up at court Monday only to find out that there was a warrant issued, but not signed, for my arrest because I didn’t show up for court on Friday. (I could have been sent to tree jail?) We called the prosecutor and she said the judge must not have gotten the note she wrote on the case. So I sat through 2 hours of court with all the people getting DUI’s, driving without a license, public exposure, etc. when it was my turn I got chewed out by the judge, for not showing up on my court date. (Even though the prosecutor told the judge she gave me permission to come on Monday.) I took my chewed up ass and paid a fine for littering, something I have never done, I don’t litter! I was mad and upset all day, why does the city care about a tree in my yard, that I loved, that was leafing and beautiful? Why as a citizen do I not have any recourse on this? They told us when they came out to look at the tree that we would need to hire a tree specialists to see if they could patch the tree and fix the decay. We can’t afford that!  We lost the battle and our beautiful tree! The neighbor’s on the other hand now have a great view…until I plant another tree!

 (This is now the view from my backyard, into my neighbor's back yard that the tree blocked)

But the dead van and trailer did not get my neighbor in trouble even though it is listed as a nuisance according to the city ordinances!

 

VENTING DONE!!!

Ryan

Life is all about Ryan right now, we are gearing up for him to leave us for 2 years while he serves a mission for our church in Louisiana. We are really proud of Ryan it is not easy being a teenager today and somehow he has managed to stay above the fray. He set a goal of going on a mission and made decisions with that goal in mind. Last week we had the opportunity to go to the temple with him for the first time. It was a great experience for all of us and he is one step closer to leaving.  

  Ryan went to Pullman last weekend to visit his buddy and wife and do some biking.  On Saturday his buddy fell and ruptured his spleen, they were about halfway down the trail.  Ryan saw the crash and knew his buddy was hurt. Ryan assed the situation made sure nothing was broken and then made his buddy get up so Ryan could get him down the hill and to the hospital. Ryan would walk with his buddy draped over this shoulder down the trail a ways, set his buddy down to rest, run back up the trail and get the bikes, then carry his buddy down the hill until the buddy needed to rest again, go back up the trail and get the bikes, he did this several times until they came to a flat spot at the end of the trail and his buddy was able to sit on his bike and coast the rest of the way to the parking lot where his wife was helping to shuttle the bikes and guys up the hill. Once Ryan got his buddy loaded into the car and they were off to the hospital, Ryan had to hike all the way back to the top of the trail with both bikes because that is where his car was. He rode one of the bikes up the hill and then drove down and picked up the other one and headed to the hospital. They had to send his buddy to a bigger hospital in Spokane so Ryan and his buddy’s wife drove to Spokane, spent the rest of the day in the hospital. He drove home the next morning getting home in tome to eat dinner and attend the court of honor. Monday morning he had to get up early for work, and after work he hit the brick wall and passed out and slept all night. Yesterday I was reading a letter from his buddy’s brother who is on a mission, who is actually Ryan’s best friend, and the mom had told him about the accident. In his letter back he said, “I agree if I was in an emergency situation I would want Ryan Gordon with me” but I also agree that most of those emergency situations come because I am with Ryan Gordon! Not to self never go riding or skiing with Ryan Gordon! Watch out future companions of Ryan Gordon, he will be on a bike and he will be still doing crazy stuff on that bike even if he is wearing a shirt and tie.

Emotional High's and Low's

This week has been a roller coaster of emotional highs and lows. We were on such a high after Ryan’s court of honor, the next morning I had to go to court for my tree, that is another post. Then today we put our beloved dog Eddy down. He has been a part of our family for eleven years. He grew up with the kids. He slept with Katie until she left home, then he traded off between Ryan and Jayden’s room until last summer, and he has been sleeping with Ryan. When Ryan is gone he finds his way into Destina’s room. He looked forward to his twice daily walks on the trail behind the school with Scott, holding his leash between his teeth. Scott was stopped almost daily by someone to say what a pretty dog Eddy was. Eddy didn’t give the time of day to other dogs smaller than him but if a bigger dog came along he would try to pick a fight.  Scott would rein in the leash and apologize for Eddy’s behavior. 

This was pretty typical Eddy loved being around the boys.

He has been slowing down for the last couple of years, but the last 6 months he has gone downhill really fast. He has had a hard time breathing, his hip joints weren’t working right and he has been pretty miserable, it has been hard watching him suffer. We just about put him down a month ago but he must have heard us talking about it because he perked up and acted ok for a week or two. Then this last week we could just see it in his eyes that he was ready to go. He has not been able to sleep because when he is lying down he can’t breathe, but when he sits up for too long his legs give out on him.  He has been very clingy and needs to be right by someone all the time. We knew it was time for him to go, we Skyped with Jayden and Katie so they could say goodbye, we waited until Ryan was home from his biking trip so he could be there with Scott and Eddy.  We also wanted to do it before our trip so he would not have to be home alone. 

Our last family picture we wanted Eddy to be part of it.

 The last couple of days Scott or Ryan had to carry Eddy outside to go to the bathroom because he could not go up and down the steps. Scott spent the night last night building him a coffin, lining it with carpet so that Eddy would have a nice place to rest. Today at 11:00 Scott, Ryan and Kelsie were with Eddy as they put him to sleep. We have a spot picked out in our yard to bury him.  I didn’t think I would be so emotional about it, I have been joking for years about how nice it would be not to have to vacuum up dog hair, but Eddy was a great dog, we all loved him and we will all miss him. 

Ryan Overload

Since about January, I have been keeping a list of things to check off before Ryan leaves. I am getting close to the bottom of that list really fast. Tonight was one of those things that needed to be checked off. We had Ryan's Court of Honor tonight, I debated about doing one and then a few people talked me into having it, and I am so glad I did. It was a great evening celebrating Ryan, the room was packed and we all felt the love. Ryan is a great young man and I am so proud of him for working hard and accomplishing this huge task. I have pictures to come but I wanted to post this slideshow that our good friend put together for us, the first time I saw it I was almost bawling. Watching my children all grow up before my eyes was very emotional for me. We have had some tough times but we have also had some really great times and I hope that is what my children will remember.

3 months old!

Molly was 12 weeks last Wednesday, time for our little photo shoot. She is getting big, and growing out of all of her clothes. The 3 month clothes are just a little snug on her. She is making cute faces and smiling a lot. She likes to poop everywhere and is still spitting up randomly, usually all over Avrie. But she is cute as ever and we just love seeing her and are lucky to have her around a couple times a week!
Apparently she doesn't mind having her face cleaned off by the dog, and the dog really likes to give Molly kisses too.

Ryan

Ryan has a lot going on, he leaves in 40 days and he is trying to pack as much stuff in as he can before leaving. Last Sunday it was Seminary graduation, he shaved and cut his hair, he has been sporting the long shaggy look and I almost didn't recognize him. This weekend it is high school graduation, he has the ability to wear us down and get what he wants most of the time and this time it was to NOT walk at graduation. All of the girls didn't want to walk either but we made them. They all did running start, community college instead of going to the last 2 years of high school, so they were not really in touch with their friends or lack of friends in high school.  Ryan let us know earlier this year that he didn't want to walk and we gave in. So graduation will come and go and he will pick up his diploma next Tuesday, but he will not officially finish school until the following week.  At the end of the month we are having his Eagle Scout Court of Honor, we go on vacation and then he leaves 10 days later. He has a trip to Whistler planned this weekend, probably more fun then walking at graduation. A trip to Pullman to visit a friend, and as much biking as he can squeeze in. He still teases his sisters and they will miss that, he makes his second dinner around 10 pm each night, I will miss that, and he hangs out with Scott, Scott will miss that! Ryan will miss little Molly!

 Ryan with his Seminary teacher, and second mom! I am grateful beyond words for what she has done for Ryan and the great example she is.
 

Ryan will miss his truck...he will be selling it before he goes.

 Hard to get this kid to be serious, we will all miss his goofiness.

Avrie

Avrie is a funny one, she is so sweet and has a tender hart. She is growing so fast, literally she is a head taller than most of the kids in her class and growing like a weed. She is almost done with 3rd grade and looking forward to summer break and 4th grade. She loves learning, playing the piano and singing. She hates to clean her room! It can take forever to get her started, and then it is done in about 3 minutes because everything goes under the bed or in a drawer. I think Kelsie must have given her tips on how 9 year old's clean their room, she used to do the same thing, or maybe it was Katie! She goes to bed with a stack of books by her side and reads for about an hour before going to sleep. The other night I came to tuck her in and she was doing some light reading....

  She also had a great time playing volleyball this Spring it was fun that Kelsie was her coach, she is an awesome big sister.

Jayden

Jayden just finished his sophomore year, he completed and passed drivers ed, and will have his license in October. This was a pretty big deal for Jayden and I am really proud that he was able to accomplish this. He had a job last winter working for a ski shop and he saved enough money to pay for driver's ed, saving money has not always been easy for him so I am really proud that he was able to do that. He saved it for almost 4 months and had the exact amount needed! He finished school with decent grades, so he tells me, I haven't seen the report card yet, but I will take his word for it. He has been going hiking with his cousin and still hanging out with Katie and Jeremy on weekends when they can come and get him. We are excited to see him in a couple of weeks, he is maturing and turning into a great guy!  My sister is the best, she is even letting Jayden drive an old jeep she had. 

Jayden behind the wheel, a little scary....