Let’s go back in time, to several months ago. Brad was looking for a pair of Doc Martens to replace the ones he’d been wearing for like 14 or 15 years.  Rogan’s Shoes had them, so off he went to the store to discover that while they carry them, they did not have his size in stock, so they told him they could get them from another store and that they’d be in the store in a few days.  On the date that he was given, Brad called the store to check on the status. He was told that they were not in, that it would be another day or 2.  A couple of days later someone called him to inform him that the shoes were there and they’d hold them for xx amount of days.  He called after work that day to follow up and make sure the shoes were there, one person told him they were not, so he pressed for them to check and gave the information that he had received in the call.  Sure enough the shoes were there.

So off we went to get the Doc Martens from Rogan’s Shoes.  When we got there, we were again told the shoes were not there and could tell that the clerk couldn’t care less who was standing there. Brad pressed them to find the shoes, and they did.  Since we were there I decided I would buy some shoes as well.  I had a heck of a time getting a clerk to help me and they were so nonchalant and oblivious that I decided I didn’t need to give them my business. We got his shoes and left.

Fast forward to the end of June, all three boys needed new shoes. Not really wanting to go to Rogan’s because of my last experience I went anyway since I knew they had a really good selection.  I quickly found shoes for the older 2 boys, but while I found a suitable pair for Ryan, they did not have them in his size.  I spoke with a clerk who told me that they had them at another store in Beloit, WI approximately 180 miles away according to Google Maps.  He informed me they could have the shoes in the store within a week. I said no problem, requested that they send the shoes and left my name and number with them.  This was June 30, 2010.

On July 7, 2010 I called the store to see if the shoes had arrived, and was told that the shoes were not in the store.  Now I’m not a rocket scientist (although I am pretty smart ) but Beloit is not on the other side of the world, I can see no reason why the shoes shouldn’t have been there.  Ryan was upset that he didn’t have shoes, so found the same shoes on eBay, from a seller named skareparkofgreenville1 (Skate Park of Greenville). Using Buy-it-Now I checked out and had the shoes.  We had them in our home July 12, and a happy Ryan!

Today, July 22, 2010 I received a phone call from Rogan’s telling me that the requested shoes had arrived in the store.  I was completely surprised that I had received the call because I honestly believed that the store blew me off.  However, it is now 3 weeks after I was initially in the store and 2 weeks after I was promised I would have the shoes.  I called them to inform them that I already had the shoes since 3 weeks was a ridiculous amount of time to wait and that I was completely unhappy with their customer service. In the future I will not shop at Rogan’s and I suggest that if you’re reading this you avoid them as well.  Ridiculous that I can receive a pair of shoes from Greenville, SC (1000 miles away) in 5 days, that I couldn’t receive from a store/town in the SAME STATE!

Keep in mind that the average human walks at 3 mph. Those shoes could have walked from Beloit and been in my home in 60 hours or 2.5 days of walking at a normal pace, but yet couldn’t arrive at the store for 3 weeks (504 hours).

So Rogan’s I bid adieu to you, I will frequent your stores no more!

My original intent was to go alone, but the plan changed to the entire family coming.  We stayed with my inlaws in Poynette, where they hosted a gorgeous, fun party with many family members. It was an awesome time!

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I got the boys up to Devil’s Head Resort located in Merrimac, WI (about 30 miles north of Madison) this last weekend for a day of riding with my sister and her boyfriend.

I was a bit nervous, after such a long break, but it was just like riding a bike, it was awesome to be back in the saddle!

Have to mention that the boys have caught the bug and everyone can’t wait to get out again

Pics below:

Below are their school pics for this year.

We went to Chula Vista in Wisconsin Dells this year and were joined by my father, my sister Vanessa, and her boyfriend Jeff.  Then Brad’s father’s family, had their annual Christmas there as well, so we had all kinds of extended family and it was awesome!

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Enjoy the pics below.

Ashten and Ryan also received their birthday presents since they both have birthdays this week.

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The program was really cute and the boys did well.  Unfortunately as soon as we got there,  Brad was called into the plant for an emergency ERO test…what timing!

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Below are the photos.

At our house the roads had not been plowed yet, so our driveway was also not plowed (we have someone do it for us).  The power went out shortly after 8 am, which also meant we had no water.  The plow came through around 9:30ish and cleaned out the driveway, but with  no power it also meant we couldn’t get out of the garage (the door is HEAVY). The power came back on around 2pm, it was cold in the house by then around 62.  We still did not have cable for a couple more hours after that.

At any rate the boys and Cleveland had a great time in the snow.  View the pics below.