Before and After.

I believe that I have shown this picture before but it is a shot from our appraisal when we bought this house. Last night, Steve and I looked at it and are amazed that we saw potential in this place. We both agreed that it must have been God because with 10 mnutes of being on the property we knew we needed to put in an offer.

Here is a view from approximately the same spot. We now have a play structure out there that blocks getting a picture from the same spot.

It looks a little different these days.
It is getting more and more usable each day. We are looking forward to some fun family and friend BBQ's back here this summer and for summers to come.

We spend a lot of time around the firepit already and we used it this last winter at times. Having a fire back here makes it possible to use this space more often, even when it's cold.

When we sold our last house it was very hard. It was our first home and we had picked out most everything as it was built. 4 of our 6 children joined our family in that house. I have always had a difficult time leaving houses. I know that you take your memories with you but I am sentimental when it comes to homes I suppose. And I think that's the key. For me, each place is not just a house, it's a home and that makes it harder to say goodbye when it's time to move on. We are slowly making this place our home and there is no place I would rather be.

I'm thinking baths are in order.

Well, if our dog isn't going to use it then they might as well play in it.

No fear.

With all of the sprucing up going on around here, the roof was high on the list of things to do. We have a lot of tall oak trees around here and they drop branches and "stuff" all year long. We didn't want any of that blowing off onto the newly cleaned up and restained deck. Steve is still recovering and needs to be careful with repetitive motion.

The twins practically begged to be able to do that job. They wanted to do it so badly and Steve felt they were old enough so up they went.

At one point, I thought I might pass out while watching them as I do not appreciate their excitement for being up there. Prayer was my job the entire time they were up there.

They had a great time obviously.

Quite frankly, they looked too comfortable for my taste. But I can't complain. I now am the proud owner of a clean roof and my kids love that they got to do this job.

What a weekend!

We have all been working very hard getting our yard done up for the graduation party so Friday night we let the kids get in the hot tub. We haven't had it on but the water was about 75-80- degrees and it was warm outside. The kids couldn't wait to get in. Here are some faces to enjoy.

We thought Chloe might enjoy a dip as well but she was less receptive. More yard pics from the weekend to come soon!

Just another manic Friday.

It's not all that bad actually but it very busy in our house these days. We are getting ready for another graduation party for one of Steve's sisters and it's in our backyard this time. No pressure of course. We work really well with deadlines so this is great motivation to get some projects finished. The big one this week is the step around the deck. No small task with 26 supports to cut out but Steve is doing a fantastic job. The surgeon cleared Steve to do more activity which he was thrilled to hear. He has been waiting to start this project until his shoulder was ready. He got sidelined yesterday though by a cold and is not feeling very well right now. We are hoping it is short lived and he will be good as new in a day or two.

By the end of the weekend we should have a nice step the entire length of the deck. It will be nice to exit the deck anywhere but it will also provide great over flow seating for when we have larger groups of people over. The kids and I are hoping to finish school for the day this morning and then we'll head to out to clear the entire deck for pressure washing this evening. We would like to have everything looking it's best for the graduation party.

If all goes well I might even get my garden in this weekend. As my mom always says, "We shall see!"

I am not a hippie.

Last year for Steve's birthday two of our girls bought him a tie-dye kit. He was very excited and we have wanted to have a day to do the project. Since Steve's birthday is around the corner again, we thought we better get on it. The kids have wanted to make matching family t-shiorts for a long time. It makes it easier to find each other and count kids when we are on field trips and or just out and about when we have matching shirts.

The process wasn't very complicated.

The kids each got to help squeeze dye and they all chose their own colors and design.

Everyone could NOT wait to see what they looked like when we took them out of their plastic bags the next day.

We let the older ones use the dye themselves.

Middle ones had a little help.

We think they turned out great and they were a nice colorful addition to the yard for awhile while they dried after being rinsed.

And we made one more fun family memory.

Necessity is the mother of invention.

This morning, right before lunch we decided to plant a planter with flowers and our raised bed with salad greens. The hose doesn't stretch to these two areas so we were using a watering can to water. We were being very careful not to drown the seeds and newly planted flowers.

Lillie said that she would be right back and this is what she came back with.

I was so impressed! It was the perfect solution for this planter. The plants got watered and I am happy to report that no drownings occurred. I love that my kids have lots of opportunities to think creatively.

We also got this whole bed planted in lettuce, green onions and radishes. But for now, all you can see is the pretty marigolds we planted at each end. It won't be long before we see a bed full of salad greens. I just love this time of year.