Full Swing of Summer

The last month has been a whirlwind.  

Just before David had his shoulder surgery we finished up the fire-pit.

WE LOVE IT

When Dave was feeling a little better, he and I put together this cool wood holder....

Becky brought Evan up on Memorial Day Weekend, and we went on a hike to Buzzard's Lookout.

The views are amazing

And we stopped at the Chapel in the Hills.

Evan spent two weeks with us!

It went by so fast!  We went to the pool, a chuck wagon supper, the fountains, and the boys did a week of tennis lessons together.  

Since he went home we had our yard sale, VBS, and another home visit for the foster parenting process.    The rest of the month should be better, with just tennis lessons in the morning, and the rest of the day free.  David's recovery is going great, and I think he will make a full recovery since he takes his PT and stretches seriously.

I'll check in soon!

Finished Fence

Last week we got the fence completed.  It was nearly done after the weekend, minus a few screws on the interior pickets.... The fence was actually just a two weekend job, and wasn't too bad. 

AND NOW IT IS DONE.

We took down the last side of chain link, Dave pulled out the posts.

We are going to remove the lilacs... but after they bloom because they are so pretty.

Our neighbor gave us forty pavers he didn't want, and we used them to make a firepit!

We still need to rock around it, and spruce it up. But the fires are fantastic... and we have a huge burn pile!

This past weekend Dave got the new dirt for the three new garden beds.  I have lots planted now and I can't wait to see how it goes having so much more garden space! 

Fencing

We have been working on our fencing as time has allowed.

Which sadly hasn't been much!

Dave had planned to take two days off to make a four day weekend so we could get lots done with such nice weather, but instead he had to work swings last week!   It was a huge bummer.  He did manage to get several of the holes dug before work, doing a few per day.

Sadly we hit an unexpected sprinkler line.  So Dave had to learn how to fix it.  I'm glad we know how now, and our neighbor Duane was a big help.

So last weekend we got all of the holes dug and posts cemented in.

We had a little cement left over so we put a cement threshold where our gate will be.  Then I got a little crazy.  Sadly, our weather has been terrible this week and we haven't got much done.  We did go get the pickets, which was a big ordeal, borrowing a trailer and such.  Several sections do have the 2x4s up now too.  We need more screws though, and the weather is supposed to be terrible tomorrow, so I think Dave is going to make a trip for supplies and possibly build the gate in the garage.  Hopefully this weekend will be better or even just decent weather and we can get lots done. 

During this week of no fence progress we did start a project inside. This gate has does not keep Bonnie in.  She either jumps it, or just stands up and pulls it open with her paw.  Then she decides to go get into the trash, and drag bags of yucky crap upstairs and under my bed.  However, if we shut the door all the way the room gets so stinky! 

I have been doing lots of Pinterest searching and found lots of people put their dogs under their stairs!  So we made a sort of  tall dutch door and Bonnie cannot jump it or open it!  We still need to paint it, and I want to paint the walls inside and make it a nice room for the girls.  It's a work in progress, but it's keeping her in, even if it's ugly until the fence is completed.  

And luckily this crappy weather gave me the time stuck indoors to get some deep cleaning done! I've organized our closet, got the heaps of donations into a bag to be dripped off, cleaned the entryway closet,  cleaned under the powder room and kitchen sinks, degreased my kitchen cabinets, cleaned the toaster crumbs, and the flatware tray!  Seriously this place is gross.  If it truly snows again tomorrow I should wash my curtains.  Or maybe I'll just ignore them a few more months.

I have quilts to make you know! 

Since We've Been Home

Since we've been home we have been getting back into our routine, gearing up for yard work and doing the normal stuff.  Before we left we knew Dave was probably going to be having shoulder surgery this spring, so we jumped right into a project.  

The front porch..... 

.....Remember when we moved in?

(Wasn't tiny Nate just so darn adorable?!)

Then we painted the house.....

Then we painted the floor boards...

But now the railing was rotting and peeling, and it was time for an overhaul.

So one Friday late last month I took the railing down.

The best way to get Dave to commit to a project is to just go ahead and start demo.

Once the railing was gone and he realized we were going to have to get started we hatched a plan.

Of course I already had the plan, but I had to make it seem like it was a joint decision.

 I wanted to take this opportunity to get a new front door.  Our door shut funny, and would often pop open, which was awful... and scary.  Also, it didn't have a deadbolt, and with all the windows it always felt like an invitation for thieves (of course we live in a great neighborhood, otherwise it would have been an issue.)  So I talked Dave into learning to install a new door.  Gary was over to help.

After it was in I picked nearly the exact blue color our old door was to paint the new door.

I'm that boring.

But I also talked Dave into a storm door... and a real good full door kind to boot!  

I love it!  

The door is almost always open now and the dogs and cat love it!

Then I talked Dave into not just replacing the porch floorboards, but switching them out with a composite.  This is because Bonnie is usually acting like a wild animal to get off the porch into the truck/  to run after a rabbit/  to run free while being yelled at/ or launch herself and the leash holder into an enthusiastic walk.  So our last porch had some nasty nail marks.  I knew we'd be re-staining wood EVERY YEAR because of the dog.

Dave had a Monday off for some reason, so he removed the old boards.

And the new boards went on really quickly. 

....Like in an hour.

He had to wait until the weekend to make the new much longer front step, but it was worth the wait.

Our porch is real low, and doesn't require a railing, so we decided to skip it.  

I have my eye on THESE CHAIRS for the front porch, but they are spendy, so they will have to wait until they fit into the budget better.  I did buy a nice welcome mate though, and we have new porch lights to put up sometime.... 

.... But now we are moving into our BIG summer project but with a very near deadline..... 

Fencing the side of our corner lot.

After this is accomplished the other things on my list are:

*remove old chain link

* remove lilac bushes after they bloom

* put in a fire-pit

*put in horseshoe pits

* make round flowerbeds under the front and side ash trees

* put a flower ring around the front lamp post

* put in corner flowerbeds in our front yard

* move all of the impacted sprinkler heads 

* remove all of the rocks from the front flowerbed and redo it

* talk Dave into a hot tub

* make privacy screens for said hot tub

That's all.

Our last beach day

We decided to spend our last day at the beach.  We rented chairs and an umbrella and settled in for the day.  

The weather was perfect.

We went to Cheeseburger Waikiki for dinner.  Then walked around a little. 

There was a big fireworks show as part of the Honolulu Festival, so we webt to the beach to enjoy it.

Then we had to pack. 

We will miss vacation.

And the beach

And no cooking/cleaning/dishes.

Beach day

Today we spent the entire day at the beach.




This time Dave rented a kayak for an hour.  He and Nate saw sea turtles and had lots of fun paddling around.



We enjoyed the Mongolian Grill tonight for dinner, and time on the beach as the sun went down.

It was a great day.

Beach day

We spent the day at the beach.

It was a fantastic day.