PLEASE, fence us in!!

Here are the fence phases....we are SO happy to have the fence now. The house is coming together. The front has a few changes from when we moved in.....gutters, painted door and shutters, fence, a tree.....the list goes on and on.....as does the backache! The dirt pile in front will magically transform into a raised flower bed come Springtime!! There weren't plans for a raised bed until we tried to plant the tree in the front and were "welcomed" by clay, clay, and more clay. Ugh.

Jumpin' around

When the old neighbors in Iowa City gave us the trampoline they also hooked us up with a tent that goes in it. Reagan went off to play with the neighborhood girls and left Brett sad and alone at home so I put the tent up for him. It was fun, but I wouldn't let them sleep in it that night....sorry kiddos.

While messing in the future flower garden in the front of the house we found a toad. The kids had fun capturing him and letting him free in the prairie area off the back of our yard. Brett didn't elect to carry him in his hands as he didn't want to get peed on....I SO remember that as a kid....catching toads and getting peed on....fun! Tonight Reagan and I spotted a tree frog on the front porch. I often find them eating up the bugs...yay for frogs and toads!!

WWII Veterans Honor Flight

Reagan's Girl Scout troop told us about the WWII Veteran's Honor Flight that was returning to New Bern last week. They wanted folks there to greet the men and their family members as they returned from Washington D.C. where they visited the monument that was completed in their honor for fighting for our freedoms so many years ago.

I decided that it was something we should all witness. I figured there would be some people there but was FLOORED when the traffic was at a stand still waiting to enter the local airport! Hundreds of people were there! It was simply put, amazing! We lined up with our flags with the others and listened to the Marine Corps Band play patriotic tunes as we waited. The flight was late, go figure, put when the band started to play 'God Bless America' everyone turned to the band and started singing.....again....AMAZING!

The kids were a bit clueless but we explained that there would be men that looked like grandpas coming out of the airport after their trip to see a monument made in their honor for fighting for our freedoms many years ago in World War II.....just like Daddy and the other Marines do now. They were excited to see the veterans and I made sure to point out their expressions of pride, honor, and just plain feeling special. They each got to meet and shake hands with a couple of the men....Reagan stated she was never going to wash her hand because she had touched a hero, how incredibly cute. The experience was as rewarding for us and it was for the veterans.

Nap time snack for Brady

So I let Brady take a ball to bed with him one day at naptime......this is what was there when I checked on him......won't do that again.

uh, no thanks....

Yep, a snake....the third snake, actually.....
The neighbors, Jasson and Amy have had 3 snake sitings in the last month....I'm hoping it's they saw this same snake 3 times. This is a baby rat snake...yuck. To make things worse, it was in their garage! Brett naturally thought it was cute....SERIOUSLY, BRETT! This prompted yet another lecture on reality vs. pretend. His comment...."the ones and the zoo and science center were nice, we could touch them." Ok, Brett.....the snakes the ladies are holding at the zoo can only be petted there at the zoo. Any snake you see at our house or in the yard are DANGER...no questions asked. Boys!
FYI, Jasson killed the little sucker. Blaha......makes you want to visit, huh?

MACS-2 Family Day

Brett with Brady. Brady wasn't comfortable standing and walking on the "moving" floor.

Cheeeeese!!

Addison, who wabbles when she walks anyways, had no trouble walking in the bouncey house at the MACS-2 family day picnic.

Mommy turns 33.

Needless to say Addison and Brady enjoyed the birthday cake and homeade ice cream!

Trees!

Brett digging the hole for our Royal Empress tree. This tree is said to grow over 15 feet in a year! We're anxious to watch it grow like a bean stalk in our front yard!

Reagan, Jaymasson, and Brett packing down the dirt.

Daddy and Brett with the planted tree.

Reagan, Brett (Bread, as Jaymasson calls him, lol), and Sophia with the tree.

Muskogee Crepe Myrtle in the back yard.

Our main goal was a fence....we realized it would be silly to do a fence, THEN build a shed on the property line and extend the patio....so projects three and four had to come before project #1. While prepping for the fence to come I had to call the *811* one call for utility lines to be sure we weren't digging in the areas that had lines. That said, all of the lines in the front were marked I felt it was silly to not purchase the two trees we wanted for the front so we could dig while the lines were marked and while the "permission" was granted for digging.

We had been looking on the fast growing trees website at a a Royal Empress and a Muskogee Crepe Myrtle. Both have purple flowers, and grow fast. The Muskogee also has fall color, which was desirable for me.

As we began digging for the Royal Empress we discovered the front yard is essentially, clay.....nearly impossible to dig...ugh. Nothing is ever easy. We were able to dig out a big enough hole and back filled it with good dirt from the backyard and some compost. The Empress is a hearty tree so we're hopeful the reviews are right and it'll do fine there.

As we started to dig hole number two it was just as crappy....there were also a couple utility lines were were dodging so the Muskogee got moved to the backyard to shade the a/c....the ground is MUCH better back there.

The rest of the outside plantings will wait until the spring....except for a few mums....I can't help myself.....I can't stand this blank yard! We're getting there.

Shed project

Scott and the neighbor, Jasson, starting on the shed!

Walls, we have walls.

Walls and a roof!!! Getting there.

Shingles, trim, a ramp, a door, and starting to paint!

Brett was a good helper on the painting.

Finished! The original plan was to have it match the house but what fun is a tan shed? I plan to put sunflowers on that left side then my garden so what do you think would be a better back drop, red or tan.....red wins! We're not sure if we broke any rules by painting it red but I guess we'll see.

This house we live in is huge, yet, lacked the storage space we're used to. Scott and the neighbor, Jasson constructed shelves in the garage to help with that but we really wanted/needed something to accommodate the mower and outside toys. So began the dream of a shed.....then we priced them.....nearly $2000 for a shed that is already built. Holy buckets! At the same time we were considering a fence....nearly $4000, and the patio extension and had just purchased gutters for the front of the house. Yikes, says the bank account! After much thought, debate, and mind changing we concluded that the fence should be done professionally and that Scott could build the shed himself. Plan set!

The men had a wonderful time building the shed. I, however, and probably Amy next door were getting less and less impressed as the days turned to weeks of working on the project from the moment they got home from work until dark. Needless to say, I am thrilled that Scott built the shed and that he got to build the shed but I'm even MORE thrilled that it's done!

Patio Extension

The old patio and the new area all dug out. We first were going to have it poured and realized how much $$$ that was so, decided to purchase 40 bags of concrete to mix ourselves.....realized was a backache and pain in the rump that would be. SO,...............
Scott learned of this Concrete to Go place that is for small jobs......back went the concrete bags.....that was fun for Scott.....all was well until we realized...........
we'd need a second load. This left me stamping the concrete alone while the men went to get more concrete mixed before the transition area dried to much...ugh.

It turned out in the end.....there are some rough spots but all in all we're happy with it. We intentionally left holes for a future project....a pergola.....yep, Scott's thrilled!

Many thanks to our down the street neighbor, Steve, who in Scott's words, "was a lifesaver". He even missed his beloved Georgia's football game to help out. Such a good man.

Labor Day with the Kling Family

Brady surrounded by girls....what a life!

Daddy in the pool with the kiddos. Good Daddy.

Pool time fun. I think we'll have a pool at our next house. How fun!

Brett was in heaven!!! He must have jumped in, got out, ran, and jumped in again about a million tmes!!

Reagan and her buddy Stephanie.

Reagan, Stephanie, and Rachel on the paddle boat.

Scott and Brett went to check out the lake too! They had fun catching fish from the boat.

Haley and Addison chillin' in the hammock eating puppy chow! Yum!

Two buds. Reagan and Stephanie had a great time re-connecting.

Here's my plug to Black Iguanarita's!!! Yum, yum, yummy!

Addison enjoying a snack with Dad by the pool.

Brett took a break from the pool for a scotcharoo bar!

Mommy and Addison playing in the hammock.

Brett too!

"Hellooooo.....can someone come give me a boat ride? My feet can't reach!"

I had fun trying to take pictures fast enough to capture the dragon flies!

Brett and Ms. Kelly fishing.

Skypen' with Gary.

Yuuuummmmm.....Ms. Kelly's weakness.....Klondike bars! LOL

Over the Labor Day weekend we traveled to Chesapeake, VA to visit our friends the Klings. We met them in Japan. They have four girls including a set of twins. Their youngest, Stephanie, is Reagan's buddy from Japan. It had been 2 1/2 years since we said goodbye to them at the Shin station in Japan. They picked right back up where they left off and had a great time playing over the weekend. They've been pen pals since we left Japan. I've enjoyed keeping in touch with my friend Kelly as well. Facebook makes the miles seem like nothing at all!!! Kelly's husband, Gary, is working in Tampa, FL now so he wasn't able to be there. We were able to say hello via Skype though! The drive is only 2 hours and 40 minutes so TOTALLY doable!! We're happy to be closer to them.

The black iguanas......my friend Kelly's college friend, Curtis invented these margaritas that go in a pouch, much like a Capri sun....talk about genius!! In Japan we had them cuz he would send them to Kelly there. As a surprise I contacted him to get some to take there. He said he "owed" her some anyways and sent me a case of rita's and some t shirts and other fun things!! She was totally surprised!! Yippee! Thanks Curtis!!