Monday, August 31, 2009

At Least Five Hundred...

This year Wes planted a few things in the garden for some curb appeal. The result has been pretty good- We have huge healthy plants loaded with tomatoes. At least sixty tomatoes per plant and we have eight plants! UNFORTUNATELY- they're all still green as can be. We have not picked one ripe tomato yet.

I'm sure that they will all ripen at the same time. Isn't that one of the clauses in Murphy's Law??? So- friends and family, be ready to come pick tomatoes to your hearts content!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

YUMMY TREATS!

Wes went to California on Friday night to watch Spark-E Boy run. He took Hunter too. This was the second time in two weeks that he was within 25 miles of Disneyland and did not take me. So...to make up for it, look at what he brought back for me this time!

FUDGE from Marceline's in Downtown Disney!
My two favorite kinds from Disneyland- Chocolate Nut and Tiger Butter! I do have to wonder though- If Katelyn had not requested fudge as well, would he have gone to Downtown Disney just for me? I'd like to think he still would! Thanks Wes! I'll enjoy each piece. Hopefully, this will last until I go myself.

A Week of the Fair

Around here, the week before school is fair week. (a.k.a. a week that I don't have to cook!) We were all ready for school to start on Monday- so we played all week. We wandered booths- bought a few bracelets from Larry's sister, said hello to the people that move away and still come back for the fair, and got a free supply of pencils from vendors for the school year. Why the Littles collect pencils is beyond my reach of understanding-

Ryan and Katelyn had their fill of Farm Bureau hot dogs- all week. Ryan was playing shy at the time of these photos.

Here they are on the dragon coaster. (Ryan is still being camera shy!) We only allow a few rides at the fair. First of all they are way expensive @ $3.00 a ride each kid. Second, they are way dirty and pretty scary looking- they get hauled in on semi trucks and put up in the matter of a few hours. How safe can they really be??? AND- have you seen the characters that operate the rides????

Here they come around the corner...



Notice anything strange??? Where did the glasses go????
Here they are! The guy operating the ride was less than happy to get them for us...we had to ask twice.
Glasses recovered, Katelyn and Ryan pose for a picture with Warren. Doesn't he look happy to be out in the heat???? Dax was with his dad-we didn't see him all day.
Here's Hunter- working in the lamb barn. As the younger kids came back with their lambs from the auction- Hunter helped put lambs back in pens and put ribbons back up on the banner.
We needed a few pictures of Hunter with his lamb for his record book. He did not want his picture taken. I kept taking pictures until he smiled- (It took Wes threatening the loss of his license to get him to smile!) Before long, Hunter actioned his lamb- we ate dinner and went home early. Another year at the fair over! Boy are we tired!

Monday, August 24, 2009

Today was a special day...

Dinner for Dad...fried shrimp and cheesy potatoes.
A present for him- Big Bang Theory Season 1 DVD
Dessert- homeade chocolate cake- grandma's recipe. One circle piece from the middle for Dad.
Disneyland- where he takes us to have fun.
Yes!, We love him!
Happy Birthday Wes!

Thank you for all you do for us!

Katelyn enjoying the chocolate frosting a little too much. Ryan was sleeping- he was an ornery bear when we got home. He went to bed for throwing a fit and didn't want to get up and join the party.

Dad's favorite show and Katelyn's too! Can we watch it all tonight?

Just Another House Update~

Quick update-sorry ahead of time for more pictures than words... The tile is grouted in bathrooms and where the cabinets will sit- brown grout in the kid's bathrooms.
Black grout in the kitchen and entry areas. Black in the master bath as well. We started with brown for everything- Wes was really sweet when I asked him to remove the bit of grout he'd already put in the tile in the kitchen. The brown wasn't the same color as what was on the bag. WOW was it really not working in the kitchen! Black is much better.

The cabinets are installed in the basement kitchenette. They were almost done in the kitchen- Wes showed up and remembered that the heat and duct guys still need to cut the vent for the downdraft on the range top...Uh,Oh another oops in planning by the site manager. It's a good thing Wes is on top of things!

Just a close-up of the wood grain.


The built-in bookcase in the library, minus the shelves.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Paint is just about done!

Here we are the day before the painting started- tile and windows masked.Ryan was worried that this was his new curtains!
Here's the paint all done- just a few touch-up spots left. The painter didn't want to do semi-gloss-BUT- that's what I asked for. He did a really good job- it turned out great!

He finished the railing as well- I LOVE IT!


This is the tile in the master bath- I love this too! Wes is grouting this weekend- the site manager had arranged to put in the cabinets before the grout. Wes set him straight rather quickly. I hope Ryan and Katelyn behave so that I can help too!The cabinet guys showed up and dropped of half of the cabinets- minus the doors! They pretty much fill the kitchen and the family room. This is the built-in for my walk-in closet. I LOVE the cherry wood! Wes would have preferred oak- I'm so lucky to have a sweet husband who lets me pick these things without too much flack! We're almost there... Can't wait to have you over to check out the new place!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Finish Work Before Painting

The finish work guys were at the house. In addition to working on the base boards, hanging doors and working on the stair railing, they managed to bump a hole in the ceiling downstairs and break tile. Wes was not a happy camper prying up broken tile and scraping the thin set from the hardi-backer. They've almost finished the railing-
The closets are ready for paint too! It's so close to being finished- it just seems to be getting slower! Does that even make any sense????

Monday, August 17, 2009

We Saw the Sign!

Imagine our surprise last week to see that a sign had been put up in front of the house. We wouldn't have minded a sign had they asked first...BUT SOLD????? I wasn't aware that our home was ever FOR SALE!!!!! Wes sent Hunter out to knock it over. What was the site manager thinking????? Did he really think this would be OK????The guy doing the siding packed up and left Friday...He didn't finish the posts for the covered porch. Another oversite by the site manager I'm sure. Anyway- the siding guy did a terrific job. It will look even better when the posts are done!

A little oops happened when they put the water meter in last week. The phone company only marked one of the phone lines- the second was cut while digging for the meters. Everyone south of our home was without a phone for awhile-good thing most people have cell phones!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Tile Progress

Wes, Kelsey and Hunter just about have the tile finished. They are working on the tile in the master bath and the small tiled area in the downstairs family room where the snack bar is. It's hard to tell the color with all of the thin set dust all over. This is from the corner of the dining area looking out to the entry.
Kelsey and Hunter did this bathroom all by themselves. Kelsey is really good at tiling...so good she could probably do it for a living. She has been a great help to Wes. Thanks Kels!

The Writing on the Walls

Wes took Katelyn with him to work on the tile. To entertain her, he handed her a pencil. She thought since the sheetrock guys had drawn cartoons on the walls that she should too... It is really cute, BUT...When she writes on the walls after we move in, Wes will be doing the scrubbing!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Summer Picnic

I'm very lucky to work for a company who thinks that it is important to spend time together as families. Our summer picnic this year was very nice. We had Garret's dutch oven dinners (usually only a treat we get at fair time) YUM! They had a giant slip and slide which Ryan and Katelyn spent most of the time on. We played Bingo and I won Mickey Mouse Coasters...what could be better????Ryan making a run on the slip and slide.Keelan attempting to slide along like an inch worm!Katelyn (always the ham) making her slide look good. She was the only one who cared what she looked like in pictures.One long sweet slide! I think I'll be investing in one of these tarps at the hardware store. HOURS of entertainment!
Ryan jumping over the wall of the blow-up obstacle course.
Katelyn sliding down the obstacle course giant slide.

A dragonfly decided to be Paul's new best friend. It stuck with him for quite awhile. (Paul is Tina's husband!)

One of the guys we work with is in the band that played...The name of the band is Judgemental and they were very good! They won the battle of the bands a few weeks ago at the Relay for Life."Judgemental"
They play music like Godsmack,Weezer and Linkin Park.

Jake and his sweet guitar. Ryan wants one just like it when he grows up. Oh joy! Good thing we sound proofed the walls in the master bedroom!


Friday, August 7, 2009

Last Day of Swim Lessons

Ryan and Katelyn had great fun on their last swim day. They decided to fight over one pair of goggles. Katelyn was willing to take turns and "share" the goggles. Ryan was not- this resulted in one huge hissy fit from Ryan.

Lovely, isn't it? Don't you wish your kids could throw a fit like this?

...And these are the super sweet goggles that they were fighting over. WOW! I wish I could wear those!

This is their friend Mackenzie celebrating when she made it across the pool pretty much all by herself. Great job girl!

Here is Katelyn climbing the slide- If I hadn't filled my memory card at that point, we'd have pictures of her actually going down the slide! There's always next year. Katelyn thinks that the swimming pool should be open all year. I'll bet she'd change her mind come October!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Swimming Lessons

Ryan and Katelyn are taking swim lessons again this summer. This is their second year- each session is eight days- 45 minutes a lesson. When they get home, they are absolutely beat! Today was the first day I was able to watch their lesson- and tomorrow is their last day. Debbie is really great to make sure that they get to attend cool activities like swimming. I don't know what I'd do without her. Here's Katelyn enjoying a little downtime at the side of the pool. She's anxiously awaiting her turn to swim across the pool. Monkey-Airplane-Solider-she chants this all the time trying to remember what to do with her legs in the water.Katelyn doing the freestyle across the pool. Much improved from last year- she actually makes it almost halfway across the pool before taking a breath. Last year she looked more like a drowning rat!
This is Ryan doing a front float. He's so excited- he learned how to do a front somersault in the water! Very impressive. This kid has no fear of the water! He loves to go to swim lessons!Ryan loves to go down the slide during free time. I missed his best slide of the day- too slow with the camera. He actually tried to go down backward and ended up doing a backwards flip halfway down the slide. It took some convincing to get him to go down again!