You know it's time to clean your refrigeratror when....

your veggies start talking to one another.






Actually, the girls went to a make and take story time and this was what they created. Thankful for the cool weather as their creations will last longer.

A Day at the Zoo

Reagan has been drawing up a storm lately so I thought you might enjoy a couple of her most recent works.

Flamingos


The Lion and the Jaguar


Self Portrait

Things we learned while residing our house ourselves

1. It will take longer than you expect.
2. Rent the scaffolding on a monthly rate (see #1).
3. Have it bid out by a contractor. It may be cheaper when all is said and done.
4. Your kids will love having a siding store (see picture #1 below).
5. When all is said and done, we surpisingly had very little waste. So far most of our waste has fit weekly into our little 11 gallon trash can. Pallets are being burned by a neighbor in bonfires. Old vinyl siding is going up to Bill's dads house. Scrap ends of new siding so far have ended up in siding store (see #4).
6. No matter how well you plan, you will always have the hottest, most humid weather of the year while you are siding.
7. Don't forget to pull the doorbell wire through the new siding or door jam. Good thing they now make wireless doorbells!
8. Remove window screens before tearing off the old siding (especially the ones you rescreened last year).
9. Picking up nails/staples with a magnet is the same as vacuuming the lawn.
10. It is possible to side your entire house with a broken wrist that is just taped and have it heal well (see picture #2). (Bill broke his wrist the first night of starting this project when he fell after grabbing a bees/hornets hive by accident. He didn't go to the doctor until today (3 weeks later). Doctor was impressed. No cast. Needs to make an appt. with an orthopedic specialist to make sure there won't be any long term problems.)





It is almost done. We are thankful for Bill's boss being understanding and allowing him to take 3 weeks off to get as far as he did. The scaffolding should come down this weekend with mainly just touch up stuff, painting trim, hanging lights and installing wireless doorbell (see #7) remaining. After that, it's inside to stain the back door, insulate and trim both the front and back doors.

Aloha

The girls asked to see a picture of me in my wedding dress the other day. So I said what if I just put it on. They squealed..."Yeah"! Well with a little apprehension (especially after 11 years and 2 kids, my body qutie shaped the way it used to be), I put it on this morning. Bill's comment...it's time to go back to Hawaii! Reagan's comment..."WOW". Gabby just smiled and giggled.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope you all have a safe and wonderful 4th of July. We will celebrate the birthday of our country and the freedoms that we enjoy because of our forefathers who founded this country by going to a parade, having hotdogs, smore's and watching fireworks.

Happy 4th of July!

When the girls are in control of the camera....

While on the phone, the girls found the camera and started taking pictures. Here are a few of their photos.


Mom on the phone by Reagan


What Gabby does best by Reagan


Boy you have a long tongue by Gabby

Bill's vineyard and Girls doing their thing

Over the past few years, Bill has made several batches of homemade raspberry wine and some hard apple cider. Some good, some not so good. This spring he got the bug to try plain wine. So what do you need for wine? Grapes. Bill planted 13 grape vines this spring (the grower sent an extra one) on the hill in our back yard. One night a deer came along and pulled one out of the ground, probably thinking that he found a tasty treat. Bill replanted it. Then to prevent the deer from getting the rest of them, he put 3 foot cages, fence posts (you know the green metal ones used on farms) and wire around them to keep the deer out. He did lose the one that the deer pulled out. Our lawn has never looked so great in that corner of the backyard (it's the only part that gets watered daily--maybe its time for in-ground sprinklers). So how many grapes do you need to make a bottle of wine?

May need to click on the pictures below to see the details.

This is the vineyard


There are grapes already on


Salsa/Taco Salad Garden


Much more work without the snow


Yep, I think we need to change the oil in this baby