For decorations, I opted for a large balloon chandelier over his bed. (Bed made by his nice mama). We celebrated with BBQ and cake in the evening to round it out.
Monday, February 15, 2016
And Taylor turns 16
How can my first born already be 16? It cannot be possible, but somehow it is.
For decorations, I opted for a large balloon chandelier over his bed. (Bed made by his nice mama). We celebrated with BBQ and cake in the evening to round it out.
Oh, and he got his official driver's license. He did not want me to take a picture of him, so we had a discussion about how this is an important part of a teenagers life and that I should take one so he would remember. That didn't convince him. I'll get a pic of him soon... I hope.
For decorations, I opted for a large balloon chandelier over his bed. (Bed made by his nice mama). We celebrated with BBQ and cake in the evening to round it out.
Happy 20 years!
Scott and I celebrated our 20 year anniversary a few months early. 20 years. Wow!
We had a fantastic time lazing around Kauai and looking for the best fish tacos. I'm proud to say, we were very competent in both areas.
Here's to another 20 years with this wonderful man.
We had a fantastic time lazing around Kauai and looking for the best fish tacos. I'm proud to say, we were very competent in both areas.
Here's to another 20 years with this wonderful man.
Cabin update
Well it wouldn't be right, not to have another update on what hasn't been done up there right? We are so close to getting done enough to pass a final, we can almost taste it.....almost. Another 6 months and we should get there! ;)
The good news, is that our builder has managed to find a stone mason that would be willing to go up and do our indoor fireplace. Although it doesn't need to be complete for an inspection, it would be nice to get it done so we can use the fireplace.
The bad news is that all of the stone is under at least 3 feet of snow and needs to be moved inside and dried so that it can be put onto the fireplace. That sounds like a good project for the boys, so up we went.
The first pile was somewhat easy to access and after a bit of digging we uncovered it, made a line and moved it right into the house. The second pile was a bit harder because it had been knocked over and scattered last fall. We had to dig around a bit more to find it, but we did. And now we wait and see how long it takes for him to actually make it up there and finish.
The good news, is that our builder has managed to find a stone mason that would be willing to go up and do our indoor fireplace. Although it doesn't need to be complete for an inspection, it would be nice to get it done so we can use the fireplace.
The bad news is that all of the stone is under at least 3 feet of snow and needs to be moved inside and dried so that it can be put onto the fireplace. That sounds like a good project for the boys, so up we went.
The first pile was somewhat easy to access and after a bit of digging we uncovered it, made a line and moved it right into the house. The second pile was a bit harder because it had been knocked over and scattered last fall. We had to dig around a bit more to find it, but we did. And now we wait and see how long it takes for him to actually make it up there and finish.
2 out of 3
Wow! It's been awhile since I've been on here. Even though I didn't plan this, it has been quite nice to have a blogging break for awhile. But, I'm back for now.
Since my HOA position has slowed down significantly lately, I have been able to finish 2 out of the 3 projects that have been on my list.
The first was to organize our storage room. It has been a mess for awhile and I only added to the chaos by pretty much tossing stuff in there, knowing it was on the docket to get cleaned. I took a few days a week or so ago, bought some more shelves and made it very neat and clean. Wow! I have so much more room! Check.
The second project was to made some flannel twin size quilts for the boys. I really haven't bought much for the cabin at all, but when I saw these sheets on sale, I knew they would be perfect to cut up and make into some simple tied quilts. Check.
Since my HOA position has slowed down significantly lately, I have been able to finish 2 out of the 3 projects that have been on my list.
The first was to organize our storage room. It has been a mess for awhile and I only added to the chaos by pretty much tossing stuff in there, knowing it was on the docket to get cleaned. I took a few days a week or so ago, bought some more shelves and made it very neat and clean. Wow! I have so much more room! Check.
The second project was to made some flannel twin size quilts for the boys. I really haven't bought much for the cabin at all, but when I saw these sheets on sale, I knew they would be perfect to cut up and make into some simple tied quilts. Check.
The third project I have been working on for a long time. Well, I take that back. I worked on it all last school year and then promptly dropped it the day the boys got out of school last summer. Trying to find uninterrupted "me" time is virtually impossible in the summer and I don't do well with projects when I'm in the zone and then get repeatedly interrupted. This Fall was completely shot, so I have since picked it back up and am going full force. I'm most excited about this one. To be continued.....
Friday, December 4, 2015
When Mama is not on the ball....
this is what happens.
We have a tradition each December of buying the Lego advent calendars for our Christmas countdown. The boys absolutely love them and love building something new every day. Well, we have learned in years past, that they often sell out and if you don't buy them early in November you may be out of luck.
Well, mama hasn't been on the ball lately, so about 3 days before December 1st, I started looking for one. They were sold out online and I started the hunt in local stores. I did find one...the last one at a Red Balloon toy store in Sandy. There is only 1 problem with it. It is the girl version.
I bought it anyways knowing it was this one or none and all and took it home, all the while wondering what my boys would say when they saw a pink, girlie version.
They looked at it for a few minutes, questioned me on why I bought the girl one, shrugged their shoulders and thought it was just fine.
Phew!
We have a tradition each December of buying the Lego advent calendars for our Christmas countdown. The boys absolutely love them and love building something new every day. Well, we have learned in years past, that they often sell out and if you don't buy them early in November you may be out of luck.
Well, mama hasn't been on the ball lately, so about 3 days before December 1st, I started looking for one. They were sold out online and I started the hunt in local stores. I did find one...the last one at a Red Balloon toy store in Sandy. There is only 1 problem with it. It is the girl version.
I bought it anyways knowing it was this one or none and all and took it home, all the while wondering what my boys would say when they saw a pink, girlie version.
They looked at it for a few minutes, questioned me on why I bought the girl one, shrugged their shoulders and thought it was just fine.
Phew!
Another Tree
Last Christmas I had this great idea to buy a smaller, skinnier Christmas tree that would exclusively display all of the kid's hand made ornaments. I was all gung ho on the idea and went looking for a fake tree. At some point in this process, my enthusiasm started to wane and I decided that I would just wait and buy a tree after Christmas and get it on clearance. End of that story.
About a week ago, my idea re-surfaced, but instead of buying a fake tree I decided that we would cut down a tree from our property and bring it home. We have this area right behind our cabin that we affectionately call the pine tree nursery. It is so thick with pines of all sizes you can barely walk through. And honestly, some of these trees need to be thinned to let others grow to full size, so I don't feel too guilty cutting one down.
We decided to pick a nice, small skinny one, about 5 feet tall to take home. Here you see Scott eyeing a nice "small" one. You can tell how thick these trees are. We found this little trail that meanders through them.
The boys waiting for Scott to cut down the tree.
Scott lopped it down and we hauled it home. Well, our 5 foot tree, turned out to be an 8' tree once we brought it into the house. However, we did manage the skinny part and it looks very Charlie Brownish. That tree is sucking down almost a gallon of water a day.
I bought some fun lights for it and now it is happily displaying all of our hand made ornaments.
I love it.
But that is not the end of the story. As I was taking out all of my Christmas decorations, I came across a large garbage bag stuck in the corner of my storage room. Imagine my confusion as I pulled off the bag to see what was inside, only to find a skinny 5' Christmas tree that I had bought last year on clearance. I had totally forgotten about it. So now, I have 3 trees and this one is sitting next to my piano with nothing on it. That is the end of the story.
About a week ago, my idea re-surfaced, but instead of buying a fake tree I decided that we would cut down a tree from our property and bring it home. We have this area right behind our cabin that we affectionately call the pine tree nursery. It is so thick with pines of all sizes you can barely walk through. And honestly, some of these trees need to be thinned to let others grow to full size, so I don't feel too guilty cutting one down.
We decided to pick a nice, small skinny one, about 5 feet tall to take home. Here you see Scott eyeing a nice "small" one. You can tell how thick these trees are. We found this little trail that meanders through them.
The boys waiting for Scott to cut down the tree.
I bought some fun lights for it and now it is happily displaying all of our hand made ornaments.
I love it.
But that is not the end of the story. As I was taking out all of my Christmas decorations, I came across a large garbage bag stuck in the corner of my storage room. Imagine my confusion as I pulled off the bag to see what was inside, only to find a skinny 5' Christmas tree that I had bought last year on clearance. I had totally forgotten about it. So now, I have 3 trees and this one is sitting next to my piano with nothing on it. That is the end of the story.
This and That
Scott tried going up the hill with just 4 wheel drive and it didn't go so well. So, he backed down and put on the chains. You like how I took a picture from the warm cab?
After some slipping and sliding on the roads we got up there. A few things have been done. Painters are finished and I love the army green doors and the shake shingles! I know it's hard to tell in this picture, but the sun was fading quickly.
The inside is coming along as well. We are so close!
Except for the fireplace. It will be usable this winter, but will not get stone until the spring.
The real hang up is the cedar siding hangers. They have not come up to finish the job. They keep claiming they work in all weather, but I look at the slippery snow on the ground, the siding that is covered in a foot of snow and the ladders they have to climb and both Scott and I have grave doubts that they will come up and finish.
We also had another task we needed to do while we were up there. We had our appliances delivered months ago and they have been sitting in the garage ever since. Our garage is detached and sits a little ways away from the cabin. It was quite the ordeal pushing a washer, dryer, oven, and dishwasher up the hill, on a dolly, in the slick snow. That was fun. :) We still have the fridge that needs to get moved as well. Oh and by the time we left it was a balmy 14 degree outside. My kind of weather.
That's the update. Our builder is still hopeful and hasn't shut it down yet. Scott and I are in a wait and see mode at this point. So, we wait and see.
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