Sunday, June 29, 2008

Baseball

Brian plays softball on the church team. Here is a great action shot one of the other wives took from about 2 weeks ago. I love how the dirt is flying up!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Grass!

A sight never before seen at our home...green! Home Depot was having a sale on sod, so we only bought a little bit (all we could afford really), enough to do around the front path. It's a creeping, hearty grass, so with this, and seed and lime (to counter-act the acid pine) and water, in 2 years we should have a whole yard of this! We also have some plugs which are coming up nicely too, but it will take time to spread.



There will be three rose bushes in this front garden.

Our colour theme is red (roses & impatients), yellow and purple. I can't name the yellow and purple flowers, except for the chrysanthemums. I still have much to learn about gardening!

Friday, June 27, 2008

Squirrels

Backyard. Of course, not quite done, but getting there.

Kenna's house on the patio. She is like her mom, and complains constantly about the dirt getting in her shoes, so I put it on the brick so she has no excuse.

Impatients, Hosta and ?? that Eunice planted for us. They grow best in the sun, apparently, and this little spot happens to get sun through all the shade we have going on around here.

Porch and patio. Notice the spot on the roof of the porch where the squirrel was getting in....actually I think I forgot to post about that...about a month ago, after being tormented by a squirrel (or 2?) deciding to make a little nest in the roof of the porch, and running in there and chewing...so annoying...Brian borrowed a pellet gun to control the problem (after poison, mothballs, and a live trap failed). He was able to "control" 3 squirrels, and within minutes 2 police patrol cars and animal control were here, with a call of an animal cruelty complaint! They 'investigated' the situation and said it was perfectly fine to kill them because it was for a reason and not just for fun, and they left. Since then, no squirrels to pester us!! And now a porch repair is needed before all the little squirrel friends decide to come over for a visit.

Comment Reply - Den

The storage area where all our stuff is currently is the garage. The den has most of the drywall hung. All but some of the difficult to hang stuff (weird jut-out that hides pipes, in picture)...project was halted when all of Brian's tools were stolen. He was buying things back as needed...he has the tools now, but will wait until the floors in here are done, since there is no trim up so as not to damage the new drywall/or be able to fix anything damaged easily. So! After the kitchen wall is down, the beam is up (load bearing wall), and the floors are done...I will be home...then I will not move the furniture back into the den and mud it/sand it, trim it, and it will be done! Oh and paint it.

The den: drywall is up, except for this part...

Random: Kenna, going someplace on her car.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Empty

Their empty bedroom provided tons of entertainment this morning! It echoes without carpet & furniture!

Monday, June 23, 2008

Landscaping Part 2

In response to a comment on my previous landscaping post: Caralyn, you have obviously never been strawberry or apple picking with me! In later years, I was actually banned from going because of my lack of productivity and keen observance of every bug, slug or toad within a half mile radius. Apparently I was not fast enough (can't touch anything yick), additionally, I really hate dirt on my hands. A plight since childhood, my mom will attest to that. These days it's probably a syndrome with real doctors and medicine too, but oh well.

Side yard view. There used to be shrubbery gone wild where the bags now are. Bag count is now at 125!!

This is a pile of shrubs and clippings Brian has to take to the dump. Too big for bags!

Part of the back yard. Lots to rake up still.


And while that is going on outside, this is going on inside...

It's hard to get an accurate shot because of angle limitations, but it's getting really packed out in there! We are getting down to being able to name things off that need to go down there...1 couch, fridge, stove, desk, tv console stuff, our bed, 1 dresser, kids tv...we are living out of our suitcases since we leave soon for vacation.

Brooks, sleeping tonight (it was dark in there, it's the flash). Their beds are packed up, so they get the floor!! The crib you can see in the corner there, we are lacking the correct size allen key to take it all the way apart, so it'll have to be tomorrow. Today Kenna is looking around her virtually empty room and says "Where's my kitchen?! Where's my kitchen?!" She is very observant as I packed it up 3 days ago! Hopefully tomorrow Brian will get the carpet pulled up in their room, and the linoleum up out of the bathroom. It's literally like moving. It's crazy around here!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Pray for rain

The northern parts of North Carolina have been burning for 2 weeks now. Since we are right on the state border, depending on the wind, it seems or smells like our neighbourhood is burning. Last I heard forty-one thousand acres were on fire (named: Evans Road Wildfire). I don't know if you can really tell by the pic taken from our front porch, but the smoke in the air is visible today, and of course, it absolutely stinks! There is really nothing you can do to mask the unmistakable smell of fire.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Landscaping!

No more pine needles. For today anyway.

Lots of trash bags! 25 were picked up this morning, these ones will go out next week.

Side yard

Bushes trimmed back. I don't think I've ever seen that much of our house!

Trimmed way back. Remember a few months ago?

Other side yard. We will be attempting to sod or plant plugs this fall, Lord willing.

P-jammin'

After baths!

"Woooowwww!"

Big girl, or so she thinks

He was very curious at her mad fingernail trimming skills

Do mine, do mine!


Monday, June 16, 2008

Busch Gardens

Today was our first trip to Busch Gardens. Brian went when he was a child, but none of the rest of us have been, until today. The kids are exhausted but had a blast. I can't even remember what was in what country, but it was all very beautiful. We saw an Irish dancing show in Ireland, and we ate lunch in Germany and there was an Oktoberfest dancing show there, which Kenna loved. She actually started dancing along on the table. Too cute. Sometime we will go back without kids and explore a little more. Right at the end of the day we were in Italy and Brian wanted to stand with Kenna at the bottom of the Pompeii ride...a big boat that makes a huge splash as it passes. He said he wouldn't get wet, but was almost knocked over by the tidal wave! Surprisingly she didn't freak out and actually asked to get splashed again.

Swinging!

Flying a plane in Germany.

Ladybugs! Kenna was excited about them.

A boat ride

Brooks and Mommy

Me and Brooks on an eggshell ferris wheel ride

Wet, and tired after playing in Dragonland with Miss Amy

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Xigua

We had a nice summer supper. Hamburgers, and Brooks' new found love, watermelon. Kenna was not a huge fan of it, but he couldn't get enough. Here he is eating his second piece. Kenna didn't want to eat it, but loved to talk about it (so typical of her), she kept saying "I know my num'mers (numbers) Mom, Xigua, Yam, Zucchini!"...she has a food alphabet book that she loves, and the last page is just as she quoted. Xigua (She-gwah) is the Chinese word for watermelon. As far as the book goes, it must have been the only fruit or vegetable to start with an X, in any language...even if it is a stretch since the Chinese don't even use our alphabet.






Kenna, eating one of her favourites, a pickle slice

What's in a mess?

Brooks just woke up from his nap, and Kenna was still sleeping in our room. I thought it would be funny to capture some of his playtime (aka destruct-o time). Somehow the concept of using only one toy is lost on the both of them. They yank everything out until they can't even move. I have to sit in there and help them play and concentrate and not just dump it all around. To his credit, he did much better with Kenna not around!

What's in here?

Oops, radio fell out

Toys!

He loves his giraffe. Drop a ball in the top and it shoots out the bottom.

Walking his little dog. It was a Christmas present to him, and he rarely gets to touch it as it's Kenna's claimed "doggie-dog". She always offers him a loser toy in exchange and snatches it away. It's funny to see that older/younger thing coming into play at such a young age.

Packing

Packing up in preparation for the floors being re-done in a couple weeks! We emptied our storage in the garage (mostly kids clothing in plastic totes) to the storage unit we have (a small one, we have to have it as the address for our business, as you are not allowed to run a business from your home, weird I know), and have begun to load the contents of our house. We are hoping it will all fit in there and we won't need to rent a pod. This is going to be a huge project for Brian, just in the moving alone!

Living room wall, which will soon be gone. Our remodel includes several 'phases'...eventually the kitchen will be in the garage, and the kitchen will be a dining room/living space as it will all be open to the current livingroom. Anyway, since the floors are being done, we need the wall down so he can make them transition from room to room as nicely as possible. The garage will be moved to a storage shed/barn we are building in the back/side yard (starting at the end of the side driveway for those that can visualize it). We just bought the plans from Better Barns, and they arrived yesterday! We are going with a 12x16 Colonial with a Wood Storage Addition. Anyway, we have the plans just because we found what we wanted so we'll have it when we are ready. It will be a little while before we can afford the kitchen remodel, and we won't need the shed/barn until that happens!

Here's the beginning of "life in the garage"!

Monday, June 9, 2008

Favourite Thing

This is Kenna with her freshly washed 'really really soff thing', as she calls it. She loves 'soff' things! This is the blanket that came with the crib bedding set from when she was born, and it's still her fave. She steals it any chance she gets!

She got another haircut after her bath tonight. Can you tell it's shorter?