today

Maybe it was because I got a break this weekend

(thanks Mom and Dad)

Maybe it was the boys being ready for school 10 minutes early

Maybe it was the morning outdoor run

Maybe it was the perfect weather

Maybe it was making a supper that everyone ate

(and even prompted Eli to tell me that I'm a good cook)

Maybe it was my husband bringing me a yummy coffee drink

Whatever it was,

I LOVED TODAY!

Fall Festival

fun friday

lunch at Spicy Pie

FINALLY! The conclusion (see post from June)

Finally the deck is complete--it was quite a process...first, I (Joel) went back and put another screw in each board on every joist where the builders had only put one screw to start with...something like 300 screws when I was done. That was my first clue as to why the bid was 1/2 the cost of the other persons bid. Second, the stairs were just sitting on the ground with nothing underneath (Mike Holmes says NEVER let wood touch earth), so Don and I jacked up the staircase with a car jack from the Honda enough to get underneath the bottom step (about 6 inches). We spent about 2 hours digging out 6 inches of hard clay (no nice Iowa loam up in these parts) around the bottom of the stairs with a small spade and hand trowels due to the stairs being so close to the ground. Then we filled the base in with sand, concrete pads, and some landscaping tiles. Also added some stabilization to the stairs as the middle stringer wasn't touching anything, a new kickplate (the bottom one was cut at an really, really bad angle and horribly done, clue #2), and a couple more things. Next Don, Mom, and myself spent Sunday staining the deck. With the first coat. Last night and today, I finished putting on a second coat of stain and finished the bottom of the stairs with river rock. Huge thanks to Mom and Don for staying with us and putting in the hard work...couldn't have done the digging by myself, that is for sure. So here is the before and after pictures...hope everyone can tell the difference...

BEFORE

AFTER

Moral of the story is that going with the obscenely lower bid and a little extra work on my part (and others) saved us over $3000. And my lovely wife has a complete, south facing deck to relish the last few days of warmth and evening sun. Oh yeah, and the satisfaction of having a piece of myself in the work...like my back, hamstrings, shoulders, and several other things that I left in the backyard...

What's Cookin' Wednesday

Chocolate Lasagna

Thanks to my new obsession, pinterest.com, I found this great weekly schedule. I was going to wait until next summer to do it with the boys, but Joel mentioned last night that it would be good for Noah and me during the school year. Have I ever mentioned how smart my husband is? Plus now I know that he actually listens when I talk (sometimes). Here is the schedule (I'm hoping that if I blog about it, I'll be better about sticking to it): Make Something Monday (art project), Time To Read Tuesday (go to the library), What's Cookin' Wednesday (Noah actually picked our recipe off the internet yesterday), Thankful Thursday (write notes, volunteer, do something nice), Somewhere Fun Friday.

LUCKY BOY

Eli got to walk to school with Grandma, Don and Belle while I took Noah to his first day of kindergarten.Belle and Don waited outside while Grandma walked Eli to his room. I guess the cop on patrol this morning was a little curious as to why a 60 year old man and his dog were sitting on the curb watching kids enter an elementary school. LOVE IT!

1st day of school

second grade

kindergarten

We were lucky to have Grandma, Don and Belle here for our fun morning. Do you think we'll be excited and ready to walk out the door a half hour early EVERY day this year????
HAD TO SHARE... Eli telling Aunt Jennifer about back to school night: "My teacher looks really nice". Noah pipes in; "My teacher looks really old."

labor day weekend at Grandpa Jim's

eating wheat

bridge

There is a blue walking bridge over the interstate in Fargo. Shortly after we moved here, I told the boys that one night, when I was in college, we sat on the bridge and ate pizza. Every once in a while one of them will mention this as we drive under it. Today, I took them across the bridge,

and we ate pizza.

fingerpainting

at 7:45 am? It's going to be a long day!

Dear Grandpa Jim,

Where are you THIS morning????

Noah's Big Ride

Here is what happens when Heidi leaves for the evening and I am in charge...things get done. GO DAD! GO DAD!

Adventureland

A great trip to Iowa

We left Alexandria on Tuesday morning and celebrated Noah's birthday at Grandma's in the evening.

He LOVES his new bike from Grandma and Don!

Wednesday: movie with Grandma and Aunt Linda and swimming

Thursday: a whole day spent at Adventureland

Friday: riding bikes to the park, visiting friends, and swimming

Saturday: Farmer's Market, movie date for Mom and Dad, Eli and Grandma catching lightning bugs, Mexican train dominoes, and swimming.

lake latoka

We had 2 PERFECT days at the lake!

Eli trying to water ski for the first time

cousin party

The kids had a scavenger hunt, ate pizza, and did "rock band" concerts with their new paper jamz guitars.
Zach (July 10th), Noah (July 22nd), Austin (August 8th), and Drew (July 3rd)

Noah turns 5

We picked out doughnuts and had breakfast at the park.
Then, we were off to Alexandria (Drew and Noah sleeping on the way) for our "summer birthdays party" with the cousins and a few days at the lake with my extended family.

tourist in my home town

Today, we met my Dad and Drew in PR to drop Noah off for Cousin Camp.

The boys did minnow races,

saw the pelican,

had a snow cone, and did a little "downtown" shopping.

fun at the fair?

Yesterday was our highly anticipated afternoon at the fair; it lasted about 30 minutes. In that time: we heard way too much info about snake poop, the boys were followed out of a fun house by a boy who was screaming and dripping blood from his newly cut finger, Eli went on a ride and I had to ask the worker to put his lap belt down as it was starting (see picture below), and then we watched a kid puke in a trash can. Shortly thereafter, Eli decided he did not feel well and wanted to go home to take a nap. Luckily, we had met Craig, Jen and kids there, and they offered to keep Noah. He had a great time with his cousins. Thanks Craig and Jen!

Annual Fishing Derby

Lots of help from Grandma and Grandpa

Lots of fish caught

Lots of prizes won

Lots of fish eaten

Lots of swimming, jumping, and diving

Lots of fun