Blake's older than his cousin, Logan, by about a year. He takes this responsibility very seriously. He likes to hold her hand and "show" her stuff, whether she likes it or not.
Logan, Curtis, and Allyson were over for BBQ yesterday, so the kids spent quite a bit of time exploring the weeds/flowers at the back of the house. Whoever said weeds weren't useful?
Monday, July 20, 2009
First day of construction
When I got home from work today, the smell of cedar was permeating our backyard, and Brian (from KW Custom Bath) and his crew had up part of my fence, and the pergola over the hot tub started. It looks awesome!
And, in case you're wondering why we're having KW Custom Bath (a bathroom specialist) do our fence/pergola project:
>Brian's finished two basements, three bathrooms, and a porch for us
>He can build anything
>He always does a great job
I can't wait until our latest project is done!
And, in case you're wondering why we're having KW Custom Bath (a bathroom specialist) do our fence/pergola project:
>Brian's finished two basements, three bathrooms, and a porch for us
>He can build anything
>He always does a great job
I can't wait until our latest project is done!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
All horses, all the time
Faith is at her Grampa and Gramma's farm for 10 days and it's been all horses all the time. Yesterday, she went to a driving clinic with Grampa and Sydney. Sydney helps out Dad with the horses, and Faith loves to hang out with her any time she's at the farm. They left at 8:00 am and returned home at 8:30 pm. To me, this is a lot of horses, but Faith insisted she wasn't even tired at the end of the day. Dad was another story.
During the day, Faith got to do a half hour driving lesson. They needed to but a box on the floor of the carriage to rest her feet on, and Dad was a little worried she might get bounced out as the terrain was a little rough, and she's pretty light compared to most of the drivers. But other than that, she was off. And, she got to ride Sheba (one of Dad's horses) bareback. The kid is going to turn into a horse soon.
I'm not sure who was more thrilled by the whole experience, Faith or my Dad. Either way, we're constantly in awe of her love of horses, and how excited she is to be around them. It's a truly wondrous experience to witness your kid find her passion.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
My exotic lilies (and my new lens)
Warning: If you're not into photography, just skip the next paragraph and enjoy the picture of my lilies.
I finally got a new (better) lens for my camera, and my new lilies were a good choice to do some test shots. It's a Tamron f2.8 28-75mm for my Canon body. I was going for the lower aperture across the whole focal range, without having to go bankrupt buying a Canon lens. So far, the Tamron has been an excellent investment. I even splurged and bought a higher end UV filter and polarizer for the lens. I plan on having the lens for a looooong time, so I figure it's an investment. The lens goes full frame, so whenever I get around to upgrading my camera body, the lens will go along with me. And, if anyone is interested, BJ Photo is where I bought everything. They are super helpful and, frankly, have the best prices around.
I finally got a new (better) lens for my camera, and my new lilies were a good choice to do some test shots. It's a Tamron f2.8 28-75mm for my Canon body. I was going for the lower aperture across the whole focal range, without having to go bankrupt buying a Canon lens. So far, the Tamron has been an excellent investment. I even splurged and bought a higher end UV filter and polarizer for the lens. I plan on having the lens for a looooong time, so I figure it's an investment. The lens goes full frame, so whenever I get around to upgrading my camera body, the lens will go along with me. And, if anyone is interested, BJ Photo is where I bought everything. They are super helpful and, frankly, have the best prices around.
New fence and pergola - stage 1
Yes! We have post holes, cement and a few posts. Brian and his guys start working on Monday. Woohoo! (And yes, the gazebo from Walmart will be down by then. We've been too busy enjoying the hot tub to worry about it.)
Indoor wildlife
George was watching TV on Sunday evening, after all the kids were in bed, and the house was peaceful. Then, he saw a teeny little mouse run across the floor, underneath the TV stand. EEEEEEK!
We both tried to shoo the little creature out the patio door (well...George shooed, and I stood on the couch). But no luck.
So, the next day we set some traps. After I tried setting the traps a couple of times, and watching them fly across the room, my Dad took over and put them out for us. These were not "humane" traps...just the standard mouse guillotine. Cheap and effective. I'm not really a proponent of letting vermin free. They just breed and then you've got a bigger problem. I want them DEAD.
Well, the cheap wooden mouse trap was very effective. We caught one the first morning. I am a wimp, however, and George got rid of it. Then, this morning, we caught another one! Again, I'm a wimp. I could hardly look at the trap without a serious case of the heebie jeebies.
So, we'll be setting more and hoping we wipe out this problem soon. EEEEK.
We both tried to shoo the little creature out the patio door (well...George shooed, and I stood on the couch). But no luck.
So, the next day we set some traps. After I tried setting the traps a couple of times, and watching them fly across the room, my Dad took over and put them out for us. These were not "humane" traps...just the standard mouse guillotine. Cheap and effective. I'm not really a proponent of letting vermin free. They just breed and then you've got a bigger problem. I want them DEAD.
Well, the cheap wooden mouse trap was very effective. We caught one the first morning. I am a wimp, however, and George got rid of it. Then, this morning, we caught another one! Again, I'm a wimp. I could hardly look at the trap without a serious case of the heebie jeebies.
So, we'll be setting more and hoping we wipe out this problem soon. EEEEK.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Playset antics
While the adults were playing around getting the hot tub installed on the weekend, the kids were playing around on the our swings/climber set. You'll note a few things:
- The bottle of beer...try to follow it.
- The boys are camera showoffs, and Blake likes to call me "Robin" on camera.
- Logan's Mom is the one talking in the background predicting what will happen as Logan goes dow the slide: "Catch her or she's going to land flat on her back." She was right! (See point 1 for the reason.)
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