Nate the Great

Nathan came on Monday night to do some odd jobs around the house. First he set up our screened-in gazebo out on the deck... Meanwhile the boys played. Clayton got his 8th bee sting in less than two weeks.
We've been eating every meal on the deck.
After finishing the gazebo, Nathan painted the gable vents. One is visible, yet invisible, in this picture. It's at the peak of the house, on the left. Today he painted the bottom half of the house dark brown to match the top half.
This is a "before" picture. It was taken right after we made an offer on the house, almost two years ago. It shows the old deck and the contrasting color on the lower part of the house. This picture makes it look too good. It was actually sort of a pinkish-tan. The dark brown looks way better.

Lincoln Logs

The kids had a renewed interest in their Lincoln Logs. This is a farm Rebecca built. There's a campfire in front of the cabin, and a cornfield on the lower right.

Green bathwater?

Gardens

I have found out something new about myself...I think my gardening gene had been in hiding until this spring. I love to spend time in my gardens and go out to them several times each day, to pick weeds or just see how things are growing.
Maybe I have too much time on my hands? I like to hand-water instead of using the sprinkler.

Ladies Night Out--Friday

Nichole and Lori planned our third annual Ladies Night Out this year, and did an awesome job. Two of our number couldn't make it--Judy and Joyce--we sure missed them! But Nichole's mom, Debbie, joined us this year, so that was a treat. We all met at Nichole's house and then went together to Caribou Coffee for a little something. Then we walked next door to the Bead Gallery where we made bookmarks. Three doors down from there was Leanne Chin, where we ate supper. After all that, we got to the hotel... ...where we found out what else the evening would hold. Lori kept hinting, saying things like, "I hope you like sheer..." and "I think we got the right size. You're about a 2..." as she eyed us up and down. Turns out, Nichole had found us all evening dresses for $0.99 at Saver's! They were beautiful! We each got a rose, and a gift bag full of pamper-yourself things. So we all put on our dresses and spent the evening in style.
From left: Debbie, Pam, Sabrina, Nichole, and Lori
Saturday morning I came upon this: I kept hoping I was next in line, but no one offered. So I tried to enjoy myself for the rest of the day, despite my stiff neck and back. I'm okay though. I hate backrubs. Really.

Ladies Night Out--Saturday

Saturdays agenda was supposed to go like this: breakfast, check-out by 10:00, paddleboat ride from 11-1:00, shopping, Starbuck's, then home. Here's how it really went...the breakfast part went okay, and the Starbuck's thing worked out. The middle got a little messed up. After breakfast it took us a bit longer than it should have to get our stuff out of our room and into the van. Then I needed some cash, so we stopped at a bank. Then a few of us needed to make a pit-stop at Target (who can pass one up?!), and we finally headed to the paddleboat place by 10:45. As we were driving there, we hit a little road construction. At that point, Lori took out her paper about the boatride (she was in charge of that part of it) where she read "Boarding: 10:30 a.m." Oops. It's 10:56 and we're still 10 minutes from our destination. We finally made it there and ran to the boat. A man on a bullhorn was telling us not to stop for our tickets, just GET ON THE BOAT! Five of us made it. One did not. As soon as we got on, the boat's engines got really loud and the paddle was spitting water. Come to find out, the lift bridge had been open the entire time. We held up traffic for at least 15 minutes...we felt so dumb!
So, back to the part about one missing the boat. Nichole was looking for a parking spot when we left without her. She always did like special treatment though (giggle!), and caught a ride on this awesome speedboat. When she boarded, I think everyone was hanging over the side watching her because I felt the boat listing a bit.
It all worked out in the end...we had a really nice ride that included lunch. We shopped a bit downtown, had our Starbuck's, and even had time for ice cream after that.

Ouch

Monday, July 2, started like any other day. Right before I got out of bed I was wondering to myself what the day would hold. I didn't have to wait long to find out. At about 9:30 a.m. I heard Joel crying but ignored it because I thought the kids were duking it out again. But then Rebecca came running up the stairs and blurted out,"MomcomequickJoelfelloutofthechairontothebrickhisheadisbleeding!!" I ran downstairs and picked him up. He had hit pretty hard and there was lots of blood, which there always is with head wounds. I quickly gathered a few things, ran out the door and shouted to Rebecca to bring Clayton out to the truck and pull the door shut behind her. We zoomed off to the nearest emergency room. By the time we got home two hours later, we were $60 poorer and Joel was sporting 5 stitches.

July 4

The day was going smoothly...the kids blew bubbles...

They drove the Snapper at Grandma and Grandpa's house...

They played...
Joel even told Grandma Judy this was the best July 4 ever. "Because we had a cookout, and a bonfire, and roasted marshmallows..." At about 8:00 p.m. I was getting the kids in their pajamas before we headed home. The boys were running up and down the car ramps, which you can see in the background of the picture above. They were having such a good time for about 15 minutes, running up, running down, laughing, and the whole time their feet were going "boom boom boom boom." It seems there was a nest of yellowjackets who'd taken up residence under the side Clayton was running on. After 15 minutes of having their house shook, they'd had enough and decided to attack. I happened to be standing right there and I saw Clayton start screaming and slapping different parts of his body. I grabbed his arm and RAN. The bees followed and I got stung in the back of my leg. John took Clayton from me and RAN all the way to the house, at which point Clayton was still screaming...the bees were still getting him. He got stung seven times. It was awful, and I was terrified.

He's still afraid of bees and hardly wants to go outside anymore.

Friday, July 6

As the kids get older, I get busier! But it's a fun busy. This particular day, we went to a park in the morning and met Nichole and her kids there. Then we had ice cream for lunch as a special treat, came home and took naps. After supper I decided it was too nice of an evening to be home, and since John wasn't home yet and didn't show signs of getting home anytime soon (he was doing Snapper lawnmower repairs at his mom and dad's house), we headed for the beach.

Summertime!

We got a new sprinkler, so I got it out one lazy, late afternoon.

More water fun

The kids and I went to a sprinkler park near where we used to live. Joel and Clayton had been too young to remember it when we moved...they really enjoyed it this time.

Cowgirls and boys

Rebecca dressed up in this one day. I love how creative she can be. Joel, of course, is dressed as a cowboy most days. Here you can see they each have a snack for the trail.
Ummm, Clayton couldn't find his cowboy suit.

Happy 7th birthday, Rebecca!

We had a little party with two sets of sisters that live nearby. They are all little blondies.

Boating

We took the boat out one evening a few weeks ago. It was a really nice night and the kids had fun. Sunset over the lake
John
The boat motor...it's an old one.
This boat has even been used for water-skiing. You won't see me behind it though. The one and only time I tried to ski, I almost ended up with an unmentionable condition. Tip: it's not a good idea to sit down while you're waterskiing.