The Hallway

Before

In progress
Still need to caulk the chair railing, sink the nails and repaint everything white. Almost there.

The Roof

Before

After
Hopefully we will stay cooler this summer with the added vents. We went from one roof vent to 8.

Optical Illusion

On the way home from G&G's house tonight, Trevor commented that I had a third eye in the middle of my forehead when he looked at me through the rear view mirror. We discussed optical illusions a little bit then Tyson piped up: "It's when you do the luge but on mirrors instead of ice." He has been fascinated with the Luge since we watched them a bit during the Olympics. Guess my explanation didn't quite cut it.

Dandelions

Upon arrival home from a fun-filled vacation at the beach, we found a note from one of our neighbors asking us to call. This neighbor as kindly as possible explained that she "hates" dandelions. In this "before" picture of the front of our house (before the new roof), you can see many dandelions. I have been fighting a loosing battle with the dandelions since we moved in. Literally. One of my dreams is to have a front yard that looks like my brother Kent's front yard...like a golf course because the grass is so green, weed-free and soft to walk on. I explained to this concerned neighbor that I, too, do not like dandelions and have been fighting with them for many years. Bless her heart, she went and got her dandelion killer spray and started spraying my dandelions.
Neighbor: "See how easy it is!"
Me: "Yes, I see. Now look how many of those there are to spray and notice how your hands feel after spraying a few."
Neighbor: "Here, your husband can do it!"
Husband: "I don't do weeds!" (Note: he mows the lawn but that is about all he can do due to his bad allergies to grass, weeds and more...more on that later.)
I wish I had a camera to capture the look on the neighbors face. It was priceless!

So, as Jason unloaded the car, I made dinner then quickly made a mad dash to a local store to purchase the kind of spray you attach to a hose and let the hose do all the work. I sprayed the front yard and the back yard. Time will tell. I have done this before but maybe the secret is to do it several times a year. Not once every other year. The song "Back to life. Back to reality..." quickly came to mind!

Jason has had some success with the allergy shots he has been getting once a week for the past 3 years. I think he is down to every other week now. Most people are able to give themselves shots after 6 months and don't really need shots after a couple of years. Jason is still going to the shot clinic because his allergies are so severe they won't let him do it on his own. I am grateful for this as he has made a trip to the emergency room after reacting to a vile check (face and mouth swollen along with other not-so-desirable symptoms) and almost had to go on two more occasions but was able to stop the swelling on his own. However, he continues to go because his summer last year was almost allergy-meds free, something he has never been able to say before. He had a reaction last summer to the sunflowers we planted in our garden so we won't be planting those again. But, other than that, he was able to enjoy the summer a little bit more.

Beach Trip

Playing kick ball on the beach

Playing in the sand and flying kites
Kids of all ages had fun at this really cool park.

Other activities included beach combing, games, painting finger nails (BriAnn's very first time), Perler beads, Pete!, reading, swimming at the town pool, and more. We all had a really good time and loved the accommodations. What a great fit for the family.

Coming Soon...

...before and after pics of home improvement projects. Maybe I'll even post some of our roof being replaced. After two leaks a couple weeks apart on opposite sides of the house, we've decided to replace it. It was suggested that we replace it when we bought the house almost 6 years ago and we are finally getting around to it.

February Fun

Tyson's artwork of himself with mommy (notice the glasses).

Tyson's Birthday card to mommy.

Swimming lessons for the boys...Tyson's first time. They really loved it!

BriAnn wanted in on the fun, too, but goggles was as close as she got for this time around.

Cross Country Skiing for Jason and Kristi Ann.

Perler Beads/Fun Fusion...our new favorite kid craft.

BriAnn's favorite thing to call mommy: "Honey"

Trevor's 100th day in First Grade.

"I predict I can hop 100 times in 100 seconds. Actual: 78

I predict I can do 50 jumping jacks in 100 seconds. Actual: 28

I predict I can write my name 10000 times in 100 seconds. Actual: 41

I predict I can blink 1,000,000 times in 100 seconds. Actual: 73"

Mid-Winter Break - Zoo membership renewal.

Anyone want to go to the zoo? We can get three guests in free each time we go. We love to go to the zoo. BriAnn asks daily when we get to go back. They have added a camel and more animals since we last were members. Fun!