The Close of Summer

I've had a few people ask me what we've done this summer.  So....I went through some of my pictures and chose random ones as a sampling for you.  Many of these deserve full posts of their own (like the yard), but I'm pretty proud of myself for posting at all.  :)

Cub Scout Camp.  Daniel and I are Cubmasters.  (Technically, I'm the assistant.)  And I know it's really hard to see the resembelance between Adam and I.

I made a bed frame.  It has a mattress now and some awesome bedding.  Maybe I'll show you sometime.

We swam lots in our backyard pool.  (This pic is of the first time.)

Some people in our neighborhood threw a crazy awesome children's parade on the 4th complete with firetruck spraying down the whole street.

Our backyard was finished. 

We went to the Draper Amphitheatre a few times.

Isaac has his first scout over-nighter. That kid is growing up.

We visited a friend's honey operation in Mendon (by Logan).  I took that photo that I plan to paint sometime.

We had a few backyard barbeques, including one night were I got to stay up with some of my siblings and play games.  So fun!

We saw this turtle in Snow Canyon while on a very short trip to St. George.

Sarah started gymnastics.

We saw new things during the Parade of Homes.

We had a extended family reunion.  This is me with my two sisters, Lynea and Leslie at said reunion.  Lynea and her family just finished the transition from Seattle to Kamas.  I visited her in Kamas today. 

This summer has been good and full.  I swear my life is only getting busier as my kids grow.  For some reason I had this notion that it would slow down.  So not true! 

One Year

Today marks the one-year anniversary of our time in this house. 

(taken last year)

It's a good place for us.  :)

I Let Some Plants Die

Alternate Title:  Imperfection
The close of this day come on the heels of my previous happy sunshiny post. (See below.) 

I was determined to fill the darn pool with water today.  I really tried to get to that point, but it turns out that it isn't leveled well, it needs to be turned, and it needs to be fully drained to accomplish all of that.  Fail.

Somehow I didn't think through every single step on the headboard I've been working on.  Let's just say I've learned some things I would not choose to do over again.   It's still not up and it's never going to look like what I envisioned.  Enough said.

I have currently let 12 white petunias, 1 salvia, and 1 hydrangea plant die. I didn't plant them in a timely matter, though I had the best of intentions. Each time I walk by I think about how I failed these once beautiful plants.


I could keep going, but the fact is that sometimes I do well and sometimes I don't.  In fact, I often fall short...as a mother, wife, friend, sister, daughter, housekeeper, cook, follower of Christ, or any other title I might hold.  It's humbling.

A friend sent me a link today.  I posted it on Facebook and thought I'd share it here (even though it doesn't completely relate to this blog post).  The whole clip is pretty good, but I really like the last quote in it. 

"Life is perfect for none of us. Rather than being judgmental and critical of each other, may we have the pure love of Christ for our fellow travelers in this journey through life." President Thomas S. Monson

It reminds me that no one has to be perfect.  Not me.  Not you.  Isn't that fantastic?

Dear Blog,

If I don't post soon,
I'm going to miss the month of June.

But you see, life is busy. Life is full. I have things I could be doing all the time.


Today is a glorious sunshiny happy day.

For the first time in a while I took some hours to do something other than working on my to-do list. I went to visit Lynea in Sugarhouse (where she is staying temporarily). I only did this because she called and asked me too, but still, I went. It made me realize how all consuming the life I've made for myself is and that I've lot some of my spontaneity. Don't get me wrong, I am super happy right now - I'm just focused. There are so many things I'd like to do and accomplish and be and most of those things happen right here, at home.

Life is good. We're adjusting to Daniel working from home and we love it. Our yard is pretty much done. The neighbors are fantastic. (There are more people here than you could ever possibly get to know.) The kids are making friends. We are blessed.

When I left you last...

...the patio had been torn out.

Then the windows were dug out.

Our crumpled window wells.


The weeds got cleared. Wahoo!



Work on the second tier on the patio wall.

Progress on the future basement entrance.

Prepping for concrete.

The basement entrance nearly done.

We got really handy with the inverted-nozzle spray paint gun. I looooove that thing! I should have taken a picture of it. It was a highlight of the backyard project.

Backyard Demolition

To say that the last day and a half have been a little crazy is an understatement. Yesterday at lunchtime, the company we decided to have do our backyard (just last week) called and because of some scheduling needs asked if they could get started right away. I said sure! They arrived less than an hour later and definitely got started.

The first thing for them to do was to break apart the paver walls that weren't staying. They had been glued together by the previous homeowner, but they were able to salvage almost all of them! There is another paver wall almost built as I'm writing this. I'll show that in my next post.

This is the patio before:

We decided in the end to break out the whole thing for a few reasons. First, see the level of the yard? Those window wells should not be concreted in. Also, The patio shape didn't seem to fit the yard and the stairs had no landing at the top (not to code). We are planning to add a basement door at some point too.

The next few pictures are of the patio being demolished. 15 min and everything but the stairs was out.

A couple hours later and the stairs were out. The massive stairs.

And last night we had this:

And this....their access to our backyard. :)

Easter

I'm Alive

Here's proof:



My attempt to spend less time on my computer translates into less posts on my blog. I haven't forgotten about it though. In fact, I have so many small projects to show and the big ones are just around the corner.



The last few weeks have been better around here. I've pulled out of my funk for the most part. I'm productive again. My days are busy, but good.

I feel like making a list.

Here's the list:

-The Cub Scout Blue and Gold Banquet and the Pinewood Derby are now DONE.....and I would consider them a success.

-The time I am on the computer is spent oogling over home project ideas.

-My back and arm hurt me when I sit at said computer due to my desk/chair combination.

-I bought new bookcases for my front room that I'm really liking.

-Adam's room is re-rearranged and working much better.

-The garage is mostly organized!!!

-I have to tackle the basement before I'll let myself start a molding project.

-I'm dying to do more paintings.

-Daniel will be working from home starting in June. (I don't know if I've mentioned this?)

-Isaac and I went jogging twice last week. The snow is holding us up right now.

-I got a one-year membership to Gold's Gym which is not remotely close to me. Some girls from my neighborhood teach/go there though. One plays racquetball.

-This week I'm teaching a Junior Achievement unit in Isaac's class about financial institutions. Did you know why President Andrew Jackson strongly opposed the second bank of the US? I do. :)

-We need to start work on our yard. I'm dragging my feet. Can you say overwhelming??!

-Lynea's (my sister) house is for sale. She should be coming to Utah soon-ish..... :)

-I'm out of ideas for this list and I've got to go shower.


:)

Finding the New Normal?

I knew I hadn't posted in a while, but I didn't realize how long. A comment from Nicole has been rattling around in my head and made me think I should not continue to neglect my blog.

You see, December was more than I could handle gracefully and January was the aftermath. It's February now and I'm trying to get into a sustainable groove. Life has considerably slowed down, for which I am grateful, but now I'm left with trying to figure out what to add back in to my schedule and which items really should be left out.

This winter weather has been hard for me. The darkness of the sky coupled with the darkness of my wood shutters has led to a lot of discouraging days. I am making my best efforts to pick myself up and be my best self. It's hard. Oh my, it's so hard.

I've done a few projects and have good intentions of posting them here. Maybe it will happen yet. Isaac's room is nearly complete. Sarah's is pink, though not a pink I like. I've finally organized my messy kitchen drawers. Things are ever so slowly coming along. I've got big plans in my head. We'll see which of them really happen. Our yard is one huge thing to be tackled...hopefully starting this spring.

So that's how things are here. FYI, I haven't been reading other people's blogs at all. I sort of holed up to recover. We'll see how much of that I add back in...