edmonds garden calamity

well I've been putting this off because its such a travesty.... the garden survived beautifully and produced abundantly. So whats the problem?? Well..... we had two lawn treatments over the course of 2 months and about a week after the second one, we started noticing some issues with the plants. After further research and a visit from Pete's sister (who has a degree in this stuff ;) we unfortunately had to chalk it all up to a fun family project...an inedible family project. the lawn chemicals saturated the plants through the soil and we decided it just wasn't safe to eat. The many, gorgeous tomatoes were deformed, some looking more like peppers. Even though we couldn't eat any of it, we let the girls pick and dig to at least have "the experience." The last pic below is just a portion of our "first fruits." It was truly a shame, but we did get reimbursed for our losses and we're definitely up for the challenge again next year.

(I just hope this doesn't count against me in the green thumb department - after all I did keep them mostly alive and prospering till the bitter end ;)



mantle makeover

Another home project checked off the list! Originally we planned to sand down and repaint our mantle, but the dental and ribbed molding just loomed over us and it remained on the "to-do." I believe it probably would have stayed there until I had a VERY brave and VERY free day :)

BUT pete and my dad went to this Habitat for Humanity sale and they happened to have boxes upon boxes of beautiful mantles... lets just say it was quite worth the low price. So out with the old and in with the new! :)

oh and p.s. the "old" one is in perfect shape if anyone wants to buy it :) http://columbus.craigslist.org/hsh/3145679839.html

BEFORE:

DURING:

AFTER:

gotta say.... I really enjoy these 1-evening projects :)

Patio project reveal

Patio project is now complete!!! :)

We all agreed afterwards that out of alll the home projects we've done in the last 7 years of marriage, this was by far the most work we've done, in the shortest period of time, making such a big difference.... and boy was it hard work or what!

I was supposed to be training for my first 5k over the last 2 months and that was put on hold for evening upon evening upon weekend upon weekend of what felt like running a marathon but was merely manual labor in the brutal heat! we hauled away close to 14 truck loads of dirt & rocks, hauled in about 10 loads of gravel and 3 loads of sand, and that was just the half of it. we added the arch at the top to have a good view of the sunset... and that's just what we have. the biggest change was probably the stairs & hand railing. We are so happy with the results and especially happy with the $ saved having done all the work ourselves (definitely worth all those sore muscles and completely-out-of-running-shape-with-1-week-before-race fitness slump)

So as usual... this isn't really much of a before & after, but more of a during & after reveal :)

Here goes..... DURING:

Drumroll please.......................AFTER:

Taa da! :)

heres to many enjoyable family and friend times on this new space!

p.s. don't think this means its time for a break on the house project front - next up & coming soon.... new family room mantle! :)

it must be summa'time

it officially feels like summertime now! i know... its been summer for a while now, but we had our first fire! oh the smell of campfire. first fire of the year, first summer in our new house, first fire in our new pit on our new patio. ahhhh bliss.

(though you'll get a good glimpse...ill be posting actual patio project & reveal pics soon.... just as soon as i finally finish the landscaping and get all the work junk cleaned up!)

marshmallows, happy girls, sunset, sitting out late chattin with the hubs.... summer delight.
can see many more of these kind of nights to come.

all-star game

every year we get together with pete's fam for the all-star game. the original tradition was that everyone bring various snacks and we enjoy a new one each inning. though over the years, the length and lateness of the game and the exorbitant amount of food has now inhibited us from sticking to that exact tradition...we still had fun getting together and eating tons of yummy food. other than it being a blow out, im not real sure what happened in the game....which seems to be the case every year, as im only partially interested :) we missed the Burns but it was a good little spur-of-the-moment get together with the fam:

(looking back at my last few posts...i know you're probably thinking.. is there anything else you guys do but have parties!?)    the answer is.... sometimes. ;)

unfortunately the kiddos were just too fast and too uninterested for me to get a good cousin pic tonight :/