Pictures of the House

This is a "before" picture of the front of the house. Notice the tree growing in the landscaping on the right side. There is a maple on the far left side growing in it as well.

Another "before" picture - the kids rooms are on the left side of this picture behind the huge shrub.

An "after" picture of the side of the house - the huge shrub is gone as are the vines!

The front of the house now!

Here are the pictures of our house - the top two are the "before", the last two are the "after." It isn't perfect, but it is getting there! It is full of perrenials now that will take a few years before they reach their peak. It has just about every perrenial you can name in it as it is so big. As you can see from the top pictures, there were actual trees growing in the landscaping that had grown from seeds that had landed in it. It was covered in vines which you can't see from the picture - absolutely covered. Ferns ran rampant (and still continue to pop their heads up, but I'm constantly trying to stop on top of them). Under the big bush right up by the house on the left side of the picture, vines had crawled up under the siding and onto the roof. That is where the kids' rooms are. They could barely see out their windows. Prickers and thorns were everywhere and ugh, it was just a mess. There were times when I could only work on a small patch of it at a time as it was so overwhelming. But piece by piece, I have finally gotten it to a manageable project. It also helps that there are so many nurseries here that you can buy great perrenials for around $1.50!!! We also have had about seven trees cut down that were very close to the house which has opened it up more and Greg has been chopping away, too. I also have a perrenial garden on the side of the house that I reclaimed from vines. Next project is the landscaping around the back of the house!

House Projects

Coming this week as soon as I get a chance to do it. . . pictures of my nearly, almost, somewhat kinda done front landscaping. I have spent many hours out there pulling up the vines that once covered the house and planting plants which I have already moved many times. The house is definitely feeling like it is ours now, but we're learning they didn't do much maintenance on this house. For example, this weekend I learned the gutters are completely clogged and they have the covers on them to keep the debris out (apparently the covers aren't all they are cracked up to be). In my attempt to unplug some of them under the deck, I learned an important lesson. When looking up under the gutter, keep your mouth shut - not open. A mouthful of gutter water . . . yuck! Greg spent all weekend cutting down trees that needed to be chopped down and now he is working on his wood pile. He is now quite proficient at chopping down trees and I'm pretty sure he does a primitive grunt every time one falls.

Life is good here - no complaints! I had forgotten how late it stays bright up north. Fireworks won't start until 10:30 which I think is even later than in Minnesota. I don't think we'll be doing the big show this year, but I'm sure our resident firework guru will be picking some up for his own home display. I don't think you can get the same selection as you could in AR as I think everything that exploded was legal there, but I'm sure he'll still put on a good show!

So, do you spend dollar coins? And how to teach your brother to swim. . .

I have noticed a generational difference recently while volunteering at the kids' book fair at school. Today's youth (my way of avoiding the expression, "Kids today. . ") actually buy stuff with their dollar coins. I remember having half dollars and dollar coins as a kid, but you never actually spent them. You collected them - not that I have any idea where mine are today. And I remember my Dad collecting the $2 coins. But gosh, you never actually used them. Some kids at the book fair would pick out a book and I would help them figure out if they had enough money to buy it. I would look into their envelope and it would be filled with coins and I would think maybe they had three dollars tops. Then I realized they were actually spending dollar coins!! Whoever heard of such a thing!

And on a different note, both kids are now putting their faces in water. We are slowly making progress in swimming lessons. Ethan had a break through the other night in the big tub with Katrina. She somehow managed to get him to put his face in (HUGE STEP for him). Then she was trying to put her head under and touch her nose on the bottom of the tub (it is a deep tub). She was trying to get Ethan to do it too, but he couldn't quite do it by himself. So while he was trying to do it, she would put her hand on the back of his head and push him all the way down. And for some reason, he didn't mind this. She did this multiple times, but she whispered to me that I shouldn't tell him that she was helping him. Did she really think he couldn't tell? Could he really not tell?? I'm not sure, but all I know is that this is HUGE for both of them to be doing this.

And lastly, living in the South for the past 3.5 years has skewed my perception of Northern/normal summers. Right now it is 63 degrees outside. I have only had the air on maybe four or five times and I'm hot blooded so that says something. The kids haven't swum in their little pool yet out back as it has been too cold. I believe it is more than 30-35 degrees warmer today in Arkansas. Miss my friends there, but I DO NOT miss that!!! Blowing cool breezes down your way, my Southern friends (both temporary, not so temporary, and permanent residents!).

Our Outings

Here are some pictures from our trip to the zoo over Memorial Day weekend. In the picture above and the one at the top, we were in a big bird cage with over 300 parakeets and they would land on your food stick and you could carry them around. The kids loved it (even though Katrina ended up with something extra in her hair by the time we left - yuck!). The kids and I rode a camel (a huge step for Ethan - last year he would have been too scared) while Greg took pictures and we also petted sting rays. The funniest moment for Greg and I at the zoo occurred while we were watching the wallabies (second pic from the top). When the joey hopped out of the pouch, the woman next to us started yelling, "It's giving birth!! It's giving birth!! Look! Look! It just gave birth!!" While Greg and I tried not to fall over laughing, someone finally explained to the woman that the baby simply hopped out of a pouch. The zoo is only 25 minutes from our house and it was a great time. It is surrounded by bike trails, a huge park, and swan paddle boats on a pond that I am going to try to get someone to do with me next time.

We also went to a Grand Rapids Whitecaps game this weekend. The kids somehow instinctively knew how to clap along to the all of the music and cheers being played which was simply fascinating. It was very family oriented, but we lasted only a few innings as the sun was cooking us. Ethan has already talked about going to another game though which is great.

This is the last week for Katrina's school - she is almost done with kindergarten and off to first grade in the fall!!