The Barn is Done!

When we moved to our new home, there was a list a mile long of all the things that needed to be done to make it a home we would enjoy living in.  Of course all of October was spent renovating the inside.  We didn't even think about tackling the outside projects.  That is, until spring came.  When the weather started getting better we ventured outside and took on the fence.  Once that was complete, we started cleaning up things a bit.  Then we came to the barn building with three sides that had been eaten by horses with missing roof panels and no doors.

 For Craig's vacation  we decided to stick close to  home and tackle some projects.  This was number one of the list.

And while we planned on three days, it actually took us five.  Not including the days we spruced up the tack room by adding a wood floor and replaced the three missing roof panels.  In total we probably spent closer to eight days on this project.  But it was worth each and every hour spent ripping down, replacing and sprucing up this joint!  It actually warrants being called a barn now!

Creating these doors from scratch was quite an undertaking, but now that they are done, I am so glad we endured the painstaking process!

The Final Product

And for those of you that know us well--

we are already working on the next big project--The Deck.

No Rest for the Weary!!

History in the Making

All of you know by now that our city is in on the edge of a devastating wildfire that began last Saturday around noon.  It has been horrifying to watch this natural disaster continue to grow in size day by day, and get closer and closer to the neighborhoods in our city.  Below is a picture Ema took on Monday while driving home from town. 

Here was the scene yesterday when we headed to Monument on Tuesday to get a few more supplies for repairing our barn.  It was such an eerie feeling to see such dark smoke, as this is a sign that the fire is burning new fuels.  My gut said that with the wind shifts the fire must have grown quite a bit.

On the drive home we heard that mandatory evacuations were now underway for the majority of the neighborhoods east of Garden of the Gods and west of Interstate 25.  Over 32,000 people were now evacuated from their homes--including many friends and co-workers.  Many homes in the Mountain Shadows neighborhood were on fire and the Flying W Ranch had been lost.

By the evening the smoke had filtered all the way over our home and several miles east of us.  While working on the barn the ash was beginning to fall from the sky.  At one point we looked to the west and could look directly at the sun as the smoke was covering it.  What an eerie feeling to be able to look directly at the sun and not have to turn away.

Please keep the community of Colorado Springs in your prayers as we endure this fire.  And know that while we have very little control over this natural disaster we can come together and help each other out.

Sometimes witnessing history in the making can be very devastating.

A Little Breathing Room

So last night in the crazy wind and chilly temperatures we decided it was time to remove a few of the overgrown trees that appeared to be taking over the house.  It is my hope that all of the pine trees will be removed and new ones will be planted a bit further from the house so as to still provide some privacy but not impede on the home.  For those that know me well, you know how much I love trees.  The shade they provide, the rich green color they add, and the beauty in the fall bring all peace to my heart.   To remove all of them is a bit stressful.  Craig likes the privacy they provide, but I have a claustrophobic feeling when sitting on the deck.  Not to mention all of the pine needles that drop on my lawn cushions.  We have yet to come to complete agreement, but we were able to agree on the removal of a few of them.  Starting slow to get a feel for the openness is a great beginning. No need to rush into anything too drastic--for Craig's sake that is! I love you honey, but we both know that change has never been your thing!

Anyway here's a peek at what we removed last night.

The pine tree right by the front door was a tree we knew we wanted to remove pretty quickly.  It was growing really close to the roof and posed potential issues as it got bigger.  Not to mention it was so dark and gloomy.

Before

After

We also removed some bushes from the opposite side.  These were two that we had planned on removing because we didn't care for them. So it wasn't too painful.

 Before

 

 After

Our new view from the deck.  We decided to keep the lilac bush, but trimmed it down so it doesn't affect the view when you are sitting in the chairs.

It's too bad we couldn't have waited to cut it in December.  The top of this tree would have made a great Christmas Tree.  I didn't think cutting the tree in the dead of winter would be too much fun though! Oh well...it should make for some great firewood one day!

The other three pine trees are still up for discussion.  I really want to remove the two that are side by side and open up that part of the deck to extend it.  This would provide much  more entertaining space and allow for the closed in feeling to be alleviated.  But marriage is about compromise, so I know I need to listen to Craig's point of view of the great privacy they provide, as well.  I am not sure what the outcome of this will look like, but I will surely keep you posted!

In the meantime, we have just added another project to the list...repair more rotting deck boards and replace the swiss chalet pickets with  updated ones. No to mention stripping and repainting.  Ahhh...don't you just love a good project to tackle?!!

Puppy Mischief!

The puppies are amazing in providing endless hours of entertainment for us.  This morning we found Quinn nestled up in a warm bed he found under the T.V.

  Later he and Lilly where found snuggling in Lilly's kennel.  Of course it is the smaller of the two kennels and doesn't quite allow for enough room for the two of them to be comfy!

Nature's Beauty

Caleb came in from roller-blading a few minutes ago to tell us there was a rainbow.  I couldn't resist capturing it on film!

It's Only Wednesday

Isn't it amazing that when you have a time off it seems to fly by?  We are knee deep in the middle of our 3rd week of summer vacation.  How is this even possible?  Maybe I should acquire a bunch of  clocks so that I am constantly reminded of time and then it will seem like it is moving slower.  Or will it?






While it is not possible to slow time down, we have been very busy this week.  Monday we saw Journey 2: Mysterious Island at the dollar theater.  Well actually, it isn't a dollar theater anymore.  It's now the dollar fifty theater!  I was surprisingly please with this movie as it held my attention.  This says a lot, as most movies I fall asleep through.  Of course Ema loved it--she is enthralled with Josh Hutcherson.  He played Peeta in the Hunger Games. Caleb said it was okay.  But I think he enjoyed all the adventure scenes!

Tuesday afternoon Caleb and his friends--Jack and Nick--went skating at the local rink and then they had a sleepover in the tent that was set up over the weekend.  Having this much space allows for the tent to be set up and not even in the way.  Unfortunately, Jack had an allergy breakout from our beloved cat, so he headed home early, but Nick and Caleb made it until about 4:30 a.m. before freezing their little noses off and headed inside for warmer temps!

During the morning hours Nana, Ema, Caleb and I worked on getting the side of the house cleaned up.  This has been a project that was weighing heavy on the mind and has been on the to do list for about a month.  Kinda like the garage!  While I don't have a before photo, here is the after.  Try to imagine 15+ rolls of barbed wire, broken hoses, old lumber that needed to be cut up, bricks--both broken and in tact--and several cut down trees that were spewed across this area.

 This is the wood pile that took us over two hours to cut up and stack.  The twigs in the background took the longest.  Not too mention they wreaked havoc all over my arms and legs.  Lots of scrapes and bruises.  I am so glad that I don't need firewood to be my cooking heat source.  I can't imagine how many hours were spent looking for wood to burn 100+ years ago.  Really makes me appreciate my modern conveniences. 

This was the final project of the day.  Nana, Craig and I had planted a few Hostas and Shasta Daisies under the Aspens along the walkway a while back.  It was in need of some fresh bark to give it a clean look, so Nana and I laid down the weed blocker and freshened it up a bit!




It's now Wednesday and Emaleigh is headed to the library to volunteer, while Caleb and I hang out with friends and run a couple of errands.

I love the flexibility and spontaneity summer brings!

You Have a What?

So yesterday we noticed that Lilly was taking a step backward in her house training process.  Both the dogs have done great!  Only a few tinkle accidents in the past two weeks.  Until yesterday that was...

Before bed last night she had 3 accidents in the house.  And each time we took her outside she would spend 5-10 minutes trying to go again.  Something wasn't quite right.  She got up twice in the night, and in a 45 minute span this morning she tried to go at least 15 times. Poor baby...

Well today I took them to the vet and while Quinn checked out great, it turns out Lilly has either a UTI or a bladder infection.  The vet is treating her with antibiotics in hopes that it will get the job done!  Please keep her (and Craig and I) in your prayers, as I am not sure we can get up in the middle of the night too much!

She is such a sweetie-pie and I feel just horrible that she is experiencing this pain at such a young age.  She seems to be taking it in stride though and it hasn't affected her ability to play with her brother.  While they still wrestle around and play incessantly, they are also great at giving each other a little bit of love, too!

Cardboard and Some Duct Tape Anyone?

This week Caleb took apart his science fair project so that he and Ema could create something new from the cardboard. 




His creation started as a pair of wings.  He tried to take flight numerous times and decided it was because he didn't have a tail wing that he was not able to make it work.

Emaleigh used hers to create surfboards for her dolls.  Amazingly, the parts where the feet attach can come apart making it easier for her to slide the feet in.




What ingenuity these kids have!

Breathing a Sigh of Relief

 When my mom sold her house it happened so quickly that Craig and I didn't really have time to get the garage ready to store her things.  We knew we wouldn't be able to do the addition until fall, but we said we'd deal with it later since we were not motivated in the dead of winter to go through our things and make room for her things.  Not to mention we had to move some things from the inside of our home to make room for her, so of course we just threw them in the garage.

So here are a few before photos to show how crammed and stuffed our garage became.

 Last weekend we had it on our to do list of things we wanted to get done but, naturally it kept getting pushed to the bottom of the list and it didn't get done.  But yesterday, Nana and I decided enough was enough and it was time to take the plunge.  As overwhelming as it was to take all of her things out and a bunch of ours, as well, we hunkered down and got 'er done! And in record time, I might add.  Just 3 hours from start to finish.  We even made time to take the things we no longer needed to the rescue mission.  That added a couple extra hours, but it was great to feel a little bit lighter and breath a deep sigh of relief that this project is done!

 

 Even the kids joined in the fun and went through their stuff!

Finally there is enough room for Nana's things to be neatly stacked and for an extra bonus--a place park my car!  This is a big deal for me, because I hate, hate, hate to scrape my windows.  And while it is summer now and we are enjoying some great weather, I just know that the window scraper will have to come out again before Nana finally has a place to call her own!

 Isn't that a beautiful sight?!!

12 Summers

 I saw this on a blog I came across this week.  How many summers do you have left in your home? 

Well after a little calculating, I came up 5 for Ema and 7 for Caleb.  How crazy is that?   I am so glad that my job is flexible enough to have the ability to be home with them. We've had many great adventures over the years.   Travels to new places, visits with family, hanging out with friends, and just kicking back and relaxing.  That is definitely my favorite part of summer.  This summer, Craig is only able to take one week off instead of two.  But that's okay, since the majority of this summer will be caring for and training our new family members.  While we will be taking some day trips here and there, we will primarily be sticking pretty close to home this summer. We will definitely be working on projects around the home.  We still have a ton on the to do list!  In fact, it seems like the list just keeps getting longer and longer! First on the list--try to make room for one car in the garage.

The best thing is we are looking forward to all of the great things God has in store for us.

Treats

Today the kids and I headed to town to get a few treats!  I don't usually splurge on myself, but today I did just that.

 A new pair of black sandals.  My last pair were flip flops that had seen better days.

And I know what you're thinking.  Sharpies?  A splurge?  For me it is!  And I can hardly wait to start marking it up!

I Love Summer

It always takes a bit to get adjusted from working to being on summer vacation.  It never ceases to amaze me that while I only work part time, and my schedule changes every quarter, this change from working to not working takes me a while to get into the groove.  There's the let down of saying goodbye to another group of students.  There's the adjustment of having my own kids home all day.  And of course there is the time it takes to just get used to not having to be somewhere at a specific time. But I must admit that is the best part.  No commitments.  Just go with the flow!  Here's the low-down on our first week.

Monday we bought some puppies.

Tuesday we went to the library.

Wednesday we went to town to visit friends.

Thursday we went to a movie.

And today.  Today we had lunch with Craig and saw what we thought to be an extinct item--the pay phone.  Then we ventured to the park and had ice cream on the way home. The kids played with the wagon and their puppies.

No real plans.  Just figuring it out day by day!  My favorite kind of way to be!