This Old House

It isn't finished yet, but it's looking so much better. Many thanks to Brian and his dad as well as Everette and Dallas. I am really happy with the color. We're in discussion about the door color (red or strip the color and go natural) as well as the shake shingles to go on the front porch.

Happy 4th of July!

We're (Elijah, Emily and I) are off to the boat this morning--Mary has been up there since Thursday. Brian is staying behind to finish siding the house. Have a safe and happy 4th everyone! I'll be glad when our computer isn't broken anymore and we can upload NEW pictures.

A walk down fiddlers lane 2006-2008

Things I am thankful for

1. New mini blinds on three windows in my house where there were previously none. I used to not want them, but I've been feeling like our house is exposed at night and wanted some cover. Plus I like the way the evening light is filtering through them into the living room right now.

2. Mid-week trips to the beach and museum with only your husband. Also eating here.

3. Sugar snap peas are in full harvest right now. Yum! I like picking things straight from the vine and eating it.

4. On that note--I have SEVERAL green tomatoes. We planted large plants early in the season so we'll be eating fresh tomatoes soon I hope.

5. This weekend is Fiddlers!!! One of our favorite weekends of the whole year.

House updates

All three of the new windows are now finished and the attic has light! It is still blazing hot up there since there isn't any insulation, but at least we have the capability to put a fan in a window and blow air in or out. Today Brian is getting the existing house windows ready for the siding. Last night we sat on the porch talking about the rest of the summer and he realized how many weeks we're going to be traveling next month so it lit a little fire under him to get moving this week.

Well, apparently our computer is going to crash soon, so I guess I'll post again today. I just tried to upload some pictures and there are some kind of fatal errors happening. What I was going to post was a picture of my house on the last day it will look the way it looks for posterity. Tomorrow starts phase one of our summer construction project. We ordered the new siding today. Wahoo! Tomorrow Brian will start cutting holes in the side of our house to add some windows to our second story attic. These windows were purchase in, um... 2005(?) I want to say. They've been sitting in our garage ever since. This is step one to having a functional attic space. I know it will at least give more light up there. Next week we (why do we women always say "we"?)--Brian and Bob (his dad) and anyone else who is interested in helping will start putting up the new siding. We went against the supposed theory that blue houses don't sell. We both really liked the dark blue with white trim. We're going to add white shake shingles to the front of the porch which I am really excited about. Hopefully I will add some pictures of the process.

What we've been up to this week

Elijah and Brian in 2007.
same picture in 2009.


I keep thinking that surely summer is going to calm down...one of these days. This week the kids have been going to Art Camp at the Lafayette Museum of Art. Elijah's teacher from school is teaching the class and they are having so much fun! They made sculptures out of clay that got fired in the kiln, tie-dyed shirts, worked with paint, oil pastels, and markers, and tomorrow they will splatter paint.

Last weekend we went to Bloomington for a weekend music festival at All Saints Orthodox Church. We stayed in our camper and it was perfect! We had a nice little place to hideout when we needed a/c, a nap, or a quiet place to hang out. I know it isn't exactly "roughing it" but I think I'm over that. it's okay for us to have a bed to sleep in if we're seriously going to hit the road.

Blast technology

I really wanted to share a great video clip of Elijah performing in his school musical, We Haz Jazz. It was a musical about the evolution of jazz music in the United States. He played Tommy Dorsey. You can spot him in the front row with a blue sport jacket, red bow-tie, and big glasses. He was a natural! He was doing jazz hands all over the place. Unfortunately our video camera is not digital. Our camera takes digital video, but the only clip that I have (that you get the pleasure of watching) is VERY wobbly thanks to a certain 4 year old that is pulling on my arm whilst I am trying to tape. Don't say I didn't warn you. You may need dramamine.

Booked

It feels a little more real tonight. We have a destination and a reservation that is paid for. The end of this summer will find us in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Cleaning off my memory card

Mary's new big girl bike. We're waiting on the real training wheels to arrive, so in the meantime we've got temporary smaller ones to help her stay up.

Riding bikes to the Battlefield on Memorial day. We visited the nature center and walked down to the creek.
Elijah was very proud that he took this picture.
Mary took this one.
Playing cards with Grandma Betty in the camper.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

Woo-hoo! Now the big dilemma is...start having fun or clean the house from all the clutter and junk that has accumulated. I asked Brian this morning about having a LARGE yard sale and getting rid of some of our furniture. Does anyone else just ever get the urge to purge your life and start the next phase with less?

And the fun is just beginning

My friend, Kerrie, and I took the kids to Prophetstown State Park today. We walked around the farm and then went to one of the playground areas for lunch. Aunt Laura and Grandma Susan were with us too. We tried to camp there this weekend, but it was booked so we're backyard camping in the new camper. Last night only Elijah stayed with Grandma and Laura, but we're going to try it with everyone tomorrow night I think. We took our bikes with us to the park too and had a nice ride along the trail. Elijah is quite the little bike rider. He, Laura, and Susan actually rode back to the house in Battle Ground from the state park. I am so impressed with him. It's actually been a little difficult to keep up with him now that he's on two wheels.
Emily had the most fun seeing the animals. She petted the pigs, sheep, horses, cows, and chickens. She only got pecked two times before deciding that was enough.
Mary went in with the calves. One of them licked Emily on the face!
Eli and Mary G. getting cozy in their new bed.
This is it!!

Emily, at 18 months, is all about moving. She says lots of words: bye bye, hi, mama, dada, Jijah, Mar Mar, Bob-o, Papa, Lucy, sit, more, no, cup, juice, outside, shoes, walk, night-night (which is actually what she calls her paci) and she can give the dog commands like "down". She is a busy, busy girl. She is making me laugh these days when she gets really close to doing something she's not supposed to--like climbing the rails up the swingset. She'll put her foot up and look at me and say, "bye-bye" with a little gleam in her eye. I'll say, "No bye-bye. Feet down." and she'll say, "hi" and take another step up. Little stinker.

Score one point (well, maybe ten points) for staying in Lafayette. Today after I picked Elijah up from school, he and I ran in to McCords for cherry cokes and a giant cookie to share. We then decided to walk down to the pedestrian bridge again and watch the trains go by. It was delightful and sunny and warm. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with my sweet son. Mr. Bojangles, this older man who plays the mandolin and sings folk covers downtown for the farmers market was out playing as well. It was one of those moments when you think to yourself, "self--remember this moment."

This weekend has been HUGE for us. First of all, Elijah learned to ride a 2 wheeler. He was extremely afraid to attempt it and we'd had numerous conversations about how he thought it would take him months and he'd need to wear pads, etc, etc...Boy was he ever surprised at how easy it was for him. He's been out riding all weekend--and he and Brian rode bikes to church today (another plus for staying in town for now!). In other big news...

We got a camper last night!!!!! Well, it's not technically ours, but for our family to use. We ended up getting a much nicer one than I originally thought we'd end up with, so I am SO EXCITED! It is a 2006 Jayco popup. It has a king bed, a queen bed, and 2 table fold down beds. Seating for 4 at the table, the table can be moved outdoors and attach to the side, it has a refrigerator, stove, heat and a/c, and an outside shower hose. So last night Brian and I were immediately plotting our summer travels. We CAN'T WAIT!!! We're off to see the country.

Goofy girl!!

It is so interesting to me that on a normal school day I drag Mary out of bed at 7:05 so that we can walk out the door at 7:20. I literally thought she was going to daycare in her pajamas on Friday. But come Saturday, she is in our room at 6:03 ready to start the day...

IRP NIGHT

Yes, that is Luke Skywaker riding a bull in his diorama.

Independent Research Project Night

As they have learned about the elements of a story (characters, setting, events) the students in Elijah's class each wrote and presented a short description of the character they chose from a fairy tale. Elijah picked the Irish Cinderlad. They also made a diorama with the setting and characters. It was a short and fun way for them to share what they learned.

To say that we've been busy lately might just be an understatement. I think we are starting to feel that if we're not in motion we are asleep. Let's see...where should we start?

Last weekend (Mothers' Day) was a pretty awesome time. On Friday night I went to the grocery store alone after everyone was put to bed so that I wouldn't have to worry about getting to the store for the weekend. Brian was having band rehearsal at our house when I got home. Saturday morning we got up bright and early to meet some of his students and co-workers at the Attica farmers market to sell the rest of Seeger's greenhouse plants. Brian took the older kids with him and I stayed behind to walk the dog, get a shower, and let the baby sleep (not in that order). I had such a great time walking Saturday. It was crisp and sunny with a bit of wind. Emily was putting her face out to feel the wind on it. You could almost see the wheels turning as she contemplated what the feeling was. She and I met the others later in the morning in Attica. The farmers market is in the elementary school parking lot so the kids had a great time on the playground all morning with some of their friends. We came home with (another) truckload of plants for our yard so in the early afternoon I put tomatoes and sunflowers in the ground and potted some Mothers Day plants. Later that afternoon I went and got a fabulous pedicure with a friend and when I got home it was time to get ready for the SITTER! Yes, we were out of the house Saturday evening with no children. The STH played the Mosey down Main Street and it was SUPER, UBER fun. I went in several shops that I'd never been able to visit, saw tons of people I knew--and got to talk to them for more than 30 seconds, and went out to dinner with our friends. It was truly a fabulous night. Except that Mary wouldn't go to bed for the sitter, but that's another story.

Sunday we spent at church and hanging out with Brian's family at his sister's house. We played kickball, laughed, enjoyed our family, and ate some great dinner.

This week has been a bit of a blur with the STH performing at his parents' church Mother/Daughter banquet dinner last night, me on a field trip to the Indy Zoo yesterday, and Elijah's upcoming Independent Research Night for school on Thursday--oh wait, I mean, tomorrow. I think the end of the school year is always busy, but this is the first year it has been THIS busy. I am sure glad I did not sign anyone up for spring sports.

A very productive weekend

And the aching back to prove it!! Saturday morning we were supposed to walk the mini marathon in Indy, but we just hadn't trained enough so we walked a "mini" mini. Brian and I met up with his mom at the state park at 8:30 on Saturday morning. Bob-o watched Elijah and Mary so we could keep a decent pace. We walked about 7 miles, or a little over half of a mini marathon. It was about 2 hours. The weather was perfect and the setting was beautiful, so I am not too sad we missed the Indianapolis sea of people. After we got home and rested for a while I decided to work in the yard. I got weeds pulled, more veggies planted in the garden, and the grass mowed. Today after church I bought some mulch and got it layed in the front beds. I planted almost the rest of the veggies and lots of the potted herbs. My biggest accomplishment was getting the back junk yard area dug up and cleaned up so we can plant more things behind our garage. Now all the junk that was in the dirt is on the back concrete pad, so I am hoping to finish that project this week.

Here is what we have planted in the garden so far:

sugar snap peas, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, swiss chard, onions, potatoes, cucumber, squash, yellow peppers, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, tomatoes.

herbs: cilantro, italian basil, thai basil, lemon grass, flat italian parsley, catnip, thyme, garlic chives.

I am really excited about eating a lot of our own food this year and that it is farmers market time again.

Why won't anyone sleep around here???!!! I declined going to my sister-in-law's for a fun family cookout because I knew I had some tired kids. Mary, the most difficult of the non-sleepers, got put to bed at 7:00 after a nice warm bath and a story, in hopes that she might be asleep by 7:45. Here it is 9:30 and guess who just popped out again? Emily has been fighting it for the last hour. Grr.