9 Years

Remember this? It was out backyard in August when we first started landscaping. (Lesson learned - not good to start a landscaping project during the hottest month of the year.) The ground was hard to work with and I wasn't sure how it would end up. Our goal was to make it feel as lush as possible - you know bring a little Pacific Northwest to the Arizona desert (don't ask to see our water bill!!) I am happy to say we are so pleased with the results. We have our splash pad area which is so great for the kids. I can just ship them outside and I know they won't drown. We hope to build off of the bench a little more and can't wait to see the trees grow and start shading some of the area.

On the other side of the yard are plants and trees, including 3 fruit trees. By next summer I should have so many limes we won't be able to drink enough Corona's...

I also now have these lovely Arizona Roses. A gift from Justin for our 9th anniversary. To me Roses represent how things that look so tough on the outside can turn out to be the most beautiful. I am proud to say that we have been married 9 years. It takes hard work and dedication to keep a loving marriage thriving and I am so happy and grateful to be a wife to my husband.

He makes my heart happy ~ this is the quilt I made him. Our gifts to each other were supposed to cost $9. With a little help from my girlfriend, Goodwill, and a Linen Outlet I was able to do it. Hard to make a manly quilt...

Oh, and just because we finished landscaping doesn't mean we have stopped construction. This is the shed/playhouse/outhouse/man cave/craft shop going in on the side of the house...

Seriously, never a dull moment.

Paint a Kitchen Table

We bought this kitchen table 8 years ago at Sam's Club for around $200. In that time it has moved 5 times and, we figure, has had over 5,840 family meals around it. It has heard discussions, felt hands held, been climbed on, spilled on, wiped up and wiped down. There has been moaning and whining, laughing and crying, all around this table.

When you start to think of a piece of furniture like that, well it becomes a part of you - of the family. What better way to honor it then give it a face lift? She needed one bad, dontcha think?

Justin sanded and I stained.

I am in LOVE LOVE LOVE with the finished product! It turned out so awesome. I woke up early this morning and couldn't wait to look at it again. The whole project cost about $30 dollars and we have a brand new kitchen.

I can't even imagine what will take place around her in the next 8 years...

And to make things even sweeter the weather was amazing this weekend. Nothing better then taking advantage of every drop of warm summer rain!

Weekend Flurry

It is now officially summer vacation in our home. It is the time in our year where the girls and I get to plan a bunch of fun things and Dad gets to join in if he is lucky. This weekend one of his many jobs was to install ceiling fans. We purchased this "Five Minute Fan" with the hopes that, well, it would be a quick install... He didn't think it it was funny that I wanted to time the process, which started at 11:41 am.
He also didn't think it was funny when we completed the fan at 1:58 pm. Exactly 2 hours later.

Since we lost so much time on that project I am pleased to say the joining a food Co-op proved to be a success. Check out all this food I received at the first pick-up for just $15!!

So now I am off to figure out how to use my coconut this week... I am thinking homemade Almond Joys... HA Just kidding.