Saturday, July 10, 2010 - Update

As some of you know, we've been wanting a patio for some time. Awhile back, we got some bids on a concrete patio, but it was more than we wanted to spend. Today, Ryan got a wild hair and decided to start building a patio out of paver stones. He got the grass all dug out, borrowed a rototiller and then we headed to Home Depot. Of course, they only had sand in tiny little bags that cost $4. And, if you put down the crushed stone underneath. . .those bags would have cost us over $500! So, now we have a 20 X 20 area of dirt and aren't sure what to do.


I'm sure a sand pit would deliver sand to our house at a cheaper price. Then after all of that (I'm sure I'll laugh about this later) we had a pile of dug up grass to dispose of. We don't have a wheelbarrow (I know. . what homeowner doesn't have a wheel barrow?) so we carried these huge chunks of grass from our backyard into Ryan's pickup. Later we got smart. . .we may not have a wheelbarrow, but Olivia has a sled. LOL.

And, yes, I grabbed the camera to get out of a few minutes of real work. So, after 1+ hour, we got all the grass loaded into the pickup and Ryan found a place to dump it. Whew. Maybe we should have gone with the concrete patio. All this work and still no patio. :(

Friday, July 9, 2010 - Update

Been busy with playdates, trips to the park, gymnastics, occupational therapy, Jazzercise. . .and finally getting to see Eclipse and my dear Edward. :) What a fantastic movie, but I can't brag about the movies without saying to read the books first. It's been 2 years since I've read them and I think I am going to have to re-read them. Amazing books!

I was a little bummed to find out that the site I got my blogger backgrounds from is no more. So, I'm back to thecutestblogontheblog.com. If anyone has another that they recommend, let me know!

Potty Training Day One

I guess she wanted a little more privacy. . . .

No success yet, but Olivia is now sitting on the potty for more than 5 seconds at a time. With her newly created hideout, she would be content to sit there all day. If only she understood what she was supposed to do while sitting there. . . :)

Heather's Fight

Many of you have asked how Heather is doing and her fight with melanoma cancer. Well, my friends, she is still fighting hard. I thought I would share the news story about her that was on last night. She has an amazing story and has done a lot to spread awareness of this fast-growing cancer.

Beauty came at high price for Derby woman

To follow Heather and her story, you can visit her cancer blog here.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010 - Update

Olivia has started enjoying not only pedicures, but manicures as well. Today, she wanted her nails painted red. I've only painted them one other time and that was a clear color. Now, it looks like I am the one in need of a manicure. :)

P.S. Just an FYI for my out of town friends. . .fireworks are legal where we live. Actually, they are huge here and you can watch several professional-like shows from your driveway. I didn't want anyone to think we were breaking the law. LOL.

Fourth of July

We spend every 4th of July (at least for the past 5 years) with Ryan's brother's family. They are the ones who moved to California this year and we thought our tradition had been lost. Thankfully, they are back in town. . .for good. We all had a great time together and Olivia thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks this year. Thanks for a great evening!

Ring around the rosie. . .

Olivia, Rebekah and Julia

Olivia even lit some of her own fireworks.

Olivia and Aunt Laura

The smoke balls (smokey smokeys) were Olivia's favorite!

Happy 4th of July from our family to yours.