Taking a hike

 

 

    

This last one needs some explanation, I think. This is pollen on the edge of a mud puddle. It is amazing the amount of pollen that we have!  Yuck!

Random update

We went from winter to summer seemingly overnight. We are enjoying the warmer weather, but are having to adjust to it. We have not yet turned on the a/c – holding off as long as we can :)

Pollen is EVERYWHERE!!!! Yikes – I don’t remember living anywhere where you could actually feel the pollen on things. I just dusted yesterday (because we had a houseguest overnight) and today, everything is covered with gritty yellow pollen. Yuck!

Allergies are obviously in full swing – the kids are having more trouble this year than usual. I have been using a neti-pot (not for the faint of heart) on myself and have not had any problems – whew! My sister recommended trying it, so I thought I would give it a chance and it works for me!!!

We have been taking a rest break from all the work on the house, so really not much progress has happened. We have been sorting through boxes and donating quite a bit of stuff to local thrift stores and pitching some stuff, too. We packed up our old house very quickly and the kids have grown quite a bit in the two years stuff has been in storage.

Baseball and soccer are full on. Hadden has an excellent coach and is learning a lot. He wasn’t feeling well for a couple of weeks (maybe allergies), but he seems to be back to his normal self again now. Savannah does not have an excellent coach (it’s me, so I can say that :), but we are still having a lot of fun. Our first game was rained out, so Saturday will be our next attempt at a first game.

John was home on Good Friday and we enjoyed a very long hike together on a gorgeous day. We were gone for about 4 hours and estimate we hiked at least 4 miles (up and down hills). We even explored some new trails.

Here are the kids at chimney rock.

While on the plateau, we encountered some horseback riders. Savannah was blessed to get to sit for a while. We gave her horse riding lessons for her birthday (back in Dec) and we will start the actual lessons next week. To say she is excited is a huge understatement.

Sunday, we were invited to join a wonderful group of people for some fellowship and an egg hunt. We weren’t sure it was going to work out with our church schedule, but we made it and had a blast. Thanks, Doug and Becky and all the others that were there!

Enjoying the sunsets again now that it is spring and we can see them. We were also able to have lunch on the deck yesterday and that was a nice treat also.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter celebrating the Lord Jesus Christ and what He has done for us!

Hi

It's finally just too nice out to be inside here playing on the computer. Heading outside for some vitamin D - and some jumping on the trampoline with my kiddos.

Bye :)

Cruise and Cozumel

Here are some pictures from our cruise to Cozumel, Mexico. We got home yesterday and I still feel like we are on the boat :) We had a very nice time relaxing and celebrating 10 years of marriage. While in Cozumel, we did a beach buggy excursion where we snorkeled, climbed a lighthouse, saw some crocodiles and a small Mayan ruin, and enjoyed lunch on the beach. The return trip was pretty rough and stormy, but overall we had a very nice time.

 

First sunset on the water.

In port at Cozumel.

Beach buggy, and picture of police (for Heidi).

Beautiful water, building with our color scheme.

Don’t particularly like this shot of me, but I do like the reflection of John in my glasses :)

 

Awwww – beautiful water, relaxing lunch.

     

Shots of the lighthouse. I like the window framing the ocean.

From the top of the lighthouse – 133 steps. Our buggy is the white one in the middle of the picture.

At the crocodile viewing, Mayan ruin and artist at the shopping center.

 

Musicians serenading as we returned to the ship.

Quick update

Sorry - no pictures this time. We have discovered that we are lacking in the furniture area, so we went to IKEA in Atlanta over the weekend and picked up a few items for the homeschool area. Once we have those assembled, I will post pictures. We were also looking for beds for the kids, but didn't find just the right thing. Right now, they are sleeping on the mattresses from the camper :) When we left PA, Hadden was just a little guy in a little bed (that we got rid of before we moved).

The closing went fairly smoothly last week - we were able to convert from the construction loan to a conventional mortgage. Thankful for that. Now, the time crunch pressure is off. We have a few items that still need attention - I am working on staining the corner posts and railings of the stairs to give the stairs some depth. We don't really like the monochrome palette with walls, ceilings, floors and treads all a similar color. Adding some color to the posts and railings is working to break it up and give some dimension. However, it is somewhat tricky and tedious because the treads are already in place and we don't want the treads stained.

John will be focusing on some additional exterior tasks - front porch, caps for the parapet walls and the tower roof deck. He has some furniture to assemble first :)

All of these tasks will have to wait because John is taking me on a cruise to Cozumel for our 10th Anniversary!!!! We are excited and thankful to be able to get away for a few days and just relax in hopefully warmer weather (it is still unusually cold here). I love you and Happy Anniversary, Honey! Looking forward to as many more as the Lord allows! We are also thankful for friends being willing to watch our treasures (kids) while we are away. They are looking forward to playing with friends, also.

Baseball season has started and is in full swing! Hadden played in a tournament the weekend before last and his team won 1st place for their age group.

Savannah is playing Upward Soccer this spring. This is our first time trying it and after one practice we are both looking forward to a fun season. Upward is a Christian-based soccer program and I am coaching Savannah's team.

Also - please pray for my Mom. She is having some health troubles and is undergoing some tests to determine the source. Please pray for peace of mind for both her and my Dad.

Stair progress

The current major task at the house is stairs – treads, railings, Jefferson stairs (alternating treads), etc.

Here are John and the stair guy attaching the final stringers. Doesn’t look that bad until you consider they are about 35 feet off the ground (in the middle of the stairwell).

 
Look who is up helping – this is the highest landing and she just likes to be with us :)

Stringers installed.

View from the bottom looking up with the treads in place.

 

View looking down from the very top (some rail and posts still need installed near the bottom).

Hard to see, but the railings are installed here, too. John and the stair guy decided to make the railings go tread to ceiling to make someone feel more secure when climbing up or down.

Down at the basement level, we are covering the final concrete with brick. It is looking really good, but it is messy! Can’t wait for this to all be finished in here because we currently are without stairs and have to use the ladder between these two floors. Soon …

Want to hear a cute doggie story? At bedtime, we have been lifting the dogs from the entryway to the basement level. They don’t really like it because it pushes them out of their comfort zone. However, after 2 times practically dragging them over the abyss, Lilly has decided that she can trust me. It’s really rather sweet. When she knows it is time to come down, she walks off onto my shoulders and I lower her down. I should have John video it :)