Transformed

The first weekend in August we painted the outside of our house! And by "we" I mean Cal and his brother Pete (thanks guys). It was a HUGE project that has been looming over us since we bought the house and we are so glad to have it done.

They cranked it out- I was impressed. And they did a great job.

Two men. Four ladders. Two evenings of prep work. One long day of spraying. One day of trim. And one day of touch ups. Not bad, right?

Before:

(Our "pee colored house," as we affectionately called it)

During:

There were some precarious parts of the job that I was grateful to not be a part of. I think we all breathed a sigh of relief when those were done.

After:

So. Much. Better. (at least we like it).

Now every time we come home, Zach says, "Mom, do you like our green house?"

Tahoe, Of Course

We hadn't planned on going on our annual August trip to Reno this year. But then, we just couldn't resist, and we went the last weekend of July/start of August. We were actually able to see the whole Smith family, and most of the Gabbarts while we were there. This trip we got to spend a little more time there and it was so fun! I got to relax. Glorious!

First trip to Tahoe- a mid day excursion. Cal and Pete mountain biked down to meet us. We ate a yummy lunch picnic and paddled around in the kayak.

Zach playing with Grandma Calli

Austin snoozing in Cal's arms. What a trooper.

The next day we headed up again for the evening, this time with the Gabbarts. Tahoe in the evening is amazing. I love it.

Zach got to rock jump with the big boys.

Tahoe's crystal clear water! Beautiful!

No red sunset this year. I guess that's a good thing, since last year's was due to California's wild fires.

One day we took a quick trip to Virginia City (an old mining "ghost town"). I had never been and it was pretty interesting. We just walked the main drag.

Jay and Sheriff Zach

Thanks Calvin and Calli for a great trip!

Delicious!

Our gardens are already pumping out the produce. It is so fun! We have had at least this many raspberries every day for a week or two. YUM!!

Zach can't eat these peas fast enough. It was a real breakthrough last spring when he started downing them from my parent's garden. I think my heart skipped a beat. To say the least, he has been a picky eater and veggies are not his thing. He has gotten so much better now and I love seeing him love these! As I was trying to take this picture I had to fight him off. Finally, he just couldn't resist, so I had to put down my camera so I could get a few too.

The tomatoes and zucchini are just getting started.

Any good recipes?

Buddies

Zach and Austin can't get enough of each other. Austin is just fascinated by everything Zach does. And sometimes scared. Can't say I blame him. And Zach loves Austin. Zach was sick this last week and I could. not. keephimaway from Austin. (in an effort to keep Oz from getting sick).

It went something like this:

Z: cough, cough, sneeze. "Mom, I need a Kleenex!"

(Z crawling onto the playmat with A)

E: "Okay. Please stay away from Austin

Z: "But Mom, I'm all better! I feel great!" cough cough.

Uh huh.

Luckily, Austin seemed to avoid getting too sick.

Anyway, it is really sweet. I can't wait til Austin's bigger and they can really play together.

On second thought, it goes way too fast.

The 4th

It rained here on the 4th. Lucky for us we went with our friends the Westers to a fireworks show on a golf course out in Erie on the 3rd. There were huge bouncy castles and slides that Zach LOVED. Since then he keeps asking to go back. Sorry, buddy. I even half-heartedly took some pictures of the fireworks this year. I've always thought about doing it... Not a bad show for a little town.

Can you see Zach in there?

Throughout the show he kept saying, "Oooooh! That's my favorite!! Did you see it? That one is my favorite!"

Did I Mention...

that we've been potty training?

Sweet freedom!

It Was Quiet

So I went to check things out.

I asked him what he was doing.

"I'm decorating Mom!! Like it?"

Yup.