The Power of Yard Work Parties

Thank goodness, it's not a jungle out there... not anymore, at least.

Check out these "before" and "after" photos and you may understand why we're so grateful to our parents for showing up. Thanks to both families for donating your trucks, tools, and time to scraping back the layers of awfulness in our front yard.

Our parents turned the driveway from Dandelion Central into a place we'd actually be proud to park our cars:


As for the transformation from Curbside Eyesore into Non-Embarrassing Bare Flower Bed... well, that took a little longer than one afternoon... (This one's worth clicking on the picture so you can see how bad it was originally. No, really.)


How did we tackle that shrubbery mess? It took months, but only because we get distracted very easily. It went a little something like this:

Step One: I cut out all of the old plants--including one sad, scraggly fir tree. There was also an initial weeding. (Note: weeds grow back if you don't, you know, put real plants in the bed. Who knew?) As you can imagine, this created quite the yard compost pile! (The picture is just one part of one hedge...)

Step Two: Mike dug out most of the stumps, but we had to hire a stump grinder for the tree.

Step Three: Our parents came over to help us weed and level the flowerbed, which we'll be covering with weed-block (and planting next spring). They were so energetic, they even moved on to some of the other flowerbeds, picking weeds that you can't see from the road. (So thorough!)

Thanks for all the help, family! We'll be sure to call you when we get brave enough to tackle the backyard...

The 2010 Photo?

We are back from our amazing vacation in Greece and Italy!

I imagine it will take me a few days to organize the many photos we took... and even longer to clean them up, then post the generally interesting ones. (I sincerely doubt you all want to see pictures of every hotel room.)

In the mean time, however, I've decided to copy Tara's brilliance. On her blog sidebar, she's posted a family picture from each autumn (going back to 2006). I am going to do the same, and our 2010 photo will definitely come from the trip. So... which of the following do you like best?

1. Athens (in front of the Parthenon)

2. Crete (Captain Nick the Greek's boat)

3. Florence (Ponte Vecchio)


4. Montepulciano (Tuscan Hills)

Sun Lakes Camping Extravaganza

To revisit my twin themes of (a) belated picture posting and (b) my families getting along... the Sun Lakes camping trip from Mother's Day weekend!

My sister-in-law (D) meets her family for an annual camping trip in Sun Lakes. Last year, D expanded the trip to include her in-laws (Mike and me, the eldest brother's family, and the grandparents). In 2010, the trip got even bigger! My parents joined, as did one of D's close friends. There were kids running around everywhere, food being cooked at all hours of the day, and some pretty cutthroat games of hand and foot.

Mike and I won every round, in case you're curious.

My father was happy to take Mike and James (Mike's middle brother) out for two days of fishing on Banks Lake. I spent a lot of time napping and snacking, though there was a poorly played game of miniature golf...

Giving Thanks

I realize it has been quite some time since Thanksgiving. However, I recently discovered these photos on my sister-in-law's Facebook page. I couldn't resist sharing!

It's also worth noting that I'm so grateful that all of my families get along. Thanksgiving participants included: my parents, Mike and me, my brother and his family, plus Mike's brother and his family. One of my sister-in-law's closest friends even came along. It was great, and of course the food was fabulous.

Belated Mother's Day

Recently, I went over to my parents' house for a belated Mother's Day celebration. My aunt and uncle--recently back from their winter in Arizona--joined us for a lovely lunch and a bit of triplet/L-Pie wrangling. A good time was had by all!

I enjoyed getting to catch up with my aunt and uncle. Then there was puppetry with the boys (they love to stick their hands in the bear's mouth...) and reading a Little Critter book with L-Pie. She found the mouse on every page!

I love watching my little family at their parenting and grand-parenting best. And I swear, my parents have the best toys at their house (to say nothing for the cookies). My old Fisher Price dollhouse? Always a big hit... and my mom can play with Hot Wheels for hours.

Here is Renae's beautiful present for Mom. I regret to report that I showed up sans gift!

Tigger-dorable

Eleise, this one is for you!

For those of you who haven't heard the band Hey Marseilles before, the song is from their album To Travels & Trunks. It's the first track, titled "Marseilles."

Cross Your Fingers