Sunday, November 27, 2011

Scenes from Days Gone By

Ma'ma helping Logan transplanting Logan's garden into larger pots. Logan grew lots of cherry tomatoes. The pepper plants and squash needed much larger pots. Perhaps next year we'll construct a raised bed garden. Logan would LOVE that!

In another scene Ma'ma is helping Logan make a Lowe's project. Logan loves these projects from Auntie Pat!

The other scenes are from days after camp during the summer. I signed Logan up for tri-athalon camp. Swimming was his favorite part-no surprise.






2011 has brought many changes. Many of these changes have caused life to be busier-too busy for this mom. There is no time for myself and no time for things such as blogs. Nevertheless, here are some scenes from the summer onward. Enjoy!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Logan's Obsession with Construction Continues



Since the fall when we began house hunting, Logan has been fascinated with construction. His favorite TV shows are on the DIY channel (the Do it Yourself channel). If anyone comes to the house to work on the irrigation, fix the dryer or paint the house, he is instantly intrigued and involved. Recently Logan and I visited our local lumber yard. There Logan was able to get a scrap piece of wood to drill, hammer and "stain with Minwax". Here are some scenes of Logan at work.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Summer! It's been a Busy Time!

Summer is always a busy time. It's time to get all the chores done that can't be done during the school year including doctor's appointments and car work. Nathan and I have been working feverishly on the lawn. The front lawn is filled with "parasidic clover"(as Nathan has affectionately called it), dandelions, thistle, and various other weeds while the sides and back are much better. Meanwhile, Logan and I have been enjoying all that summer offers. We've gone to the splash pad in Edwards. We've gone on plenty of bike rides to the pool and the Nearly Everything store in Eagle for slushies. I love all the sidewalks and neighborhood paths that allow us to bike throughout Eagle Ranch without having to ride in the roads! Logan and I have visited our new library in Eagle, too. Logan has also taken to riding his ATV in the cul-de-sac with his neighborhood friends in the evenings. Finally, Logan has begun taking karate lessons this week. Despite his reluctance to try something new, he loved it! During the spring I had won a silent auction gift certificate for 2 months of karate lessons.

July 4th weekend was a busy time. We traveled to Minturn to Little Beach for a free concert. We missed the take off of a Blackhawk helicopter by minutes. We saw the dust fly and jumped out of our seats in the car from the noise. Logan would have watched in amazement. On Sunday we went to Avon to watch the fireworks. It's always an impressive show attracting 10,000 people. We haven't seen the show in 5 years and Logan was in awe the entire time. He had a blast! On Monday we traveled to Vail for the annual parade. By the end of the parade Logan was exhausted. It was a full weekend and we made the most of it.

I am trying to make the most of the summer; already the weeks are numbered! I recently accepted a mentor teacher position beginning August 9th. I will go back to work 2 weeks earlier than teachers. I am excited for the opportunity. The work I've done on the curriculum committee the last 2 years has made me a good candidate for this position. Having felt demoralized for the last 5 years under my former principal has also propelled me accept the position. My former principal has since been demoted twice in the past year. As a mentor teacher, my responsibilities include evaluating 5 mentees and most importantly coaching my mentees. The weekly Instructional Leadership team meetings and my "crew" meetings will occur during school hours enabling me to coordinate this with family life. I am excited about my new job. Meanwhile all my classroom supplies are sitting in our garage because my new school is being renovated. I am waiting for the work in my room to be completed and I will move all the boxes back (I am REALLY tired of moving boxes!). I do not recommend moving a house and a classroom in the same year.

We are excited about our family members visiting. Logan has 2 countdown charts hanging from the kitchen counters-one for mam'ma and pap'pa and one for nanny. I'll send photos when I can get them from Nathan's phone.

Friday, May 20, 2011

More scenes from the house




Interior Design by Nathan and Sandi






Here's Nathan and Sandi's design choices for the family room. Still waiting for the kitchen table and carpet. Scenes of Logan's playroom and Nathan's office.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Rocks, rocks and more rocks

Notice all the rocks in the John Deere photo? There is a 2' wide row of rocks that completely surrounds the house. Coming through the rocks is lots of grass! This is something that you are not aware of when you buy a house in the winter. Luckily, the grass is growing on top of landscaping fabric. Nathan and I spent last Saturday and Sunday picking up rocks, pulling up fabric, replacing fabric and replacing rocks. We finished a 40' x 2'row. Our backs were tired! We took a family jacuzzi after- all 3 of us. Nathan really enjoyed that:)It may take 2 summers to complete this task! In addition, we have the worst looking lawn on the cul-de-sac. The first estimate for a spring clean-up was $1,325. The second estimate was 50% of the original! It looks like we only have 1 sprinkler out too! He'll be by sometime when it isn't snowing or raining. I bought several pots for container gardening. I was tempted to buy the annuals, but threatening snow convinced me to wait.

We too had two guys come to the house for estimates on painting the exterior. The first estimate was for $7,800. In speaking with our neighbor, there are a number of families wanting to paint their exteriors this summer. If we can get 4 homes interested, our neighbor's friend will make a deal of ~$4-5,000 each. Of course we're interested in joining the ranks. Needless to say, we're working hard to get things in order for summer guests. There's still so much to do!

We appear to having wonderfully friendly neighbors. A family a few doors down left a plate of jummies for us.

We're expecting the kitchen table in the coming days. Logan's Cars table has gotten a lot of use!

The BIGGEST John Deere fan