Our Yard Before and Now

This was a view of our yard just before we moved in June, 2000.

This is the same view, eight years later. Can you believe that it is the same tree? It is. A little water and fertilizer can make a big difference.

Our Yard

When I was out taking pictures of the lawnmower, I looked at our back yard and throught it looked really nice. Janice has done such a fantastic job of the yard since we first moved in, 8 years ago.

We have peas, tomatoes, and green beans (my favorite!) growing in our garden.

Giving up the ghost

A few weeks ago, I was mowing the lawn with my riding lawnmower. I stopped to empty the grass. When I went to go, it wouldn't move. I thought that my 22 year old lawnmower had finally given up the ghost and the transmission had broken. We weren't quite sure what to do. We were busy for several weeks, (Canada trip & Boise trip) and didn't do anything about it.
The first time we cut the grass with our old push lawnmower that Janice's boss had given us, was when we got home from Canada. Adam was supposed to have cut it while we were gone, but he hurt his knee playing softball (I think he also forgot). It was really long. Janice cut most of it the first time.

The next time, I started cutting it and made it 3/4 of the way through and Janice finished it. I decided that it would definitely be worth taking the lawnmower in to the repair shop to see if it could be fixed.

The last time we cut it, it was really hot, but I did the whole thing, wondering the whole time if I was going to survive the summer cutting it by hand.

Anyway, on Thursday, we received a call from the repair shop saying that the belt had slipped off the pulley because the belt was damaged. They replaced the belt for $65 and I picked it up on Saturday.

I am one happy grass cutterer!!

This is what we spent all day Saturday working on. The backsplash for our new countertops turned out well. We still have to grout them and put a sealer on which will brighten the tiles.

The desk area by the refrigerator still has to be done.

We really have really gotten to like natural stone products.

Grandsons

Here are update pictures of Brenden and Miles. They are doing well and we really enjoyed playing with them.

Our New Grand Daughter

Well, our new grand daughter (and only grand daughter) has arrived. She was born on Thursday night (June 12) at 9:05 pm. She weighed 8 pounds and was 19.5 inches long. Greg and Melinda have named her Eve Marie.

Of course, most of these pictures are of the grandparents holding her, along with Miles. I always get the order of the pictures wrong on blog, but the top 3 pictures are in Greg's apartment and the bottom one with Janice holding her is in the hospital.

Renovation Begins!!

We have finally started the renovation of our kitchen, after 8 years of mauve countertops. The colors in these pictures aren't exactly right, but it gives an idea of what it looks like. The cupboards are actually more tan than what appears here and the granite is more like the middle picture. We both love it and can't wait until we put stone tile for the backsplash behind the kitchen countertop. We are also planning on putting stone tiles on the floor in the near future (at least less than 8 years from now!).

This is a picture of the shed as completed when we left. Grandma Hough told us tonight that Lyle Foggin has added the door and only a little of the siding is left to be done. The shed was a big job and took a lot longer than we thought!!!

Here are some pictures from dinner that we had at Aunt Sharon's. This is KD, Paris, Brody, and Blaize. Paris was very friendly this time.
A close up of Paris and Brody
Grandma Hough with Blaize
KD
Uncle Rod.

Adam gave Grandpa Hough solar lights for the sidewalk. We installed them and after a few issues, got them working.

Then we started on the shed. This was the beginning and easiest part. It got a lot harder from here. The other shed pictures on the camera still and I will publish them later.

We got a lot done and hopefully helped Grandma and Grandpa Hough. It was fun to work with my cousins and other members of the family. Cliff Noble (my cousin) helped all day on Thursday to get most of the shed done. He was up on the roof nailing the sheeting to the rafters (he is 70 years old!)

We also added gravel and bushes to other areas of the yard to finish off those areas and make them more maintenance free. More gravel was put down. We were pretty tired after hauling all this gravel, but the results look good. Janice and Grandma purchased plants for those areas and we put down landscape fabric and then the gravel on top.

Working at Grandma and Grandpa Houghs

We have been in Canada all week helping to finish the landscaping for Grandpa and Grandma Hough. Here we finished the side yard with 2.5 cubic yards of washed gravel (about 2.5 tons of gravel).