Searching For Dinner ...

 

Capturing these photos of a Badger ...

scurrying thru the field ...

on a mission for a meal ...

absolutely destroying gophers holes ...

on his path ...

Keeping my distance ...

taking the pictures from off the deck ... !!

Another Rainy Day ...

What better way to lift your spirits ...
when it has been raining for days ...
is to find new recipes ...
and spend my time in the kitchen ...
baking ...!!!

I was given a bag full of carrots ...
from my neighbour ...
perfect for these ...
"Awesome Carrot Muffins"
Enjoying them with a fresh brewed cup of tea ... !!!

Click HERE for the recipe ...

Special Moments Remembered ...

 

Remembering Dad on his day of Birth ...

knowing he enjoyed and loved all of us ...

Being outdoors amongst Nature ...

 was especially dear to him ...

Such beauty ... !!!

Always in our thoughts ... dad ... !!!

After The Rain ...

 

Raindrops on the lilac blossoms and leaves ...

glistening water ...

from the sun rays shining on them ... 

Our Prep Work Done ...

 

We worked all day ... replacing wood sections ... and screwing in the deck screws ...

on the old and new boards ....

It is now ready for Kootenay Vinyl to come ... and do their job ...

prepping it for the new deck covering ...

and installing the new railings ...

Hoping the weather will co-operate ...

we need the sunshine ... !!!

All Nails Pulled ....

Oh happy day for me ...
last nail be gone ... !!!!

While I worked on removing the nails ...
Mike continued to replace the boards ...
stairs set aside to complete the end board ...
not sure if these stairs will be put back ...

 

I was so delighted to have talked to Ian today ...

he informed me that we should go rent a deck screw gun ...

Mike had to go into town to buy more lumber and screws ...

either for us to use with the drills ...

or 

screws cartridges for the screw gun ...

there are 50 screws to a strip ...

this project will take roughly 1700 screws ... oh my ... !!!

There definitely is a technique needed to use the gun ...

I found I wasn't tall enough to get the strength to push down on the handle ...

only a few screws were messed up ...

before I figured out a technique ...

tippy toes helped ...

Mike figures I should wear high-heeled shoes ...

and Ian said that Mike should ...

cut a couple pieces off a 4x4 post ...

and strap them to my feet ...

to gain the height needed ...

Real funny guys ... !!!!

Progress With Deck ...

We decided to call our neighbour to give us a helping hand ...
James a University student could use some extra spending money ...
Finally the rain had stopped for us to get busy with the deck ...
We had a great day ... with even a glimpse of sunshine ... 

 

While James helped Mike out ...

I continued removing the nails ... slowly but surely working thru them ... 

have one small section left to do ...

wow ... there are a lot of holes ... !!!

Since we had to trim the lilac bush for construction ...

I couldn't just toss them ...

I'm enjoying them out on the patio table ... !!!

Community Spirit ...

Craig was captured in this photo ...
his school was on ground patrol ...
picking up the garbage left behind from the winter coverup ... !!!!

 

I love this picture ... 

adding a little cream to her hot chocolate ...

just like Grandma does with her coffee ...

"Grandma's Girl" for sure ...

!!!!

Bubbles, Swinging & Trampoline ...

May 16 & 17 , 2013

It was time to bring out the bubbles ...
we picked up a couple of wands for the grandchildren ...
Grandpa was being kept busy ...
as Daigen was running around trying to catch them ...
Nixon was interested in just the wand itself ... 

Daigen wanted to go into the trampoline ... of course with his snacks ...
Nixon wanted to jump too ...
so I went in with them and we played ...
"Ring around the Rosie"
Grandpa also ended up in the trampoline ...
Daigen was in stitches  ... laughing so hard ...
watching Grandpa do "bum drops" and "belly drops" ...
and he actually landed up on his feet ...
but boy did he pay for it later .... !!!!!

This was our last day ...
all packed up and ready to go ...
Daigen looking pretty dapper in moms shades ...
and Nixon playing with his motorcycle ...
We had a great ... busy time ... !!!

Deck Work ...

May 20, 2012
Monday

Well it was time to get the vinyl deck covering off the deck ...
a tedious job for sure ...
slicing about a 6 inch strip and ripping it off ...
tossing the strips into the trailer below ...
noticing that there is some water damage on the wood ...
 will have to be replaced ...
Both of us ran out of gas by early evening  ...
covered the deck with tarps ... as rain was looming ...
then Mike ended up jumping into the pool ... first time this season ...
it was a balmy 80 degrees ...
A good way to end the day ... !!!

 

Today ... May 21 ... I finished stripping off the vinyl ...

so that we could start removing the nails ...

and replacing them with screws ...

Oh my ... looking out at the deck ... there are a lot of nails ... !!!

Hope the weather holds out for us to get this part of the job done ... !!

Keeping Us Busy ...

Grandma & grandpa were left in charge ...
Nixon spied grandpa's Cheese Nips ...
then proceeded to sit down and helped himself ...
It was nap time for .... ????
Actually I was snuggling with Nixon and we both fell asleep ...
We then went out and spent some time ...
shooting some hoops with Daigen ...

 

We decided to take the boys for a bike ride and walk ...

Daigen didn't want to ride his bike ...

he knew we were going to the bridge ...

so he was more interested in picking up stones ...

to toss into the water ...

I thought this picture of all the bikes was cute ...

dads' motorbike ... Daigens' new bike ... and Nixons' trike ...

We had a great time with the boys ... !!!

A Rainy Day ...

It was a cool ... rainy morning ...
decided the best way to add some warmth to the kitchen ...
was to bake some cookies and Peach Crisp ...

Was surprised to see that the beans ...
I put in the one AeroGarden Starter System yesterday ...
were already starting to split and start to sprout ...
The other tray is ready to be transplanted into the garden ...
I did end up going outside ... in the rain ...
to work in the garden ... wearing my rain-gear ... pulling a few weeds ... 

It was around 5:00 when the sun finally ...
broke thru the clouds ... and stopped raining ...
so that we were able to work on removing the log railings ...
from the deck ...
A rope tied around the railing to guide it over the edge ...
(which I was holding)
lowering onto the tractor ...
for Mike to haul over to the woodpile ...
to burn ...
Next job is to remove the old decking vinyl ...
to check the condition of the wood underneath ... replace it if necessary ...
remove the nails and put in deck screws ...
doing the prep work ...
for the new covering and railings ...

Excited to get this job done ...
hoping the weather changes to some sunny ... warm ... days ... !!!

Also wanted to wish ...
Kendall ...
a Happy Birthday ... hope it's a great day ... !!!

Pool Time ...

It was a very warm day ... perfect for playing outside ...
Daigen was filling up the pool with water ...
as you can see ...
little brother Nixon figured it was his turn to have the hose ...
and Daigen was a little concerned ...
mom was coming to the rescue ... and Daigen was bailing ... it didn't look good ...

 

Watching Nixon trying to control the hose ...

so that he could get a drink ...

the top photos ... he was able to get a sip ...

the other pictures he tried it again ...

and the hose got caught under his arm ...

and started to spray him ... like a water fountain ... it was ice cold well water ...

he was screaming ... finally he dropped the hose ... !!!

after that he picked up rocks and put them into the pool ...

figured that was safer ...

although he found out it wasn't ... when he reached in to take out a rock ...

he fell into the water ...

good thing mom and I were close enough to grab him ... 

It was time to find something else to do ...

and the swings were the answer ... !!!

Watering The Garden ...

I was delighted to receive these pictures from mom ...
that Burk had taken ...
while they were out at our place ...
watering the garden ...
It was great to come home and see the garden flourishing ...
comforting to know it was in good hands ...!!!

Thank you mom for watering the plants ...
and thank you Burk for taking the pictures ... !!!

Relaxing Day ...

Having some fun ... outdoors in the beautiful sunshine ...
Daigen having a snack ... after getting home from school ...
Nixon making sure that Grandpa remembers to pack the quad tires into the truck ...

 

Daigen spent some time trying to get into the hammock ...

Grandma tried to help ... but we were laughing so hard ... it wasn't possible ... 

the dogs ... Brutus and Meatball ...

sitting there watching us ...

probably thinking that we were crazy ... !!!

Out For Breakfast ...

We decided to go out for breakfast ...
after taking Daigen to school ...
Ian chose to take his motor bike out for a ride ...
there wasn't enough room in one vehicle for all of us ...
He was really upset about it ... NOT ... he was in his glory ... !!
 I was also given my Mother's Day gift ... !!!

A new Sun Hat for the garden ...
new gloves ... Butterfly ... and seeds to be planted ...
I love it all ... Thank You ... !!!!

While we were waiting for Daigen ... to be finished at school ...
we were shown some of his artwork ...
that he had done this morning ...
apparently he was "The Giggler" ... when his foot was painted for the picture ...
The ladybug magnet with his picture is for his school locker ...

Going home to play in the yard ... warm enough to bring out the wading pool ... !!!

It's "My Quad" ...

Nixon was not impressed that Daigen ...
had taken his battery operated quad ... yelling "My Quad" ...
it was so cute ... watching Nixon chasing after him ...
not letting go of the wheel barrow ...

Nixon is only 16 months old ...
and boy can he ride his quad ...
using his pointer finger to push the button ...
we were cracking up when he started to drive the quad standing up ...
and then the next time we looked he was standing on the seat ... driving  ... !!!!

Daigen was happy playing with the sand in the driveway ...
he started to write his name ...
and then he also printed his last name ...
using upper case and lower case letters ...
had to be quick getting a picture ...
because as soon as it was printed ...
he wiped the slate clean ...

Having a great time with the kids ... !!!