This weekend...

Wow! What a lot we've done! Here's a little recap...
First on the house - here is the final floor for the water heater closet. So pretty! This is where the vinyl squares from the earlier post are going. Now we just have to paint on the primer with a roller (thanks Matt for the primer!) and then peel off the paper backing from the squares and lay down the tiles. It will be the first flooring to go down in our basement!

We also spent some time outside. After a couple of months with our new rock border we were wondering why it didn't occur to us to put in landscaping (weed barrier) fabric while we had the chance. You know, before we planted and put down all that rock.

We decided that late is better than never and so we are in the process of shoveling up all that rock, putting down fabric, cutting holes for our little plants, and then putting the rocks back in. Fun, fun, backbreaking work. Even the kids got to help. (Well, they think they helped.) They helped put the rocks back in their places after the fabric was down. They also helped put the rocks back in various other places like the driveway and the lawn. Oh well. It's all about spending time together as a family! If we did everything the efficient way it just wouldn't be as fun! Plus, we worked so late that got to have pizza for dinner! Yummy!


This one was way too cute. I went downstairs to take a picture of the storage chest (the one from Hobby Lobby) so you could see our solution for the warped lid. Ashlyn, who remembers the picture of her and the chest that I posted earlier thought that the picture of the chest just wouldn't be complete without her in it! So she went right in front of the chest and put on her big cheesy grin! I did eventually convince her to move aside a bit so I could take a picture of our solution (the whole point of taking the pic) so there you see her in the corner.

As for our solution - hope you can see it. It is blurry because the camera was focusing on the wrong part of the picture. It is called a gate hook. You screw in a circle piece in the base of the chest and then screw a hook into the lid. Then you put the hook in the circle and presto change-o you have a chest that closes! I'd like you to know that this was my idea - that's why I get paid the big bucks and why Rick likes to keep me around! We bought some spray paint too to make it black, but decided against it. I don't think it looks bad and the paint would just keep rubbing off anyway.


This past week we also managed to acquire, dismantle and reassemble a bigger swing set from some people who figured their kids were too old for it (youngest is 10). I wasn't going to tell them that you're never too old to play on a swingset :) I know I'm bad. But their kids don't use it so we went over one night and dismantled it and put it in the van. Since the horse and slide had long since broken off this one, and the other one is only partially functional I figure now we have at least the equivalent of one big playset!


And, as you can see from the above snapshot our backyard consists of dirt and weeds so I wanted to share the one thing that does look pretty right now - the bushes under our bedroom window! Aren't they gorgeous?

And as for this last picture - any guesses as to what this is? We tore out the broken concrete pad in the back that was our patio and that area is now just dirt. These plants are growing there. I know some of you will know, but for those who are not quite sure here are some hints...
1. They were planted on purpose (we actually want them).
2. They flower, and I've seen them growing in people's homes as an item of decor, but most people want this plant for human consumption.

Anyone care to venture a guess?