Jim's Birthday

We had a great time celebrating Jim's birthday. He tried his hardest to relax and sit still. No projects allowed. But he just couldn't handle it and had to do a mini-baby-project and used the Bobcat to move around some dirt and woodchips so he wouldn't have to do it by hand later. Then we went to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants (Market BBQ) with a bunch of our favorite people. It was a nice relaxing day and a fun dinner. Thanks to everyone who made it out! Today is Memorial Day and work on the deck is going to start with Jim and my cousin Mike who is a contractor and is helping out with the deck construction. It will be SOOOO nice to have this all done and have a backyard to enjoy. Here are a few photos of Jim and Jacob yesterday. For some reason it was almost impossible to get them both to look at the camera!!

Beads for Life

I recently had a purse and bead jewelry party. The beads were made by women in Uganda who make them out of recycled magazine pages and other paper. They are so beautiful and colorful and they seemed to be a big hit. The party raised almost $350 that will go back to these women so that they can have their own house and helps them battle their poverty and other issues such as AIDS. This is a great charity and they made it so easy for me. Sent me a big box of beaded necklaces and bracelets and earrings. I was packing them up to get ready to send them back to the organizations US location in Colorado and just had to take some photos. They're so pretty and I'm going to miss having them around to accesorize with!

No More Hockey Hair (a.k.a. Bye Bye Baby Mullet)

Jacob had his first haircut over the weekend. He did really well. No tears shed. He looked so little in the big hair chair. We went to Kids Hair so it was very kid friendly with Elmo playing on tvs at every station. He looked a little concerned at first but it was very fast. He looks so different after the haircut and so adorable. Our handsome little devil is growing up WAYYYYY too fast!

Who needs shade anyway??

So, we have lost two trees in the last less than a year and today, the fine men of Shadywood Tree Experts arrived to take down our last remaining big shade tree. So sad. It is rotten and has a big hole in it. To be on the bright side of things, we will no longer have to deal with all the crud the old silver maple drops throughout the year. No more tree buds, sticks or helicopters. But this is one big huge tree and I think the whole neighborhood is wondering what the heck is going on! There is a huge crane parked in our front yard. Actually, it is pulled up almost all the way to the front door. Eeks! It is lifting huge tree branches from the tree in the back yard and over the house and into the middle of the street. Jacob is napping. Uh oh, and now they are out there yelling. Say a prayer for our house, our neighbors house and OUR LIVES.

This is a big project! Don't believe me? Drive on by!