Deck Progress

Slowly, but surely, the deck is coming along!

The Deck Project

So, a few weeks ago, Brook's dad told us he knew some lady who was tearing down her old deck and getting a new one. She was just going to throw away all of the lumber from her old deck. We very quickly decided we would take it. We've wanted to extend our deck ever since we moved into this house and this was the perfect opportunity. Brook, a few of his friends and Dale, collected this lady's old lumber and brought it to our house. The demolition of our old deck and the construction of our new deck has now begun! Our hope is to have it completed by the fall. I did manage to find an old picnic table on craigslist for $20 so we'll stain it and use it for eating, but we still want to purchase a couple more chairs. Any suggestions?

Here are a few before pics...

I mixed concrete for the first time. 1 bag of quickcrete and 2 coffee cans of water!

I dug this little trench. It was EXTREMELY hard work, especially in the 100 degree heat.

Posts...

The last post hole!!!! We were so excited, so I had to document this moment.

Our helper----he really didn't help that much except supervise and nap in the cool dirt.

Building your own deck is such hard work. I've never helped with anything like this, so it is a great experience. I appreciate people who do this for a living because it is not easy!!! I'll try to post pictures of our progress throughout the rest of the summer. Thank you, Dale, for helping us out with this project!!! :)

Lemonade Icebox Pie

This pie will put you in a good mood. It is so yummy and perfect for the summertime.

This recipe will make 2 pies. Even better! :)

2 ready made graham cracker crusts

1 can frozen lemonade

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 large tub of cool whip (16 oz, I believe)

1 can eagle brand milk

Mix all ingredients and freeze for at least 2 hours. Then, eat a piece or two everyday until it is gone.

Cookbook Destruction

This is what I get for being too trusting...

The guilty one... See the Webers Book of Grilling underneath him.

The Hobbit House

Last weekend, we drove to Lawrence, KS to visit Brook's brother, Jed, for his 24th birthday. Jed got married last May and he and his wife, Alana, moved into a new house, which they affectionately refer to as "the hobbit house." We enjoyed burgers with the best bleu cheese I've ever tasted and s'mores cupcakes! Jed has recently taken up gardening. Head on over to Ray's Garden and read about his gardening adventures. It is on my blog list.

The Hobbit House Jed grilling for everyone Give us a kiss, love!

Those Italians...always using their hands to talk! :)

Relaxing in the hammock Jed eating his bday cupcake

S'mores cupcakes!

The Thomas men...

3 Rivers in 3 Days

Father's Day weekend, we headed to central Arkansas to fish in the White River. Except we never make it to that river. You see, because of all of the spring rains, they were generating at the dam, so the White River was up really high and the only to way to fish it was in a boat, which we chose not to do. Anyway, our cabin was in Salesville, not Cotter like last year. On our way there, we stopped outside of Yellville and fished in Crooked Creek for a couple of hours. The water was very clear and the fishing was good too. I found it to be a very peaceful place and I'd love to go back. Afterwards, we stopped at Sonic for cheddar peppers and drinks. Yum! We made it to the cabin around 8:00 and fixed dinner. We all decided we would drive to Mammoth Spring on Saturday and fish for trout in the Spring River. Fishing in the Spring River was challenging. There is a lot of moss so everyone kept getting hung up. I still managed to catch three trout! Side story---I've been wearing some men's chest waders that Dale found at a garage sale a couple of years ago. They are about 5 sizes too big, so before we went on this trip, I broke down and bought some women's waders that actually fit me. When I got to Southtown Sporting Goods, I discovered that all of the women's waders were pink. Not green or brown, but pink. I don't hate pink or anything, but pink waders. Really?? I had no choice, but to purchase the pink waders. So, now I am the owner of pink waders. At least they fit! Back to the main story. After some much needed naps, we drove to Mountain View, the folk music capital of the world. We ate dinner at the Rainbow Cafe which had a lovely display of cookie jars along the wall and an obscene amount of Elvis pictures and memorabilia even in the bathroom. After dinner, we listened to the folk music on the square. There was an old couple who danced a lot. The man had his old army uniform on. It was very sweet. We ate ice cream and listened to more music and saw a motorcycle with elaborate lights that looked like it belonged in Las Vegas. Sunday morning, we headed home and stopped in Marble to fish in the King's River for a few hours. The water was extremely murky and green, but we managed to catch some fish. So, we planned to go to Cotter to fish in the White River and ended up fishing in three different rivers/ creeks, none of which was the White River. I guess that is why God says don't make any plans because he already has his own for us.

That's me. The one in the pink waders.

Train above the Spring River
The sky looked very scary that evening. River rats...