Ava turns two!

Ava had a big party to celebrate her birthday in October.We had a lot of family here for her party, including my grandmother who is 89. We are so glad that she could be here with us.

Ava gets her first haircut!

Ava got her first haircut at 23 months in September.

This is her before...... and after
She wouldn't smile for the second shot, but she looked really cute.

Pictures of the house!

This is the main floor or new second story of the house, looking from the dining room to the living room. It is all very open. The two bedrooms and bath are just beyond the living room.Looking into the kitchen. The doors go to the laundry, mud room and pantry from left to right.

This is the basement. My kitchen was previously where the stairs are now. I have so much more kitchen space now. Beyond the stairs is the "man room", where only man things are allowed. ;)

Labor Day Fun!

John and Ryan really love the tube!
Rachel and Ryan take in some tube fun together.

Lauren works on getting up on skis for the first time.

Eric was able to water ski. This was his first time to water ski.

John was a little nervous, but he did a great job with the trainer skis.

Every year since we have owned our home, David and I have stained the cedar siding on Labor Day weekend. Well, this year we don't have cedar siding and we vowed to have fun on Labor Day. David's sister Elizabeth and her family joined us for the weekend, which was a great time. On Monday, we met up with Barbara and Dennis' family on Long Branch Lake. You can see from the pictures that we had a great time.

The House Is Finished!

The house is officially completed. At least from the standpoint of the contractors. The contractors have done their part and put the last nail in on Friday. We have many projects left to complete, but they mostly involve cleaning, unpacking and hanging shelves, etc. Soon there will be order in this house?! I will take some pictures and post them soon. The pictures here are old and need updated.

House update

Well, I don't have any house pictures to share, because I've been too busy doing projects to take any pictures. We have carpet in the basement and the basement is completed. The kitchen is completed upstairs! We have doors now! We are hoping to have the trim completed in the upstairs in the next week. The plan is to get carpet upstairs on Monday. We are moving into the basement this weekend, since we are coming up on another month of rent due. We have a kitchen and plenty of finished space to live in, so we look forward to living in one house! My neighbor told me yesterday that we were furrowing out the road driving by so much! The running back and forth is wearing us out, so we welcome having everything in one place. The end of this project is very near!

Green bean time!

The green beans are plentiful all of the sudden. My little Rachel has been quite the garden helper and just loves to snap beans! I love that she loves it. Little Ava is an expert at dumping out the beans and the ends all over the floor. She is a helper in her own way. The boys are totally not interested.