Weekend Work

Brian came home from work on Friday and we had burritos for dinner.  He got his new hot sauce out and then he got out a straw. 

He put the straw in the bottle.

It's scary hot.

It looked like he was going to drink it along with his burrito, but he was just trying to loosen up the hot sauce that was stuck in the bottle neck.

After dinner we went to Lowe's. 

We got a lot of things for some home improvement projects we're going to try and tackle.

Here is Brian loading gutter pieces into the van. 

Later that night we began one of our projects.  A new garbage disposal for the kitchen sink.  Ours had died a week ago or so.  I know!! 

So, the old one was so rusted on that we had to WD40 it.  And then we waited. 

Finally it let go and we were moving again.  I replaced all of the pieces - can't remember what they're all called now. 

The thing in the sink got replaced too. 

Brian did the wiring while I took pictures.  See my little waffle maker there on the counter?  We love it! 

About now is when we discovered that the gasket that was supposed to come with our new disposal was not in the box.  DOH!

So, we couldn't go any further and it was after midnight so we decided to go to bed.

I woke up bright and early and took some of the kids to the store for donuts as we had no water in the kitchen sink.  I also went to Lowe's to pick up a gasket and found this really cool flexible waste tube.  So, we got home, had donuts and hosed off the roof for another one of our projects. 

Then I got back to work on the disposal while Brian and James started priming the gutters.

So I had the thing in and we were just about to test it. 

Brian took this picture of me 'working' under the sink.  It was a little staged because I was already done.  Or so I thought.  See my smile?  That is because this is just before the leaking started.

So, the thing was leaking.  I got some over the phone support from our resident plumber/carpenter/AC repairman/mechanic/bricklayer/etc.. 

He advised me to turn around my gasket and also gave me a hint on how to make it work without that handy flexible waste tube thingy. 

The result?

The new disposal. 

And it works too!!

Then we had some brats and hotdogs on the grill and some watermelon for lunch.

We did some caulking and patching on the roof after that.  I didn't take any pictures because it's UGLY!  Maybe I will tomorrow. 

Then we got the kids in their swim suits and took them to the spray ground.  For all you Northerners who may not know what a spray ground is - it's basically a soft, non slip surface that is dotted with sprinklers and water buckets and other such fun things. 

The best part about it is that our yard doesn't turn into a mud slip-n-slide. 

When we got there it was PACKED. 

We're talking sardine-like. 

There was no way that Matthew was going to come out of there unscathed.  So, we had to make an executive decision to abandon the spray ground plan and head to the buffet instead. 

I'd like to call the following Matthew at the Buffet.

Two brothers and their second mint chocolate chip ice cream cones.

Peter needed one too. 

 

Who lets their kids go to the buffet and make such a mess?? I mean really!

Then we came home and Brian and James painted some more gutters. 

More work to be done. 

Stay tuned. 

Laundry and Haircuts

So, it was time to wash some sheets and blankets.  I decided to try and take three loads to the laundromat to get it all done at once and because one of the blankets is HUGE. 

So, Brian took James to a meeting and then took Jon and Andrew out for haircuts and I took the rest to wash blankets. 

Peter liked the front loading washers. 

And the front loading dryers.

Daddy's blanket is still washing.

When the laundry was done we went back home and soon Brian came back with the boys. 

Here are Andrew and Jon with their new hair cuts.  They're about to get wet on the slip n slide.

Here they are playing in the mud that results from any type of water fun in the backyard.   Jon is being a Mud Monster.  He said they eat turkey sandwiches - and people.  YIKES!

And here are a couple of close ups of the littlest boys from this morning. 

Peter

Matthew

Sick and Glasses

Today Andrew was sick.  He threw up a few times and spent a lot of time laying on the couch.  He's feeling better now but declined to have his picture taken. 

Yesterday we picked up Faith's new glasses.  She likes being able to see - imagine that!  :)



Here she is in her new frames!  We might take her frame shopping this weekend to pick up a second pair.

I was offering to take pictures of the other kids and no one wanted me to - except for James.  He's looking a little rough because he had to throw on a wrinkled shirt and he didn't brush his hair.  This was at 3:30pm today.  He's also wearing his glasses but it's because he's down to a single contact lens.  New ones are coming in the mail!

Here's Matthew.  I snapped this picture of him 3.2 seconds before he broke my sunglasses apart.  Bummer. 

Camping Update:  We ordered a new 5 person tent and also a screen tent from Academy Sports.  Hopefully they will arrive before our scheduled camping trip. 

Eye Doctor and Extras

Alyssa and James went to the eye doctor in April. 

Today it was Faith and Jon's turn.  

Here is Faith in the chair.

Here is Jon.  His exam is already done.  Those two green lights are not his eyes - they are from the computer behind him ;)

Here is the letter that Faith had to read.  Haha! 

Turns out that Jonathan has excellent vision (like Alyssa) and Faith needs glasses. 

So, she picked out some frames and we are waiting for the call that they are ready.  We also got her Rx so that we can shop around for frames.  The frames at the little eye doctor that we go to are mucho dinero.

Here they are in the stylish disposable shades provided by the eye doctor.  I made sure to get them today because they sent James and Alyssa home without them last month - doh!  See our van in the reflection on the window?  Cool.

 Andrew hung upside down from the couch last week.

I discovered this in my bathroom the other day.  On further investigation I found that it was Jon who had made this mess.  I also realized that he's only using cold water to wash his hands . . .

I have roses in my front garden!

During James' last week of school we visited the nearby park a couple of times after dropping him off for a test.  I had tried previously to get Matthew to swing in the baby swing but he was not interested.  He wouldn't even sit in there.

But this day was different.

Everything just felt right to him I guess and he let me sit him in there and push a little bit.

He liked his first swing ride.

Skinny little legs.

Yay for swinging! 

Speaking of James, his Spring semester grades were finalized this morning.  He ended up with straight A's again. 

Yay!!  We had a pizza and game night last week to celebrate.  We're so happy for him! 

Today I made camping reservations for June.  We are going to celebrate Andrew's 5th and James' 14th birthdays at Tickfaw.  Should be fun!  Because we have more than 6 people we are forced to reserve two sites - Boo!  But it will be okay.

We'll keep you posted.

Crawfish Boil

Today we attended another crawfish boil hosted by Brian's work.  It poured rain for awhile before we were supposed to leave and while we were driving there. 

Our van got a little stuck in the mud but we made it out okay.  

James and Alyssa started playing pool.  But Alyssa decided it was boring so I finished for her.  James beat me - but not by much.

There were bins and buckets of chips everywhere.  Very easy access for hungry three year olds. 

Andrew found Orange Fanta in a cooler.  And you can see the bottom half of Matthew chasing after something. 

This is what he was chasing after.  Ginger the dog - turns out she is the neighbor's dog.  Hmm.  She was very comfortable at the party.

The owners of the house also have a horse.  Someone was trying to saddle it up for rides for the kids, but the horse wasn't cooperating.  I had kinda decided that our kids shouldn't ride it because he was just being ornery.  So, I was watching Matthew and heard someone say "Who wants to go first?"  I turned around to see Faith in the paddock getting on.  Yikes!  The horse was being led while they rode.  Faith, Alyssa and Jon all took a turn and let's just say that Jon's ride sealed the deal that Andrew wouldn't be going.  Oh well.  He got over it and no one got hurt.  :)

We mostly ate burgers and hot dogs.  Brian and James are the only ones of us who had any crawfish - and not many.  The kids came home with armloads of snacks, stuffed animals, coloring books, bubbles and kites. 

All in all it was good - and we've met our crawfish quota for the year - yay!