Sunday, July 10, 2016

What We’ve Been Up To From March–July

Florida – March 26 to April 12, 2016

We went to Florida and stayed for 6 days with our “May Our F’ing Adventures Never End” wonderful friends Rodger & Kim.  We had a great time taking walks, site seeing, working out, playing games, and of course eating and drinking too much.

IMG_2663IMG_2068IMG_2075IMG_5596IMG_5606IMG_5655

This is the view from their 7th story condo, just beautiful.  Since I hate elevators, Kim & I took the stairs up and down for a week.  We also did pool areobics, a boot camp class, and self workouts… so we got some exercise. 
IMG_5666IMG_5686IMG_5667IMG_5671

This is a big alligator that Kim saw before we arrived, but I just had to post these pictures… scary!!!!
Kim took these before we got there 1Kim took these before we got there 3Kim took these before we got there 2

Pizza & beer night out with a bunch of friends.
Pizza Night 1Pizza Night 3

We toured the Wicked Dolphins Rum Factory, and of course rum tasting!
Wicked Dolphin Rum Factory 6Wicked Dolphin Rum Factory 7

We went to an awesome Bonsai farm and saw a lot of really unique and beautiful bonsai’s.
IMG_5590IMG_5591IMG_5595IMG_5600

We walked the Six Mile Cypress Slough Preserve.  It was really cool because we saw all kinds of wildlife and got some exercise while hiking around.
IMG_2106IMG_2103
Turtles were everywhere
IMG_2109IMG_2155
Snakes mating
IMG_2115
Baby alligator
IMG_2118
Mirror image in the swamp area
IMG_2137IMG_2189
Loved this sign… check it out
Master Bait & Tackle


Panama City Beach, FL  - April 1st - 12th

After leaving Kim & Rodger’s place, we rented a car and headed up north 8 hours to Panama City Beach.  We stayed at a really cool house just a few steps from the beach.  Literally we just walked across the street and our feet were in the sand, so awesome!  A great big heartfelt  THANK YOU to our really good friends Sheila & Denise for letting us stay at their home away from home.
IMG_5706IMG_2804
The beaches were very crowded because it was “Spring Break” and the traffic driving up to PCB was a nightmare.  Our friends warned us, but we didn’t listen… next time we will!!!  LOL
It was fun to watch all the kids walking on the beach, playing games, and seeing every single girl holding a cell phone… sign of the times.
IMG_5698

A unique portable BBQ that we saw in a parking lot which claimed to be “Home of the World Famous Butt Fries”, “The Best BBQ on the Beach”, and “Deep Fried Oreo’s” for dessert, just to name a few items on the menu.
IMG_2683

Another unique hole in the wall we found, a drive through liquor store… WTF??  They also had a bar ouside, a bar inside, and a big liquor store.  We went to the bar twice and had Long Island Iced Tea’s…. good and cheap!
IMG_2729

We were able to golf a couple of times and encountered an alligator and turtles.  The gator was about 6’ long just happily sunning himself.
IMG_2692IMG_2691IMG_2699
The sunsets were nothing less than spectacular.  We went to the beach almost every night just to watch the sunsets.  You’re lucky I’m only posting 4 sunset pictures out of the dozens that I took!! 
IMG_5831IMG_2708aIMG_5732IMG_2750

We are always on the go and not used to just relaxing, so we read, went for walks on the beach, I colored, and we played many games of Chicken Foot Domino’s.
IMG_2742

Look at Mr. excited below… this is what happens when he beats me at the game.
IMG_2791IMG_2790

We found all kinds of hot sauce at the house and loved the names…
Slap Ya Mama and Butt Rub, just to name a few… LOL
IMG_5693

Although we didn’t tour Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, I liked the upside building so I snapped a photo.
IMG_5719

We BBQ’ed almost every night, yumm!
IMG_5724IMG_5816

The sand is beautiful and it’s so fine it feels like powder Red heartIsland with a palm tree
IMG_5819



Lizzy’s 1st Communion – May 21st

IMG_5857IMG_3101

Lizzy looked so pretty!!
IMG_5864

Great Grandpapa & Papa
IMG_5868a

Best buddies with the Everson kids
IMG_5871IMG_5874

I was lucky enough to get a photo of Alex & Joey before they got changed to play in the backyard.  They looked so handsome in their suits.
IMG_5878IMG_5881

Auntie Jessica made this beautiful cake for Lizzy and everything was edible.
IMG_5886IMG_5887IMG_5889IMG_5890IMG_5891


Just a couple days after her 1st Communion, Lizzy donated her hair to a good cause for the second time.  Way to go Lizzy!!!

Hair Donation 1-May 24, 2016Hair Donation 2-May 24, 2016

We did a little wine tasting with our neighbors in April in downtown Lincoln.
Wine Tasting Lincoln Wine FestWine Tasting Lincoln Wine Fest-April 23


Lizzy & Alex’s Birthdays – May 22nd

Since the kids birthdays are only 4 days apart, we celebrated them together.  Lizzy turned 8 and Alex turned 5.
IMG_5905IMG_5904IMG_3103

Alex was very excited about receiving this $100 bill.
IMG_3114

Marisa had a new puppy that the kids couldn’t wait to hold. 
IMG_5902IMG_5903IMG_5916


3 Grandkids… June 18 - 25th

We had Lauren (14), Charlie (10) & Lizzy (8) at hour house and man were we busy!!!  The kids had a great time.  We made a calendar to make sure we didn’t forget anything.  Our activities included trampoline, swimming, the zoo, roller skating, the science museum, girls day/boys day, baking, crafts, hide and go seek, corn hole game and lots of other games.  Makes me tired just thinking about it… LOL.  Click on the calendar to enlarge so you can see our activities.

IMG_6042

Of course Vovo had the craft table set up and they were off and running the afternoon they arrived.  First on the agenda was to make placemats for the week and many other crafts followed.
Crafts 1Crafts 2

They were very creative with their designs on their tee-shirts.
Crafts 3Crafts 4

One day we had “Girls Only” day and “Boys Only” day.
After we all had breakfast together, Vovo, Lauren, & Lizzy started off with manicures and hand & arm massages, followed with shopping and lunch.  Lizzy was kind enough to make “Gril Party” (LOL) signs to keep the boys OUT.
Girls 3girls 5Girls 4

We had a great lunch at The Cheesecake Factory followed by a decadent yummy chocoate cheesecake for the girls.  They scarfed it down, I had one little bite and it was awesome. 
Girls 1Girls 2

The Boys Day consisted of practice at the golfing range, lunch at McDonald’s (Charlie’s choice) and building a bird house.  We all met up in the afternoon for 2 hours of trampoline at Sky Zone. 
IMG_6017IMG_6019IMG_6019a
We took them to get ice cream one hot day, not to mention that they had ice cream with all the toppings every night for dessert!!
ice cream 2Crafts 5

We went to Red Robin to celebrate Papa’s birthday.
IMG_3297IMG_3298IMG_3300

Papa & Lauren horsing around
IMG_3308ice cream 1IMG_3390

We also took them to a cute little restaurant in downtown Roseville that has a small train that circles the restaurant near the ceiling (Charlie was interested in that).  They loved their strawberry waffles, strawberry pancakes, and Mickey Mouse pancakes… Yummy!
IMG_3393IMG_3395

We often brought Oliver to our house so the kids could walk him and play with him.  Oliver is only 4 houses down at a friend’s house.
IMG_5960

I cannot believe that Lauren can still fit into this cubby hole.  It is certainly a tradition with the kids (somehow I missed taking photos in 2014 & 2015, but she did it)!
2016
IMG_6001

2013
Every year Lauren squeezes in here

2012
2012 IMG_6199

2011
IMG_3172

Let’s bounce off the walls with sugar cookies!

IMG_6025IMG_6026

This is how our entry hall looks whenever the kids stay with us.  Everything lined up and ready to go for the next adventure and it works great!
IMG_6031

This is the Powerhouse Science Center Discovery Campus that the kids love.  We take them every year because they enjoy it so much and the exhibits change every year so there’s always something new to discover.
museum 2
museum 1museum 3

They have lots of “hands on” things for the kids to discover.
museum 4

You can tell who’s not camera shy… and I love it!
museum 5museum 6museum 7museum 8museum 9museum 10

We took the kids to 3 different pools and they went swimming a total of 4 times during the week.
swim 1swim 2

One pool was at a friend’s house and there were 3 dogs, so we went there twice.
swim 3swim 4Trampoline 1Trampoline 2Trampoline 3

After 2 hours of trampoline they were really tired!!
Trampoline 4

The kids love the zoo!  It was really hot that day so most of the animals stayed inside their enclosures which was a bummer, but we still saw several animals and had lots of fun.
zoo2zoo1zoo3zoo4

All tired out from the zoo…
zoo5



Some of the cards I’ve made…
2016

This is a pop-up Darth Vader card I made for Alex
Alex's 6th BD 2016aAlex's 6th BD 2016bAlex's 6th BD 2016c

This is the birthday card I made for Lizzy’s 8th birthday.
IMG_5568IMG_5570IMG_5572IMG_6091IMG_6094IMG_6097

This card was for Lizzy’s 1st Communion.
Lizzy's 1st Communion Card Cover

I love the way this card turned out for my 8 year old grandson… his birthday is in August, hope he likes it!
IMG_6104IMG_6107IMG_6108 



Kaia Logo
Here are a few group photos from April & May.  I’m the one on the left doing the handstand.  This particular Saturday workout was running 3 miles up and down a 4 story parking lot structure with ramps and stairs, along with exercies in between… WOW what a workout!!!

April 16, 2016 Parking Garage Workout 3 miles up down a
Follow the yellow arrow to see me.  I know this photo isn’t very good, but it shows you the great turn out we get for Saturday Power Hour workouts.
Memorial Day Workout-May 30, 2016 a

I think you can find me in the next 3 pictures.
Hell Week-May 23, 2016May 28, 2016Pretty in pink-May 26, 2016


DIY-Logo-with-Border_thumb1_thumb

In my last post I showed photos of us clearing out all the rocks, digging holes and planting these bushes.  A week later we finished it off by adding bark for that finished look.  So now the side yard is complete with bushes and fruit tree.  BTW, the fruit trees have grown over the last couple of months and look great.

IMG_5544a_thumb_thumbIMG_5536a_thumb_thumbIMG_5550a_thumb_thumbIMG_5562a_thumb_thumbIMG_5562_thumb_thumbIMG_5563_thumb_thumb


Planted Bushes in the Retaining Wall

BEFORE - when we first moved in1_thumb_thumb

Had a retaining wall built in 2014
2_thumb_thumb2a_thumb_thumb

We added a river rock bed in 2015
3_thumb_thumb

Finally planted shrubs in May 2016.  Talk about a SLOW project, but it wasn’t at the top of our priority list and we’ve been busy doing other DIY stuff the last couple of years.  We’re now focusing on the barked area.
IMG_3019_thumb_thumb
We dug 3 holes along the fence and it’s incredible how many rocks we discovered… it’s never ending.  Thank goodness our neighbor wants the big rocks to decorate his yard.

IMG_6063_thumb_thumbIMG_6072_thumb_thumbIMG_6079_thumb_thumb
AFTER
IMG_6078_thumb_thumb


Alcove DONE!!
We have this stupid tiny alcove with nothing in it… a really dumb design by the builders. We wanted to make a cabinet ourselves but we also wanted to match the wood cabinet (which is Alder) that’s adjacent in the other larger alcove . After shopping around and pricing it out, we decided it was going to be cheaper to have the cabinet made, so that’s what we did.
BEFORE                                      AFTER
IMG_5425_thumb5_thumbIMG_6043_thumb6_thumb

To save money, we ordered it unfinished and stained & varnished it ourselves.  We added a handle & knob to match the others throughout the house.
IMG_5428_thumb_thumbIMG_5935_thumb_thumbIMG_5937_thumb_thumbIMG_5938_thumb_thumbIMG_5941_thumb_thumbIMG_5942_thumb_thumbIMG_6045_thumb_thumbIMG_6043_thumb_thumb

It turned out really good and we are happy with the results.  At least it looks better to have something in there and it gives us a little bit more storage.
IMG_60991_thumb_thumb



I made these bookmarks for Joey a while ago, but just forgot to post them.  Super easy project and he loves them.
IMG_4657_thumb2_thumbIMG_4658_thumb1_thumb