Keeping Busy

I am not sure exactly what we have been doing this last little bit (nothing too interesting), but the days sure go by quickly! Here is a recap of what we've been up to:

Blake: Working like crazy while having the waterskiing bug BAD! Not a good combination because days off that coincide with warm, non windy days are far and few these days. So instead, on his days off, Blake keeps busy by doing projects around the house. Isn't he a great guy?

He planted a new tree on this naked corner of our lawn that was in desperate need of some shade. When this bad boy gets big, hopefully our lawn won't burn anymore. Do you like how Blake is showing off his guns in the background? ;)

 He's already been up on the mountain twice to get firewood for the coming winter. Once was just with Brooke

The next day we went up together as a family. As you can tell, I spent more time taking pictures than actually helping (just the way I like it). It was fun to be together as a family.

Blake poured some concrete. On either side of our deck were lava rocks. They looked nice (the red rock matched our house trim and deck perfectly) but weren't really ideal in the fall when leaves would get stuck in them since you can't really rake them. Plus it will be nice to have a spot for Brooke to draw with chalk in the backyard.

We had some extra, so poured a spot for our garbage can.

Brooke leaving her  mark

Porter leaving his mark

LOVE IT!

Next up, are some "honey do" projects that I have for him. I showed this to Blake and asked if he could make them. He said "yep" so I took that as "Yes, honey, I will build those for you right away"

 I am drooling over this. Who would've thought I would get this excited about garage storage? And in this pic, there is a RUG in front of the shelves. What the heck? I don't know about you, but we actually park our car in the garage--hence the need for space saving storage.

Courtney:
I have been having way too much fun on pinterest getting ideas and trying out new recipes.
so far I've made:

• Leomon Sugar Cookies with Lemon Buttercream Frosting (so YUMMY and the sugar cookie recipe is a keeper! It is the lofthouse sugar cookie recipe.)
• This roasted red potato recipe--I needed something new to use up my 10lbs of red potatoes I got from my bountiful basket one week.
• Zuchinni Tots--again to use with stuff I got in my BB.
• 7-UP Slow Cooker Chicken and Rice--made this twice already, so good!
• Stawberry/Watermelon Lemonade--DELISH! Can't wait to do it again.
• Coconut Chieken Fingers--made this a couple of times. Love it, especially dipped in sweet chili sauce.

...AND if you've seen me recently, you can tell I've done more cooking than exercising. Seriously need to get back on the wagon.

I've also been getting my craft on. A couple of my friends have these crafting groups they host every few months. It's been fun to get together with people more creative than I am so I can ask questions and bascially have them hold my hand while I get stuff made.
I loved doing this. Totally messed up a couple of times, but it turned out pretty cute.

Still need to add the wire to the top--it's a door hanger :)

I have implemented a chore chart with Brooke. Each chore she completes is worth "TV Tickets" for a movie (since we don't actually have TV channels) or time on the ipad. I am still trying to decide exactly how much time each ticket is worth. I don't want it to be too much time, but let's be honest, when Brooke is watching a movie, it's a nice break for me! When Brooke is acting like she is going to throw a fit about something, I have been able to say "don't throw a fit or I will take away one of your tickets". Brooke loves the idea of the tickets, so I am hoping this will work. I am also going to make a "boredom buster" jar. I got this from my friend Kali. It's just popscicle sticks in a jar that you pull out and they have activities written on them for Brooke to do. Another way to keep us from watching too much TV this summer.

I started following this housecleaning chart. It's doable without being overly obnoxious. I made a few slight changes to it, but I printed it out, hung it on my fridge and it's worked! I haven't been perfect at doing it due to some other things we've had going on, but at least I can look and see where I'm behind and do two of my chores in one day. Today I actually had to do three chores. It's just nice to see where I need to be during the week and not feel like I have to deep clean my house everyday.

Brooke: She is her same fun, silly self. Here she during her nap time...inside her toy box (laying on a bunch of stuffed animals), reading a book.

Picnic lunch on the deck

chalk handprints on the door

One morning Brooke told me that she and Porter both needed their blankies

Brooke is also very independent and is getting so grown up. One morning I saw that Brooke was not wearing the same PJs she went to bed in. I asked her why she changed and she told me she had an accident in her bed. I am not sure when during the night it happened, but she took her wet clothes off and got in new PJs all on her own. I was so proud of her for knowing what to do, but also just another reminder that she is growing up :(

Porter: I just did a big post about his recent accomplishments, but I did want to share this picture of him in his exersaucer.

It seems like just yesterday I was doing this with his big sister.

Do you think they look alike?

Telling me stories

Such a little stud in his church clothes :)