Building Project Part I

This weekend Craig and I began the first phase of our pergola project. We had the goal of making all of the necessary cuts this weekend so that when our families come next weekend to help all we have left to do it put all of the pieces together. I really think we underestimated this phase of the project. The saying "measure twice, cut once" was actually more like measure 4-5 times, cut once.

Plus, we had occasional distractions when Sydney would climb up and walk back and forth on the boards we were cutting/sanding... I guess he thought they were like the "dog walk" and "teeter totter" that he gets to play on in agility class.
Well, after all of the hard work we only managed to get about half of the cuts done... so I guess that means we're going to have to get busy this week. Anyway, the end product will be TOTALLY worth it!

Happy Graduation Erin!

My sister Erin graduated with her masters degree in divergent learning from Columbia College this past Sunday. I was so proud of her... I never, NEVER thought I would see the day! Anyway, I know she has worked very hard over the past year to earn this degree and I am so happy for her!

Girls' Weekend in Columbia!

This past weekend I met up with Rae and Holly in Columbia for a girls' weekend. I had a lot of fun. It was nice to be back in Columbia, even if only for a couple of days.

Us at Gervais & Vine

Can't wait until we get together again!

Too Funny!

A little background... Tree frogs are nocturnal, so when I cut on the terrarium light to feed him tonight I found him sitting in his water dish looking like this:
Apparently he had just woken up and climbed out from under his mossy bed. I couldn't help but laugh. He totally looks like he has an afro. And all this time I thought that White's Tree Frogs came from New Guinea, not Africa!

Shower in Greenville

Craig and I spent last night at a wedding shower for my friends Laura and Travis from grad school. We had a lot of fun hanging out with them and their families. We started the evening with a wonderful spread of food...

...followed by a couple rousing games of Apples to Apples... if you've never played this game you're missing out. It's great for parties or game nights. Anyway, the girls played first and then the boys. I totally sucked at the game, but I still had a lot of fun. Craig also sucked at it, but he managed to do a little better than I did.

All of the girls trying to help their guys win... At one point Travis made a comment to Laura about being a back seat driver... to which all of us girls reminded him that it would soon be for the rest of his life! Unfortunately we could only stay long enough to see Laura and Travis open our gift (which I didn't manage to get a picture of) before we had to head back home for the night. Anyway, we had such a good time and can't wait until the wedding!

New Patio Furniture!

We got new patio furniture to go with our newly stained patio. Another great improvement! Can't wait until the pergola is up!!!

Patio Redo--Phase 1

Craig and I spend a lot of time on our back patio during the summer months grilling out and playing with Sydney. Anyway, we've never really been satisfied with our patio. The concrete is old, cracked, and stained. Plus it's mainly used to store our lawnmower and our mismatched patio furniture. So... we decided to try to jazz it up a little. Here's phase 1 of our patio redo.

Step 1... clear off the mess and pressure wash the concrete.

Step 2... prime and stain the concrete
What a HUGE improvement. In another day we will be able to move our NEW patio furniture out! The next phase of the patio redo will include the construction of a pergola. This is going to be a fun project. I'm hoping we can have the pergola up and the patio finished by the end of August!