A Whole New Yard!

The Mr. and I have finally decided to do something with our yard. We first started by hiring my youngest brother to take out our awful deck. He had it out in about two days...he was a quick and hard worker! Then with the help of our friend Darvin we pulled out all the old, over grown landscaping and then called Everett's Landscaping to help us with the rest. Everett's came out, took a look, drew up some plans, and came and did their thing. They did an awesome job! In the midst of all that, we had another company come and pour us a patio to replace the deck. The work was great, but we won't recommend them to any of our friends. Alright, enough talk, let's get to the pictures...

This is the deck before my brother ripped it out.


Here is the deck gone...well sort of...we now have a big pile of wood to get rid of...



And here is our beautiful patio!


This is our new backyard! Who new five evergreens could make such a difference?! Fantastic!


This is our new front yard! Beautiful! Well, it will be more beautiful when our grass comes in...that will be a while...Oh and you can see our favorite new tree. I can't remember what it's called, but we love it!


These are flowers that we got from our friend Darvin who works for a greenhouse. They were just going to throw them away and he thought to give them to us. How nice. We plan to plant them in the front and backyard to add some color. Thanks D-Man!

Now that we have spent all this money on our yard, we actually have to care about it. The new grass needs to be water three times a day at 10:00am, 1:00pm, and 4:00pm. Guess who gets to water it...? Yes, that's right the teacher with no summer job. Perhaps the Mr. will get his chance on the weekends. Even with the added work, we love our new yard and can't wait to share it with our friends and family. In other words...call us, come see us and our brand new yard!

A Visit From Out-of-Town Family!!

The Friday before Father's Day the Mr.'s Mom and oldest sister came to visit us on their way back home from up north. They brought Baby Peter with them!! We very much enjoyed their company. We played with the very bouncy Peter and talked about whatever came to mind. We stayed up late and slept in Saturday morning. Then we spent a slow morning waking and eating muffins. When it came to lunch time the me, the Mr., and his sister walked to the Real Food Cafe for lunch. Mama Shep and baby Peter stayed back to take a little nap. On our walk the Mr. and I told his sister about our cute little neighborhood and about the restaurant we were about to eat at. When we got to the restaurant our conversation continued while we ate some tasty food. We took Mama Shep some to-go and one BIG cookie to share between the four of us. When we got back we played with Baby Peter and took lots of pictures. After all was said and done we had to sadly say good-bye. Hugs all around, the traditional wave until you can no longer see your loved ones and they were gone. Until next time you will all be missed!

A Few Holidays

Mother's Day!

For Mother's Day we went over to my oldest brother and his wife's house. We had some delicious food and great conversation. Then the typical male VanSingel syndrome kicked in...please take a look...



Then before we left I had to get a picture with my Mom...it was Mother's Day after all.

Memorial Day!

For Memorial Day we went to my parent's cottage. Grandpa and Grandma W. were there, Aunt Ruth was there and so was my youngest brother and his girlfriend. Me, the Mr., my Grandpa W. tried to fly some kites. It was a windy enough day, but for some reason the kites wouldn't stay up. After some tasty food the card cames came out. the men played Uno and the ladies played Phase 10. It was a beautiful and relaxing day!




Father's Day!

For Father's Day we again went up to my parent's cottage. This time Grandpa V.S. and his wife Jo were there. My Aunt Karen and Uncle Dan, my youngest brother, my oldest brother and his wife were there too. A cottage neighbor came to visit for some of the day. We sat around, ate some more yummy food, and just enjoyed the day and each other's company. My Dad got an amazing gift...we all went in on a chartered fishing trip on Lake Michigan with all of his boys. I heard from one of them that they had a really great time, but didn't catch very many fish.

The Mr. Is Sewing...

The Mr. had a favorite pair of jeans that were getting a hole in the nether regions. So he decided to try his hand at patching them up using the sew machine we got from his parents. Here he is getting everything ready...


Here he is posing in the middle of his sewing job. I wish I had a picture of the finished project...it looks hilarious...but the job is done!