Well, we're hitting midweek here at Wildwood DeVries Headquarters. This week looks to be filled with school (Em and Tim), work (Cyndie and I), and meetings (Cyndie and I). Hopefully we'll get a breather here and there.
I've enjoyed hanging out with Timmy a couple of times in his new room. It was really fun for me to come into his room yesterday afternoon and finding him up in his reading nook with a book reading to himself. I also managed to get in a foosball game or two with him, as well as a bit of rock climbing. And yesterday morning, with the house silent (kids at school, Cyndie there too helping with some vision testing), I hung out in his room for 5 or 10 minutes just watching his fish swim around. I think I'm a bit fatigued this week after the big rush of trying to get the room done and the whole house ready for the Super Bowl party.
Yesterday Emma got home from Brownies and didn't feel well. She fell asleep on the couch for a bit, and went to bed early. She appears to be better this morning though. Cyndie speculates that she's not eating enough in the afternoons of Brownies, and that's making her stomach hurt and her get real low on energy. There will be an extra banana in her lunch box next Tuesday!
It's right at the zero mark outside today, and should be pretty cold for the next several days. No wonder my legs about froze off when I walked the dog in shorts for 4 or 5 minutes last night (I checked the temp then and it was 1 with a wind chill factor of -16)!
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label house. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Thursday, February 3, 2011
It's cold
Yes, very cold. Zero when we went downstairs at 6:15 this morning. After the foot and a half of snow and blizzard conditions canceled school yesterday, the cold temps and wind chills in the -15 to -25 degree range canceled school today. Last night Timmy prayed that he could have school today, but he doesn't appear to be suffering much!
The big thrust this week is trying to finish off (or at least get it to a usable state) Timmy's room before the big Super Bowl party. I think it'll be really close. It'll probably mean some crazy nights, but we'll make it. The remaining tasks are painting the climbing wall, attaching all the holds, filling the fish tank, and (the big one), cleaning everything up.
I'm guessing we'll have around 30 - 40 people for the Super Bowl, so that should be fun. I'm going to rig up some lights for the sledding hill and ice skating rink so that (assuming it's not too cold), the kids can go out there some. We're having a Chili Cookoff too. Oh, and there's a football game.
On the kid front, both kids are really into playing Lego (Batman, Star Wars) on the play station. We're trying to limit that, but with snow days and bad weather it becomes difficult at times. They are also really reading a lot. It's helped by the Six Flags promotion at school. Timmy is really getting better very quickly and totally thinks it's a kick to read books all by himself.
So, there you have it ... lots going on!
The big thrust this week is trying to finish off (or at least get it to a usable state) Timmy's room before the big Super Bowl party. I think it'll be really close. It'll probably mean some crazy nights, but we'll make it. The remaining tasks are painting the climbing wall, attaching all the holds, filling the fish tank, and (the big one), cleaning everything up.
I'm guessing we'll have around 30 - 40 people for the Super Bowl, so that should be fun. I'm going to rig up some lights for the sledding hill and ice skating rink so that (assuming it's not too cold), the kids can go out there some. We're having a Chili Cookoff too. Oh, and there's a football game.
On the kid front, both kids are really into playing Lego (Batman, Star Wars) on the play station. We're trying to limit that, but with snow days and bad weather it becomes difficult at times. They are also really reading a lot. It's helped by the Six Flags promotion at school. Timmy is really getting better very quickly and totally thinks it's a kick to read books all by himself.
So, there you have it ... lots going on!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Winter Wonderland
It's not quite all the way to "Winter Wonderland" status, but there are some really fun flakes falling as I type this. They are big ones that are just kind of taking it easy as they slowly float to the ground, with small, intermittent swirls thrown in for effect. The driveway is covered, and I really can't see too much of the grass either. Is it really winter? A quick check of the 10 day forecast on weather.com shows that it could be ... there don't appear to be many days that exceed 34 or 35 degrees in temperature. I guess winter is here to stay, and on the first of December too!
There's not a whole lot to report today. We had a fun Thanksgiving weekend ... spending time with family and friends. We're at a nice, leisurely spot with the kids in that they are not really committed to much right now, so we're not running around like crazy trying to get them somewhere. They have really enjoyed getting the Christmas stuff up and are enjoying the Christmas season in general. A couple of weeks ago they pooled their money and made lists of what they wanted to get Cyndie and I for Christmas. The kids and I went shopping for Cyndie the other day and they did a great job of staying in their budget, but also getting some stuff that I think Cyndie will really enjoy.
On the house front, we are looking at a problem with our mound system. It appears to be failing, so we may have a rather large bill with that. Our neighbor, who knows about these things, was over last night to take a look. We're going to have a pro take a look in the next day or two. I guess we'll know more then.
Have a great Wednesday all!
There's not a whole lot to report today. We had a fun Thanksgiving weekend ... spending time with family and friends. We're at a nice, leisurely spot with the kids in that they are not really committed to much right now, so we're not running around like crazy trying to get them somewhere. They have really enjoyed getting the Christmas stuff up and are enjoying the Christmas season in general. A couple of weeks ago they pooled their money and made lists of what they wanted to get Cyndie and I for Christmas. The kids and I went shopping for Cyndie the other day and they did a great job of staying in their budget, but also getting some stuff that I think Cyndie will really enjoy.
On the house front, we are looking at a problem with our mound system. It appears to be failing, so we may have a rather large bill with that. Our neighbor, who knows about these things, was over last night to take a look. We're going to have a pro take a look in the next day or two. I guess we'll know more then.
Have a great Wednesday all!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Midweek today!
Yes, it's hump day even though it's only Tuesday. That's a relief since it already feels like vacation. Mostly it's that way because my cousin and her kids are visiting from Minneapolis for a few days. They were over for dinner and hanging out last night, and since our kids were up late, it felt like vacation ... or at least like a weekend!
It has been (again!) a while since I posted. So, no catchup, just a few random things that occur to me as I write:
It has been (again!) a while since I posted. So, no catchup, just a few random things that occur to me as I write:
- Last thursday was the kids' Pilgrim Dinner at school. That was fun. Grandma and Grandpa D were able to attend. Both kids dressed up really nicely.
- Over the weekend I constructed the skating rink for this year. I remembered that I have some materials left over from when the house was built that work great to make the sides of the rink. So, due to nice 8 foot sections of that, we have a 32x16 foot skating rink with nice 16 inch sides! After all the rain we got yesterday, it's probably 40% full! I also built the platform for the sled run. Since Papa Lee cleared out so much of the underbrush down the hill from the mound, we'll have a great area to sled.
- Yesterday Cyndie and I worked on putting in the steel pole for the basketball hoop. Timmy was a really big help too. He was in charge of getting the water (3/4 of a gallon ... he got it right every time!). We put 320 pounds of concrete on the bottom of the pole, so I think it will hold okay. The weather was great yesterday (or I should say the temperature). It was a near record high of 67 degrees. However, just as we were putting the concrete in the hole, it started to sprinkle. By the time we had all 4 bags in, it was pouring. So part of our effort was to build dams around the hole so that the water running down the driveway toward the concrete would be diverted! Then the weather changed so that I needed to cover the concrete with blankets since the temps are now in the low 30s!
- After a really fun and informative Coffee Shop (our church small group) at Laura and Gows, we spent the night. It was really fun and relaxing to hang out and do nothing! We watched Date Night, which was a really good and fun combination of the reality of married life with kids, and comedy.
- On Saturday morning Cyndie did her first 5k. It was at the local state park and many of her friends from the ladies group she's in also ran. She really enjoyed it, and I think will definitely do it again.
- On Saturday afternoon Cyndie had her first paid photo shoot. I think it went pretty well. She's learning a lot, that's for sure!
- Please pray for Jane Fraser, her kids, and Covenant Point Bible Camp up in the UP (upper pennisula). Covenant Point is a sister camp to Covenant Harbor here in Lake Geneva. Chuck Fraser, the director up at Point died suddenly of a heart attack last week. He was only 59 years old. He was loved by many, and impacted a huge number of people both directly and indirectly. He will be missed by his family, the staff at Point, and the many campers that go through Point. Here's a link to some thoughts on Chuck and his impact for those who may be interested. I went to Point 4 times (3 men's retreats, and for a week of family camp last summer). At the first men's retreat my dad introduced me to Chuck, who my dad has known for many years. As a result of that connection, the following times I'd visit Point, I'd usually have a 5 or so minute conversation with Chuck. Nothing deep, just being friendly. I didn't know Chuck well, but even in the few times I talked to him, I was impressed by his humble demeanor and servant's heart. Covenant Point will be very different without him.
Monday, November 15, 2010
In an effort to not get too behind ...
It's (again) been a while, so I'll try to get caught up a bit. I'll just throw some bullet points out there ... probably in random order:
Thanks to all who prayed for Cyndie's Grandma Weaver. She's improving, but is certainly not out of the woods yet (Cathy thinks that something may not have gone completely right with the surgery grandma had).
Well, that's all I can think of for now. Until next time, I'll leave you with a few pix ...
Here's the inside of the tree house ... Grandpa and Grandma D brought over some goodies for a "it's nearly done, let's have a tree house warming" party.
Grandpa D with Emma and cousin Sally on the hay ride at Covenant Harbor's fall party for their staff.
Me and Tim on the hay ride.
Carving pumpkins. We did so late (after Halloween), but the kids still enjoyed it!
- Work on the tree house progresses. Between my dad and I, we have the tree house 95% roofed (need to finish off the peak). After that it will just be little things like plugging some holes in the (used) siding.
- Last night I had some guys over to play Halo on the big screen. Since I'd never played before, I sucked! It was fun though. We were kind of doing a last hurrah for a friend who is moving to the UP in a few weeks.
- Cyndie has been working very hard to get ready for a "vendor fair" for the MOPS (mothers of pre-schoolers) group in the community. She's hoping to make some contacts/get some work for her photography business*.
- We went down to my sisters for some cousin time (Laura and Gow and the girls went too) on Friday/Saturday. Fun times. We watched Killers after the kids went to bed**.
- We're trying to get back in the swing of things with the kids doing their chores and getting their allowance. I'm not sure how we got so out of the practice of that! Having that responsibility is good for them, and they enjoy it I think.
- The kids have been playing outside with one of the neighbor kids quite a bit. It's nice that it's still decent enough weather to do that without having to totally gear up for the cold.
- Big news (I almost forgot), we sold the Suburban. We got a price we were pretty happy with. Emma was sad watching the folks drive away, but she cracked us up with her comment, "Hey, they have a big dent on their door" (alluding to the rather big dent that happened when Suburban met tree a year or so ago). So now we have only two cars in the driveway ... Suburban and boat appropriately disposed of for now (the boat is being stored in a friend's barn). We may even get to no cars in the driveway if we put the Subaru in the garage and the Excursion is parked off the drive.
Thanks to all who prayed for Cyndie's Grandma Weaver. She's improving, but is certainly not out of the woods yet (Cathy thinks that something may not have gone completely right with the surgery grandma had).
Well, that's all I can think of for now. Until next time, I'll leave you with a few pix ...
Here's the inside of the tree house ... Grandpa and Grandma D brought over some goodies for a "it's nearly done, let's have a tree house warming" party.
Grandpa D with Emma and cousin Sally on the hay ride at Covenant Harbor's fall party for their staff.
Me and Tim on the hay ride.
Carving pumpkins. We did so late (after Halloween), but the kids still enjoyed it!
Friday, October 22, 2010
T-minus one day ...
Yes, there is only one day left until vacation. Today is filled with packing, cleaning, straightening and haircuts (me, maybe Tim, and definitely the dog). Oh, and some errands. Cyndie is taking the boat to be cleaned while we're gone (we're handling all the interior cleaning, but the hull really needs a scrubbing after having been in the lake all summer*). She's also dropping the dog off for a grooming and doing some clothing exchange related errands as well. We should be well occupied today!
*An interesting development on the boat front. A friend of ours is going to be the new volunteer coordinator (amongst other duties) at the camp. He asked us if we'd be interested in letting the camp use the boat for a couple of hours a morning for up to four weeks. In exchange, the camp would give us a lift on which to put our boat. The funny thing is that this is something we had proposed to camp last year! Anyway, we're going to do that. So, since next summer the boat won't be sitting in the water all summer growing algae, we decided to really get the hull cleaned up nicely so that it looks good as new! We're excited to save the money AND have a really great location for the boat.
The tree house continues to progress. The latest progress is starting to put siding on. The kids were playing out there yesterday. That was their "house" and they went to the guest room as their hotel/vacation house.
The next post will likely be from Florida, land of 80+ degree weather (as opposed to the frost on the roof and breath you can see while waiting for the bus to come)!
*An interesting development on the boat front. A friend of ours is going to be the new volunteer coordinator (amongst other duties) at the camp. He asked us if we'd be interested in letting the camp use the boat for a couple of hours a morning for up to four weeks. In exchange, the camp would give us a lift on which to put our boat. The funny thing is that this is something we had proposed to camp last year! Anyway, we're going to do that. So, since next summer the boat won't be sitting in the water all summer growing algae, we decided to really get the hull cleaned up nicely so that it looks good as new! We're excited to save the money AND have a really great location for the boat.
The tree house continues to progress. The latest progress is starting to put siding on. The kids were playing out there yesterday. That was their "house" and they went to the guest room as their hotel/vacation house.
The next post will likely be from Florida, land of 80+ degree weather (as opposed to the frost on the roof and breath you can see while waiting for the bus to come)!
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
More Tree House Pix
Okay, so here are some more pictures of the tree house ... trying to give some folks who don't live here an idea of where on the property the tree house actually is.
From inside the tree house back toward the house. You can see some smoke going from the pile of brush we burned on Sunday.
Standing on the deck of the tree house back toward the house ... you can see the new deck on the house!
In other news, Cyndie's clothing exchange went really well. She had over 40 ladies here with tons more clothes left over to donate to various charities around the community. She hasn't counted up the money yet, but I'm sure they made at least $300 - $500 dollars ... a lot considering the clothes were going for 25 cents a piece.
From the top of the mound with the house behind me and the dragon's lair to my right ... the roof is on (plywood part). After I took this (on Sunday), my dad put up some of the railing, so there's been more progress made.
From inside the tree house back toward the house. You can see some smoke going from the pile of brush we burned on Sunday.
Standing on the deck of the tree house back toward the house ... you can see the new deck on the house!
In other news, Cyndie's clothing exchange went really well. She had over 40 ladies here with tons more clothes left over to donate to various charities around the community. She hasn't counted up the money yet, but I'm sure they made at least $300 - $500 dollars ... a lot considering the clothes were going for 25 cents a piece.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Pre-vacation week
Well, this week is what we'll call pre-vacation week. On Saturday we're headed to Florida to see Grandpa Fred and Grandma Cathy and spend some time soaking up our last bit of warmth before we take the plunge into winter. That means we're making arrangements to get to and from the airport, farming out the various pets (those seem to be increasing in number and in the amount of care required), packing, getting homework assignments, etc, etc. The extended forecast for Punta Gorda, where Fred and Cathy live, shows highs in the mid 80s and lows in the 60s ... yeah, that's right about ideal for me! It should be a great trip ... we're definitely looking forward to it!
In the mean time, we do have a few things happening this week as well. Cyndie has her big clothing exchange for charity tonight, so there will be 30+ ladies at the house tonight. It'll take a few days to get the house back into shape after that! Currently there are extra tables set up all over the basement, dining room, craft room, and on the deck. I'm sure by the time I get home from work today there will already be a large amount of clothes out and Emma (and Tim too, but Ems will be the ring leader) will be going over the toys table looking for promising items. I guess I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my evening. I mean beside hiding in the bedroom.
We had a nice weekend ... took one last boat ride with Grandma and Grandpa D and then pulled the boat out for the year. We may take another ride if the day is nice enough, but we needed to have the boat off the buoy before we left for vacation, and we also wanted to have some time to clean it, so there you go. Cyndie spent quite a bit of the weekend working on cleaning the boat, while I spent my time on the tree house. It's rounding into shape. The house is all framed up, the plywood is on the roof. The major remaining tasks are roofing, siding, and putting up railing on the exterior deck. We also spent a bit of time burning leaves, and even burned one pile of debris from when Papa Lee cleared out the space in the woods. The pile was nice and dry and easy to burn ... I think we only have 5 or 6 more of those piles left!
In the mean time, we do have a few things happening this week as well. Cyndie has her big clothing exchange for charity tonight, so there will be 30+ ladies at the house tonight. It'll take a few days to get the house back into shape after that! Currently there are extra tables set up all over the basement, dining room, craft room, and on the deck. I'm sure by the time I get home from work today there will already be a large amount of clothes out and Emma (and Tim too, but Ems will be the ring leader) will be going over the toys table looking for promising items. I guess I need to figure out what I'm going to do with my evening. I mean beside hiding in the bedroom.
We had a nice weekend ... took one last boat ride with Grandma and Grandpa D and then pulled the boat out for the year. We may take another ride if the day is nice enough, but we needed to have the boat off the buoy before we left for vacation, and we also wanted to have some time to clean it, so there you go. Cyndie spent quite a bit of the weekend working on cleaning the boat, while I spent my time on the tree house. It's rounding into shape. The house is all framed up, the plywood is on the roof. The major remaining tasks are roofing, siding, and putting up railing on the exterior deck. We also spent a bit of time burning leaves, and even burned one pile of debris from when Papa Lee cleared out the space in the woods. The pile was nice and dry and easy to burn ... I think we only have 5 or 6 more of those piles left!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Tree fort progress ... oh, and it's Friday!
Today's topic ... progress on the tree fort. I've been trying to put in an hour or or two between right after the kids leave (7:45), over lunch, and before dinner in addition to working some on the framing after the kids hit the sack. I'm hoping to have the framing up and maybe the roof done by the end of the weekend. The tree fort/house* is going to have an 8'x8' house part with walls that are 4 feet tall and a peak in the roof at around 7 feet. There will be a 3' wide deck on two sides and probably a ladder or two to climb up (complete with trap door)!
*What's the difference between a tree fort and a tree house? Is one open and one enclosed? If that's the case, I guess this is both a tree fort and a tree house since there will be both inside and outside spaces in this version!
Extra wood (Cyndie got all of this for free) ...
So this auction ... Cyndie went with our friend Alissa (the new pastor's wife and neighbor of mine during jr high/early high school). It was auctioning off the entire contents of a house about to be torn down (including many pieces of the actual house like carpet, siding, flooring, etc). Anyway, she got the door you saw, a nice basketball hoop (that'll take a little work to get out of the ground and to our house), and a bunch of glasses/pitchers. It was right down Cyndie's alley!
After that Cyndie did her first paid (I think) photo shoot ... a junior high football game. She was pretty happy with the pictures she got, and learned a lot too.
While Cyndie was at the football game, Emma went with her friend Amya to two different dance classes and had a really fun time. Timmy worked with Grandpa on the tree fort a bit, and then Grandpa and Grandma D joined us for dinner and pie (thanks Alissa). So it was a full day!
This morning as we were setting the table for breakfast, we were surprised by Auntie Laura, Daisy and Sally. They joined us for "Surprise Friday", donuts and fun creamer for the coffee. They hung out with us until Emma left on the bus (Timmy went earlier to go to before school Spanish). Sally really wanted to go on the bus, but she had to be satisfied with a ride on the "big white bus" (the Excursion). She was fine with that once she discovered it had a video screen in it! We drove around the Wildwood loop and then they hit the road and I hit the work thing!
*What's the difference between a tree fort and a tree house? Is one open and one enclosed? If that's the case, I guess this is both a tree fort and a tree house since there will be both inside and outside spaces in this version!
The platform is done ... down in the area Papa Lee cleared.
Framing for one end (where a window will be) ...
Framing for two sides ...
The door to the deck area ($2.50 at an auction Cyndie went to yesterday) ...
Extra wood (Cyndie got all of this for free) ...
So this auction ... Cyndie went with our friend Alissa (the new pastor's wife and neighbor of mine during jr high/early high school). It was auctioning off the entire contents of a house about to be torn down (including many pieces of the actual house like carpet, siding, flooring, etc). Anyway, she got the door you saw, a nice basketball hoop (that'll take a little work to get out of the ground and to our house), and a bunch of glasses/pitchers. It was right down Cyndie's alley!
After that Cyndie did her first paid (I think) photo shoot ... a junior high football game. She was pretty happy with the pictures she got, and learned a lot too.
While Cyndie was at the football game, Emma went with her friend Amya to two different dance classes and had a really fun time. Timmy worked with Grandpa on the tree fort a bit, and then Grandpa and Grandma D joined us for dinner and pie (thanks Alissa). So it was a full day!
This morning as we were setting the table for breakfast, we were surprised by Auntie Laura, Daisy and Sally. They joined us for "Surprise Friday", donuts and fun creamer for the coffee. They hung out with us until Emma left on the bus (Timmy went earlier to go to before school Spanish). Sally really wanted to go on the bus, but she had to be satisfied with a ride on the "big white bus" (the Excursion). She was fine with that once she discovered it had a video screen in it! We drove around the Wildwood loop and then they hit the road and I hit the work thing!
Monday, October 11, 2010
Monday Morning
It's Monday morning ... the week is starting ... life moves along.
The weekend was good. Cyndie did her scrapbooking thing. It was the biggest one her friend has ever hosted ... 32 ladies ... so Cyndie didn't get quite as much scrapbooking done as she sometimes does as she was pretty busy helping out. I think she enjoyed herself though. The kids and I worked on the treehouse some, did a little visiting, swam at the pool at Cyndie's hotel, ate at McDonalds, and drove around in the new truck (which the kids both love). At one point Timmy kept saying over and over "this is the most awesome truck ever". I think they just like the TV in it. It's nice that it has a step up into in (the Suburban didn't have that so it was quite a high step for the kids to get into).
This weekend should be a bit slower, though I think Cyndie will be pretty busy with several meetings in the evenings earlier in the week. The kids' soccer is done, so that makes the early evenings a bit less scheduled. I'm guessing there may be some girls scout cookie selling happening too. But that should be it. Overall we're just really enjoying the beautiful end to summer ... it's been in the 70s and 80s for the last 4 or 5 days, which make it a real delight to be outside ... perfect for working on the treefort!
The weekend was good. Cyndie did her scrapbooking thing. It was the biggest one her friend has ever hosted ... 32 ladies ... so Cyndie didn't get quite as much scrapbooking done as she sometimes does as she was pretty busy helping out. I think she enjoyed herself though. The kids and I worked on the treehouse some, did a little visiting, swam at the pool at Cyndie's hotel, ate at McDonalds, and drove around in the new truck (which the kids both love). At one point Timmy kept saying over and over "this is the most awesome truck ever". I think they just like the TV in it. It's nice that it has a step up into in (the Suburban didn't have that so it was quite a high step for the kids to get into).
This weekend should be a bit slower, though I think Cyndie will be pretty busy with several meetings in the evenings earlier in the week. The kids' soccer is done, so that makes the early evenings a bit less scheduled. I'm guessing there may be some girls scout cookie selling happening too. But that should be it. Overall we're just really enjoying the beautiful end to summer ... it's been in the 70s and 80s for the last 4 or 5 days, which make it a real delight to be outside ... perfect for working on the treefort!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Midweek Bullets ...
How about some midweek bullets (for lack of any "big" things to write about) ...
- Some sports stuff ... the Vikings have re-acquired star receiver (and sometime pain in the butt) Randy Moss. Exciting times for the Vikes who need to get their season rolling.
- Liverpool has been bought (pending approval from the league and some legal details). This is very good. Their current owners are, to put it succinctly, lame.
- The kids had soccer last night and had a great time there.
- We babysat the local cousins last night while Laura and Gow had a date ... both girls were really interested in the gerbils, but didn't quite know what to do with them. Sally wanted to hold them, but everytime one touched here, she'd jump back and be pretty timid. Daisy was very excited by the gerbils, but lacked any finesse, so was restricted to just looking!
- The Excursion is still on hold while we get the DVD situation straightened out. The seller is getting it repaired, and then we'll (I think) go through with the sale.
- Cyndie and I had art class this morning and really enjoyed that. We were both very happy with the paintings that we came up with.
- Tonight is Cyndie's last sailing event of the year. She's really enjoyed that.
- We worked on our budget last night. We're going to try very hard over the winter to really curtail our expenses so that we can pay cash for the new truck (assuming that happens) and still do some of the projects around the house that we want to do.
- The jacuzzi has sprung another leak. We're really getting tired of that. We'll see where we decide to go with that little gem.
- It's a beautiful fall day ... I think the temperature readout in the car on the way home from art class said 73. Awesome!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Tree Fort Baby
Yesterday was the start of the tree fort building effort at our place. I went to get the wood I need for the deck part early. Then my dad came over in the afternoon to help me get the "square" (the main beams) up. It was quite an effort. Included in that was cutting down a tree that was dead so that I can use it for one of the main vertical supports on the tree fort. It was a little trial and error getting the stuff up. In the end we got up two beams. And, due to a number of reasons, they are a bit higher than I originally intended. The plan now is to take those two back down and lower the base to a bit safer level (8 or 9 feet instead of 11 or 12). I think, based upon what we learned in the couple of hours we spent yesterday, it will go MUCH quicker this time. Hopefully we'll have quite a bit of time to work on that on Saturday ... at least getting the main platform up. Fun times.
In the evening, Em and Tim went over to the cousins house to have dinner/play while Cyndie and I went out for dinner with our friends Al and Sherri. This was our victory dinner for winning the biggest loser competition with (against) them. We hit Paisanos, our favorite area restaurant. I was absolutely stuffed after that!
So now we're nearing the end of the week. The kids have soccer tonight ... Cyndie's running errands today ... work, work, work for me!
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Art Class!
Well, we've started art class again. Fun times! We're working on a fall painting. To me, fall is about football, so mine is composed of a football theme. Cyndie is working on a still life of leaves. Should be fun! It's nice to be back in there and being creative in a different way.
Yesterday was soccer for the kids. It was a warm afternoon. Timmy was sweating up a storm! Grandma and Grandpa D came to watch the games and then we went over there for dinner.
This morning I got up early to run over to Home Depot to get the materials for starting a tree house in the newly cleared area of the yard (past the mound). I'm looking forward to getting started on that, and the kids are anxious to have a new toy!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Random pix ...
Here are some random pix that were on the camera ...
On the boat with some friends ...
The kids with their friends Alton (a buddy from pre-school, Autumn and Rose). They're the kids of a friend of Cyndie's. I guess Peppers in there too. They were getting ready for a ride in the trailer behind the tractor.
The deck ...
On the boat with some friends ...
Cyndie and I out for dinner ...
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Did you think I'd slack off?
Yes, it's been a few days since my last post, but I am still on the wagon. I don't usually post on the weekends as I'm not sitting in front of the computer near as much. So, what have the Wildwood DeVries done over the long Labor Day weekend? Lets, see ...
Saturday we worked a lot on the house. Cyndie painted some in the entryway/hall to the laundry room. It's a light gray, which we never thought we'd put into our house, but it's actually rather cheery and light ... with a little bit of a blue tint to it. She's eventually going to take that up the stairs and all along the hall upstairs as well. I worked in the kitchen. I took out the old lights (the big flourescent "shop light" that was the main kitchen light, as well as the "spaceship" light over the table in the kitchen). Then I put in some recessed lighting. It looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
Sunday we went out on the boat with our friends the Holtes. That was fun ... fairly warm, though not so much as several weeks ago. The boating season may be screeching to a halt quickly! In the afternoon we had a wedding ... some friends from church. I was doing the sound setup for them, so that took quite a bit of my time before and after the wedding. My folks watched the kids, so Cyndie and I went and got a light bite of dinner after the ceremony and clean up (the kids were still at church with my folks!).
Monday we went to the Walworth County Fair. The highlights were (Tim) the demolition derby and (Emma) the superman ride. We ended up getting wristbands for the kids so that they could ride as many rides as they wanted to. We got there around 11am, and at that point, the kids were walking on the rides ... no wait. After the demo derby*, there were a LOT more people. So the kids just did 4 or 5 rides and we left. A good time was had by all!
*Demolition Derby ... man, that was a redneck-a-polooza! It was fun though. A bunch of old cars just banging the crud out of eachother. There were a few minor fires, one car almost flipped over, and just generally a lot of noise and wreckage!
Now, we're almost back into the swing of things. It's a "not quite" full week of school (4 days), and soccer starts for the kids tonight (twice a week from 4:30 - 5:30). The school year is ramping up, and the weather is cooling off!
Saturday we worked a lot on the house. Cyndie painted some in the entryway/hall to the laundry room. It's a light gray, which we never thought we'd put into our house, but it's actually rather cheery and light ... with a little bit of a blue tint to it. She's eventually going to take that up the stairs and all along the hall upstairs as well. I worked in the kitchen. I took out the old lights (the big flourescent "shop light" that was the main kitchen light, as well as the "spaceship" light over the table in the kitchen). Then I put in some recessed lighting. It looks pretty darn good if I do say so myself.
Sunday we went out on the boat with our friends the Holtes. That was fun ... fairly warm, though not so much as several weeks ago. The boating season may be screeching to a halt quickly! In the afternoon we had a wedding ... some friends from church. I was doing the sound setup for them, so that took quite a bit of my time before and after the wedding. My folks watched the kids, so Cyndie and I went and got a light bite of dinner after the ceremony and clean up (the kids were still at church with my folks!).
Monday we went to the Walworth County Fair. The highlights were (Tim) the demolition derby and (Emma) the superman ride. We ended up getting wristbands for the kids so that they could ride as many rides as they wanted to. We got there around 11am, and at that point, the kids were walking on the rides ... no wait. After the demo derby*, there were a LOT more people. So the kids just did 4 or 5 rides and we left. A good time was had by all!
*Demolition Derby ... man, that was a redneck-a-polooza! It was fun though. A bunch of old cars just banging the crud out of eachother. There were a few minor fires, one car almost flipped over, and just generally a lot of noise and wreckage!
Now, we're almost back into the swing of things. It's a "not quite" full week of school (4 days), and soccer starts for the kids tonight (twice a week from 4:30 - 5:30). The school year is ramping up, and the weather is cooling off!
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
In the spirit of consistent blogging ...
I'll write one while I sit here and watch the Royals game online. Cyndie is out sailing (her summer, Wednesday evening activity).
Laura and Gow are moving into their new house tomorrow, so today I was over there helping to lay the laminate flooring in the dining room and kitchen. Man, that stuff goes in way easier than when my dad, Cyndie's dad, and I did out first laminate at our townhouse in Fountain Valley! The ease with which it went in gave me visions of putting new flooring into our bedroom (we're thinking of hardwood with a rug or two) and my office. However, first things first, we have some lighting work to do in the kitchen and dining room, finishing up some trim in the craft room, and then some work on a treehouse for the kids. Whew, how come the list only gets longer, never shorter?
The kids' second day of school is tomorrow, and Cyndie and I will help out with the moving tomorrow morning. Then we're easing into the long Labor Day weekend with some boating with friends from church!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Phase 1 complete
Well, phase 1 of the Viking Cinema V2.0 is complete. We have the screen and projector up, I wired a socket to the ceiling so I don't have cords hanging down, and the BluRay player is in the house. In honor of that achievement, Cyndie and I watched a movie last night ... Made of Honor. I'd ordered several BluRays from the library, and it's what came first. The movie was a pretty standard Romantic Comedy, fun enough to watch. The difference from the cheap DVD player to the nice BluRay was HUGE. And apparently Pepper is impressed with the quality of the image too. Every time a dog came on the screen, he growled at it. Fun times.
In other news, the deck is continuing to proceed. We have about 40% of the decking down, and can now use the stairs and the grill again. I think the contractor and his team will be back for several hours over the weekend to get the rest of the decking in place. Timmy has enjoyed watching the team work. This morning he's walking around with his play hammer in his pocket and he's carrying a bunch of nails and other toys stuff around like the contractors do. He said he's building a deck for Tiny and Jack.
The other excitement (I guess you can call it that) over night is that Tim and Emma were playing out in the woods yesterday evening. When they cam in, Timmy didn't have his glasses. Apparently he'd taken them off to put a mask on. Well, I sent them back out to look, no dice. So Timmy was in big trouble ... no TV for a week. Fortunately, Cyndie found them after looking for about 45 minutes this morning. It was hilarious. At breakfast, the kids usually watch a TV show while they eat. Timmy had to sit with his back to TV. He's seen the iCarly episodes often enough, he was describing the action on the screen based on the dialogue. Nice.
Timmy construction man
In other news, the deck is continuing to proceed. We have about 40% of the decking down, and can now use the stairs and the grill again. I think the contractor and his team will be back for several hours over the weekend to get the rest of the decking in place. Timmy has enjoyed watching the team work. This morning he's walking around with his play hammer in his pocket and he's carrying a bunch of nails and other toys stuff around like the contractors do. He said he's building a deck for Tiny and Jack.
The other excitement (I guess you can call it that) over night is that Tim and Emma were playing out in the woods yesterday evening. When they cam in, Timmy didn't have his glasses. Apparently he'd taken them off to put a mask on. Well, I sent them back out to look, no dice. So Timmy was in big trouble ... no TV for a week. Fortunately, Cyndie found them after looking for about 45 minutes this morning. It was hilarious. At breakfast, the kids usually watch a TV show while they eat. Timmy had to sit with his back to TV. He's seen the iCarly episodes often enough, he was describing the action on the screen based on the dialogue. Nice.
Timmy construction man
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Deck update!
Well, work is definitely proceeding on the deck project. Over the last week we've gone from having our old deck to (hopefully at the end of today) having our new deck ... minus the roof. Here are some pictures of the process:
Gone!
Pre-removal:
Gone!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Whew, weekend over!
Well now, that was a whirlwind weekend! I feel like I didn't sit down for more than 1 hour all weekend. The big activity was having a pastoral candidate here to interview/speak to be the next pastor at our church. Since I'm the chair of the search team looking for the next pastor, it meant a lot of activities for me.
We had the pastor (Bruce and Alissa) over for a quick dinner on Thursday night (they flew in Thursday afternoon). Then I had worship team practice after that. Friday was just a crazy day. It started in the morning with our contractor coming to tear out the old deck (his bid was to do it that way as he felt it would be better to get rid of the old deck and pour new footings for the new, heavier deck (with a roof). I'm glad he did as the old footings where shallow, and the deck support posts were neither sunk in the concrete or tied into the concrete ... only sitting on top. Apparently that's not too uncommon around here (no earthquakes and all), but still, I'm glad we went this route). So he did his thing. We also received delivery of our new fridge and freezer ... fun stuff. Cyndie is especially really excited to have the separate, side by side units again. We also had the church staff over to have lunch with Bruce and Alissa, during which time I received via FedEx my new toys ... a projector and screen to create a Viking Cinema, part II in the basement. After that, I went with Bruce and Alissa to visit some houses in and around Lake Geneva. They're looking to buy for the first time, so they wanted some advice which I'm happy to give. Then it was dinner with Bruce and Alissa and the rest of the search team at a friends house, then home to play with my new toys after the kids hit the sack. And that's just Friday! Whew, let me catch my breath.
Saturday the kids and I went up to Stone Fire Pizza, a kind of Chuck-E-Cheese, for a birthday part of Timmy's (his words) "best buddy". Owen is a boy from his class who lives close by and rides the bus with Tim. The pizza party and games were fun, but the place was LOUD. I think the kids liked the bumper cars the best. During that time, Cyndie had a lunch with the leadership team (kind of run the church) and Bruce and Alissa. Saturday night was a potluck for the whole church and Bruce and Alissa, followed by a question and answer session. Bruce (and Alissa) is a really personable and engaging guy, so he made lots of friends quickly. By the time Cyndie and I got the kids to bed, we were pooped, and followed them almost immediately.
Sunday was a bit more relaxing ... until 10am at which time we had the final Coffee Shop (our church small group) at our place. There were about 15 - 20 people here for that. It was fun though, to just hang out and relax a bit. Then it was worship team run through and an extended coffee time prior to church, which Cyndie coordinated. Bruce spoke during the evening service. It was a really great message on the prodigal son. Then afterward we had a congregational meeting to vote to call Bruce to be the next pastor at which he was unanimously approved. Good times. The good news is that as of last night, Cyndie and I watched 30 minutes of the Matrix on our 135 inch screen in the Viking Cinema, part II.
So, we're swinging into the week and I feel like I need a rest from my weekend off. It's been cold-ish (50s/low 60s) the last several weeks, so we're hoping the weather will turn our way and we'll be able to get out on the boat more.
On the kid front, Timmy has a new obsession: paper airplanes. He's been making them for the last 5 days or so and they're all over the house. I think he got the idea (and directions) from a Berenstain Bears book. Anyway, he's getting pretty good at making them!
So there you have it. My rambling on more than you could possibly want to know about the weekend of the Wildwood DeVries!
We had the pastor (Bruce and Alissa) over for a quick dinner on Thursday night (they flew in Thursday afternoon). Then I had worship team practice after that. Friday was just a crazy day. It started in the morning with our contractor coming to tear out the old deck (his bid was to do it that way as he felt it would be better to get rid of the old deck and pour new footings for the new, heavier deck (with a roof). I'm glad he did as the old footings where shallow, and the deck support posts were neither sunk in the concrete or tied into the concrete ... only sitting on top. Apparently that's not too uncommon around here (no earthquakes and all), but still, I'm glad we went this route). So he did his thing. We also received delivery of our new fridge and freezer ... fun stuff. Cyndie is especially really excited to have the separate, side by side units again. We also had the church staff over to have lunch with Bruce and Alissa, during which time I received via FedEx my new toys ... a projector and screen to create a Viking Cinema, part II in the basement. After that, I went with Bruce and Alissa to visit some houses in and around Lake Geneva. They're looking to buy for the first time, so they wanted some advice which I'm happy to give. Then it was dinner with Bruce and Alissa and the rest of the search team at a friends house, then home to play with my new toys after the kids hit the sack. And that's just Friday! Whew, let me catch my breath.
Saturday the kids and I went up to Stone Fire Pizza, a kind of Chuck-E-Cheese, for a birthday part of Timmy's (his words) "best buddy". Owen is a boy from his class who lives close by and rides the bus with Tim. The pizza party and games were fun, but the place was LOUD. I think the kids liked the bumper cars the best. During that time, Cyndie had a lunch with the leadership team (kind of run the church) and Bruce and Alissa. Saturday night was a potluck for the whole church and Bruce and Alissa, followed by a question and answer session. Bruce (and Alissa) is a really personable and engaging guy, so he made lots of friends quickly. By the time Cyndie and I got the kids to bed, we were pooped, and followed them almost immediately.
Sunday was a bit more relaxing ... until 10am at which time we had the final Coffee Shop (our church small group) at our place. There were about 15 - 20 people here for that. It was fun though, to just hang out and relax a bit. Then it was worship team run through and an extended coffee time prior to church, which Cyndie coordinated. Bruce spoke during the evening service. It was a really great message on the prodigal son. Then afterward we had a congregational meeting to vote to call Bruce to be the next pastor at which he was unanimously approved. Good times. The good news is that as of last night, Cyndie and I watched 30 minutes of the Matrix on our 135 inch screen in the Viking Cinema, part II.
So, we're swinging into the week and I feel like I need a rest from my weekend off. It's been cold-ish (50s/low 60s) the last several weeks, so we're hoping the weather will turn our way and we'll be able to get out on the boat more.
On the kid front, Timmy has a new obsession: paper airplanes. He's been making them for the last 5 days or so and they're all over the house. I think he got the idea (and directions) from a Berenstain Bears book. Anyway, he's getting pretty good at making them!
So there you have it. My rambling on more than you could possibly want to know about the weekend of the Wildwood DeVries!
Monday, May 3, 2010
Yes ...
it has been forever since I've posted. I don't know that I have a great excuse other than a busy life. However, I'm hopeful that will slow down soon. Four things that have taken up quite a bit of my time lately are either ended, or ending:
Over the weekend, Cyndie had a scrapbooking retreat. She was proud to say that she is now "caught up" through the end of 2007 including our move. The kids and I did a trip down to Dave and Amy's (overnight on Friday) and then I hit Costco in the morning. Friday evening we had an impromptu potluck BBQ with our small group from church. Sunday morning we headed over to the hotel where the scrapbooking retreat was and swam for a while in the pool. All in all, a nice weekend for all of the Wildwood DeVries.
This week will be busy for Emma. She has her K - 2 grade play, at which the 2nd graders are all the leads. She's very excited, but a little nervous too. Today after school she has a hike with her Brownie troop. Then Friday to Saturday she has an overnight with her troop.
News on the Timmy front is that he has his first loose tooth. It's been loose for a bit, but I'm finally thinking of these things, so you get the news now!
The weather is getting nicer and nicer. It looks really good for tomorrow, so maybe we'll try to get out on the boat during the late afternoon.
- Search Team - the team at church that I've been leading in the task of finding our next pastor has nominated a pastor for our church. He'll come to speak at the church on the 16th of May, after which I'll know if we're done or not! Since this has been a 5 - 6 hours a week gig, I'll be glad if we're done!
- Bowling - Finished at the end of April. Fun, but time consuming.
- Duplex - We closed on the duplex last Friday, and collected the May rent on Saturday! So far so good (three days in)! Right now we're working on getting a new roof put on.
- Dining Room - We worked hard and redid the dining room, including new built in cabinets to take the place of the china cabinet. It's not quite finished, but we've made very good progress!
Over the weekend, Cyndie had a scrapbooking retreat. She was proud to say that she is now "caught up" through the end of 2007 including our move. The kids and I did a trip down to Dave and Amy's (overnight on Friday) and then I hit Costco in the morning. Friday evening we had an impromptu potluck BBQ with our small group from church. Sunday morning we headed over to the hotel where the scrapbooking retreat was and swam for a while in the pool. All in all, a nice weekend for all of the Wildwood DeVries.
This week will be busy for Emma. She has her K - 2 grade play, at which the 2nd graders are all the leads. She's very excited, but a little nervous too. Today after school she has a hike with her Brownie troop. Then Friday to Saturday she has an overnight with her troop.
News on the Timmy front is that he has his first loose tooth. It's been loose for a bit, but I'm finally thinking of these things, so you get the news now!
The weather is getting nicer and nicer. It looks really good for tomorrow, so maybe we'll try to get out on the boat during the late afternoon.
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