Home Improvements

The spring weather seems to have given me that extra boost to work on a few projects this past few weeks. First of all, I finally took some time to work on the upstairs bathtub. I scrubbed the tub and removed all the old caulking around the edge and then re-sealed it with new. I took down the shower curtain rod that had begun to rust, sanded it and painted it with a rust resistant paint. I also cleared out the drain. So now our bathtub is looking much better and draining faster as well.

The next project we took on was in the back yard. We decided to remove half of our wooden fence and transplant those grapevines, to open up our back yard a little more. Then we will have easier access to the "shady" part of the yard for barbecues, etc. In the process we also removed our trampoline mat so we could pull out all the little trees that had been sprouting up underneath it. We decided to use the pit as a temporary fire pit and burned all the weeds, the grapevine trimmings, as well as the fence posts we had removed. After the fire was burned down to coals, we also roasted marshmallows. The next day we threw some rock salt all around the pit, hoping to discourage any new growth, and replaced the trampoline mat. We cleared out our garden area of all the "pieces" of bikes and other misc "junk" and took a load to the dump. So all in all, our backyard is looking much nicer already. Ryan was able to use the tiller and prepare the garden area for our grapevines, as well as a few other plants. We didn't want to plant too much, and have it go to waste, so we are keeping it simple with just tomatoes, peas, 1 pumpkin plant, 1 zucchini plant, a few corn stalks, a few bean plants, and a watermelon plant. We'll see how helpful the kids are, now that they are getting old enough to help, and maybe we can expand our garden next year.

With the help of the kids our laundry washing has been going on, on a regular basis. However, we now have a very large pile of clean clothes that I need to sort through so the kids can actually find what they want to wear. As we are in this transition stage of spring, we still have some cool days that require pants, as well as some very warm days that necessitate shorts or capris. Therefore, everyone has more clothes than we have room for. Though I am not looking forward to the hot summer days, at least it will simplify our laundry situation and I can store the pants in the cellar for later in the year when we get the cooler fall weather.

Ashley and Alexia had a short dance performance a couple of weeks ago as part of a fund-raising evening. The girls were really excited that Kelsi and Rusty were able to come and watch their performance. After the performance they had commented that it was quite noticeable that Alexia really new the dance well, as she was one step ahead of everyone else. As we looked back at the video we recorded, we found this to be true and quite entertaining. :-) The girls are looking forward to their big performance which will be on June 6th (Wednesday) and June 7th (Thursday) at our own Empress Theatre here in Magna. The girls will be in three different dances both performance days. Tickets will be $6 for adults and $3 for children ages 3 & up.

The elementary school kids, and Austyn's preschool class, all had pictures taken within the last month. We have Austyn's picture back already, but have not yet seen the others. I will try to post them when they come in. But for now, here is Austyn's recent picture.

Just two more weeks of preschool for Austyn and just four weeks of school for the other kids. They are all excited for summer, especially Andrew as he will get an extra month of vacation before starting junior high. So far we don't have any big trips planned for the summer, and with the unbelievable gas prices I doubt we will go anywhere far. Hopefully we can at least work in a couple of camping trips this year. Ryan and Andrew will be going on a little over-nighter this weekend for Andrew's scouts. We do, however, have several local events upcoming over the next few months. Ryan's brother Eric is getting married in June, then my sister JennyLyn is expecting her baby at the end of July. We will top off the summer with a Heward family reunion in August. Lastly, I am planning to take the kids to California at the end of September for the wedding of my long-time friend Heather Williamson. The kids will luckily be going off-track the weekend of the wedding, however, Andrew and Ryan will have to stay behind for school and work.

Well, it looks like my internet is up and running again so I better get back to work. I'll try to continue with the updates on a regular basis. Thanks again for all your emails, phone calls, pictures, letters, etc., we love to hear from you!! Julie :-)