A little Slow...

Well our home improvement project seems like it is going a little slow right now, but Troy is just knocking out some of the small detailed things that need to be done before the drywall will go up on Saturday. He had to put hurricane clips on all the studs to be in code for Florida. We covered the entire outside with home wrap. He had to rewire our lamppost out front to operate on a switch. He also had to go back up in the attic to build a junction box for another outlet. With all that done, he is taking a break to finish up finals this week. His teachers both gave their finals a week early so he will have a little extra time to get things done. On Saturday he also had to replace our outside well pump that had gone bad this winter so he definitely has not been on break! The kids didn't get a break either!

Maddie had to clean up the saw dust and carry boards to our trash pile.
And Sam had to hand Daddy all the nails for the hurricane clips.

Some friends of ours are coming to help Troy hang the drywall on Saturday...I have to admit that I'm very glad it won't just be me and him on that project! So Friday we are hoping to get all the insulation in place. It's really starting to shape up into a nice looking room!

Easter

Easter 2011
Dying EggsBaking CookiesEaster Baskets (Please don't tell Megan she didn't have one ;-) )Easter ClothesYummy Dinner and Egg HuntSwimming!! Good thing because it was hot! Dinner and Egg hunt at our house with friends.

Very tired, but very Happy!

Egg Hunt

On Saturday we had an egg hunt sponsered by our church. It was on a property with a lake and was also a community outreach. The kids had tons of fun in the bounce houses and getting their faces painted. The church had provided 7,500 eggs to find! The kids got lots of candy and really enjoyed spending time with Daddy. Megan even got an egg. The weather was perfect for spending time outside. It was a nice break from all the work we have been doing around the house.

Wounded Warrior Salute

Last night Panama City hosted a wounded warrior salute honoring 25 soldiers who had been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. A local couple who's son was injured in Iraq host this event and many of the local buisnesses take part. They get to come here at no cost. A local hotel and spa puts them up. A local car dealership provides them with rental cars. They get to go golfing and deep sea fishing. It really is a great way for our community to say thank you to these men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. Yesterday's festivities started in the afternoon with a parade. Daddy took us to the parade and the kids had lots of fun showing their patriotism.

We live in a patriotic county and it was neat to see people just pulling off the road and getting out of their cars to show support of these heroes. The local chapter of POW/ MIA gave them a motorcycle escort.

After the parade we went to a park for a picnic supper with Daddy. It was perfect weather.

Then the kids and I went back to our church which was hosting a salute in the warriors and their caregivers honor. It was a pretty awesome display of patriotism that I'm glad the kids got to see. This is a bad picture, but the whole bottom floor of our sanctuary was full and many people were decked out in patriotic clothes and were waving American flags. Two of the warriors and their wives spoke and one couple was only 22. They said some things that I will probably never forget. The soldiers were in tears during their speeches and said that their greatest fear being a wounded soldier was to be forgotten for their service. Last night I was proud that I was part of this community that goes to great lengths to show these men that their service is not forgotten. These are the heroes that I want Maddie, Sam and Megan to look up to.

Exterior Wall- Check!

Megan supervised this weekends remodeling projects. Not sure about this face....she may not have liked what she saw, but we got alot done and the exterior wall is up! Sam got some hands-on experience this weekend. He got to put down the liquid nails and fetch lots of tools. He was pretty proud of getting to us the caulk gun! Notice he is wearing ear protection. He is definitely all about "safety first"!

We were very grateful to have Don's help again this weekend- and the use of his saw!

When the day was done, the wall was standing. It's really starting to shape into something nice! I'm very proud of all Troy's hard work.

Hopefully this week he will be able to finish all the electrical outlets so we can start hanging drywall on Saturday.

Strawberry time!

It's strawberry time here in Florida! We love going to the pick your own farm every year. The kids were very excited when they found out this was the week we were going. I'm glad we didn't tell them until one day before we went because they were constantly asking if it was time to go! They love to eat the strawberries and see the animals that they have at the farm. We went with our good friends the Berger's and Don and Mary. The crop was really good this year. I got out of most of the work, unless you consider carrying Megan around the whole farm and taking pictures work. Yesterday before we went Maddie said "Can we please go now?!? I just want to taste those berries!!!" And she did! Sam was all work as usual- he was looking for the 'big ones'!

We even let Megan chew on one...she loved it! We went when Troy got off so the lighting was pretty bad for pictures, but I liked this one of the kids on the tractor. Such sweet kiddos!

Boots

These are Megan's little feet with pink cowgirl boots. They were taken off real quick because she thought they were a teether. Mommy was kind-of bummed because they were so cute. Maybe when all her teeth are in we will try again!

Concrete

Unloading..... Mixing....

and pouring.

The concrete footer is done, and boy were we tired! We are hoping to get the exterior wall up this weekend.

Eight Months

Our baby girl is eight months old....sniff...sniff! These months seem to be flying by. She has lots of new tricks now. She can patty cake, raspberry, say ma ma, give hugs and sit up. she is also working on drinking from a sippy. She loves being around Maddie and Sam and is still a very happy baby. We are so blessed with this little girl!