A Work In Progres

We were blessed 4 years ago with this patio set. It has been
used frequently throughout the years and has gotten to the
point we needed to do something about it. Of course with a
tight family budget buying a new patio set is out of the question.
So what to do?????

First evaluate. How much rust is on the chairs? Are they savable?
Can we restore them or are they on their last leg?

Thankfully they are in good condition and can be restored
with a little tender loving care and a whole lot of Rustoleum
spray paint. Since it took 1 can per chair it costs us only $6.79
per chair. That seems very reasonable compared to purchasing
an entirely new set.

So we spread out the old faithful tarp and started spraying.
Right now we only have three chairs partially finished because
I ran out of spray. I realized now it takes one can per chair.

So we are doing with what we got as an old Disney movie put it years ago. I think with even the amount we have done they are looking great. The goal is to finish the chairs, hit the table and umbrella stand and buy a new umbrella for next year. Or we may just not get a new umbrella. All depends where we are next summer. So any projects you are all working on before the summer is over??? I will try to get pictures of the finished project.

Up On The Roof Top

No, not old Saint Nick but us!! A couple of days ago

we climbed up to our roof with a telescope and looked

at the stars. It's a boy thing. Adventure, discovery,

thrills & snacks of course. Here are some shots

before it got dark.

DK wasn't happy about the idea but eventually warmed up

to it. We weren't that high. It's just a two story house.

Shaggy & Rocker were happy as clams.

Here they are awaiting the night to fall. We got the

strangest looks from our neighbors. I wonder why?

As you can see it was a mix of clouds & sky. The boys

were marveling at the moon already high in the sky.

Here my Knight is not spying on neighbor but setting the telescope up.

You have to pick a target and focus before the stars come out.

The boys loved it and want to do it again. Try it sometime. Be bold,

be daring, climb your roof tops and look at the stars.

No Camping Mountian Pies

I know I am on break but I had to share this one!!!

Here's a fun summer snack we made using my Foreman Grill that I don't use for anything other then grilling the occasional hot dog when we don't want to start up the big grill. I got the grill for a Christmas gift years ago and just found this fun snack to make with it. We love eating mountain pies when we go camping and now we can make them right in our kitchen without waiting for the next camping trip. Here's how...

Gather your ingredients: Pie filling, bread, butter & confectioners
sugar.

Take that Foreman Grill out and dust it off.

Butter your bread and fill with favorite pie filling.
Lower the lid and let it cook for less than a minute.
It's that quick!

Viola!! Mountain Pie...umm good!

Don't take my word for it just look at these faces.
I'm thinking pretty satisfied customers.

A Sunday Hike With A Deadly Encounter

So are there any Herpetologists out there who can ID our infamous guest. You will find him in the slide show. We came across him hiking in a local State Park. We have always kept our eyes out for them but this was the first time we came face-to-face only 3 feet away. It was a very beautiful creature but I will let you have a look. I will post more on our encounter tomorrow but for now leave a comment if you think you know what this creature is and your reaction if you came across it hiking with your family.
*** The slide show is sort of grainy because of the transfer from iPhoto to Quick Time. Sorry about that. I hope you can still get a good glimpse of our friend.

Myrtle Beach 08'

I tried my hand at our iMovie program in producing a video clip of our vacation. We had a great time and wore ourselves out more than relaxed. We visited Alligator Adventure, Brookgreen Gardens, Huntington State Park, Ripley's Aquarium, 3-D IMAX & Broadway at the Beach. It was so much fun with the boys and I mean all four of them!!! I hope the pictures turned out OK. Some our mine and some our Scott's. Enjoy!

Finished Projects!

The boys wanted me to show off their finished projects before we head out on vacation. We completed them today so here they are...
Shaggy's Camo, tank applique pillow. He even
stuffed and sewed it himself.

Rockers Christmas door sign. He did a great job with
learning basic embroidery and using the
sewing machine. Awesome Job Boys!!! You
make your mama proud!!!!

More Summer Fun Pic's

Sewing 101

Rocker & Shaggy asked me to teach them how to sew. They
both picked out and designed their own project.

Rockers is more embroidery. He learned how to blanket stitch
and sew a backing on with the sewing machine.

Shaggy chose to make a pillow and learned to use the
sewing machine.


Return of the Jedi (Livin' Style)

Got bubbles?

Got Lightsabers?

Then you got summer Star Wars fun!

I think they all qualified the Jedi Master tests.


Forget Movies & Popcorn

We had a Star Wars marathon day with all 6 movies.

Instead of popcorn I made pancakes for lunch with bacon.
It was yummy and fun.


Homemade Marble Course

It actually worked! :0 :)

why did I buy a pool pass?

I am trying to figure out why I thought we needed a pool pass this year. I guess I could of saved my money?!

Our Summer To DO List!!

In honor of our family's favorite cartoon Phineas & Ferb we have complied a list of things we are going to do this summer. I thought it would be fun to post the list now and see how many of the things we get to accomplish. I will be continuing to update the list as we add ideas or do new things. So without further addo....here is what we plan on doing this summer.

1. Acrilyic Painting 101
2. Hiking (various trails)
3. Mountain Biking
4. Canoeing
5. Fishing
6. Paper Mache Creations 101
7. Wooden Sculptures 101
8. Making a Cartoon Movie with our Mac
9. Producing a Play (Shaggy will be our director)
10. Annual Summer T-shirt Making Day
11. Going to the Pool 100 x's(Rocker specifically added the 100x's)
12. Camping
13. Balloon Art
14. Myrtle Beach
15. Alligator watching (at Myrtle beach)
    
16. VBS (at CCC where I will be a robot)
17. Frisbee Golf at Pincho
    
18. A couple picnic lunches
19. Figuring out how to keep Shaggy's pet Cray Fish alive.
20. Having a Rainy Day Star Wars marathon(all 6 movies in one day)
21. Possibly getting this new Banzai Skimboard Suffer Slide
    
22. Water Balloon Fight
23. Water Gun Battle
24. Tubing on the Yellow Breeches
25. Building a Marble Run out of toilet paper rolls
    

Well that's a start and will get us through some of the summer. I am sure between the boys and I we will add some more things. I know you may be asking "Aren't you a little to old to be doing some of these things?" Yes, yes I am!!! :)