Merry Christmas

Well I do hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas. We will have a quiet day I think...no little kids running around and that will be the first time in a long time. We are looking forward to time with Susan, John, Zack and Camille. My folks will join us and Joe and Dee will be here.
Thought I'd post some pictures of the basement, I need to go take some new ones as these are kinda dated. John has almost all the mudding done in the office and bathroom and we will soon be setting the shower in place and tiling the floor in the bathroom.

Progress

This week things are coming along nicely. We now have all the sheet rock up in the office area and it only lacks a ceiling. The bathroom has all the plumbing and insulation as well as a vapor barrier up. John and I put a ceiling in today in the closet in the office. He also was able to get the beam covered in the bathroom ceiling. We should be ready to hang green board and then put the shower in. Our tile for the bathroom floor is on order.

Office and new bathroom

Well today I'm finally getting around to those new pictures I promised a few days ago. These are of the office and bathroom rough in. John has all the insulation up in the office and has the vent done in the bathroom. He even dry fit the shower! Plumbing is next and then the sheet rock, tile the bathroom and then the shower, toilet and vanity. We can see it all done in our minds but with John only working on it a couple days a week it seems to take forever and he feels he will never get it done.
Today we picked out the tile for the bathroom finally...it has been a hard decision and we've been dragging home samples for weeks now. Manager of Lowes checked us today as we purchased some of the tile and he said wow here's a chance to win $2500 if you fill out this survey on line...that's just a drop in the bucket for what you guys have spent in here though huh. That's an understatement! At least he some idea of the money we've spent in there!
I baked more cinnamon rolls for tomorrow morning and made 3 pies, pecan, pumpkin and pecan pie cheesecake(new recipe) and I have the potatoes peeled for lunch.
Everyone is bringing something so that helps! I got the tree up with Dee's help and the stairwell decorated and the Christmas village up on the mantle...I need to go back to work now so I can rest! These 4 days off have flown by but I've gotten alot done! I'll take pictures tomorrow to post in the next few days!

Cinnamon Rolls and Patriot Shield

This week has been busy so far. Saturday morning I had company and we made cinnamon rolls! Denise Hahn a friend from school is here in Kansas City going to culinary school and we decided to try out some new recipes. We made cinnamon rolls with three different fillings and three different Icings to decide which we liked best. I've posted a few pictures of the rolls they were sooooooo good! We handed them out to neighbors, friends and family. It was decided we could sell them for sure!

Joe and Dee made us very proud they took part in Operation Patriot Shield at CPL Jacob Carver's funeral! The crowd not only shielded the family from the Westboro Baptist Church protesters they were able to back them up and get them to leave before the service ever began early this morning. The family was spared the hate that this group spews.

On a final note we got word last night that we will get Aubrie for the day on Sunday as we have our Thanksgiving. We are very excited about this as we've not seen her since June. My dad had eye surgery today and I'm excited that all went well with that and he will be able to see clearly now. Hope you are all well.

The ceiling!

John and I saw a ceiling done this way in a restaurant and both said at the same time this would be perfect for the basement! I will all be painted one color and will be awesome!

Finally!!!

I've not posted for sometime as John didn't want pictures up because he wanted to surprise his parents when they came to visit. Then I was very busy with Project Linus event and as I rested up from that and got my house back in some kind of order, we found out my dad was sick. It as has been a long couple of months and it's not over yet but Dad as of today is feeling a little better so I decided to try to update this blog a little and put up some pictures!!!! These are pics of new french doors that will lead to the office and the bar area when John as putting in the plumbing!

The latest !

Today John and Joe got all the sheet rock done and it's ready for mud and tape which John is working on now...it is really looking good!!!

Progress in Basement!

Here are the some of the pictures of the progress!

Johns Truck

Here are the pictures of John's truck after the 17 yr old kid backed into it.

Progress in the basement

We've made a little more progress in the basement. John and Joe worked all day yesterday and got the kitchen/wet bar area roughed in and the wall between there and where the office will be is there minus sheet rock and the door which are both in the garage. Dee hung out with me and we went and delivered some blankets to Cass Medical Center and Hope Haven and then made some dinner for the guys. Somewhere in there Dee had to go get 2 new tires for her car as John and Joe refused to allow her to drive it anywhere with out new ones. The night before we managed to get our fireworks in right before the rain came. Next weekend we plan to go look at cabinets again to make sure we know all the measurements so we can get the rough plumbing done and the wiring in the correct spots. We found the tile we want to use in the kitchen area. It is starting to come together but we have a long way to go yet.

Fathers Day and other stuff

What a busy weekend. I went with Lin and Drew to see the boys at their vacation Bible school program they did so well. Jax although he knew all his songs and Brayden's would not sing in front of all those people so he just for the most part sat their and smiled. After the little ones performed they came to sit with their parents..Jax sat between Lin and I and did really well watching the other kids.
Saturday I had a hair appointment and then did some shopping and Dee meet me at the house and we were able to get some cooking done for Fathers Day.
Sunday we slept in a little and then when I got up I finally told John that everyone was coming for the day. We had a great time and enjoyed lots of good food. I then took a little nap after everyone left and the kitchen was clean, John watched TV for a while. When I woke up we got on the Harley and went on a long ride. It was hot but we had a good time. The back roads here can have such beautiful views and I always enjoy a long ride to take them all in.

Mid June

There is really nothing new here other than we may soon need a boat! We've had so much rain and they are calling for more. This seems to be much like 1993 to me....If I'm remembering correctly. The year that we all traveled to Indiana and there was flood water everywhere...Missouri and Mississippi were both out that year. We crossed the Missouri this weekend and she was still in her banks but just barely. We just had another brief down pour. We have managed to keep the power up and going since the night we lost it for 10 hours. John and Joe went shopping yesterday and brought home a generator and showed me how it works so at least in the future we can have a light or 2 and the fridge running. Other than that it is same stuff different day. I do hope everyone is doing well.

Vacation

Vacations are wonderful the week after really stinks. We traveled to Texas last week and spent some time with our friends Mike and Judy in Troup. We always have a wonderful time while we are there. John stopped counting the number of fish he caught after 40. They have 2 stocked ponds and he was up every morning fishing at 5:30am and stayed out most all day off and on. Judy and I sewed and shared recipes and just chatted. We played cards each night and everyone except Judy was able to win at least one game. I won twice but who is counting...oh Mike of course. Sadly on Friday we packed up and headed to Dallas to see John's family. Not sad to be seeing them but we know it will be some time before we are able to see Mike and Judy again and they have become like family to us. We love them! We did some shopping on the way to see John's family and finally arrived in time for dinner. Mom and Dad's new house is nice and I'm still getting over the shock that there is a pool table in the formal dining room...never thought I'd see that! The guys played pool each night and we had an enjoyable visit. On Sunday we made the long trek back to Kansas City. We stopped a few times and enjoyed lots of Braums ice cream...as we have none in KC. We also stopped in Joplin and visited with our friends Joyce and Roland...they joined us for dinner and we had a good time.
Once home it was oh my gosh I'm tired. We put everything away and just rested before going back to work. The kids are tired, off schedule and cranky...it's been a long week and things are still really hard for John at work...seems like there are many changes going on and none of them pleasant. I'd say I'm looking forward to the weekend but it will be short and I have lots of catching up to do...all I can say is it vacation time yet??? LOL

Vacation time yet???

Well it's almost here. WE are so ready. We've gone over the list and checked it twice and now if we could just get the days on the calendar to click on by we'd be on our way. LOL Seems like just yesterday we were heading off to Alaska and here it's been almost a year since then.
I got food for Joe to have while we are gone and gave him his house sitting rules...I pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy. He said Mom I work at the police Dept I think I can remember to lock the doors and windows and how to take care of the house. I'm more worried that he'll be busy watching tv and forget to feed Bear.
Lin is already on vacation so it's very quiet at our house..no screaming Jax what are you doing? Jax what are you into? Jax where are you?? Just quiet. It amazes me how much one little boy can change everything.
John and I are really getting old...I know this because we have been enjoying watching the birds at the feeders. I remember when we would never have had the time or taken the time to watch the birds. LOL

Our weekend

Another weekend has passed much too quickly. I spent time yesterday working on Project Linus and vacuuming the walls in the living room...don't ask!!! Then Dee came over and we went shopping...I had to get a new calculator and I'd been to the store twice before to get one and forgot both times (getting old sucks) anyway we got one and then came home and made some wonderful new candies...I'll get to that later and spent the evening chatting till the boys came home and we had breakfast at 11pm. Today was spent with a trip to Home Depot and 2 trips to Lowes, a stop at my folks to pick up Johns work pants that my mom hemmed for me, at trip to Micheals, Joanns, and the nursery. We bought 2 climbing honeysuckle for the arbor John built came home planted them, filled the new bird feeders and hung them and then John decided to mow again!

Jaxon went to ER last night with green junk coming out of his eyes...He has a double ear infection which has backed up into his eyes and he now has pink eye in both eyes to go with the ears. You know he never does anything half way.
Yesterday he over heard Lin and I talking about if she should get some flowers to put on Drew's grandmas grave while they were in Oklahoma...he said you mean my grandma who died? We said yes he said well what gravey yard is she in anyway??? We of course where laughing and trying to explain to him grave yard not gravey yard but he refuses to call it anything but gravey yard. This child just makes my day!
Hope you got as much done this weekend as we did.

Lindsey and Drew got the boys private swim lessons because neither boy is afraid of the water. Jax has NO FEAR of anything so I'm sure this was a great idea. Each boy gets 30 minutes with their instructor and while one is working with her the other gets to play. There are more pictures and I'll upload some more of them later on. They will have 6 lessons each before their big trip to Texas. Hey while they are there ask Jaxon where he is from...he will most likely tell you Oklahoma City. This has been his story to me all week long. He is missing Maddie to play with so he spends his time bossing everyone around and telling me long stories. I was at Walmart tonight and Jax and Bray were there with Lin, I'm amazed at how different those boys are. Brayden has become this quiet sweet boy and Jax is just well so Lindsey, when she was little. Squeaky and all. I hope you are having a good week getting ready for the big move. See you soon.

Sunshine

Finally this morning there is a bright light in the sky. It is so welcome! John actually mowed yesterday in a light drizzle and that was miserable. John came across a nest of baby bunnies when mowing and almost ran over them. He moved them and has been checking on them every little bit. This morning he took Jaxon out to see them and Jax was thrilled. I told John you like them now but you won't when they are eating all your flowers and plants.

I took Jaxon and Alex outside this afternoon and turned them loose with sidewalk chalk on the driveway and they had a really good time. They drew letter A's all over the driveway. Jaxon also tried to show Alex the baby bunnies that papa showed him earlier in the morning but they were gone.

I made a quilted bag for Brayden's teacher. Bray will give it to her next week on the last day of school. It turned out really cute. I'm going to make a small bag to go with it out of the scraps so she can have it too.

We played hand and foot with Joe an Dee again last night and for the second week in a row Joe beat us all. That must change!

So glad the sun has returned I'd began to think the calendar was wrong and it was April...finally turned the furnace off this morning...we'd been using it at night for the last few weeks.

Jaxon's lastest adventure!

As you can see in the pictures we spent a fun and exciting evening in the ER again with Jaxon. This time we only had to have 2 stitches, unlike the last time when he needed 5 to close up almost the exact same spot. This time it wasn't as deep or wide but still ugly none the less.
Jax, Brayden and Lindsey had gone to the store and bought some food. Lin had carried on load upstairs and set them on the kitchen counter and went back for another load. Jaxon decided that he would climb on the kitchen counter and help himself to the nutter butter cookies...only he fell and hit his chin. He got no cookies!
Jaxon kept telling Lin and I, I need to go to the ER NOW!! We got him there and they mentioned stitches and he was ready to leave. While we were there he entertained everyone by spelling his name and his brothers name, saying his address and phone number and counting to 10 in english and spanish. After they used a syringe to clean out the cut they gave it to him and told him he could take it home for water fights with his brother, he hid behind the counter with it and said he was going to use it on the doctor because he didn't want stitches! This theory didn't work for him though and it was not as easy as last time when he just laid there and was brave and didn't cry. The numbing jell didn't take either and they already had a stitch in before they realized this. He felt both of those stitches! After the doc got done the nurse gave him bubbles, a syringe for water fights and 2 pkg of teddy grahams..one for him and one for him to take to his brother...he ate the first one and then grabbed the other one and said I'm going to eat this one too...Bray won't know. As we are walking out the door he says ok now can we go to Mcdonalds...it's too late to eat at home.

The Yard!

These are pictures of the yard after John worked out there on Saturday. The spira in bloom and the new garden spot...the tomatoes are already blooming. Then there is a picture of the pear tree, I wanted you to see how much it has grown this spring and then the last shot is the new arbor that John made out of the old deck cover. Now he has to decide if he wants to plant vines on it. We were both impressed with the way it turned out.

Jax has been very sick for the last few days...still trying to get better...probably roto virus. My dad had his heart cath and everything seems to be as they expected...they are starting him on some meds and will keep and eye on him but they feel it is best that he not work and stick with the retirement plan.

Half through this week!

This week seems to be going quickly! John mowed again today...every 4 days now I think is the plan...course that may have to be moved up he put down more fertilizer and grub killer so I'm sure it'll start growing like crazy again. My dad has a heart cath on Monday morning....not sure but they feel that there is a blockage of some sort because it appears there's an area not getting enough blood so we'll see.
Jax is busy as normal and got in trouble here yesterday and when I told him I told his mom and she had told his dad, he asked What did you do that for??? Then when his dad asked him last night what he got in trouble for his reply was ...Why do I have to tell you, you already know! I really don't want to talk about!
We are getting excited about Texas and are counting the weeks now. I do hope everything is going smoothly with the house for mom and dad.
Lindsey is selling avon now and seems to being really well at it.
Till next time.
Patty

The Family

This is the latest Family Picture!

Breakfast before the big move!

These are pictures from our Breakfast at I-hop on the morning that Mom and Dad moved to Texas. WE all got up really early for this breakfast!! Mom got up really really early to go to have them get everything ready for us! It was a wonderful time together before they left...Thanks Dad for Breakfast!!!

Dinner before at Mom and Dad's