Pool Fun!

Noah having fun in the pool on a lazy Sunday morning.

Sliding into the pool.

Riding in the Wagon

Noah had lots of fun riding in the wagon!

Possums aren't cute either!

Brian went to close the garage door earlier and the light was on. We looked out the window on the door and didn't see anything so I opened it a bit to see if anything would run out. As I was shutting the door, I saw some something kind of furry out of the corner of my eye run under the car. I waited a second then went out in the garage to see what it was. As I was just about to the back of the car, I saw it run out of the garage to the front of the house. Brian went and got a flashlight but I didn't see it again after that. I wasn't sure what it was since I really only got a good luck at its tail, but after I looked it up, it was definately a possum. I think it was eating the dog food.

Shutters

On Saturday, we decided to do some touch ups to the shutters on the house since they were looking pretty faded.

Before

Side by side comparison

After

Double Rainbow

It rained off and on on August 1 but in between, I got these pictures of a double rainbow. You cannot see the second one too well but it's there. Apparently, several of the neighbors caught a glimpse of the rainbow as they were taking pictures, too.

Front of house

We decided to take a picture of the front of our house sometime after we moved here almost 3 1/2 years ago. It's funny how things can change in such a short time.

What the frontyard looks like now.


As you can see, the roof is a different color, there is a tree missing from the front yard (actually two but you cannot see the other one in the first picture), the only tree in the back now is from the neighbors yard (he also added the white fence on the left), and the flowerbed has a lot more color. And, the tree right in front of the house is quite a bit larger than before. I wonder how big it will be in 3 1/2 more years?

Tree

On May 22, we had to get our big oak tree in the backyard cut down due to an infestation of mold and attack from woodpeckers. It wasn't all the way dead yet but we decided it would be best to bring it down or risk it possibly falling on our house and costing a lot of money in the future.

Here's the before picture.

In the process of being cut down.

The large pile of mulch left over by the stump grinder. We ended up putting some of this in the flower beds and the rest we spread over the part of the yard where there is not grass yet.

The new tree we bought to replace the one that came down but a little further back than the original. Our plans are to eventually buy some more grass to fill in the yard and to have a gazebo built so we can chill in the backyard.

Flowerbed

We decided to make a second attempt of planting flowers in the backyard. We tried a few years ago but then got Zeke two weeks later. He chewed them all up being the typical puppy that he was and then we got Violet the next year so we didn't even bother. They are both a little older now and not so much into the chewing phase except on each other. I had a little talk with them and told them not to chew Momma's flowers or they were going to be in big trouble. Violet did end up pulling up one of the petunias the next day but it was the bulb and all so it was saved and replanted. I had another talk with the pups and I think the message was clear that time as they have not messed with them since. Hopefully, they will continue to be good little pups.

Lawnmower

Yesterday, Brian and I purchased a riding lawnmower, twice. We bought the first one, got all the way home with it, put some gas in it (mind you that is was missing the gas cap at this point), try to crank it and it does not start. Brian called Lowe's and they sent out the manager and a guy from lawn and gardens with a new battery thinking that would fix the problem. Nope, it was still dead. So, we load it back it back up, drive back to Lowe's, return the non-working mower, repurchase the floor model for one penny less, make sure it has a gas cap and actually works this time, then go back home and mow the yard....FINALLY! Here's some pics of Brian riding on the mower.