Uncle Jan & the D-ster

Our afternoon with Derek was a fun & busy & delightful affair. We took a trip to the park and spent some time practicing our drum and guitar skills, but the grand finale was sand castle building at the beach on the river - pictures of that coming soon because there are about a hundred :)
Wheeee!
Derek was only interested in going "too high" on the swings...
so Uncle Jan obliged :)
New Rock Band fan!
This one will end up in a frame.
Rock Band soon became old hat, and Derek decided the real deal was in order :)

Finished!

Just as Lainey predicted, once the paint had some time to dry, it changed from blue to gray, and we are are quite pleased with the whole deal. It's especially nice to have such a big project checked off the list...now we're feeling inspired, so next we tackle the inside!
Sunshine on the outside, sunshine on the inside :)

The zoo & then some

Today my friend Jen took me to the zoo. It was her birthday present to me, and it was a good one. This is all I have to show for it, though, because 1) I didn't take very many pictures and 2) hardly any of them are suitable for public show-casing.

This afternoon Jan Michael & I went on a date. We ate a lot of Mexican food, and then, even though we were very full, some dessert. I happen to have a separate stomach compartment for dessert.

Tomorrow we are spending a few hours with nephew #1 while Brent & Danny & Caleb go to a wedding. We're sure to have fun, and if we're lucky, we might be able to eek out some decent pictures with our no-good-dirty-rotten-camera-that-I-can't-stop-complaining-about.

Dawg breath!

Dawg breath is what Jan's dad says when an error has been made. And I say it today because as it turns out, Software Gray is almost exactly the same color as the blue that we already have. This is what happens when we fiddle around and fail to buy a sample of the paint we think we like and actually test it on the house before the painters come. But lest you think I'm having a pity party about this, the newly painted parts of the house really do look nice, because they are clean and un-faded, and in the end that's what counts anyway. I just wish there would be a more discernable difference, that's all :)

Good-bye, blue house!

Today begins the Great House Paint of 2008. When all is said and done, our house will be a lovely shade of 'Software Gray' with white trim, instead of the current slate blue which has faded to such a degree that we can see the previous color underneath (which we suspect was pink). Because it took us approximately one-and-a-half weeks to paint our small bathroom, and because I was in a towering temper the entire time, we decided it would be far better to hire someone rather than do it ourselves. We've hired a very nice bunch of college kids, who are outside right now scraping and priming, while we sit inside drinking tea and blowing our noses and feeling sorry for ourselves because we have summer colds.

Grandma Ruth

Jan Michael's Grandma Ruth passed away early yesterday morning. She was 94. She loved God first and most, and her family second, and that is the best testimony her life could have possibly left. We are grateful for her and her example and love her very much.

Revenge of the Grass

Haiku #2

Rain, you make things green.
But stop! Enough is enough.
Leave until fall, please.

Haiku

I love you, warm sun.
But you are hiding from me.
Shame on you, sun, shame.