Court of Honor

Conner and Parker had a court of honor last week.  Conner earned about 5 merit badges from scout camp as well as his star rank.  We are proud of the progress he is making in scouts!

Enjoying our backyard

We've loved having the backyard done!  It is really beautiful.  We've sat outside almost everyday and have enjoyed having family and friends over to enjoy it with us!

 One night we had some friends over and the parents sat by the fire chatting and roasting marshmallows while the kids played basketball in the dark and played tag in the backyard. 

Michayla, Tyler, Trever, and Parker

 Things started quieting down and we saw that the teenagers were all sitting at the little picnic table chatting.

 It was quite a tight fit ...

but they enjoyed being little kids again, I guess!

I love these kids and we love our new backyard!

Conner is 14!

 Conner turned 14 on Friday.  He requested cinnamon rolls for breakfast so that's what we had!

 Happy Birthday Conner!  (Not sure about Parker's face?) 

 Opening presents!

 He got a new backpack, NBA 2K13, a game from Calissa, and a couple of books on his Kindle.

His friend Aaron came over to celebrate with him and spend the night.  They played video games, basketball, went out to dinner at Buckhorn, and finished the night out with a game of Curses.

We love you Conner and hope you had a great birthday!

Finished Yard!

We came home from Utah excited to see our finished yard.  About 5 PM on Friday night we got a call from our landscaper telling us not to panic when we got home and that part of the lawn was dying.  My mom had been over on Thursday night and said it looked great.  Sometime on Friday it started to die.  Saturday morning it didn't look too bad, but by Sunday it was looking pretty dead.  We were so excited to have the yard done, but sad that the grass was dying.  Here are some pictures of it (with the dead grass).

 Our new patio furniture.

 Our old table and chairs.

 The grass.

 The pathway to the back gate and to the basketball hoop.

 They planted some unusual plants.  

 Rock over by the shed.

 Our poor grass!

Calissa's veggie box.

 Here are pictures from today (a week after we got home) and it's already looking a ton better.  It was good to look at these pictures today because it showed me that the grass is definitely recovering and hopefully soon it will be green again.  The landscape company has been great and has been over every day adjusting the water and monitoring the grass (and finishing up a few extra things).

 They had the water set the first three days we were home to come on nine times a day (for 30 minutes each station).  We were getting a little worried about our water bill.  They've cut down on the water and hopefully can cut down even more in a few weeks.  Hopefully the water bill won't be too bad but it looks like it worked.

Calissa finally planted some of her veggies this week.  She planted lettuce, spinach and carrots.  Hopefully they grow good and she enjoys gardening and doesn't complain too much about taking care of them.

 Glad to have found a good company that didn't walk away when the job was "officially" done, but continues to follow up until everything is perfect. They said they'll be around forever and will pop by to check on things (even once the grass situation is over).  We're happy with the work they did and can't wait to enjoy the yard for years to come.

We've enjoyed sitting outside by the fire each night, eating s'mores and chatting, watching the stars come out, and reading during the day and enjoying our yard to the fullest. Come on by and take a look yourself!