Our New Deck

This spring we thought that a deck would be a great addition to our back yard. Thanks to our tax rebate (and them some) we decided to go for it. Gordon was really hesitant about building it himself, but with a little encouragement he figured it out! The deal was he would build it if he got a new miter saw (which he got as an early Father's Day present), and if I would help him. It took us about 5 or 6 Saturdays to complete. We started the end of May and finished the beginning of July.

The first 2 weeks we worked on it every night after work and all day on saturdays. After a few weeks of that we got a little burned out.

I should have taken a before picture, but I didn't even think about pictures until we were a couple of weeks into the project. The above picture was taken about 2 full weeks into it.

The next step was putting on the steps, that took him another full week to perfect. Alot of cutting and measuring, then re-cutting and re-measuring. Thank goodness Gordon is so handy.

Gordon's new miter saw was really helpful while we were putting all of the trex pieces along the top and the sides!! (This picture is of Gordon working on the steps....still!)

Thank goodness for all of our great neighbors who played with Taeya while Gordon and I worked. This picture was taken on one of the few warm saturdays we had in the beginning of June. Taeya spent a lot of her time playing in this water table when she wasn't with one the neighbors.

Our deck is now complete. Doesn't it look good! Gordon really did an awesome job.

Before we started I didn't realize all that went into building a deck, but he thought of everything and figured it all out! We have really enjoyed it so far this summer. Hopefully we will enjoy it many more years to come!!

Gas Prices

I know how everyone feels about gas prices right now, crappy! I put gas in the Durango the other day and paid $94! That is insane. About 10 years ago when I bought my Honda Civic gas was around $1.00 per gallon. I remember the dealership told me to go to Chevron and fill up the 10 gallon tank, they said I had a $10.00 credit. I couldn't even use all of the $10.00, now we are around $4.20 a gallon. Can you imagine it being $7.00 in another 10 years. I better start saving my money now!!

5th of July

On the 5th of July we met at Chuck E Cheese for my nephew, Daylen's, 4th birthday. Everyone had such a great time. Taeya's favorite thing was putting the tokens in the machine. Daylen was so cute opening his presents. Before he even knew what it was he would look up and say "I got sumpin!" He was so greatful for everything he got!

That night we met at the park for dinner. The kids enjoyed the playground and the big boys played some frisbee while we waited for the sun to go down. We all enjoyed a firework show put on by my brothers, Ryan and Garrick. The only thing that would have made the day better was if my whole family would have been there, we sure do miss you and love you Mom and Dad!

Stadium of Fire

Every year since I can remember I have gone to the Stadium of Fire. This year we tried to get tickets but as you all know, they sold out in like 20 minutes. At first I was mad and wanted to boycott the whole thing, but as it was getting closer I didn't really want to let the tradition die. Gordon knew this and surprised me with tickets. Unfortunately we had to pay $75 for $45 seats just to have some friends offer us tickets the next day for face value, oh well!! We had a fun time and it made my Independence Day complete!

Gordon and Taeya

Taeya and Brandalyn

Taeya during Miley Cyrus

Taeya during the Fireworks

Our Highlights: The Parachuters, The Jets, The Horses that were representing the Olympics Horse Jumping, Blue Man Group, and Taeya sitting through the entire program!

Easter in July

My sister-in-law Kelly took pictures of Taeya in her Easter dress in April, but I just finally got the disk!! The pictures turned out so cute despite the fact that we couldn't get Taeya to look at the camera, ever!! (Thanks Kelly, I love them).