A Visit to the Dentist

We like the people at our dentist's office SO much that today we decided to go visit them even though we didn't have an appointment.

They were SO happy to see us that they took us right back to a chair.

And they like us SO much that they kept us for almost two hours.

***

Oh, and Anya got new front teeth while we were there!

(Emptying the dishwasher can be a dangerous job, especially when there are plastic cups to put away!)

Before: black and white picture from the dentist's camera

After: cheerful smile

Bits and Pieces of Our Weekend

Saturday:

The kids went up on our hill and collected a bouquet for my birthday.

While Mike worked on the inside of my chicken coop,

I pressure washed half of the outside of our front fence.

Sunday:

 My baby turned FIVE!

(and grimaced with classic Isaak-ness at the camera).

 Leaving the machine maintenance stuff, oil changes, kid care, and cooking to Mike, I finished pressure washing the outside of the front fence.

Yes, I am freely admitting that I got to play with his my favorite toy

all weekend while he did all the hard stuff.

It was fair though, because he got to go flying on Monday while I stayed home and did six loads of laundry.

My Baby is FIVE!

Happy Birthday Isaak!

Absence, With a Side of Deconstructionism

The saying "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" is not always true, but in this case it just might be!

This is how the barn side of the property looked a year ago:

It was "complete" with this round pen.

The gate was held on with rubber tie-down straps,

and most of the rails were rotten and falling apart.

 So when boards starting coming apart in our hands, my husband took a splitting maul to the rest of it

(because we couldn't find the sledgehammer),

 and he tore it down! 

Absence (of some things) DOES make the heart grow fonder!

For the Love of Eggs: Part 4

The chicken run is finished!  We got the chicken wire on, then Mike and Isaak went back and closed the seams with heavy duty wire.

 Then he built a door, and I filled in the trenches to bury the wire.

 Once everything was secure, we let the chickens out into the run,

 which resulted in happy kids and happy chickens!

Reading Record: April

A significantly smaller pile...

due to unforeseen sunshine in Washington!

(The two backwards books are place-holders representing books that have already moved out of my house.  One I read just for fun, (Bill Bryson's I'm a Stranger Here Myself) and I really enjoyed (most of it), but decided not to keep it, and the other I read hoping to use it for school (Prisoners of Hope: The Story of Our Captivity and Freedom in Afghanistan by Curry, Mercer, and Mattingly) but I was extremely disappointed in it.

Wholesome missionary stories (especially ones that are appropriate for kids!) set in Afghanistan are a challenge to find!

Deconstructionism

 While Mike was on a business trip last week, I jumped at the chance to play with one of his my favorite tools:

I love this thing!  I can clean with it, weed with it, destroy things with it...

First I destroyed the beautiful moss on my parents' back patio, then weeded the cracks and cleaned the concrete.  (I may have gotten carried away and done the front walkway too, but I'm not admitting anything.)

My pressure washer also made short work of cleaning and stripping some paint off this chair.

I wasn't completely destructive though.

The kids and I put a new coat of paint on the chair

and made it look all shiny and new.

We also painted the pump house,

and then I dug out around it and laid down gravel.

Then I went back to my destructive ways and tore down the back patio roof.

And I even managed to beat Mike home by a few hours!