Finishing Some of My Summer Projects...

So far, my summer projects have been all about 1/2 done. Some because of time issues, but other required me getting other things done first, to finish the original project. In the last couple of weeks I have actually managed to mark a few projects off the "list" as DONE!

First, the front landscaping project. This project started HERE when I had all the nasty, crappy looking rock hauled away. After the rock was gone, the project was back on my shoulders to get the landscaping block installed, more dirt hauled in, sod installed, and mulch spread. After about two months, we got it finished! I will spare all of you the boring details on how to install landscaping block walls, but let me just say that to do it right, it takes a while!

BEFORE

DURING

AFTER

I'm really happy with how this project turned out! I think it looks MUCH better than the junk that was piled up there when we bought the house. We are planning on putting some plants, shrubs, and/or bushes there, but those will be on the agenda for next year.

Next, I finally got the back yard willow tree project finished up. We had the tree cut down in May, the stumps ground out in June, and I just got the hole leveled with dirt and sod layed down.

STUMP

DIRT HOLE

FINISHED!

Lastly, I finally got the chance to repaint a few of the cold air return vents in the hosue. If you remember, my brother bought us new register vents for Christmas a couple years ago, but due to the unique size of the cold air return vents, they couldn't be replaced. They were the original brown/grey color and looked very dirty. So after a couple years, I got them done. One can of primer and one can of white paint and they look about 30 years newer!

I still do have a few more projects left for the summer, but most of them are pretty small and I am almost done with most of them! I will make sure and post them when I do get them done! After all the house projects are done this summer, I am going to start working on the Trans Am as a reward!

Maeve's Second Birthday!

Maeve had a very special birthday this year! My Aunt Nette and Uncle Bruce had wanted Shannon, Maeve, and I to come up to their cabin for a while now. While we were trying to find a weekend that worked for both of us at Easter and the one we picked was the weekend of Maeve's birthday! My Aunt was very excited that she got to plan a birthday party for a little girl, since she has two boys!

Their cabin is located in northern Minnesota, just outside of Crosby on Serpent Lake. Their lake cabin has been in their family for a very long time. The lot they have is beautiful and the two cabins (a main cabin and a guest cabin) are perfect. Dad and Mom left on Thursday night and Shannon, Maeve, and I left on Friday afternoon when Shannon got home from work. The drive was very easy (I slept the entire way) and in a matter of a couple hours, we were there!

Aunt Nette gave Maeve an "Elmo" themed birthday party (since she LOVES Elmo!) complete with cake, streamers, blow toys, and posters!

The birthday party was great! Maeve had a wonderful time and got many nice gifts. She is really starting to get into opening presents, which made it fun for everyone to watch!

After the party and for the rest of the weekend, we all enjoyed ourselves very much! I think I was stuffed and relaxed the entire weekend! Maeve had a chance to play in a lake for the first time and LOVED it! She even got to wear the same Snoopy life jacket that my brother and I wore at our lake cabin when we were her age! I also convinced both Maeve and Shannon to go on a Sea-Doo ride with me!

To continue Maeve's birthday, she actually ended up with four total present opening sessions! She got more very nice gifts from her Grandma and Grandpa in Texas, her Grandpa Tim, and her Grandma Dee.

I think Maeve had an amazing second birthday! She is still talking about it all the time. I would like thank my Aunt Nette and Uncle Bruce again for having us up to their cabin and giving Maeve such a special second birthday party!

Another Car Show!

Mileage: 87,688

I really only planned on attending one car show this year, and it was in May. However, my Dad came across an advertisment in our chuch flyer for the 5th Annual Mount Olivet "Motorheads" Car Show. He passed on the information to Michael and I and we could both attend, so we both signed up!

The show was being held at the west campus of our church in Victoria, MN. The show was fre and offered a BBQ dinner, and door prizes. There wasn't any judging or competition at all, which was fine with me. The plan was for Michael, Dad, and I to drive out together and then Shannon, Maeve, my Mom, and Jess (Michael's wife) would come out later. We both got our cars cleaned up and detailed and set out for the ride there. It is about 30 minutes from my house and a very nice ride. I think it was the longest trip I have taken with the Trans Am since I have had it! While we were driving in, we noticed that the skys were looking a little bit dark, but we figured the bulk of the storm would miss us. We were wrong. After we got the cars parked and looked around at some of the other vehicles, the skys let loose. They issued a Tornado Warning and were reporting possible hail! This was not good news for a classic car show! Michael and I both put our car covers on, figured that if it did hail, it might deflect some of the damage. After about 30 minutes of heavy rain, the strom was over. No damage, just a bunch of wet cars!

The car show was a ton of fun, and I will for sure do it again. There were some very nice cars out there, even ones I hadn't seem before at other shows in town. I took some pictures of a few of my favorites! I have a wierd taste in classic cars!

Between my brother and I, we had quite a fan club. Along with all the people that I mentioned above, my Aunt Nette, Uncle Bruce, and my buddy Chris and his son all came out to the show to see us! It gave us a chance to take some nice family photos!

Overall, it was a great show. Everyone had a good time and the cars didn't get damaged!