Andrew & Friends

Andrew and his friends, Tyler & Rayna were playing croquet in the backyard this afternoon - here's a few fun pics.

Volleyball!

In the van on the way to the tournament.

Laura was playing in her first volleyball tournament after making the "A" team in Junior Girls Volleyball. Here's a few shots and a video of her serving.

Oh, and Andrew and I had a bit of photo fun at the end of the night.

Random pics

Laura and a friend were dancing in the backyard to some music. Lisa taped them through a window so they didn't know they were being filmed. No audio as it would have alerted them of her presence.

Finally, a bird

Andrew came running out of the bedroom to tell us there were two birds in our tree in the back yard, Jacko. We saw them but by the time we got the camera out one had flown away. They both were near the berries and it was great to finally see some birds in the tree. I can't believe how light they must be to be able to sit on a branch like that.

Here's a full picture of the tree with the bird in it and one blown up so you can see all the awesome detail on the robin.

Family Pictures

Mom & Dad's Visit

We just finished a nice visit with mom & dad. Here's a few pictures from the last two weeks...

Dad & Ashley installing the new screen door.

On the Corner Gas set located about 30 minutes out of Moose Jaw.

Mom & her new friend in the Wild Things Gallery in Minot, ND.

Sitting around the pool in our hotel.

Sunflower field on our way home from Minot.

You had to know that Dad can't come to Moose Jaw without at least one visit to the Air Force Base - actually, he went twice!

We went to Wakamow Valley Park for french fries and mom ended up sharing hers with this little guy.

Andrew playing in the splash pad in Crescent Park.

Every tourist to Moose Jaw has to have a picture taken with Mac the Moose.

Pics of Laura

Laura asleep on the couch, she liked it, much better than the old couch, now downstairs.

Laura and friends on a jolly jumper at their school's fundraiser for a new playground! Mummy and daughter

Family Room Reno - Day 5

We're done! Well, we have to put the room back together but all the reno is done. And we got it done with 1 hour to spare until we pick up our kids from camp!


Ninja Lisa again on the paint roller, nothing would stop her slapping that paint up on the wall!

Tom popped by to see how everything was going and did a little painting. We're bribed him with chicken strips from Deja-Vu Cafe and got him to come back to help with the second coat. He's a good painter.

The last little bit of painting.

This was the last wall to be done before the spot checks.

And here is the finished product!!!

Family Room Reno - Day 4

Second last day! Thought I had an easy day but everything took much longer than I thought so it turned into a pretty steady day of sanding, cleaning, and priming.


The finished product, all sanded, ready to prime.

Thanx Ed, this is his very overworked Shop-Vac which cleaned up a ton of drywall dust. Not to worry though, we cleaned it out thoroughly.

Ninja Lisa! I put drywall primer on the wall!! Beware my battle moves!

The priming is done, the walls are ready to paint (but not until tomorrow).

Family Room Reno - Day 3

Today was the final day of mudding and the beginning of sanding. The mud is drying at different rates so my regimented schedule is not happening but it looks like we could be done by the time we pick up the kids on Friday!


The last coat of mud on the window shelf, this is so cool to see the ripped up drywall become a nice shelf!


Getting ready for the sanding, I put up a semi-decent plastic barrier to keep out a majority of the dust. Not 100%, but good enough.

The anti-climatic moment. As Ed and I were talking, he was done. Here he is getting ready to put the last bit of mud back into the pail. The "messy" work was over!

Not everything is dry, but I was able to sand about 80% of the wall. The mask and goggles made me so sweaty, I took two breaks to water my face and rest for 10 minutes. Lisa gets into things tonight. She picked up Ed's Shop-Vac and will vacuum up all my dust mess later tonight.
Well, I could just hug and kiss Ed and Tom right now. They came, they worked, they served, and not a complaint among them. What a wonderful pair of gentlemen. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!!

Tomorrow, the last bit of sanding, and then the primer goes up! Friday, with Lisa home, we should be able to polish off the painting real quick!