Talking up a storm

Every single day Emory suprises me with his vocab. He is picking up words left and right, and I can even understand some of them.

Emory loves Brandon's hard work...he just runs and plays and bangs, even in a diaper.

Deck Update

Brandon had a slight mishap on Saturday while working on the deck. He was walking down the stringers (what the stairs sit on) and one of them twisted and he fell on his ribs. We spent a few hours in the ER, and they took x-rays but did not see any fractures or breaks, but they said there is a good chance that he did damage his rib(s). We took Sunday off and went to Mt. Evans, and put in a half day on Monday taking it easy. Brandon is still in pain, but is doing amazing considering. He has come very came very close to finishing the decking and hand rails on Wed, and has put up the stairs (attached this time)today. Very impressive. Emory has also been very helpful in the deck process, and he enjoys the deck VERY MUCH!

Day Trip

We went up to Mt. Evans last Sunday. It is the highest paved road in the world. It was in the mid to high 70's at our house, and in the 30's on the mountain. The road to the top was actually closed due to ice and blowing snow, but we made it to summit lake. It was a little chilly, but what an amazing view!

Topics of conversation

Emory likes to talk about three things.

1. Hi.


2. Hot?


3. BEE!


These conversations can become monotonous


1. "hi" "hi" "hi" "hi" "hi" "hi"


2. Hot? No, not hot. Hot?


3. yes there was a bee in the room once three weeks ago but Nana squashed it. (bye bee?)

Decking

Brandon works on the decking. It is exciting to see it start to look like a deck (to me) I walked out on it last night and was immediately attacked by the realization that the deck is BIG. Today Brandon and I went to Home depot to return excess supplies, where I waited in line for and HOUR. This would have been more annoying if Gabe hadn't picked up dinner. Luckily I had a book.

Garden glory

My columbine is just going crazy with blooms. It is glorious! Also

I looke at the peach trees and OMG, as my students would say, we are going to have twice as many peaches this year.

A day off!

Brandon and I took off work on Sunday, and went for a quick tour of Colorado. We drove south from Denver to Colorado Springs to visit the Garden of the Gods, where there were really cool, red rocks jutting from the ground. We then headed south and then west to the Royal Gorge, where there is the worlds highest suspension bridge, over 1000 ft high. We spent some time there, and then drove north where there was still quite a bit of snow. It was almost 90 degrees at Royal Gorge, and in low 50's in Leadville, at 11,000 ft above sea level. We then hit I-70 back to Denver. We started the day with a mother's day breakfast, and ended up back at our house at about 8 pm. Lot's of fun!

YMCA

Emory gets ready for showtime as the construction worker dancer.

The building continues

Brandon almost completed the frame today, except for the stairs and something called blocking. Here are some shots.

Trench!

One of the most frustrating parts of the deck construction has been trying to get everything done in just the right order. We had to move the electric panel and meter because it was in the way of the new deck. That got done, but the Xcel needed to come out and rehook up the line. On the day Brandon left MA we found out that they were scheduling three weeks out! That meant we wouldn't be able to start for a while down the road. After numerous phone calls and negotiations, and sleepless nights for Andrea, Xcel scheduled it for this friday, with the condition that we (and by we I mean Brandon and Gabe) Dug the trench ( the 30 ft long 2 foot deep trench) Gabe took half the day off to help, even Emory helped a bit, and here it is...our new MOAT.

Post holes

Brandon finsihed the post holes and he and Gabe put concrete in them today. Here they are very messy!

Brandon cleans the kitchen

Emory makes the kitchen very messy! Luckily Brandon not only builds decks, puts in doors, and drives me to work when my car has been stolen....he also cleans kitchens.

Window to door

Where did the deck go?

Here is a series of pictures showing, deck...no deck...dumpster full of trashed deck.

Oh Glory!

My new container garden and vegetable garden.

I spray painted an ugly brass lamp black. Wow, what a difference!

What used to be here?

What used to be in this spot.....Andrea's Truck! Brandon discovered the theft this morning. goodbye truck...:(

another big day

Today started out with Brandon cooking us breakfast! Then he and Gabe took out a window, cut a hole in the wall of the house, and put in a door instead. At the moment the door opens onto nothing but air....but it is a beautiful door. The day ended with Gabe cooking dinner. This is how days should always go!

Lest you think I was doing nothing, I planted strawberries, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and onions. Then I spray painted a bench and built a container garden. I also spray painted an ugly light fixture black. Intermittantly I did laundry, did the grocery shopping, and cleaned all DAY. Why is it that the more I clean, the messier things get. If I stopped cleaning would things stay the same???

ALSO... I spent a lot of wonderful time running around behind Emory.

WHEEH. I am too tired to post any pictures.

Brandon has arrived!

Gabe's friend Brandon is here to build our deck. Here are some shots of our day. Brandon and gabe took off the rest of the back deck. They also took out the swamp cooler, fixed the thermostate, explored the attic, cleaned the kitchen, and drove us around. busy day! I'll be blogging about the deck progress.

Emory's new words

Thank you Nana!

Nana got Emory a great sandbox for our back yard. Andrea and I put it together yesterday, and filled it with sand. Emory loves it. The trick is going to be finding a way to keep the sand in the box, and making sure that we keep it covered so it is not a great litter box! Nana also got Emory a water table that is a lot of fun. It has bellows that move the water around, and shoot it out the center. Lots of summer fun waiting to be had!