Big Things come in Small Packages

One of our goals for the new house, is to have a place that friends and family can come to for celebrations.  So as soon as we moved in we worked towards this goal, and we had something major to celebrate...a new family member.  Mommy's brother was having a baby and they were coming to town!  Not only were we all super excited that they were coming to town, we were excited to host a party at our new house.  While it was a lot of work to get the house ready (we had only been here a week!) it was tons of fun.
We strung up lights, put flowers on the tables, and candles everywhere...perfect for a new little girl.
We also built a fire pit to cook smores on (got to get your priorities right).
And set out to celebrate.
All the cousins came and had a blast running around being spies in the big yard.

 

So that was in June, fast forward 3 months and Mommy made a special trek out west to welcome the newest member.  Welcome to your crazy new family Baby Grace...

Your family is already head over heels in love with you.  Your biggest brother can't get enough of you

And you have a big cousin at this house who is beyond excited to meet you...finally a girl to play with.

***A couple of notes about this post...I started writing it over  month ago but just got it finished and apparently we were so excited during Grace's baby shower...nobody took pictures!!!  If anybody has any they would like to share with us that would be awesome.

Gettin' It Done

So when we moved into the new house, there were lots of things we wanted to change...some sooner than later.  Across the front of the house was a very manicured row of boxwood bushes.

 For those of you who know us, you will know that we are not a manicured anything kind of people.  These bushes also got in the way of the sidewalk as we made our way to the front door.  So in true Mommy fashion, I swiped Daddy's Sawsall and went to work. I was able to chop down all the bushes but as I started trying to move them realized they were all grown together so I couldn't pull one without all the others being attached...so what do you do in this situation...

 

well you hook up the lawnmower and pull off the whole batch at once.  It was awesome but also very funny to watch, as a whole trail of boxwood limbs slid across the driveway!  We got all of the limbs pulled out of the way and it has changed the way the front of the house looks.  As with everything else around here, the front of the house is still a work in progress.  So keep watching for the finished product.

As a side note, while I was chopping down the bushes, this little guy appeared.  He hopped out of the bushes and was bleeding, so what do the Fletcher's do???  We chase him down, put him in a box and try to help him.  Abram is an amazing frog catcher!  After cleaning his wound, we released him back to the wild.  I am not sure but I think I have seen this same guy around here several more times since then...or it could have just been another on of the hundreds of toads that seem to be living around here.  They especially like to come out at night when it is time to take Buttercup out.

Everyone Take a Turn

Katie has a toy dog that can swim.  It's neat and all as far as toys go.  One of the accessories is a pair of swim goggles, you know just to complete the look of a plastic dog floating around in water.  Seems boring huh?  Not around this house.

Well, it is her toy.

And well, he is the big brother.

And me...well...uh....I got nothing.

A LIttle Update

When we last saw the vanity it was a plain, unplumbed, yet still gorgeous piece of wood.  Well, after a several coats of stain and poly, some sanding, and visit from our friendly neighborhood plumber here it is:

Yep, it is even more spectacular.  We have it stocked and ready to use now.  Next step is to find a mirror to mount.  Updates to follow.

Birthday Gift

Papaw and GramT so generously gifted Mommy with a new bathroom vanity for her birthday.  The best part is that Papaw promised to make it himself.  I don't know who was more excited Mommy or Papaw.  After and all night planning session and a major search for just right wood, the project was underway.  Mommy and Daddy waited excitedly while Papaw worked.  In a very short time, the call came that it was ready to be delivered.  As usual, Papaw delivered so much more than was ever dreamed of.  After some trimming and straining it was placed in the bathroom.

This picture really doesn't do it justice.  It is made of reclaimed barn wood, completely hand-made, with love!
Now Mommy just has to find the perfect stain.  She is really nervous about messing up something that already looks great.

Oh and a shout out to GramT for all the great supervising she did throughout the project.

First Bounty

Thanks to Papa, we got a small garden patch tilled up.  We really haven't had a whole lot of time to devote to it, but we did find some plants on sale and got them in the ground.  We check on it every now and then.  Today was one of those check-ins, we were already outside and dirty from fixing the fence so that Buttercup can't get out, and I decided to go to the other side of the fence.  Well there were lots of weeds so I started pulling a few and there hidden up under the leaves were these 2 plump, red bites of yummy.  Guess I should finish pulling the weeds and see what else I can find!

Grass, Grass Everywhere and it doesn't stop growing

In case you were wondering, yes we do have a lot of grass and no we do not have a riding lawn mower.  That is until Papa Ted showed up with an everysogenerous housewarming/birthdays/everything for a while gift.

After unloading our new workhorse, we got a lesson, and then set off to start mowing.  The first time we mowed, it took us about 5 hours.  Daddy did most of it but let Mommy try it out a little, Abram and Katie even jumped on for short rides making the 5 hours a little more enjoyable.  Lucky for us our new workhorse come with service calls...which we have already had to put to use.  Good thing we know a great mechanic.

Papa Ted also fixed our blower and brought it back to us with the lawn mower.  Before anybody else to get there hands on it to clean up after the mower, look who got a hold of it.

While it makes me sad that he is growing up so fast, I was also very proud that he wanted to help and be a part of the action (a major change for him).  He is also really good at it, after he figured out that the blower continued to put out air even when the trigger wasn't pulled.

 

 He has become the official blower at our house, now to get brave enough to start up the weed eater!