Renovations and babies!

 

Well, Kevin took off with a bee in his bonnet this week.   When we built the house 10+ years ago, we didn't do everything quite as planned.  One thing that we really wanted and talked ourselves out of ( to save money) was putting a gabled end on the porch roof.  Instead we went ahead and put a slanted roof on.  Neither one of us has ever been happy with the way it looked.  When Kevin was on the roof a few weeks ago and realized that the shingles were quite damaged from past storms, he decided that if he was going to rip the shingles off, he would rip the porch roof off too! I gave him an idea of how much extra cash we had available and he took off running, or reading actually.  My husband is nothing if not thorough. He is definitely not one to just jump into something without researching.  So, by the end of that day, he had a list of materials and prices from several lumber yards.  The hope was to reuse as much material from the existing roof as possible, and he did!  The project is not nearly over at this time,  but he is moving right along!  Kevin has fallen into bed the last 2 nights and will no doubt need some serious ben-gay or muscle relaxers by the end of the weekend!

Getting started, of course Preston MUST supervise!

The first chunk of shingles comes off!

What a mess!  And there is a LOT more where that came from!

Really starting to see some change! All of those 2x4's you see and the plywood was reused!

Preston assisting Grandpa <3

He wanted to be out with them as much as possible!  

Kevin's Uncle Joe came by and helped ( a HUGE blessing, he did in a few hours what would have taken Kevin and his dad a day or more).  Joe's foot hit the air compressor hose and he fell through the porch ceiling! LOL Whoops! We were just glad he wasn't hurt!

Wow, look at the change already! I LOVE it!

This morning's view.  I am so excited and proud of my hubby for doing this! Now if we can get the siding on by the garage, the house will be looking great! 

NOW, onto the most exciting part of my week! :)  We have doubled the size of our family ( and it only took one trip to the farm store!!!)  After Kevin promised ( on Facebook) that he would build me a chicken coop for my birthday, I decided that the best way to guarantee that the coop would come to fruition would be to have a bunch of little peepers waiting for their new pad.  SOOO, Preston and I stopped at Orschlens after grocery shopping yesterday and picked up 6 sweet little chickies! One for each of us! LOL Kevin is NOT impressed!

They are SOOO cute!  We are still talking names, and trying to put 'feathers' with the names we do have.  Stay tuned for individual introductions!  :) 

 

The kids were so excited about these guys, that they ALMOST didn't want to go to Grandma's house yesterday evening.  Not many things top Grandma's! :)   These will be the most loved chickies in Crawford County I am sure!

Happy Easter!

 As per tradition, Saturday the day before Easter we made our way to good old Crocker Mo to visit with Grandma and Grandpa Jones and all of our wonderful extended Jones family.  The counters were covered in yummy food, the kids ran wild in the yard and the adults caught up on everything that has gone on since we had all been together at Christmas.  We could not have asked for a more beautiful day, sunshiny and warm in the midst of all the storms and rain that has plagued Missouri this week.  The kids always have a great time playing together, and yesterday was no different.   Even better, Aunt Amanda was right in the mix, just the way they like it.

This morning the Easter Bunny had visited, bringing the kids all new Webkinz pets.  Sunday mornings are always crazy here and unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of them opening their baskets.  We headed off to church ( late as usual), and hunted eggs after church.  The kids were spoiled at Grandma Green's house as well, with tons of candy, little toys and money.

But I will tell you, the BEST part of the day, was coming home and realizing that the kids had cleaned their rooms while I took a nap :)  It sure doesn't take much to make this mama happy!  I hope everyone had a Blessed Resurrection Sunday, and took a minute to remember the reason we celebrate this wonderful spring holiday.  Love to all! Angie

Kids getting ready to hunt eggs at Grandma Jones' house.  Papa looks like he is ready too! :)

Katelyn is 'of course' too big to hunt eggs now ;)  BUT, she sure does love helping the little ones!

My beautiful girl Maggie, turning 9 in just 24 days <3

Jackson :)  6 years 8 months

The whole crazy gang- including my masked bandit! :)

Showing some love! :p

Hanging out with Aunt Amanda

So, of course, I didn't get a sweet picture of this guy.  But we ALL definitely got an eyeful
when we saw this full moon out the window. 

Hunting eggs at church this morning

Katelyn hunted this time, there was $$ involved! :)

Maggie is looking hard! 

The under 5 crowd hunted eggs in the church basement! Preston found a $5 egg!

My cute crew!  This is the FIRST year in 11 years that we haven't bought new Easter
clothes, despite the wrinkles, I think they looked ok! 

The dreaded family picture!  We have definitely had worse, and 5 out of 6 smiling
is not too shabby!  I love my in-laws beautiful iris' in their front yard!

One more egg hunt at Grandma's house!  

Katelyn has decided she is still a kid after all! :)

Hilarious!  Katelyn realized there was a spider on her toe, dropped her basket
and ran!  Jackson took advantage of the available eggs and added them
to his basket! LOL

Spring has sprung!

I promised a post with garden pictures! :) Keep in mind that things are just being planted and beginning to grow. We have a long summer ahead, hopefully full of yummy veggies, and some fruit next year.  We owe a lot to my Father in law, Harold.  He is what I would call a 'master gardener'.  He is definitely very knowledgeable on all things gardening!

Strawberries- We will prevent them from producing this year by pulling blooms off as they grow.  This will help establish the root system and make for a healthier crop.  Here, in front of the naked child, is the entire patch.  There are 2 70 foot rows of strawberries.  Along the left side going toward the trees is the asparagus row.  There will also be corn here in a few weeks.

These guys have probably doubled in size since we planted them 9 days ago!

  

I am excited to see this whole row filled in!

These are asparagus crowns.  Nothing exciting, but we will certainly enjoy them next spring when they are producing! :)

These are tomato, cucumber and bell pepper plants in the making... Along with some flowers on the right. 

And finally, the new trees we planted Sunday.  First is a tiny red bud ( kind of hard to see) and a weeping willow, along with undie boy again! :)  

Blogger fail!!

So, it's been a while.  About 3 months to be exact! LOL  No need to dwell, though.  There is no time like the present for an update, right?

This is just the beginning of a very very busy spring/summer for the Green house.  With 4 kids, 3 of which are in school, field trips alone take up a good portion of my time.  I am so blessed to be able to join the kids on their trips.  And equally blessed that we have a Grandma who is more than willing to let Preston hang out so I don't have to drag him along.  This year, Jackson will visit Purina Farms, Maggie will get to go to the movies ( I think this is kind of a stupid field trip personally), and Katelyn will head to the City Museum in St Louis with her class. Mixed in among these trips are soccer practices and games, volleyball practices and tournaments, t-ball and coach pitch starting soon and various other trips and activities!  My calendar for May has very few open spots on it!

The girls are in the midst of MAP testing this week and are actually enjoying it! LOL  A few weeks ago, the school gave awards for the achievements of last years MAP testing and Katelyn received medals for advanced scores in both Communication Arts and Mathematics, the only two subjects she tested on!  She was one of only 3 students in her grade who accomplished this! We are very proud and I have confidence that both girls will score equally well this year!

Last week, on Kevin's birthday of all days,  I took the kids to the dentist for their 6 month cleaning.  This was Preston's first visit and the first time I have taken all 4 for appointments at the same time.  To say it was a bit hectic would be an understatement!  I couldn't be more proud of the kids though!  Preston was a bit nervous, but once he saw that the Dentist looked a lot like Papa, he opened his mouth right up! LOL  The other 3 had exams and cleanings like pro's!  And the best part of the day was the announcement of NO CAVITIES!!!  Whew!  What a relief that was, and a first.  Maggie and Jackson both have had their share of cavities in the past!

Our garden(s) are coming right along this spring.  Kevin, his dad and I planted 101 strawberry plants a week ago, and I am happy to report that as of yet, they are ALL still alive!  We will not have strawberries to enjoy this year, but come next summer, we will be drowning in more strawberries than we will know what to do with!   Kevin's dad, Harold, also helped up put in 16 asparagus plants that will start producing next year also!

I decided that I wanted to fill our garden with heirloom vegetables this year, so we ordered all of our seeds from Bakers Creek, an heirloom seed company located right here in Missouri!  This means that we will have the option of saving the seeds from our produce this year, and have a self sustaining garden, as opposed to buying plants or seeds each spring.  I hope to get pictures of the garden up soon for those who are interested in 'watching it grow'.

I guess I have updated enough for now!  Much love to all!

Angie