Deck

We have been doing a lot of work in the yard. One thing turned into another and we found ourselves rebuilding the deck.

We have been meaning to do this for a long time. The old deck was fiberglass glued onto plywood. It was beginning to wear badly on one edge and the fiberglass decking was so slippery when it got wet it was very dangerous.

Paul did a whole bunch of research and in the long run we decided to go with a composite decking. It is recycled plastic and has a bit of real wood in it as well.



It went together like a dream. The pieces are put together with these spacers or clamps that just screw right in. If you need to take a piece in the middle at a later date you can remove any piece you like easily.



Scott came over and did the cutting so Paul could get it done faster. Paul returned the favor on Sunday and went over to Scott's place to help him cement his patio. I am thinking Scott got the good end of that deal, but I am happy to be part of neighbourhood that helps one and other out.



The deck has changed just a little since this last picture. See where the hose is? Paul moved that and the hose bib. He built a bit of deck in that spot so it comes out even with the house where it comes out for our bedroom window. The bit he added on covers up the sprinkler works. Now the BBQ sits up there and it looks great.



We are off to a ball tournament this weekend. Taking the trailer and kids and getting ready ready to bark like a cow. Should be fun. The weather has been pretty crummy, hopeful we get some sun for the ball games.

Have a good one!

Changes

Last year I bought this great calender. My requirement was the largest squares I could find. I found this one at my local grocery store of all places. I love it. I know this first picture is blurry and awful but I thought it gave a better idea of how big the squares are.



There is a website where you can check them out yourself but they are under construction for next years products so the site is down right now. I think the site is moretimemoms.com check out when you are looking for one next year.



I took the kids for their summer hair cuts. I love that Shmoo is soaking up the love from the kids in this picture. They are watching India Jones and the Temple of Doom in this picture.



I decided to get a summer cut too!



My hair had gotten pretty long. It was about down to my bra strap in the back. All I do in the summer is pull it back out of the way and off my neck so it is cooler. I told Paul I was going to have 5 or 6 inches cut off. I had closer to 10" cut off. It feels cool and light and stylish.

I enjoyed the really long hair but its lacks style when you pull it back all time. I needed style.

Getting It All In

Every time I start to get my blogging groove on life seems to get incredibly crazy and I lose my groove in a big hurry.

Last week was a bit on the crazy side. I try to keep the kids in only two things at time, I think so many parents over schedule their kids. Our kids have swimming lessons twice a week and piano lessons once a week and the teacher comes to the house, so I am not running them around for that. I think that is plenty for them when you add school to the mix.

It is the schedule that Paul and I keep that seems to make things crazy and sometimes I wonder if it is fair on the kids. Paul tries to play hockey two evenings a week (often he only makes one because he ended up with two things on the same evening. He has meetings every Tuesday night for the back center we are involved in and then we throw in one or two softball nights a week.

In addition to softball I add a work out class every Wednesday night. It does not sound like much when I write it here and I know there are many people out there that do way more than I do. I can't imagine how hard a single parent works to care for children and work full time, try to stay fit and sneak a little fun it there to, I know Shannon did that for a long time and kept a house as well.

I seem to fit everything in but when I get home I am dishrag. Not good for even picking up the knitting needles. I love my life and I am not complaining in the least, occasionally I do feel like I need to sit down and catch up with myself. And then I look around and see how many people do more than I do and I wonder where they get all their energy from.

Paul and I had an incredible opportunity this past weekend. We spent Friday and Saturday in seminars right here in the Loops. The Drs. putting together the back center are exploring treatment techniques and tools they can bring to the clinic that is being put together. We are a part of that clinic so we got to attend the seminars, learn a bunch of new stuff and all it was paid for by the clinic that is in development.