Gone to Carolina...

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Summer 2011

So far this summer has been jam packed! First, Chris and Cristina and family came to visit us in May. We went to the beach and aquarium and had a great time!

David loved the beach especially the sand! It was like getting permission to play in the mud!

Dave and I went to Ohio to visit my Dad, then to Notre Dame, IN to meet our daughter Julia at her 10 year college reunion, then we traveled on to Iowa to see Julia's new home.

My Dad and I on our first visit through Ohio.

Dave and Josephine at the Ankeny splash park.

Julia and baby Lillian catching some rays and sprays.

Dad and Julia go for the big bucket dump! Bet that was cold!

Julia, Josephine and I at the gym.

After a lovely week there, we traveled back to my Dad's house in Ohio. He was not doing well, so we stayed on an extra week to help get him in a better situation. We got some wonderful ladies who come in twice a day to help and things are much better.

The day after we got home, the DeAngelos arrived! We also went to the beach and aquarium and just spent time together. It was a lovely visit.

Bella teaching my dogs to do tricks!

Jack chillin' with his dinos.

Isabella left us clues to follow to find where she was hiding

It worked! We found her!

Dave and Bella out the beach! She loved it! Jack, not so much...

Nick and Bella looking at frogs at the NC aquarium.

Dave, Elizabeth and Jack with an alligator.

Jack was mesmerized by the large fish in the giant aquarium.

The day they left, Dave had to call the rescue squad for his brother-in-law as he found him non-responsive in his home. Dallas has been in intensive care for several days now. Dave's sister's children have come to town to help out and we have been hosting our nephew and his family while they are here.

Jeremy and his son, Asah.

Rachel and her daughter, Shomrah.

Dave's sister, Sarah after having a nice family meal at our house.

We have also had to contend with smoke from Wildfires in the area the past two-three weeks. The result has been bad air and weird smokey skies.

One evening around 4-5pm I took these shots. The colors were eerily orange due to the fire and smoke.

My daughter, Kate and her family are hoping to come for a visit some time soon as well...probably as soon as we have rooms available at the Reintjes' Inn! :-)

Monday, May 16, 2011

The Hydrangeas are in Bloom!

Close-up of some of my blooms. Some are more pink in color.

Some are a deeper blue.

I love how it adds such color to the shade garden!

Friday, May 6, 2011

Our New Backyard Patios

Here are some views of our new patios on the back of the house. They are still morphing and changing as we add landscaping, rearrange furniture, etc. Hopefully we will be able to purchase some nice patio furniture before summer's end.

The fountain area looks a little bare right now, but the azaleas and nandinas will grow and fill in the space before long. Knowing me I will probably end up planting some more flowers there in the meantime. Dad and I plan to put in two Crape Myrtle trees on either side of the fountain as well.

Here we used two old corbels and an old shutter to make a shelf on the house. It helps to fill in the awkward space under the narrow shower window.

We continued the garden theme with the accessories we added to the shelf- with flowers and birds.

Some shots of the patios

The odd pots are there temporarily as Dad has been nurturing lots of small transplants. We also have a couple Fig trees someone gave us.

Dad's Birdhouse project

Dad has always wanted to make birdhouses. Here is his first attempt. He made the birdhouse out of the temporary steps we had on the back of our house!