…and the fun continues!!  With the deconstruction done, our landscape architect came in began re-grading our yard.  He was able to transplant all of our plants we already had including two trees.  As you can tell by the first pict, quite a bit of ground has been moved.  All of the mounds are going to be new beds for plants.  The second pict is from one of our bedroom windows.  Gravel has been layed down in the shape of what our patio is going to look like.  We hope to have the pavers in later this month and be done with this project!  Mya’s been banned from her backyard since the deconstruction phase of our back porch completed and is ready to have it back.  Some of her displeasure may be stemming from the noise of equipment, specifically the jackhammer, which has hindered napping.

I headed back to KS last month for this year’s edition of the “Walk to Defeat ALS”. It was great to gather “Team Peggy” together again and we’ve raised $8,850!! Thank you to Team Peggy for making the trip and to all our supporters!! (BTW, we’re still trying to reach our fundraising goal of $10,000. If you’d like to donate, go here.)

While we’ve accumulated numerous scrapes and bruises during this backyard makeover, luckily the only serious injury we’ve caused thus far was to this hammer.

It’s official.  Emily and I started demolition on our unwanted back porch two weekends ago to make room for a new patio!  Unfortunately, it’s all taking place in the middle of the fall season amongst travel, both of us teaching, oh yeah, and our normal work!  Oy.
Nonetheless, we forge ahead because winter isn’t getting any further away and it must be done.  Below are some before and after picts from the past couple weeks.  They’ve been quite productive and resulted in a hot tub sized burden being lifted off our shoulders when we sold it this past weekend!  However, in our jubilation, we would like to recognize the noble efforts of a wonderful hammer whos functionality and purpose was lost in the process.  It is irreplaceable (although we did) and will be missed.

I’ve always been interested in reading one of Max Lucado’s books since his are always at the top of the Christian bookseller lists, so I took advantage of the chance to review his brand new book “Fearless” when the opportunity arose. This book is certainly covering a timely topic since fear is rather high in this country. Each chapter covers a different common fear, including fear of disappointing God, of not mattering, and of what’s next. Lucado discusses the source of each type of fear and how to deal with it from a Biblical perspective. I found his writing style very enjoyable and easy to read; he effortlessly combines accounts of real-life experiences with theology and Biblical examples. While his points about fear and how to deal with it aren’t new ideas, they’re concepts you often need to hear more than once. I’d recommend giving this book a try, especially if you’re feeling filled with fear these days. I give it 4 out of 5 stars.

The master bedroom in our house came with a built-in vanity area. We haven’t really had any use for it, other than emptying our pockets onto its counter. But over the past month, Mya has claimed it as her den. I’ve been waking up every morning for the past few weeks to her peeking out of little home- just too cute. One of these days I hope to make her a bed for in there.

We initially decided not to plant any flowers this year since we just wanted to see what plants already exist in the yard. But, I’ve always loved the look of meadows of wildflowers so in May I ordered a packet of region-appropriate seeds to scatter in the side yard (which desperately needed some pep!). I’ve loved seeing what new things are blooming every few days and my mini-meadow makes me smile every time I drive home. Plus, they are about as low maintenance as you can possibly get- scatter seeds, water regularly until they germinate, enjoy for months and then just mow them down once in the fall. Some of the plants only bloom in their second year so it may look completely different next summer!

 Now a month past July 4th, I thought it’d be a good time to share what we did.  (We’re slightly behind on blogging). 
Over 4th of July weekend, my sister Erin, bro-in-law Tyson, and nephew Cooper flew out to stay with us.   It was Cooper’s first time on an airplane and he had been looking forward to it for a month (which is a really long time when you’re 3)!!!  He “was not scared” and did fine on the flight.  

The first day they were here, Emily and I had to work so they went to the zoo and Chuck E Cheese.  It turned out to be a mild day and they had fun.  The next day I took off work and we went to Kings Island amusement park.  We had breakfast with the characters (Dora and Spongebob) much to Cooper’s excitement, then rode rides.  Cooper bravely rode his first roller coaster so hopefully he’s hooked for life. :)  Tyson and I got the chance to ride the new Diamondback rollercoaster which I can easily say has the most intense first drop of any coaster I’ve been on.  215 feet at 80 mph!  Take a virtual ride at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7it8NmoIqg unless you want to visit us and do the real deal.  Either way, please don’t throw up. 
Over the rest of the weekend we did the Newport Aquarium, the 4th of July parade where it was free candy madness, miniature golf and a campus tour with a heavy amount of unexpected duck traffic!  Apparently they had relatives fly in for the weekend too!  All went well and we had a blast!  Thanks to the Meyers for making the trip. 
Tomorrow is the start of pre-season for me so this may be my last blog for awhile.  House projects are on the agenda for the next couple months so keep an eye out for some before and after picts .

So lately the summer boredom at work has led me to find ways of entertaining myself.  Since I never learned how to make those paper footballs in grade school, I’m left with the internet.  About a week ago I ran across swagbucks.com where I earn Swagbucks (fake online dollars) just for doing basic searches I typically use Google or Yahoo for.  This may include Lance Armstrong, Obama’s health care plan, or Taylor Swift rapping (hilarious).  I’ve searched them all.  Thinking I’m all trendy I found out soon after signing up that Emily’s been doing it for a month.  There’s other ways to earn in addition to searches such as following them on your Twitter page (which I’ve been sucked into) or Facebook (I’m still holding out), answer or submit polls, or follow the swagbucks blog.  Once you get enough swagbucks, you can use it to buy stuff in the online store like books, movies, music, etc. 

Thought I’d pass along the word, because who doesn’t like free stuff??!!!  If you’re intersted, click on the link.  Besides, you get 3 free Swagbucks just for signing up!   http://swagbucks.com/refer/fship1

My sisters and I wanted to do something special this year to celebrate my parents turning the big 6-0. Since we were already making the road trip to OK for the wedding, we decided to head down a week early and spend some quality family bonding time at Lake Murray State Park. It was a busy week of swimming, hiking, fishing, playing cards, horseback riding, mini golf, and good ol’  times with the fam. Although, I think next time we’ll opt for a locale with cooler temperatures- the 100+ heat was a bit much.