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Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Huntsville Bites

This past weekend Kent and I went camping up in Huntsville with our friends Wes and Candace Lambard and Ryan and Stephanie Helmer. One Saturday the girls rented a paddle boat and I was getting toasty out there, so I decided to take a dip.
Oops.
Soon after getting out of the water, a park ranger came speeding up to us in a boat and told me that what I did was very stupid. There are over 40 alligators that live in the small lake, and swimming from the boats is not allowed. Big oops. I told him that I was sorry and I wish they had told me that when we rented the boats.
Crikey :-)

Candace and Stephanie looking out for gators :-)

Slave Labor

They Who Shall N0t Be Named (the previous owners of our house) are funny. They did the most Ruben Schlick work we have ever seen. Well... This is our first house, so we don't have a lot to compare it to. They built a deck on the side of the house, and they built a play fort in the yard, which are both great features but... they hadn't stained the wood in I don't know... Decades? Kent and I decided that we should do something to prolong the life of the deck and the fort, so a couple of months ago the process began. Kent rented a large sander, but the boards were so bowed, it didn't work as planned. Our palm sander was going to take forty years to do the job, so be bought a belt sander to get in the middle of the boards. Anyway (this is boring, sorry- but I have to gripe) that still didn't do it, so we decided to break down and power wash the deck. It leaves dents in the wood, but whatever! We were at the end of our rope trying to erase years of bare wood decay! Blah! On the fort, the whole floor was rotten out and there was no top, so we put up joists underneath the old floor, cut a new one, and I bought canvas and sewed up a new top. Last week we stained everything (with final touch-ups today) and I think it turned out pretty good. The only problem? Now the fence looks worse. It never ends! Despite the pain in the butt of it all, I am thankful to have a house to tinker with.


Now about that fence...














Matt and Heather: Two Good Peeps

A couple of weeks ago our good friends Matt and Heather Matias came from Hillsboro, Oregon to pay us a visit. Matt and Kent go way back, and Matt found himself a great wife who I just love :-) So now Heather and I go way back too. Anyway, they moved to Oregon from Socal the same month we moved here, and a visit was due! We were able to see them for one night last summer when we were up in Seattle/Portland area, and they repaid us times ten with several days of good times here in The Woodlands. We looked at houses, went for walks in the woods, ate barbecue, rode bikes, went to an art show, went to an outdoor concert at Market Street, kayaked, and the list goes on! It was a seriously good time, and it was such a treat to have them here. We love anyone that will fly half way across the country to see us! It is such a blessing to have such great friends. We miss you guys! Move here!!!