Firewood Part 2

Besides having fun at the Back to the 50s car show last weekend, we needed a little help with a project...a BIG project. After the big storm two weeks ago, the tree that was struck by lightning needed to come down. Jesse's mom and dad were so kind and brought down their chainsaw to help take care of the mess. I think the pictures (umm...and a few captions) say it all...

Jesse in the tree tying the guide rope.

It took up the WHOLE back yard after it dropped, but they took it down perfectly!

Gone...sad.

Hauling the "jungle" to the front for the city to pick up.

The hole in the yard and our pile of firewood. You would think there would be more from that huge tree!

The brush pile in the front yard...sorry neighbors...the city said they would come by soon!

The ever-helpful Wally, carrying sticks to the front.

Since the best times to plant trees are Spring and Fall, we will be waiting a little while to fill up the yard again. I think we've settled on adding several Maple trees along the fence line. Perhaps just the right distance apart to put up a hammock when they are strong enough!

Back to the 50's

This weekend we went to the Back to the 50's car show...it was awesome! I didn't know that many old cars still existed, but they filled up the entire State Fairground...over 12,000 registered! Wow!

I really don't know anything about them, other than they look cool, but it was really fun to hear Jesse's dad (who has been in the car business for a LONG time, as was his father) talk about the cars, the history and which used to be parked in his driveway growing up!

Old tow trucks! 

This was sweet...the gas cap in right above the light! Why can't they do cool things like that now?

Cupcakes and Jewels

Last week I had a Stella and Dot party! It was so much fun! I can't wait to get some new jewelry to dress up my maternity wardrobe...the perfect way to mix things up without having to spend gobs of money on clothes I only need for a few months!

Besides the jewelry, the next best part just might have been the S'Mores Cupcakes that I made for dessert. I found the recipe here, but made a few modifications of my own.

I order my groceries, which is AWESOME. However, there are times they don't have quite what I need, so I have to improvise. Instead of using the Duncan Hines Frosting Creations frosting, as suggested in the recipe, I just used (ack!) two cans of Betty Crocker Chocolate Frosting. And guess what? No one said boo about it! In fact, I'm pretty sure every guest had 2! So easy, so yummy, so making these again!

Sparklers

Do you remember the first time you got to hold a sparkler? I do not, but I DO have very fond memories of walking down the dirt road at Grandpa's cabin, twirling around with sparkler in hand. Learning to write my name with the light. Getting to do TWO at a time! So much fun!

Last weekend we were visiting Jesse's family and we just HAD to get some sparklers for our three-year-old niece to try out! At first, she cautiously watched her mom...a sparkler expert...to get the technique down. 

Then it was time to try her own! Look at that smile!

We also got a few "fireworks" but here you can only have the kind that don't leave the ground. Wally decided that eating a pig's ear was WAY more exciting than moving away from the fireworks. (Don't worry he was further away from them than he looks.)

Dakota got nervous and hid in the woods like a little wolf!

Wally was all smiles when we were done. He LOVES being outdoors and having bonfires. He didn't even mind that there were no less than 20 mosquitoes on him at any given time. However, we did.

We didn't last too much longer outside before we were chased in by the bugs. All in all, still a terrific night, despite all of our bug bites. We can't wait for more bonfires with Grandma, Grandpa and the rest of the family - especially when baby girl is here to enjoy them as well!

Grandpa and Sammy, chillin' by the fire!

Firewood

Yesterday we called and asked my dad if we could bring some firewood back from the lake in a few weeks. Last night nature had its own idea and gave us our own supply right in our back yard!

I snapped with with my cell when I woke up this morning.

Yes, it is CHARRED. It was struck by lightning.

I guess we have our work cut out for us now, but we will have a good supply of firewood for a while! Really, the last thing we needed was another project, but I am so thankful that this didn't fall on our house, on us or on anyone else. Things could be much worse! Like this:

14 power lines down!

Just up the road there were 14 power lines down from the wind! We were "lucky" and got our power back around 6:30 (just in time for work...ugh). I would've liked the power to stay off a little longer so I could sleep and then go to the coffee shop to work today.

So, for now, this is our new view until we determine if we can salvage what is left or if we should just take the whole thing down so it doesn't blow the other direction onto our shed next time there is a bad storm (which according to weather.com is supposed to be in about 7 hours). 

Sparkle Nails!

I was looking at Pinterest yesterday and saw this picture and fell in love:

Gold glitter french tips!

What girl doesn't love a fun manicure? So I thought I better try my own version...especially since we are seeing our niece this weekend and she apparently LOVES my manicures (according to her my sister-in-law, when she paints her nails they "look pretty like Sarah's nails"). Too cute! Hope this version impresses Sophia!

Silver and one PINK! :)

Happy Friday!

24 Weeks and Counting...

Here are the latest bump pictures and a sneak peek of more of the room decorations! The walls are definitely more purple in person than on screen...I will have to see if I can capture their true essence one of these days!

My very talented friend came over with a few others for a girls BBQ two weekends ago and snapped these for me. I'm now 25 weeks and still feeling very well! The 90 degree temps this weekend weren't too bad and I am still full of energy. Trying to harness that into getting more projects done so we can remain well ahead of the game just in case I'm not feeling quite as well for the third trimester! :)

Glass Half Full

Some people's glasses are half empty, some are half full. Last weekend, mine was half full of these cute little flowers!

If you know me, you know I LOVE to be outside! Living in MN, you take any chance you can get to soak up the sun. This is why I took advantage of the beautiful weather last weekend and did a little crafting outside on the deck! It was SUCH a great idea...I will have to repeat...soon!

I used those cute little flowers (in the cup so they wouldn't blow away) to make this super cute art for my baby girl's room! 

I actually made TWO, but for whatever reason only took a picture of one. More baby crafting and decorating posts to follow...we are actually almost DONE with the room. Nice and early!

In Bloom

I am NOT a gardener, yet every year it amazes me that I can get my plants to grow THIS BIG! I love looking out my front window and seeing lilies, roses, phlox, hostas and more...

Keeping My House CLEAN

I am a neat freak. However, my husband is not. Don't get me wrong, he likes the house clean, too, but if there is choice between fun and cleaning, he does not choose the latter unless it is absolutely necessary. This has been a good thing for me, though...he has definitely taught me to LET GO of having the house 100% perfect all the time and to enjoy life a little more! Thanks, honey!

I know in September, when our little girl arrives, I know I will need to find a NEW "clean enough" and get used to having baby things and toys all over the house. To help with this, I created a cleaning list (those that know me really well know my affinity for lists) that can pretty easily be done in 15-45 minutes/day depending on the day. This is something I have done before and when I am faithful about keeping up with it, it is REALLY effective in keeping the house presentable! You will no longer need to scramble when you have surprise guests!!

I was inspired by a few different lists and tips, including this one and an old article I remember from Real Simple about laundry!

I created this list in good 'ol Word, so anyone can download it themselves and update it to meet their own cleaning needs! It is a zipped file so click the link to open the public Google Docs folder and hit the little arrow on the right-hand side of the page (must hover over the name of the document to see the arrow) and choose "download" to get your very own copy!

Keep in mind...this will keep your house looking good IF your house is already organized. You may still need to have ONE BIG DAY of cleaning, sorting and organizing before starting this schedule. :) Enjoy!