Hutch Before & After

With Brant away, I picked a couple projects to keep me busy. This one turned out fantastic. I received this hutch via Jen & Barry's basement. They had even started to work on it, taking off hardware, and some of the country trim. Sadly, it didn't fit in their house. Gladly, I took it off their hands.
I was so sad to see the lovely flowers go. Hours of sanding and stripping off peeling lacquer and....
TA-DA! So chic and modern looking. I painted the hinges and got new hardware. It really finishes off my dining room. Now if I could get the gumption to really refinish my table. Hmmm . . . always another project around here.

Erie Canal

Strange to find out, but I only live ten minutes from the end of the Erie Canal. It's agreat, little spot if you're ever here. They have hiking and biking trails, paddle boats, a museum, and, coolest of all, an actual, canal boat replica you can ride. Most of the activities were either free or cheap, which makes me happy.

We took a half hour canal boat ride. The water was so shallow, you could see the fish swim right up to the boat. Ike was disappointed by his lack of fishing gear.


We rented a bicycle built for six. It's called a surrey, which made me totally think of that corny, old song Surrey with the Fringe on Top. So as we rolled out humming that tune, we realized that a bicycle built for six is really six times the work. Laughing at our lack of ability to work together to make this thing pick up speed, we navigated through a minor trail. Only one person can steer, but everyone has to pedal. If your family has a chance, totally try to ride a surrey up a hill. It will be a family defining moment.

Pig Pile

Lately, the kids have taken to all sleeping on the pull-out couch in Paige and Claire's room. We usually only let them do this on weekends, since, obviously, they can't be getting the best night's sleep. Being twins, my kids lack that personal space bubble that other siblings have. I'm curious when or if that will ever kick in. They sleep in this piggy pile all night long, and amazingly they rotate around in their sleep. Whoever starts in the upper, left corner, may or may not be there in the morning.

Family Fourth of July

Pray you all had a great Fourth of July. We usually try to get together with Brant's family for this holiday because his mom's birthday lands on the 3rd. We spent the weekend camping, playing games, and eating (lots and lots of eating). We had a great time and the kids and the dog played so hard they slept all the way home.

Finally

Ava, at 6 1/2, finally lost her first tooth. To make up for the fact that she waited so long, she lost two in one night. I have a feeling that the second one wasn't quite ready, but she wiggled and tugged until that puppy fell out.