2012 Good ‘Ol Days

The first weekend in June our little town throws a big celebration to kick off Summer. This time around for the Good ‘Ol Days the weather was a little bit cooler, but I still managed to get sun-burned.

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We walked around for a bit in the morning. The kids wanted to find sno-cones as soon as we got there.

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We were getting hungry too. James and I split Nachos and a Sweet Tea.

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They were o.k.

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The boys got their sno-cones.

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Agnes was ready to get out of there.

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Midway through the day, I was starting to get a little sun-burned…

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We met up with Grandma in the late afternoon. The boys were ready to enjoy the carnival.

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Grandma and Dylan had a lot of fun on the carousel.

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Thade loves to ride the rides!

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His favorite was the roller coaster.

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It was a fun afternoon, but I got really sun-burned…

2012 Good ‘Ol Days Parade

It was a rainy evening, but that didn’t keep us from watching the Good ‘Ol Days Parade.

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The boys were ready for the parade to start.

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Agnes wasn’t too happy at the start of the  parade.

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The rain started to let up for a bit, so they started the parade.

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Agnes loves the firetrucks.

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Dylan loves the trolley.

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Thade likes the floats that throw candy.

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Agnes was happy when she got one of her favorite candies.

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There were lots and lots of tractors.

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There were blocks and blocks of tractors.

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There were pretty horses too.

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The parade was a great this year. The cooler weather was so nice too.

Mia Vs. The Garden

So I’ve altered my dream garden plans for this Summer just a bit… All thanks to one hungry puppy.

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Mia “I’m outside, and ready to chew some plants!”

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She ate my newly planted blueberry bush,

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and she gnawed on the blackberry bush too…

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I finally have some baby Okra plants popping up.

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No, Mia, no! Squeaky ball attack. You know the best place to play squeaky ball is in the garden.

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Mia has also been digging up my Asparagus root. She leaves them all over the steps for me. I keep re-planting them, so we’ll see if they make it through the Summer.

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After a little rest, Mia is ready for some more…

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She spots the Strawberry plants.

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Attack Mode!

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Mia says “gardening is futile!”

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She is pretty cute though, but I think I had better invest in some puppy fencing around the garden.

Summer So Far

The kids have been out of school for a few weeks. We’ve been staying pretty close to home so far.

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Agnes and I chilling on the couch, one quiet afternoon. James took the boys to the movies for the afternoon, so we were enjoying the peaceful house.

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The boys are still taking Tae Kwon Do this Summer.

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The kids have been helping me water the garden.

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We’ve been spending a lot of time outdoors.

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We’ve had a few rainy days too, so we had an indoor picnic, and watched a movie. I finished my book while the kids were extra quiet.

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We also went to the rainy Good ‘Ol Days Parade.

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The sun came back in time for the festival though.

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How has your Summer been so far?

May’s Clutter Count

I hit the house hard in the de-cluttering department in May. I thought we might have a garage sale, so it motivated me to clean out the kid’s closets. We ended up not having a sale, but I have several boxes and bins ready to go.

I spent a few days on the boys room. I was hoping to have their room de-cluttered, and organized for Summer time. Just that one single room turned into a long project.

I worked on Thade’s closet first.

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I had that closet filled with clothes to save, clothes to grow in to, costumes, blankets, and bin after bin of who knows what. I grabbed a contractor bag, and set in on the task ahead. I was pretty ruthless with my tossing, and garage sale items too. I organized what I was going to keep, and pared down the saved items to six bins that fit above the shelf. The closet now holds all of  Thade’s clothes, and the boy’s bedding too. I’m really happy with this completed cleaning task.

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I decided to work on Agnes’ closet and changing table closet too. Holy moly those closets were packed!!! Who knew one little gal ever wore that many clothes.

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Agnes’ closet was a little tough for me. It was hard to see all of the teeny-tiny baby clothes. I miss her being so little.

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Also Dylan and Agnes were there to “help” me. I had quite a headache after that afternoon.

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I got it done though,

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and I even found the floor again.

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I need to do something about the storage on the shelf though… I think I’ll get some bins like Thade has in his closet.

Later in the month, I finally finished the boys room. Well, finished enough to call it good for the Summer.

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I rearranged the boys room just a bit. They share the largest bedroom in the house, but they always need a bit more room to play.

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The two sets of shelves were de-cluttered, cleaned, and reorganized. It stayed nice and tidy for about five minutes…

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I moved the art supplies upstairs, Agnes likes to color all over the house. The art station is set up on Dylan’s dresser. I organized his dresser at the start of Spring. It is pretty easy to keep up with.

I also was motivated to start working on de-cluttering the kitchen. I’m taking the clutter shelf by shelf, and I hope we can paint in there soon.

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After all that de-cluttering, we decided to tackle a painting project. We’ve been working on our Utility Room and small downstairs bathroom off and on. I finally decided on a paint color for the Utility Room portion, so we decided to tackle the toughest part first, the walls behind the washer and dryer. We also pulled up the rest of the flooring, and did some major cleaning behind the appliances too.

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It was kind of a yucky cleaning task, but the walls look great. We still have to woodwork to paint, and the cabinets too, but I love the new color in the utility room. Now if I can just decide on some flooring.

There was a lot of cleaning, de-cluttering, and painting going on last month. I was really pleased with my de-cluttering totals too. I got rid of another 300 items, and I didn’t count the items ready for a yard sale. I think my main focus for June will be finishing the Utility Room and starting the painting on the Kitchen too. The house is finally starting to come together.