Where've You Been?

Well, we've been here, there, everywhere, and nowhere. Just busy, busy, busy. But, the overall theme of the last couple of weeks has been Corey working on his shed. He has wanted to build this thing for years and it is finally coming to fruition. But, it is slow going. He is building it primarily by himself -- but has had some wonderful help along the way from family and friends. One thing is for sure, this shed will be more sturdily constructed than many homes. It is huge and will even have it's own loft area. Corey is nothing if not thorough and precise. Sometimes to a fault = )~ Seriously, the man measures, re-measures, levels, re-levels, aligns, re-aligns ... well, you get the point. To him, this is not just a shed but a measure of his craftsmanship. And this craftsman takes pride in a job well done. Here are a few pictures of the masterpiece's progression ....

The beginning ...

Framing walls ...

The roof is done ...

Eaves completed and most of siding hung ...

This is the back view of our house. Corey designed the shed to mirror this area. It is the same height and the roofs have the same pitch. Did I mention he kind of goes overboard sometimes? Oh well, it will be a darn nice shed when it's done = )

What have I been doing during the course of this construction? A lot. But, mostly keeping the kiddos occupied and out of dad's way while still trying to maintain the house and keep everyone fed and in clean clothes. Sounds easy enough, right? If only it were so. My boys are lean, mean eating machines with a penchant for getting as grubby as possible whenever the chance presents itself. Good times. Here are a couple of pics of one of our evenings ....

Riley with his pants hiked up Urkel-style preparing for water gun battle.

Gager enjoying one of his favorite summertime treats.

Me ... either getting ambushed by water gun fire -- or losing my marbles. Probably both!

Our only major issue right now is with little Gage. With the extreme heat and humidity that we are experiencing right now, he has been breaking out in hives any time he gets hot. It's weird, he can play all day in the heat as long as he stays wet via sprinklers, water guns, pools, etc. But, if he doesn't have water to cool him down, he immediately breaks out in nasty huge hives all over. We're going to the doc on Thursday to discuss this some more. Hopefully it's nothing to worry about, but as a mom, it's what I do. I'll keep you posted.

Below is a little video of how to let two very energetic boys blow off some steam when it's just too darn hot to play outside ... WARNING - this may not be for the faint of heart! = )