Summer Forget-me-not...House Building

When Mike tells people that he built a house this summer his friends think it's cool. When I tell people that I worked construction this summer they stare at me in disbelief. But build a house we did, whether you think that's cool or you're wondering how in the world.... ;) (I will admit that I wasn't always the most valuable worker on the site...:/)

This is actually the second summer my family has done this together. It was my first summer doing it with the rest of them. And who knew such hard work could be so much fun!?!

It was a blessing having work lined up before Mike and I even arrived back in Canada. And it was such a blessing to get to spend the summer working alongside my husband and my family.

Rednek Piknik

This is what we do for fun around here. :) A little strange? Don't judge until you try a little bit of redneck yourself!

Credit for the planning of this party goes to Mitch who {very impressively} baked us chocolate cobbler {by himself & from scratch} just so we would all agree to get into Yoda {the much abused Toyota} and drive across the field to have a picnic by our own private lake {aka. the dugout}.

Conclusion to the Summer Building Project

Ten months & a lot of fond building memories later, that family project 

(mentioned in previous posts here, here, & here) is completed...

And what sweetens it all is that it is...

Here are some finished-project pictures:

*Photo Credits go to Mandy

The Front Entry

The Front Entry Railing

The Kitchen

The Fireplace in the Main Area

The Den

One of the Bathrooms

The Main Area in the Basement

The Outside (taken back in October)

One Big Happy Family, Texas - Style

There is a reason that there has been a lack of activity on this blog over the last month. We were invaded (in the very best sense of that term, of course). For 2 1/2 weeks we had the privilege of hosting family on the little corner of Texas that we call home. They came in waves: Sarah & Sophia first; Mom & Mandy a week later; and Dad & Mitch a day later.

We shopped; we rodeoed; we visited with friends; we explored the school campus & the popular sights of the city; we got stuck in traffic (too many times :/); we missed the train; and we ate a little bit of chicken-fried steak, some cajun, a whole lot of BBQ, some fresh salsa, and Tex-Mex too. (Notice the attention given to food in that list. Everything's bigger in Texas, including us, as Sophia put it (referring to all the eating we were doing).) We taught them how to say yee-haw and y'all and by the end I think we were plain ol' successful at tuckerin' them all out.

Reunion with the Thomas clan.

Birthday Boys!

Look!

One of the many turtles that entertained us for a good while.

Sophia took the entertainment to another level.

Texas Wildlife

Trying on a little bit of "cowgirl" @ Justin Boots. 

Fried Pickles @ Razoo's Cafe...fried everything down here!

Stockyards Rodeo

Main-street, Grapevine

"What will you trade me for this nickel I made into a cowboy hat?"

Happy family...even though we missed the "real" train...

Fonduing it up!

I think there's a new tradition starting up in my family's Christmas season - it involves a lot of food, a lot of grease, a lot of batter, a lot of time, and a lot of chatting and fun. It's an event, not just a meal...because it takes nearly 2 hours of cooking to get everyone fed. Last year was the first (Mike and I missed out because we spent Christmas in Ontario with his family) so this was the second time around but already Mom and Auntie seem to have it perfected to a "T." 

House Project : Christmas Edition

Are we spending time with family this break? Oh, yes, lots of time. Every day, in fact. What do we spend our time together doing? Construction, of course! Yes, that house project started way back there at the beginning of summer is still a very happening project, although it has come a long way over the months that we have been in Texas. We left with the roof just barely on and came back to painted walls and installed cabinets. But there is still much more to be done and that's what we've been busy at this past week.

An Extra Dose of Fun

My family is all about surprises....One time my dad had me organize our Oregon Coast road trip just to distract me from the surprise Disneyland vacation they already had planned (I spent a lot of time researching places to stay and see when I found out it was only a decoy...but Disneyland sure was fun!). Another time, while Mike and I were dating long distance, I was sent out by my mom to take something to the garage freezer where I discovered Mike standing at the door. The surprises certainly make life interesting and add an extra dose of fun to my already very blessed life!

A couple weekends ago I had just gone back to sleep after dropping Mike off at the airport in the early hours of the morning (so he could go be with his family for his Grandmother's funeral), when my phone rang. "How would you like some company for the weekend? Mandy and Mitch have found a flight and are flying in tonight." How would I like company? Oh my, how I would like company! That morning they had randomly checked flights to Dallas, knowing I was home alone for the weekend, and had found a last-minute seat sale.

What an extra dose of fun for me! We had a wonderful weekend together, just the three of us, hanging out, shopping, eating at some Texas favourites, and exploring the city. (By the way, did you know that Fort Worth is the #1 tourist location right now in Texas? This we heard at the tourist information center.)