Catching up

I'm way behind on my posts for this week. So many great things have been going on. OK, I have to admit, I've been reading "Breaking Dawn" also. Sara (who is a big fan) twisted my arm into reading the series and loaned me number 4. So my spare time that's usually at the computer has been at the book. If you haven't read this series, it is kind of fun. The first book is a little high school-ish, but this fourth one is really very good.

Anyway, here's a quick listing of some of the great things this week, of course with pictures:

We had a wonderful visit from the J family, including a tasty dinner. You may remember that Brian won the Meadowlark naming contest (Malarky) and so got a free dinner. I hope that's not the only reason they came to visit though. It was so fun to see them again! Candace and I both got teary eyed when we saw each other. I loved that their kids, when seeing our bedroom, jumped onto the bed and rolled around. That shows that they feel comfortable with us. I feel like they're almost family. J's family, we miss you and hope you got safely back to North Dakota! To you and all of our other ND friends - our home is open and we're ready to entertain. Come and see us!

On Tuesday, we had a baby shower here for Lisa. Her terrific sisters-in-law and sister Sara did most of the work. I provided some of the food, but the others did the most. Besides a lot of gorgeous appetizers, we had a beautiful cake made by cousin Emily. (See Emily's cakes blog here.) We had a good crowd, played some fun games, and just had a great time visiting. Lisa has blogged about this as well.

Here's Lee with his "big brother" badge.

Both of my grandsons loved the pink balloons. (We're having a GIRL this time.)

Bryce and I finished up the cellar shelves - putting facing on the fronts, sanding, putting in a whole bunch of screws (which I did most of myself) and then Sara and I cleaned up the room and got everything loaded. We emptied a whole bunch of boxes. What a good feeling! Sara also helped me make apricot jam, and a bunch of other things with apricots, plus we bottled beans. So, it's been a very busy week!

Bryce has been working hard moving dirt around out in the yard. He says that it will save us a bunch of money, which is true, but really I think he's just having a great time driving the skid steer. He even invited his dad to come and take a turn at it.

We've made a down payment on the landscaping and it should start mid week. We're very excited! I promise, I'll finish the book and then I'll be better at blogging as they do our landscaping.