Mallory

Mallory was over this past weekend for a nice visit. Unfortunately for her, it was the worst weekend of weather we have had since we moved here. The rain and thunderstorms just would not stop. It was actually quite amazing. Felt like being back in Washington. Hazen turned on the Mariners game at one point and saw all the sun on the players. Mal thought they were in Oakland. Sorry to tell her it was Seattle. The one time it did stop raining for a couple minutes we tried to walk the greenbelt. Didn't make it very far before the thunder, lightening and rain started up again. We decided to head indoors and get manicures and pedicures (Hazen did not join in on this activity). Trying to find things to do indoors is harder than you might think. We went to dinner and live music the night she got in. Saturday we had bagels and a nice drive out to Idaho City. Toured the museum which was ice cold and didn't warm up until we walked out of the building. We went to Tucano's Brazillian Grill which we absolutely love and will take anyone that comes to visit. Mal ended up hanging out with some friends she knew in town on Saturday night. Did some shopping and the pet store on Sunday and a light lunch at Olive Garden. After this is when we did the pedicures then she had to head back to the airport. We had a great time and so glad that she came to visit.

Summer Itch

It has been so nice lately. We have been ready for summer to come and now that we have a few nice days of weather, we had to get outside and do something. Hazen has been throwing around the idea of building a deck in the backyard for some time now. He finally decided it was the right time to do it. He wanted to move the hot tub and build the deck around it. He was dreading getting a bunch of guys over here and lifting that thing. When I got home one day he had the darn thing moved part way by himself. He decided to use logs and roll it. Worked out pretty well actually. We aren't quite done with it but getting pretty close. I am also in the process of painting the sunroom. My problem is starting something because it sounds like a good idea then not wanting to finish it. The sunroom is a mess right now and Lucy is starting to get upset that we lock her out of it during the day so she can't chew anything up. Mallory will be here in about a week and a half so I guess that will be motivation to get the room finished.

I planted some strawberries in tiered pots so they wouldn't take up so much room

Not finished, new water feature

Moving the hot tub on logs

New place for the hot tub

Framing for the deck (until extra support boards were added because Hazen had nightmares all night that people were falling through the deck and dying)

Beautiful Washington

We had a great time visiting family last weekend. It never seems like enough time though. Got in Thursday night and Hazen's mom picked us up at SeaTac. Had an excellent dinner in Tacoma on the drive home. Hazen got to spend time with his parents and grandma Friday while I got my hair cut and visited my parents until they had to go to work. Then I went to dinner with Hazen's family. Saturday we hung out with my parents and I got to be sous chef for dad making his excellent dinner. Heather and Ryan made it down from Seattle. Grandma Barr, Wayne, Grandma Pat, Dawn and Joshua came over and was very nice to see them. Had "Hannum Family Fun Night" and even though I didn't win at boggle (even lost to Shawna), I had a great time. Went to David's Bridal on Sunday to try on bridesmaid dresses and Shawna to try on wedding dresses before heading back to the airport.

Morning Fog. View from Barry and Teri's deck.

Max

Hannum Family Fun Night (oh yeah, Tooter came over later too)

Dad's Feast

Joshua

Shawna and Spud's Engagement Photos

Mt. Rainier

Yard Work Weekend

This weekend was so beautiful! It was 70 degrees on Friday and 65 degrees on Saturday (until the thunderstorms moved in late afternoon). It was so nice to be outside though and get a ton of yard work done. We spent all day Friday in the sun, and even got a sunburn. I am going to be planing a vegetable garden this year so I was prepping an area for it. I also went to a veggie garden 101 class on Saturday at a local store. We got some topsoil to fill in a bunch of holes in the backyard where Hazen dug up some tree roots and took the apple tree out. I also turned over the soil in the front planter box to get ready to plant flowers. Put down coffee grounds to try and keep the neighbors cat from pooping in it. We are going to be re-doing the back water feature area since Lucy can't seem to stay off it. We got a large pot that will have water coming up from the bottom and spilling over the top onto a circle of bricks. We had to go get the bricks this weekend. They are from a demolition company that has a bunch of bricks from taking down buildings. There was a huge pile of about 3 different kinds. We only needed one of the types and they definitely weren't the most abundant. It was a scavenger hunt for 250 bricks. Very exhausting. We woke up Saturday pretty sore but decided to go at it again. We got some plastic fencing to put up around my garden to see if that will keep Lucy out of it. Yet to be determined. Hazen decided that he needs to beat "Corner Guy" with his lawn this year so we laid a bunch of topsoil in the front yard to even out all the hills and valleys. This process is much more tedious than I expected. You cant just lay down a bunch of dirt and call it good. The thunderstorms came in last night and I'm not sure how much grass seed is left and how much got washed away. In the end though, I'm sure it will look better than before.

Garden area, doesn't have fence up yet

Hazen puting a rock wall around the tree so I can plant flowers around it.

Finished rock wall, but it hasn't been filled in with dirt yetRolling out the dirt in the front yard

Katie's Visit

Our Friend, Katie, that went to college with Hazen called us up earlier this week and asked what we were up to this weekend. We didn't have any plans so she decided to come visit. Last time she came over, her flight was overbooked so she elected to take the next flight to get a free ticket. So she somehow thought it would be a good idea to use it to come to Boise instead of, lets say, Hawaii. We were glad that she came over though. We had a good time. She arrived late Friday night and we had our friends Doug, Ryan and Erin over as well to welcome her to town. Had quite the bash and did not get enough sleep, as it always goes.

Putt Putt Golf at Wahooz Family Fun Zone (Katie was the big winner!)

Hazen hitting the batting cages (getting ready for the softball team we joined)

He got beat by a 9 year old

Berkley's Blanket

Our friends, Doug and Tera, were having a 1st Birthday party for their daughter Berkley. I decided to make her a blanket. The party was nice and I think she enjoyed her gift. She pulled it out of the bag and snuggled right up in it.

The finished product

Close Up

Front of blanket showing part of the back panel

Close Up of the Back

Jackpot

We haven't been up to much lately so haven't had much to post. We have been doing a few small house projects but it's still been a little too cold to get outside much. We went up to the foothills again Saturday to try to find some antlers. Still no luck. We did see quite a few deer again though. One buck still had his antlers. Lucy loves to go out to the foothills. We usually aren't in an area where other people are so she doesn't have to be on the leash and can run free.

After we got back home, Hazen decided he had a hot hand and wanted to go to the casino. There aren't any casinos in Idaho so had to drive 3 hours to Jackpot, Nevada. Lucky to find a hotel room as it seemed most rooms were booked. We had a good dinner then Hazen went to work. He did pretty good for a while but ended up leaving with nothing. Had a good time though. So I guess it was worth it. Nice little getaway before heading back to work tomorrow.