More Trees

Last weekend we were wandering thru Campell's and found that all their trees were 25% off. Finally! We've been waiting for them to go on sale all summer. Click on the back yard panorama to see it full-size.

We got a columnar white pine, a norway spruce, and two large river birch. Needless to say, we had to dig a hole in the Nebraska clay for each. I am done with digging holes for a while.

Vacation!

We did our summer vacation over a 4-day weekend in mid-July. It was a whirlwind trip to Illinois to see Nana & the gang there. This is Max, BD's new dog. He is 100% puppy.

BD brought his SKS over for the boys to check out. CP is in love.

We spent one day on Lake Geneva at JP's favorite beach - Fontana. Clear water, soft sand, pleasant people - nice! Our friends from the old hood met us there and we finished the day with a great lunch at the beach bar next door.

Fourth of July Video

Our neighbor put together a fun video of our 4th celebration.

4th of july from Shawn Doné on Vimeo.

Webelos Camp

GP did his Webelos 1 camp this past week @ Camp Cornhusker. We were treated to four days of standard Nebraska weather - rain, heat, humidity, and bugs.

GP's favorite activity was the mountain boarding. It involved riding a giant skateboard with off-road tires and a handbrake down the hill. Needless to say, I did not try it.

CG & BG went with us for the four day blast of fun. I think next year we will try another camp up by Freemont. This was my 6th or 7th trip to Camp Cornhusker and I'm ready for a change.

Fireworks

From 9:00 to Midnight, the neighborhood rumbled with the sound of artillery shells. As far as the eye could see the sky was lit up with starbursts.

16,000 Firecrackers!

We unrolled the second roll of 16,000 firecrackers. It took 8 minutes for them to go. The whole neighborhood came over to watch it go.

After the Rain

The sun finally came out and we had a beautiful evening for fireworks. We abandoned the garage and moved over into CB's driveway. As if we weren't full enough from the sliders we had for a late lunch, there was another feast to be had for dinner.

What would the 4th be without a few rounds of Cornhole?!

Big Wheel

We hit the fireworks stand at 10:00 when they opened. The overnite rain soaked the cornfield they were set up in and made rivers of mud that flowed through their tent. There were holes in the tent, and it was a total mess. Since we were the first ones there and since it was my sixth visit there, the fireworks guy gave us two huge slightly damp 16,000 firecracker wheels.

We shot off the first one in the wheelbarrow. It lasted maybe 30 seconds and could be heard in South Dakota. Wow!

Wet 4th

It rained 2" overnite for the Fourth and didn't stop there. It rained all day until 5:00. We didn't let that slow us down a bit. The boys blew stuff up and we all sat in the garage.

We moved all the deck furniture into the garage and enjoyed the day. The kids played didn't let the rain slow them down at all.

Goodbye Xterra

We traded in my old Xterra last week. It had 120,000 miles on it and was in great shape, save for the headliner that sagged down. I will miss it.

Anniversary Dinner

Gramma & Grampa treated us to a dinner at the Japanese steak house. The boys absolutely loved it! They had some training wheel equiped chop sticks and really got into eating the food. CP even tried sushi.

Saltdogs

Again this year we hit the Saltdogs game with tickets from work. Before the game my department went out for dinner @ Buzzard Billy's in the Haymarket. Both boys tasted gator for the 1st time.

Wet June

We got stuck in a weird rainy weather pattern in June. It rained almost every day. We even started getting our afternoon storms in the morning. This was taken at 6:30 AM when I got to work. Normally we never see storms like this until later in the day.

Summer Day

After putting together the new berm, we drove around town looking for deals on shrubs & plants. Shopko came thru with 50% off everything. We picked up two spirea, a weigela, and some really cool purple/yellow day lillies. All we need now is some mulch and the first berm will be done.

Last nite the neighbors had a family movie nite in their back yard. There was a huge storm 200 miles away in Kansas that kept threatening. We had sprinkles on and off and crazy lighning from horizon to horizon and everyone was OK with that, but when the wind kicked up and blew everything over, we abandoned ship and called it a night.

Although the sky was dark with stormclouds, the sun was able to poke under as it set. It lit up the clouds underneath and made the neighborhood glow yellow.

Busy Morning

For our anniversary, JP got us eight more yards of black dirt. It was dropped off this morning at 9:00 and with the help of both boys, we were done by 11:00.

While we were all digging, the topic of father's day gifts came up. GP said that he wants to get me a sense of humor.

JP is ready to go tree shopping again. . .

New Tree

Yesterday JP got her new white pine for the new berm. We put it in and it looks great! On either side are dwarf burning bushes. Can't wait for it to grow and start blocking our view.

We have four pots of gerber daisies on the front porch. We've had trouble with the petals staying on the flowers; every day each flower loses some of its petals. One day JP noticed a beautiful little orange and black bird on the front porch. How beautiful, she thought. Until it hopped up and started to deflower her flowers. Now that cute little bird is public enemy #1.