Project 365, Week 31

For the miracle of the ordinary, for people to love and be loved by...I'm just so grateful.

July 29

It's rare, which makes it extra special. At some point in the evening the whole family was together, watching the Olympics. Makes me happy (being together, not necessarily the Olympics).

July 30

One of Amanda's last visits to the pediatrician before she ages out. She was trying to tie her paper gown and said, this is for a skinny-minny. I said, no, its for a five-year old. Feels like not long ago she was an infant laying on the table scale.

July 31

Six years ago we moved into this house and started life in a new town. Its been wonderful and, wow, a little crazy.

August 1

The morning was especially splendid so I sat out on the front porch where the sun comes up.

Even Shaun noticed. He sent me a picture from the golf course, knowing I would appreciate the beauty.

August 2

It happened. After "talking" for a year, Amanda and Jason went on their first official date. How cute are they??

August 3

As I was getting coffee, I noticed the pretty flowers on the counter and thought how sweet that Jason got Amanda flowers. He did, but I later found out these were for me! 

Earlier in the week Nathan and Tony flew down to Florida, took care of a laundry list of loose ends and then drove the moving truck with all of Nana's furniture and belongings back to CT. Most of the family met on this muggy summer morning to unload the truck into a storage unit. It was hot, sweaty work but the crew was efficient.

Its been a crazy couple weeks getting Nana settled, but its definitely been nice seeing the family often.

Waiting in the mailbox when we got home...

ITS OFFICIAL!! Amanda will head to Summit International School of Ministry in PA for a gap year, beginning the end of this month!

August 4

I watched Aiden and the dog play out in the yard, both having equal amounts of fun. It reminded me, I never posted the after pics of our little hot tub project back in June.

Before: a hot tub that didn't work and would cost too much to fix and was taking up lots of patio space.

After: a short and affordable project to gain that space back. The deck board are flush with the pavers, so no more tripping! I considered putting a "conversation set" there, but once it was finished I realized its completely unnecessary. Also, I had to take an honest look and admit we are not the bring-cushions-in-and-out kind of family.

We were able to tuck the new hot tub into an alcove once we re-purposed the trees that were there. Now that it works and is always heated, one person or more uses it nearly everyday, year-round.