A Few Good Projects

I've been working hard at a few projects to try and further beautify our house and yard. First, I got some flowers to put in the planter box Lee and the girls made me for Mother's Day. I also sanded, stained, and waterproofed our bench for the front porch. Anytime I say "I", by the way, it really means Brynne and I. She is my #1 helper. It doesn't matter what I'm doing, she wants to help. When she found out I was going to take some pictures for my blog, she volunteered to be in each picture for me. :) I wish I had taken the pictures earlier in the day when the sun was shining and the colors were more vibrant, but you can still get the idea:
Today I found something I've been looking for for several months -- a patio set that would fit on our tiny patio but was big enough for four people to eat on. I honestly didn't think there was such thing, but I saw an ad for someone in Layton selling a perfectly sized set for only $50. I called my sister Alyson (who lives in Layton and happens to be getting over pneumonia, but who still stepped up to help out -- thanks, Aly!!!) and asked if she'd go take a look at it and get it for me if it looked nice. Aly ended up picking it up for me, then she met me in South Jordan to get it to me. I drove my friend Denise's van since it would never fit in my car -- thanks, Denise!!! I (I mean, Brynne and I) cleaned it up a little more and set it on the patio. Isn't it perfect?!! (Now we just have to hope the Spanish Fork weather doesn't rip it apart...)

I also found a great deal on a bench for our backyard. I really want a cast aluminum bench. I have found several that would be great options, but they are all $130 - $200. If I'm going to spend that much, I want to make sure it's exactly what I want. I also have to make sure I have that much! :) So I had decided maybe I wouldn't be able to get a bench this summer. That's when I found one on clearance for $26. Mind you, this is the kind of bench that looks really nice but is actually quite cheap and weathers quickly. I decided that as long as the bench lasted this summer (and we might be able to get another one or two years out of it if we're careful) then it would already be worth the $26. I somehow managed to put it together myself (don't tell Lee I can do all these things by myself!). I think it's great, and so does Brynne:

The final project is one we just completed this evening. We planted a vegetable garden! We have two small planter boxes, and I set out to plant my own garden for the first time. I (I mean Brynne and I) planted cucumbers, zucchini, string beans, lettuce, peas and strawberries. I am quite anxious to find out if things even grow. This picture looks like some boring beds, but I'm really hoping to have a picture in a few months of the same beds full of yummy veggies. (Keep your fingers crossed!)

This last picture is just a cute one. We helped my sister Alyson in her yard a few weekends back. Unfortunately, Alyson has an abundant supply of snails in her yard. Alyson thinks they are pests; Morgan thinks they are pets. :) Morgan seriously carried her snail around for a good hour. She kept stroking its neck, and I swear the snail loved it and thought it was in heaven. Morgan was very sad when she had to put it down, but Aunt Alyson was quick to point out that it would probably be happiest in a special place a good 30 yards from her house. :)

Valentine Box

There's one thing about having kids in school that I had forgotten about -- the creative contests the schools periodically sponsor to see what kind of parents the kids have. You know, the kind that are supposed to be done as much as possible by the kids, which really just means even more work for the parents. Anyway, last week we got a paper from school saying they were having a Valentine's Day Box contest. Every child was invited to participate, and the theme for 1st grade was "I Love Reading." Here is the finished project:

This was a tough thing for me because I have not an ounce of creativity in me. Because of this, however, I've always felt it very important to try and nurture the creative side in my kids. I was really wishing Lee were here for the project because he is extremely creative, and also has a lot of patience for helping the kids with things like this. But Lee wasn't here, so I was left to my own devices if I wanted Morgan to participate. We brainstormed ideas together, but then I had her do all the wrapping, cutting, taping, and pasting. The best part is that we did it all in just two hours -- only 30 minutes past bedtime -- Whew!

I feel a great deal of satisfaction at having been part of a creative endeavor. The thing I'm most excited about is that I got really brave and used my new printer/copier/scanner. I took a picture of Morgan reading (the big picture on top of the box) and then printed it. I also found three pictures from years passed (the other two pictures on top of the box and the one on the front side, which is the bottom of the picture below), and I scanned the pictures, then cropped them and resized them before printing them and having Morgan cut them. Some of you realize how big of an achievement this is for my non-computer age brain! (I noticed the hole we cut in the box looks lopsided in this picture, so I'd like to make sure you know it's a perfectly rectangular hole!) :)

My friend Denise just called and told me that her son's 1st grade class made Valentine bags as part of an art project at school. Now why didn't our school think of that? They must think that a child's education is supposed to extend to the parents (i.e. they like the parents to learn things too -- like how to be creative). I learned my lesson, so can I be done?!!!

(Written at 6:30 p.m. the day after making the Valentine's Day box): Brynne and I picked Morgan up from school today so we could look at the display of all the Valentine's boxes that were made. My initial reaction was that my confidence was shattered -- there were some really creative boxes! -- but then I decided to focus on the fact that probably only 1 out of every 15 or 20 students even did a box. That makes our box better than the 95% that didn't even do them! And most important, Morgan is still proud of her box. (And now I've got more ideas for next year -- bring it on!!!!)