Good bye to old friends

We had to say goodbye to our dog, April, this week. She was 16 years old and suffered because she couldn't see well, she couldn't hear well, and she had arthritis. The kids watched as April and her brothers were born. She has been in our family all her life. Her mother, Holly, was a Christmas gift from Pam.

Even though she was old, she still found the energy to get excited when the kids visited. They all loved her and we will miss her.

We also said goodby to our old van - yes we sold it. We traded it to a guy who installed a sprinkler system for us. We had to pitch in a little extra because the van wasn't worth the whole job, but we are excited that the van will have a new home. I'm sure it has potential for many more miles.

We bought it when it was 4 years old and put aproximately 150,000 miles on it. It was a good old van - took us to Wisconsin and back when we picked up Kyle from his mission. It took us to the Oregon coast and Mt. St. Helens for family vacations. And who knows how many activities it took our kids to. After we bought the newer van, the kids drove it - to thier jobs, to mutual, to college. It was reliable and a good van, but we didn't need 3 cars in the family.

BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER

We had our water line replaced this week. All the flowers you see here are gone. We did dig them up and put them in crates. Then, we gave them a temporary home in the garden in the back yard. They are happy for the time being...

This 2nd picture is of this backhoe digging - it is amazing how they can take a big machine like this and be so gentle. Yes, they dug up all the flowers; but he was careful not to disturb the cement border that Vic put in for me years ago. Count your blessings!!!

The third picture is the after picture. Yes, things are still unsettled. We still have a hole in the yard - the water leak was actually on the City side of the hole. They haven't come to replace their part yet. So we are not back to normal..........

While we were in the mess, we chose to add a daylight basement window. You can see in the picture where the outside water faucet is in conjunction to the window well. So we had him dig over another 5 feet, A-cor (a cement cutting company) cut the hole to the exact dimensions Kyle asked. And yes, we got a visit that night from Kyle, Kat and the girls while Kyle installed the new window.

This last picture is of the new window and window well. It is great - it really makes a big difference in the lighting in our basement. We still have to replace the sheetrock around the window, but we were going to do that anyway because over the years it has gotten wet; but that is a project for another day.

Wow! It's About Time

Spring is here - snowy one week and warm the next, rain then clouds, then hail. You wonder whether to wear a winter coat or a jacket or no jacket. Here are pictures of the same daffodil just a week apart.

Here are some of the things we have done in the past month:

Vic received his Silver Beaver Award. It is the highest award the Council can give to volunteers. Vic has been in Scouting for 29 years. I had the priviledge to present it to him - I received my Silver Beaver in 2002 and have served the last couple of years as the Silver Beaver Colony President. I have now passed that priviledge on to another.

I got busy sewing - made 4 of my granddaughters spring dresses - they are so cute with little lady bugs around the bottom.

We have also replaced our water heater, paid lots of $'s getting the blue van fixed, and have yet to find a water leak in the front yard.

We are enjoying being Empty Nesters.