Yard Update

So, the yard is being worked on-it's just going very slowly :( The guys can only work on Saturdays because it's the one day out of the week they both have off. So far they have done quite a bit for only working a total of 4 days on it. They've cleared all the rock out of the way, poured some concrete on the side of the house, layed pavers for a small sitting area and built a retaining wall for a planter. I just can't wait until it's all done.....so we'll update you then! And there will be beautiful pictures ;)

They're ENGAGED!!!!!

Our friends Aaron and Casey are officially engaged!! We are so excited for them. We have known them since... FOREVER!! We can't wait for the planning to begin. Congrats you two, yay!yay!yay!

Renaissance Festival

On Sunday we took our yearly trip to the Renaissance Festival. We went with all of the Grace side. It was the first time we've gone with all the kids together and it was fun to see how excited they were about little things like the Chinese bubble lady. Of course, we're always excited to share the famous giant Turkey legs-definitely worth the $20 to get in :)

Jackson staring at the bubble lady

Donny and Ella at the pig pens

Avery checking out the pig
Donny and Ella

Donny's head is small enough to fit in a kids helmet...

....Jackson's is too small....

...and Mike's is too big!!

Siphon Draw Hiking

Last weekend Donny and I went hiking in the Superstitions with his sister and our brother-in-law. It's a pretty tough hike and we've done it before, but this time I got real dizzy, couldn't catch my breath and thought I was going to pass out and throw up at all at the same time. Besides the uncomfortable moment I had, we really did have a great time. The weather was absolutey perfect and it felt real nice to just go hiking like we used to do.

At the steepest area

Donny and his "Sr." yearbook picture :)

Donny's cool photo editing


After I nearly died....I needed a break

At it Again!!

If you know me you know I love to decorate and re-decorate things. We have a very large master bedroom with vaulted ceilings and tons of wall space. It's been bugging me for the past year and I finally did something about one of the walls. While I was at it, I rewrapped my wedding bouqet and made an arrangement from some flowers my mom gave to me.

New ribbon on my wedding bouqet

Detail of the wrapping on 2nd flower arrangement

Here's the 2nd arrangement

Details of wall arrangement-I made the "G" in the frame

Full pic of the area

Valentines Day Fun

This year Donny and I decided to keep it low key for V-Day. We usually do something quite spectacular, or very time consuming. We decided on a trip to the drive-in movies in Scottsdale. When I got home from work on Friday Donny suggested dinner that night at Ra. I got so excited......I asked him if he was sure and he said that he needed to take me out-too cute! It was very surprisng because it was not yet V-Day. It was really great because we got into the restaurant immediately. I think everyone was saving up their night out for Saturday, which helped us out a ton. We ate our yummy sushi, drank a few drinks, drank a few more drinks(we let the bartender-in-training use us for the drinks she was learning how to mix), then we went on our merry way home to watch some tv. I had a great time-it's definitley teh litttle things that count.

On Saturday we headed to the movies. We wrangled up a pizza from Papa John's and some sodas from the Mobile gas station down the road and went on down town for a good 'ol doubel feature. We took my car-a small SUV-and converted the back seat into a comfy bed area to enjoy. We saw Taken and Push. The first was goooooooood, the second-Donny fell asleep in-'Nuff said. Our gifts we gave to eachother were bookends for the Man room/Office/Hunting Themed Room (Idropped teh bookends and broke them the day I bought them and glued them back together-Ithink I did a pretty good job) and a box of chocolates for me.

I, of course, had to get Vista in on the festivities and dress her up. It was a lot of work to get the hearts to stay on her head and prevent her from tearing them up, but I was able to distract her for about 10 seconds to take a few pictures of her.


Just a love puppy.....

....who has had enough!!
My box of chocolates
The manly/hunting bookends
Dinner at Ra
View from the car
The comfy SUV/Bed
I'm so ch-ch-ch-chilly!!!

Bye, Bye to the Rock Garden and Smelly Tree

On Friday I came home to find Donny shoveling away in the backyard. For a minute I thought that our beloved fish-Fishy-had passed on, and he was digging a grave for him. Much to my surprise he was "prepping" our yard for the beginning of it's makeover. As you can tell it is a VERY glamorous backyard that most millionaires would spend oodles of money on, but it just wasn't us. We've been wanting to design a new yard since the day we looked at the house and decided to buy it, but it hasn't been a priority. The part of the yard that bugs me the most is the only greenery we have-that stupid, smelly tree. Vista constantly plays with it and chews on it, which makes her smell too. It 's absolutely disgusting!
Our friend, Aaron, is a genius in landscaping. We, of course, snagged him to help us out. The design we thought of is quite beautiful and I can't wait for it to be finished!! Tune in soon for the finished project :)