Catching Up! .... But, maybe still behind

I am waaay behind on this blog thing. So I'm catching up using pictures, because luckily, while I may have stopped posting them, I didn't stop taking them!

Oliver, Melissa, my parents and I all got to celebrate my Mum's birthday together this year.  We spent the day hanging out, playing lawn games (I totally rocked this the 1 game I played!) and catching up since we hadn't all been in the same place since Oliver and Melissa got married in December.

The course was marked by wood that has been chopped but not stacked. Whew! The stacking is almost another whole project in itself!

You can see the start of the stack Matt and I started just before everyone showed up. I weed whacked  an area just off the 'lawn' and we set up concrete blocks and pallets that then we started stacking the wood on. Since then we have picked up 2 more pallets that need to be added since there is just so much wood to be stacked.

A turtle cheesecake with candles ended our BBQ - that I confess I did forget to take pics of - but it's really the dessert that counts in my opinion! 

My first attempt at gluten-free cupcakes. Yes, I have been gluten free for 3 weeks now. Along with my crazy allergies, it's quite the strange combo that I have to remember to look out for. The good news is, these were AWESOME! 

So everyone ate the cheesecake (not me) and my cupcakes until we were all stuffed!
The evening ended with a picture show on the TV from Oliver and Melissa showing us everywhere they've been so far this summer on their trip. I think this is the third year they've spent most of the summer camping out of the truck and traveling around the country.  

Mum set up her sewing for the few days she was with us so she could keep working on personal  projects and gifts (KEL! the quilt looks amazing!)

With more than 1 machine, each is set up for a task so she can move right down the line while piecing quilts together. I have to say that the technology with the newer machines is pretty darn amazing! They can connect to laptops and the internet to download projects and embroidery patterns - crazy, right!

In other news, our cherry blossom tree is on it's last legs....

It was doing very well until we found out that it had grubs and japanese beetles eating it. sigh. So, it's going back to Lowe's and we will replace it in the fall from a local nursery. (we've also started treatments for the rest of the yard so the grubs and beetles don't spread)

I loved the deal we got at Lowe's, but the grubs and dying tree is not what I had planned.....

Oh, my car! It has a full pallet of stones and metal ring for our fire-pit. 

I think this is the lowest it's ever been, even with all our moving and the crazy stuff we used to pack in it.
I was nervous getting home - luckily the store is less than 10 miles from the house.

So here's the finished product! It was fairly easy to put together and since Matt got us a deal thanks to a mis-labeled price tag (woot!) it wasn't a huge dent in the budget - gotta love that!

It looks so small from the house! but it's 30" across and we plan to add a bit of hardscape around it in a few years when we do the patio at the bottom of the deck stairs. I think it will be a lovely satellite fire pit!

Family has all gone home. July 4th has come and gone. Work is getting busier as we head towards full integration - ie, the 2 companies computer systems are being merged and improved, all forms are changing, the website is changing, and the back office systems will be changing as well.
I'm taking everything week by week for now. It's been a great summer thus far and I hope it only continues!!