One Deck of a Project

We've enjoyed our deck immensely--barbecuing, picnicking, sandbox-ing, pool-wading, coffee-drinking, and otherwise enjoying ourselves out there. But, we've neglected it. And so, we decided to fix the ol' girl up. Here's where we started:

Over the years it had turned either green or gray, as you can see.

First thing to do: clean it! This got rid of most of the green, but the deck still remained a dull unsealed gray.

Before we could seal it, we had to replace a few badly cracked posts -- three big posts (one pictured above), and six small balusters (the skinny ones).

New post in place (not yet screwed in). It was especially challenging getting the large posts to budge, but like loose teeth, they eventually came out.

Then we puttied up a bunch of cracks.

After the first coat, we had to go back and stain the wood puttied spots with a darker stain. The wood putty was "stainable", but it came out a bright orange, instead of the color of the wood. Then we applied a second coat.

For dramatic effect, once again, here's the "before":

And now, here's the "after":

Not too shabby, eh?

Fourth of July

We kept it pretty simple this fourth of July (honestly, we usually do). Our celebrating can be summed up in two words: sparklers and ice cream. When it comes to a two year old, you can't go wrong with ice cream, but sparklers, on the other hand...

Cousin "Auntie" Susie Got Married!

And we were invited to their backyard reception/pig roast. That, and the chance to visit with Aunt Jane and the rest of the family, got us into the car a week ago for a short but sweet visit to Connecticut.

Mapquest suggested the drive would take between four and five hours. But, it was the Friday before a holiday weekend, so it took eight. Thankfully, we brought the portable DVD player -- for "emergencies" only, of course. By the sixth hour, our situation qualified, so Oscar watched a bit of "Bob the Builder" in the backseat while we crawled through the last bit of traffic. What a wonderful sight it was to finally see Aunt Jane's beautiful home out in the middle of the woods (more or less, from the perspective of us city-folk).

The next day we had some time before the wedding reception, so Aunt Jane took us to Ray of Light Farm, a local farm that rescues animals.

 We saw all kinds of animals -- from turtles to

 turkeys (with horses, goats, burros, rabbits, pigs, chickens, ponies, and more in between).

 And then, we stopped by this:

 A giant castle built by William Gillette (apparently he played Sherlock Holmes during the early 1900's). It was pretty amazing, but flash photography wasn't allowed, so most of my pics from the inside aren't worth sharing.

Well, except for this. (To see better pics, check the castle out here.)

Outside, overlooking the Connecticut River.

Above us flew this glider and even a one-person helicopter (not pictured, because it happened so fast).

And then, it was time to party! There was music, swimming, tons of food (including a whole pig that I couldn't quite bring myself to look at), and plenty of folks who love these two people:

Susie and Terell!

 John and O.K. went for a swim.

After all that food and cake and celebrating, it was eventually time to go. Aunt Jane took this photo just before we left, and if Oscar (and I) hadn't been so ready for bed I would've tried for another. Just as it was being taken my earring got caught in Susie's hair. Photos-schmotos, it was just wonderful to be able to celebrate these two gettin' hitched!

Before we left the next day, Aunt Jane filled our cooler full of sandwiches, fruit, water, and other snacks for the car ride home. She also dug up a couple of plants for us to replant in our own little yard.

 Meanwhile, O.K. enjoyed playing with Sarah and David, and 

this guy (otherwise known as Keith)!

Thanks again, Aunt Jane, for having us and for making us feel so comfortable in your home. We look forward to seeing you all again soon.

Talkie

I finally uploaded several videos from our now-outdated Flip camera (why can't technology progress at the same rate as my annual raise?). If you're in Oregon, you'll see this kid soon enough, but still, here's a short one I'm calling "Watermelon Song".