Last week we replaced our backyard fence.  It’s custom-built by the same guy who finished our attic.  I’m posting several since my dad is interested…if you aren’t that crazy about fences, scroll down for some pictures of Amelia outside today!

Here’s a before shot:

Driveway Gate:

Front yard gate from the inside:

Front yard gate from the outside:

The double gate was Ben’s idea, in case we ever have a riding mower or a truck needs to get in the yard or something.  We did have a single gate at one point, but it broke and he just boarded it over.

A few more pics of the old fence for comparison:

The old one certainly had its charm, but it was falling apart.

Plus, I really like the security of having it solid on all but one of the sides.  With the spacing in the pickets along the last side, I can still see what’s going on in my own driveway from inside the house.

Flowers along the new fence today:

Amelia today:

Our latest project:  finishing a room in our attic…

We are blessed with a finished attic…well, mostly finished.  It was one of the things we loved best about our house when we bought it almost eight years ago.  We have a large room on one side that we use as a guest room, and a smaller room for storage on the other.  Above Amelia’s bedroom was an unfinished room.  We’ve always wanted to finish it and finally went ahead with it.

The floor space is 12′x12′, the same as Amelia’s room, but obviously because of the roof line there’s not nearly the wall space!

Looking back out through the doorway before:

…and after:

We’ve been using it as a school room the last few weeks and it’s working out very well…although I noticed when I took these that Amelia has outgrown her table and chairs!

It’s also getting cold in there…we don’t have heat in that room of the attic, although there is heat on the other side.  I think we’ll start using a space heater soon!  We did add an overhead light and two sets of outlets.  We did some of the work and a professional did some of it.

We also had our professional build a railing as you come up the stairs!

So any of you who wouldn’t sleep over for fear of falling off, or were told you shouldn’t because you have young children, etc…it’s much safer now!  Come on over!  To get to the finished room, in the picture below, when you come to the top of the stairs, you would hang a left into the storage room, and then another left into the school room.

I wanted a railing on the other side too (where the mattresses are standing at the moment), but was told it wasn’t really possible because of the roof line.  In any case, it’s all much improved!  The professional also patched the holes in our bedroom and fixed our downstairs bathroom such that we have HOT water in there for the first time in five years!!

So, Jeremy, you’re off the hook!  I can hear your sigh of relief from here!  We still want you to come visit, but we won’t ask you to do any work…

This spring we had some outside work done…

Back door before (not entirely before as it was already dug out and stones laid!!  The sidewalk used to go right up to the door, and you had to step up into the house…in the corner was just a bush).

Back patio:

We wanted to extend our patio into the corner of the fence…

We asked them to leave the dirt!  We put it all around the house to make the grade slope away from the house instead of toward it.

When we returned from Camp once this summer, we found corn and tomatoes growing in front of the house.  I wasn’t quick enough with the camera…but the corn was probably 4 feet high already.  Who knows what all was sleeping in that dirt!  Maybe there used to be a garden in that corner?

Ben built me the flower box for my 30th birthday.

Pouring concrete for our front steps…I’m not posting pictures of those!  We had beautiful original brick steps that were falling apart…the plan was that the guy would remove the top layer of bricks and replace them.  However, once he got started, it was all powder underneath, just totally disintegrated, so he had to completely remove them, and talked us into concrete steps instead.  They’re really ugly, and he made them at such a grade that the first time I tried to walk up them, I fell back off.  You have to really lean into them to get up.  He also didn’t follow my measurements or other instructions…but we’re very happy with the two flat pieces in the back!  I guess he’s just not a stoop guy.  Some other year I think I’ll try to have the front stoop covered in brick, if that’s possible…

Also, he didn’t make them deep enough to put our railings back on them…they would have been hanging off the top step a good foot on either side…so we used them on the back patio instead!  I love recycling!!

(these pictures are from this month…the others are from the spring)

We couldn’t have asked for a better week at Camp…

Ben’s first try as Assistant Director of Round-Up went so well. Amelia did great as a first-time “Bunny Camper” (children of staff who are too young to be campers–they have their own building and staff, basically 24-hour day care, called “Bunny Camp”). I did sleep at Bunny Camp with her (Ben was in the director’s cabin!) and get her dressed each morning, but other than that she was pretty much there without me and loved it. She didn’t even want to talk to us–if we approached her at a meal or saw her out and about, she would say, “No Daddy, I’m with Mrs. Benson!”

Here’s a shot of the bunnies:

We had a wagon train theme for the week, and for Thursday’s skit we utilized the bunnies as Indians who attacked the wagon train!

Amelia spent most of her time with her friend Faith. They are only a month apart in age, and Faith’s mom was running the bunny camp. Amelia and Faith were spotted holding hands all over Camp!

Amelia’s in the middle of the paddle boat, with Faith and her mom…

The bunnies enjoyed corral rides several times, and twice Mr. Fox let me take Amelia out on a trail ride!

While at Camp we got to see my aunt Dulcie and two of my cousins, who were visiting from Las Vegas (sorry, somehow we didn’t get any pictures of them!).

Upon arriving at home, I developed a bad cold, which Ben caught and then decided it was the ‘flu. Amelia sneezed for five days straight, but it never progressed beyond that for her. Amelia enjoyed a visit from her new preschool teacher, Mrs. Bennett. Preschool starts up again in less than three weeks!  Ben and Amelia repaired our fence where it got rear-ended (our homeowners’ insurance denied our claim). Here’s Amelia with our friend Miki:

I heard back from my insurance company that they still do not intend to fully cover the test I had at Cleveland–this time the excuse was that the codes they approved Cleveland to perform do not match the codes for which Cleveland billed them. This is my fault, how?? I had to request a grievance form, which I mailed in a few days ago. I called Cleveland to see how long I have to pay, and they won’t send me to collections until November, so I have some time to try to get this sorted out (we could just pay it, but it is much harder to get reimbursed once you do that).

Amelia playing dress-up:

Congratulations to Ben’s brother Jeremy and his wife on the birth Sunday of their fourth child, Joshua! A link to their website should be at the upper-right-hand corner of our site.

Ben and Amelia enjoyed a short trip to Seabreeze, our local water park. We did not get a membership this year, but Ben had promised Amelia they would go at least once this summer, and it was the first chance they got. They weren’t over their colds (or was it the ‘flu?) yet, but seemed to enjoy themselves anyhow!

Ben is now cleared as a first medic for Chili Ambulance! This means that from now on, when he goes out on calls, it will be just him and a driver, and he’s “in charge” of the driver. He’s been devoting a lot of time to this endeavor, which he sincerely considers a ministry, and he can’t seem to get enough of it!

I’ve spoken with Dr. Plansky a few times, and he is sending me back to the rheumatologist. Before I go I’m to have more blood work. The rheumatologist agrees that I should be on an anti-inflammatory drug, but is not necessarily convinced that I have Crohn’s disease. The trick will be to find an anti-inflammatory that is safe for pregnancy, should such an event ever again occur! Such a drug may not exist! Once September arrives, I hope to have more time again to devote to researching Crohn’s and more natural methods of dealing with it, such as further diet changes or supplements.

We head back to Camp tomorrow for Family Camp Weekend. Family Camp is such a great way to start and end the summer season!

Click for more…

Saturday was our church’s annual Family Fun Day, a carnival-type event.  Amelia experienced those moonwalk bouncing castle things for the first time…

Waiting with her friend Beth for her turn at golf:

She throws like a girl!!

We’ve had a dead branch stuck in our tree for at least a year, if not two…it fell from higher up and got lodged…every time there’s a windstorm we get all excited, thinking it will finally come down, but it never does.  On Sunday, after a long strange series of events, we were able to get it down…

More of the new fence:

This weekend we put up a new privacy fence. Click for more…

On Saturday my parents and brother drove up to help us put up our new fence. My uncle who lives here in town came over to help, too, as did one of our neighbors. You can see our neighbor’s house in the background…it will be so much nicer for us and them to have some privacy!
Here’s my brother and dad:

My dad says he looks like a state worker while my brother does all the work!

Remember my brother’s dog had puppies? Well, my parents couldn’t resist and they are now the proud owners of one of them. They brought Sadie along for the day. Here’s my mom and Amelia with Sadie:

Jeremy:

Amelia tries to give Sadie some flowers:

Saturday night my mom and a friend of hers attended our chapel’s annual mother-daughter banquet with us.  Jill Kelly, wife of former Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, was our speaker this year.  It was a great way for us girls to end the day while the men finished up some projects.

A warm day last week:

Amelia just LOVES her dollhouse:

And apparently I love taking pictures of her with it!!

Mother’s Day morning in front of the new fence:

I didn’t get any pictures of the completed project yet…I’ll try to get to that this week…

The class started at the end of October and consisted of eight hours of class a week plus about 4 hours of homework per week. The pace was pretty intense but I made it through just fine. The class was paid for by the state of New York since I passed and am affiliated with a volunteer EMS agency. Also, since I took the class at a local college they reported to the department of education that I was enrolled half-time, who in turn deferred my and Jess’ consolidated education loan payments and interest until 2012.

This coming month I will begin volunteering at Chili Ambulance which is a division of the Chili Fire Department. I will be continuing in a volunteer capacity. Like many things, taking a class only helps one get familiar with the subject, and the real learning is done in the field, just as reading a book about riding a horse does not grant you the skill.

Our friend Esther was home for Christmas break and finished painting the furniture in Amelia’s room!!  We have now eliminated all of the blue & yellow nursery decor and she officially has her pink & purple girlie room.  Click for more pictures…

Also notice the new curtains, made by Grandma Sharon (I design, she sews!!) and the shelves over the wardrobe with pink & purple flowers…

My great-grandfather built the trundle bed and the wardrobe.  The dressers were purchased new for my mom’s brothers in the 1960′s.  I love having vintage family furniture, being able to update it, and having such a talented friend!!