I would call this spring cleaning, but seeing that it's 105 degrees outside I will call it "too hot to be outside... might as well clean out my house" kind of cleaning. I've had many projects rolling around in my head. They make it to paper and on the list and that's about as far as it's gotten. It's only once I can't see the closet floor or the top of my desk is piled high that I just get fed up.
I'm feeling the need to get cleaned out so then I can start preparing for the next school year... not that I want summer to be over by any means, but once the end of August gets here it all starts to snowball. So, since I've not posted in over a week (thanks for letting me know, Stacy)... here's a glimpse of what I've been up to:
My closet floor- finally I see it! With the packing and unpacking for quick trips here and there, it just got to where I left the suitcase open and half filled. But, my need for everything to have a place took over and I sweated it out in there. Seriously, my closet is one of the hotter areas of our house. I tackled this project yesterday morning while it was still in the upper 80s.
Here's my current project. You see the trashbags and boxes filled with junk??? Yeah, that's old playdough, half colored in books, stickers, old paint, clay, filled spirals, workbooks halfway done... I'm tired of waiting around for the boys to do the last 10 pages of their dot-to-dot books so I'm chunking them. Call me wasteful. My "craft cabinet" was completely out of control... so much so that no one wanted to even open it. This was one project Steve was excited to see me take on. My plan is to have it school friendly for homework time. Wish me luck!
My bulletin boards- all clear!!! During the school year they get filled up with those oh-so-special papers that come home with them from church, MOPS, MDO, school. In the summer I keep maybe 10 things and purge the other 846. Nice to see a clean board... I should have taken a before picture, but I'm sure you all know exactly how it use to look.
The pantry.... this is actually Steve's favorite place. He loves to organize and reorganize all the boxes and cans. It's like Christmas when I come back from Sams with cases of stuff- I'm serious! Believe it or not I haven't actually purged in here. I'm sure there are plenty of expired things, so this place is still on my list.
Oh, don't you just feel like sitting down in here??? Well, that's what I'm doing right now as I'm typing this post. So nice and clean. This is grand central... where all paper passes through. We had extra stuff all over the floor as well that I've now found a better place for. You wouldn't believe all the dust that accumulates in the place.
My filing drawers... this is just one of the many... but a glimpse at where all those important papers now reside.Now, there's many areas where I'm not quite there... but it feels good to be making a dent! Let the purging continue!
Stew did great until he hit this wake. About 1 second after snapping this photo he hit the water.
Carter helped Steve drive the boat. He has on his serious face... not in the mood for pictures.
Shereda and Cole cuddling on the boat.
Cole gets a little nervous on the boat. "Hold me Aunt JJ," he said. How could I resist?
Steve trying to show his boys how to jump in the lake and strike a cool pose.
Carter loves his cousin Cole. He always wants Cole to be interested in what he's doing whether it's playing with toys or riding outside or playing the Game Cube. Cole keeps up with him as best he can. The 3 older boys all slept in the bunkhouse together. We'll use the word "slept" loosely because there seemed to be a lot of talking and getting out of bed when we put those 3 together. They certainly enjoyed bonding together... even if they were staying up past bedtime.
Grandpa took Caleb, Carter, and Cole out to refill the bird feeder. This is a passion for Grandpa- he is able to attract some really beautiful birds to the property.
Cole and Mason joined Caleb on the couch for a quick rest with their blankets- cousin cuddling!
Grammy and Grandpa have a couple of 4 wheelers that are very fun to drive. Mason buckled in and enjoyed cruising around with Caleb.
Carter went solo. Although they look really big and heavy, they are actually made of plastic and go no faster than 5 mph. So, it's a safe toy for these young boys.
On Sunday morning we took the boat to the marina restaurant for brunch. Then we went to an area of Lake Travis called Cow Creek. It's a quieter little nook in the lake where you can anchor and go for a swim. The boys just love to jump off the boat over and over.
Caleb wears ear plugs and a wrap when playing in the lake. Last month he picked up an infection and the doctor suggested he protect his ears when it comes to lake water.
And, check out the sexy driver!
Now this is Caleb's favorite activity- the Sea Doo! For now, Grammy or his daddy ride along behind him. But I'm sure it won't be long before he is riding all alone!
