We Have a Hole!!!

We can hardly believe that we actually have a house being built! Now that there is a hole in the ground for the foundation, reality is finally setting in. Now if we could just get our mobile home sold...! We have had several offers, and although we have accepted all of them, not one has come through. I am optomistic that all it takes is one buyer, and I know that will happen. In the meantime, we are enjoying watching the process of having our first home built! Yippee!

Our newly dug hole!

JJ is standing "in the garage".

We love our track-hoes and their drivers! Without them, we would still be digging! Ha, ha!

Lazy Lake Days...

JJ and I are so blessed because each year in July we get to take a long (and usually much needed) vacation in Washington for two weeks, just to relax and hang out with our families. Last year was the exception. JJ was not able to go because he was in Kyrgyzstan, so this year we lived it up. Although we spent most of our days on Loon Lake at my parents' home, we also were able to travel further north to Priest Lake for five days, to play with his family on an awsome island in the middle of the lake. Unfortunately, we do not have one picture from Priest, as I forgot my camera :0( I hope these pictures make up for it - in true "Erin" fashion, I do not blog forever and then post one huge one... Here it is!

The puppies love the peddle boat and anything else lake-related!

Cousin Mac, me and Cousin Oliver in the hot tub goofing.

Cousins Mark, Oliver and Scott with good friend Andy (in the flourescent shorts) spent many an hour playing our "redneck" game called "Washers". I think we even kept the next door neighbors up late one night - my dad hooked up a flood light in the tree. Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time...!

Our once yearly "floatilla"; what is that, you ask? Well, each person has a floatie of some sort, then we form a line, each person hanging on to the person in front of them and we paddle around the lake (really we just paddle in little circles) with one person leading.

And the person in charge??? Brock, our captain (also the one who had to pull everyone else since he drew the short straw for the lead position)! Check out those buns of steel holding that flag up! Needless to say, we did a lot of laughing and not much else during our annual floatilla.

Husband and wife, hanging out in the boat, having a great time!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

The puppies really can be sweet when they are getting along... ha, ha! They are truly the best of friends!

OK, I admit: we eat well at the lake. Cousin Oliver, Brock, Aunt Martha and JJ having a bite.

Grandpa Wendell and Dad were chatting on the deck.






Cousin Mac and Aunt Marty giving a private concert.








Naps are definitely in order at the lake.

I love this picture! Two sisters noodling about the lake.

And of course, my hubby. God love him - he is so silly!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

This year, JJ and I were fortunate to have our good friends, John and Marisa Christensen, with their two kids, Braden and Sierra, join us at the lake for five days. We had a great time with them hanging out, swimming, boating and fishing. This was their first time to Washington and although the drive was long (12 hours with two six year olds! Yipes!), they decided that it was well worth it.

The picture for the family Christmas card! Ha, ha!






Dad and son catching some fish. (Thankfully we were not dependent upon them for dinner - I heard that sunfish taste awful!)

Cute little Sierra.

John drove the boat while I went skiing - thanks, buddy!

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

John and Sierra with a BIG catch!





JJ and Sierra flagging while Braden was being pulled behind the boat in a tube. Fun!

Sierra and Braden are ready to head out in "Grandpa Jerry's" boat.

The Christensen's cruisin' the lake in the peddle boat.

Lazy Lake Days... (cont.)

Brock and Aunt Martha relaxing on the deck.





Uncle Rick and my dad drinkin' beer. It really is funny for me to see my parents drink now - they never did when I was growing up. (Well, I should say that I never saw them drink :0)





Working on my tan.

These are my mom's new "lake birds", Alaska and Amber (coincidentally my dad's favorite beer - do I sense a theme to these lake days???)

New Friends...

Not only are the two dogs very much attracted to kids, but kids are attracted to dogs, something that I was reminded of two days ago in the park. Normally it is my two puppies that rush up to anyone approximately their own size; today it was the other way around. We were not in the park for two minutes before I found myself totally surrounded by a loving (and rather chatty) group of Samoan kids, who wound up rolling on the ground, dogs licking kids, and kids licking dogs. Oh, jeez! They let me take their picture with the promise that each child would receive their own copy on Monday - I better make good on that promise, otherwise I will not have anyone to wear my dogs out! LOL

From the left: NaNa (don't ask me how to spell his actual name, let alone pronounce it!), Samboy, Cheyanne and Emma.

The dogs are in Heaven! So much attention!

This picture is so cute - blurry, but cute! Samboy plays stick with them every day, and usually they wind up running and chasing after one another.