Happy Anniversary To Me

Dave and I celebrate 6 years of marriage today. It's amazing how time flies! Happy Anniversary, My Love!

Deck Building Day Two

Here's some pictures from today. Despite having issues with drills today, Dave and his parents got the floor laid down on the deck, all of the railing tacked in place, and one set of stairs on. On Monday, they need to finish screwing in the railing and finish the steps. Dave's dad is also planning to make baby gates for the top of each set of stairs, so I can let Caleb (and one day Alexa) play on the porch while I cook dinner or something.

Menu Plan Friday (A Day Late)

So, I completely forgot to post my menu plan yesterday in all the hustle and bustle around my house. Here it is, dinners only.

Last night - Fried chicken breasts, mashed potatoes, green beans with almonds, biscuits
Tonight - Dave and I are going to Chicago's for our 6th anniversary, which is tomorrow. The ILs and the kiddos are grilling hotdogs and hamburgers and making mac and cheese.
Sunday - Homemade pizza
Monday - Grilled pork chops, oven roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, crescent rolls
Tuesday - Fettuccine Alfredo, salad, garlic bread
Wednesday - Cheeseburger pie, tater tots, applesauce (bumped from last week)
Thursday - Grilled chicken sandwiches, salad, fruit

Playing with Oma and Opa

The kids have enjoyed their visit from Oma and Opa so far as you can see. Caleb calls both of them something resembling "open," but that's better than not saying anything.

Deck Building Day One

Dave's parents arrived early yesterday afternoon, and Dave and his dad promptly headed to Home Depot to purchase the materials for the deck. Home Depot was supposed to deliver the supplies this afternoon, so Dave and his dad started working on the new play set this morning right after breakfast. Dave's mom and I put the kids in the stroller and went for a walk in the neighborhood. We got a few blocks from home and saw a lost looking Home Depot truck with all our stuff. We gave the driver directions, and by the time we got home from our walk, he had everything unloaded and was leaving our house. Yay! So they got a good start on the deck today and worked steadily all day. Here are some pictures.

Pulling the stairs off the house

Moving the stairs out of the way

The pile of wood

Dave moving the pile of wood to the backyard

Taking a break

Using the circular saw

Dave still moving wood

You can see the beginnings of the play set in the background

Almost done moving all the wood

Oma and Caleb hanging out outside

The kiddos sitting in Daddy's chair

Dave finally gets to do something else

Oma gets in on the action

Almost finished for the day

Fun in the Sun and Other Stuff

The kids and I headed to Molly's house today to go swimming in her neighborhood pool. Alexa had a lot of fun chilling in her crab float, and Caleb played on the stairs with his beach ball. Molly packed us a yummy picnic lunch. Val and his mommy came, too. Unfortunately, no one remembered her camera, so no pictures today.

We bought the kids a new playset for their upcoming birthdays, and it arrived today while we were gone swimming. Dave stayed home and did some yard work and waited for the delivery. Now he gets the fun task of putting it together.

Dave's parents arrive tomorrow, and his dad is going to help Dave (or vice versa) add a deck on the back of our house. Of course, today was one of the first days this summer that the temperature was over 90 degrees. Hopefully, it will cool down a bit, and our backyard is pretty shaded.

Tomorrow the kids and I are going to be out and about again, this time for a get together with some ladies from our church. We are mostly getting together just for fun, but we are also going to teach some of the ladies how to get the deals at CVS.

$0.86 at CVS

I was debating whether I wanted to do a deal that CVS had this week on paper towels, toilet paper, and batteries. I ended up figuring out a way to work it out, and I'm glad I did. When I got home and told Dave what all I bought, he said, "Wow! That's actually useful stuff." And it is. Here's the $63.63 worth of merchandise that I got for $0.86.

5 bags Chex Mix
2 4 packs Duracell AA batteries
1 4 pack Duracell AAA batteries
2 40 ct boxes CVS bandages
1 Gilette Fusion razor
1 8 roll pack Bounty paper towels
1 9 roll pack Charmin toilet paper
2 bottles Huggies hair/body wash
1 Johnsons Buddy soap

I won't bore you with all the coupons, etc. Suffice it to say I used a lot of coupons and still have ECB to spend next time.