hey hey! happy friday~ i hope you've had a great week.

ours included over 3 inches of much needed rain and

i've got a whole bunch of random things i'm going to blog about today.

~just go with it k?

nothing big's been happening here, just a million little things.

 it's the million little things though that make up my days and turn into years.

it's just us~being a family. working, playing, teasing, disagreeing, figuring it out,

cleaning up dog hair and weaving our days into a life.

******************

in may i turned 58.

 that's a lot of years, but i pray that i stay healthy and get to enjoy lots more. 

one of my very best friends (who lives a couple hours away) was in

chanhassen the day of my birthday, and even though we were out to dinner

with the fam when she stopped by, look at this delightful chair full of fun

that was waiting outside my front door when we got home!

opening gifts from the kids~

and then saying what i always say: "oh hey wait, let me take off my glasses". lol

adria cleaning up something at the sink 

plus two large dogs in one small kitchen.

sarah and cole, helping celebrate birthdays~

i thought i'd show you a couple before pictures of the table i fixed up for chris and adria.

it was in really good shape overall, but i think the previous owner must have

let kids use it for crafts because there was a lot of paint smears, glitter glue

and food stuck on it. adria didn't care if i refinished it or just painted the top and

cleaned up the rest, so i went with the painting option.

there are two more leafs for the table and 8 chairs so they can entertain a big

bunch of people now.

(i used annie sloan's old white chalk paint on the top).

some long overdue yard projects are getting done this spring,

a biggie was cutting down 3 HUGE willow trees that were messy and

starting to die.

lars worked really hard cutting down about 2/3 of them and

then we called in the experts to finish and avoid limbs

falling on our neighbors garden shed.

i'm grateful that it wasn't my husband or sons perched at the top

of this tree! see how the top has just been cut and is falling?

lars starting this monster project. dude may be 60, but he can work circles

around a lot of younger guys if he wants to.

it still kind of looks like a war zone in the backyard, but we're working on it...

next up was getting a new picket fence around the back patio. we couldn't

find a wooden one like the old one, so we ended up buying the vinyl kind

that never needs painting. i guess that's not all bad huh?
*i haven't taken a picture of it all installed yet.

cole has been driving a hand me down truck for many years. it had rusted out to the

point that it was straight up ghetto and very loud. the heater hadn't worked right since before
 he got it...

 he finally decided that he was due for an upgrade and

his smile here pretty much says it all.

sister was here the day cole got the pickup, so she and cole's girlfriend

sarah (on right) hopped in to check it all out.

us girls approve.

while lars spent the day of his birthday truck shopping with cole, i got a small

party together. he loves his dog so much that when i went to get a 

60th birthday balloon and saw this huge brown dog, i knew i had to get it.

the dog broke it's leash and floated up to the vaulted ceiling and hung there

for about another 3 weeks bringing me some good joy.

: D
(you can't tell by this picture, but it's a two story high ceiling here).

salted caramel chocolate cake.

"get in my belly".

turning 60 was a bit hard for lars. 

honestly he was glad when the day came and went and 

he could just get on with it.

- his smile says it all too. haha

another good friend cooked dinner for some friends and i recently and had

us over to her new house. 

aren't these pots that flank her front door fabulous?

(she planted them herself.)

i've never had this blue plant she put in them. anyone know what it is?

here's cheri doing what she does best. cooking with love.

her new kitchen is dreamy and no one deserves it more~

while outside for a garden tour, i got this picture of the girls.

and of course, i'm gardening. what would our life be like without flowers?

really, really sad and colorless i guess. every day brings something new that's

blooming or starting to poke through the soil. i water and i weed and

i take pictures. i can't stand not to share some of this loveliness.

sister brings me these farm fresh eggs when i see her. 

(lucky, lucky us).

this might be the most random blog i've ever written, but i just had snippets of
this and that, not enough of anything to do a whole lot with, so i decided to just 
throw it all together and serve it up.

*call it my blog hotdish.
: D

cheers to a gorgeous weekend dear ones,

b.

a first anniversary and a new address~

 3 weeks ago adria (my daughter)

 and her hubbie moved to a new home. 

* not brand new~ but new to them.   : )

they are outdoorsy folks who work hard and they

had a dream to live on water. 

they had a dream to get out of the big city...

they didn't want to live their life in the middle of a huge suburb. (they were in mpls.)

now these two (and their labrador pup) get to wake up everyday and look out at a lake. they

get to watch the sun set over the water and go to sleep listening to the loons. 

last week was their first wedding anniversary and they've settled in to

what they are calling their "30 year house". 

: D

 they live 5 miles outside of a small town now (just over 10,000 people) and 

they are getting settled in and it's starting to feel like home.

-before i show you their fab new place, i thought i'd show you

some photos i took the day the 2 moms (one would be me -the other chris's mom, alice

 who is a worker bee) helped the kids clean and stage

 their first house to go on the market. they had done a ton

of packing and cleaning already, but we just helped them finish up.

*i conveniently brought my camera

 so that i had an excuse to monkey around and take a few breathers.

i hoped alice wouldn't notice...but she did~ lol.

   

christopher and a friend bought this darling house right out of college.

together the guys did a lot of updating and remodeling... i think it

was built in the 40's?

here's alice cleaning something with a toothbrush.

*you're welcome, people who bought this cute house~

chris getting ready to vacuum his office.

it's a wrap!

(their house sold the first day on the market by the way-

*pretty sure it was the meticulous cleaning and the yellow daisys.)

**************

now on to their new residence.
keep in mind this was moving weekend. there's been a lot of nesting done since.
: )

same furniture, different living room. : )

the kids have a wonderful open living space that is going to be

dreamy to entertain in. their kitchen, living and dining room are

all connected with no walls between them.

i'm in love with this kitchen garden window. if it was mine i'd probably start

seeds there in the spring but don't her plants look happy there in their 

galvanized pails?

nothing makes a house feel more like home, than a pan of special k bars, flowers and

fresh fruit. oh and you know who brought chips!

i think they're going to love having their 1st fireplace this winter~

and can we just stop and take a minute to ohh and ahh over this?

again, while alice and sister brandi were busy getting a bed set up

 i walked around taking pictures. (clearly someone had to do it).

*just ignore zoey- dogs will be dogs.

there isn't a shower in the master bath and the kids think they'll

chuck this big whirlpool tub and put one in.

i would like to be at the curb when they do, and i'll chuck this puppy in my jeep

and install it in my bathroom.

: )

the  porch is everyone's favorite room. right off the deck, it's cozy and has amazing views of the lake.

while driving to a photo shoot i found this wicker lounger on the side of the road. FREE

eeeeek! one can of spray paint and a new cushion later, it's fun on their deck.

aaaaaand speaking of free, on the way to tour a farmhouse in the country,

i scored this table and 8 chairs at a recycle center. (thanks again for

the hauling help cin) all it needed was a good cleaning and i painted the

top and it looks pretty great in their new eating area.

the pettit's also inherited rhubarb. rhubarb/strawberry jam comin up!

kenzie is the new lifegaurd and loving life. (i hope she got the memo that i can't swim.)

if anyone likes to garden and has a desire to volunteer, there is extensive

landscaping that is beautiful but a tad out of control. (the previous owners were in

their 80's!). i think it should be a house rule

that if you come to enjoy the water, you need to pull a few weeds on your way 

to the lake. : D (seriously).

they had an amazing crew of family and friends that helped them move

and one of the biggest priorities was help to get the dock in.

the beautiful flowers are probably going to make the weeding worth it~

adria loves flowers like her momma. she called last night, ecstatic about

the oriental poppies that had popped open!

like i said, kenzie lou is one happy dog living on the lake.

instead of just chasing a ball across the lawn, she gets to thunder down the 

dock and launch herself into the water. over and over and over...

till she's completely worn out and grinning from ear to ear.

nothing better than sunsets on the end of the dock

we're all so happy for you chris and adria, changing homes is a lot of work and

 can be a big adjustment (girlfriend is also working from home now)~ but it's also

so exciting. a fresh new start and a whole lotta blessings are coming your way

and we can't wait for lakeside, lazy evening bonfires with you!

*remember to tell kenz that i can't swim k.?

p.s. thank you to everyone who helped them get moved...the trailers you borrowed, the muscle, the time spent cleaning and packing. they don't take for granted for a minute how very blessed they are to be there in this place, and for the emotional and physical support of the people that help them navigate this thing called life.

xox, 

beth