Our Summer

I cannot believe I am saying this in JULY, but our summer is just about over!  In two days, I go back to work and Dennis moves to Huntsville!  This summer has been a bit different and very, very busy!  It started the day after school ended and we headed to Maryland to work on our rental house.  Dennis is taking time off between jobs and was home all summer for the first time EVER.  We also began building our “barn”….actually that project started in mid-May and has taken ALL summer. 

From our back yard showing the patio and boat area

This will be a patio with tables and chairs, old church pews etc

Boys want the loft to have couches and a ping pong table…um no… it will be STORAGE!!

We have a (or will have) a toilet in the barn so dirty men and boys can stay outside.  We designed the “bathroom” to look like an outhouse! 

Back side (or right side) of the barn has three bays. One tall bay to allow for the tractor, a lift to work on cars and/or the travel trailer we just bought Dennis to live in in Huntsville!  The boat will be under the overhang.

 

Dennis has also baled hay and started a cross fencing project on the pasture land.  He has kept the boys very busy.  They have dug holes and put posts in the ground, learned to run a trencher and are now laying water pipe, for the barn and across the road for the cross fencing project. 

This has also been the summer of BOYS!!  Dennis said we are running a teenage daycare.  I cannot count all of the boys that have been here one day or another.  We have a few who have spent a week here at a time and others that roll in and out.  We have had as many as six EXTRA boys for several nights.  They play, EAT, sleep, EAT, and WORK!!  Dennis has taken advantage of the extra “man” power and put them to work.

The World Cup consumed many hours here.  They met to watch certain games on TV, yelling and running around when a team scored.  They brought the game system downstairs so they could play “FIFA” on the big TV with room to run around and yell when they scored.  They even play outside at all hours of the day and night.

They have chairs and saw horses set up as goals because I would not buy them big soccer goals!!

This is how Dennis and I spend a Summer night.  On the front porch swing with drinks or ice cream, watching the boys play.

Preston took time out to spend a little time with his poor girlfriend who is also tired of the teenage daycare!  Poor thing is always surrounded by silly, loud, smelly boys!

I will be closing the day care soon and will head back to work. Dennis will head to Huntsville and the boys will finally read their summer reading book assignments.  We will shop for school supplies and clothes and they will help arrange and re-arrange our Pre K POD.  In August Preston will get his wisdom teeth out and head to college.  Then and maybe then, the house will be quiet again.  Until college football starts and then it will be loud and full of people again!!  Gotta LOVE it!! and we do.  We settled down and designed our dream house just for this reason. 

Dennis and I celebrated our 23rd Anniversary yesterday by slipping off for pizza after Sunday night church by ourselves!!  We discussed our teenage daycare summer and were both very proud that our dream house is “in use” so much.  We have even discussed getting bunk beds upstairs so they don’t have to sleep on couches and floors.  It does not seem that long ago that we brought Preston home from the hospital and watching him was our entertainment.  The last 18 years have brought two more sons and many more boys (and girls) into our house.  **Ryan planned a surprise party for a girl in his class in two days…at OUR house of course.  He said all I had to do was make some cupcakes, lemonade, get some chips and hang up our HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign…that’s all!!  He had about 12 boys and girls show up** 

That is how our summer has been!  Bring on FALL!!