Final Inspections Passed!

I’m happy to announce that we have passed our final plumbing and building inspections for the bathrooms!  While we still have a little bit of work to finish, they are at least functional. 

The plumbing inspector (who made me cry a couple years ago) was so impressed with our master bathroom design that he asked for information and photos so that he can copy it for his master bathroom.  They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery! 

Our garden has been growing so well this year.  But the weeds were also growing so well.  I haven’t had much time to weed properly (removing the roots) so Chris took care of Samantha a couple nights this week so I could focus on the garden.  The garden is really starting to produce…here are a few of the wonderful things we’ll be enjoying soon.

While I was weeding one night, it was getting pretty dark.  All of a sudden I had something soft and furry on my shoulder.  It startled me and I grabbed it and threw it down on the ground.  It squeaked and started squirming.  I thought it was probably a bat.  I was wrong. 

I went out the next morning to see if I could tell what it was.  It turns out that I was weeding around a nest of baby rabbits.  One of them was dead (I’m guessing one that I threw on the ground) and two others were lost in the weeds.  I moved the two lost bunnies into a little depression in the garden and covered them with some dry grass to protect them a bit.  They were doing well but Chris saw the owl swooping into the garden one night and now they’re gone…poor bunnies!

 

I feel really bad about the dead bunny but I never would have expected a furry creature to appear on my shoulder!  I guess the lesson learned is don’t do yard work in the dark. 

We were finally able to pick our first tomato of the season.  It was delicious!  I also picked a couple of our cucumbers (it’s so nice to not have wax all over them!), a bunch of lettuce, and some green beans for dinner.  We had a wonderful salad – I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed a salad this much.

 

Samantha and I picked up our farm basket for the week.  We got a whole baby chicken, short ribs, milk, cheddar cheese, green beans, corn, potatoes, onion, green pepper, kale, peaches, a melon, and bread.  We have been eating so healthy lately that we’re both losing weight. 

 

Chris and I have both been having a lot of doctor’s appointments lately.  Chris has been going to the Otolaryngologist (Ear, Nose, Throat doctor) for issues with his nose/throat.  They may decide to perform surgery on his deviated septum – he has to go for a CT scan before they have the discussion.

This week I had to go to the dermatologist in order to get three moles biopsied.  There is one on my right shoulder, one on my left shoulder, and one on the left side of my upper back.  Wouldn’t you know that Samantha has been grabbing those areas a lot – I think she’s trying to pull out the stitches!  I go back in two weeks for the results and to get the stitches removed…hopefully everything is all clear!

Samantha had a very busy week.  On Tuesday, we went walking with my New Mom’s group.  Samantha has let me know that she does not like reclining in the stroller anymore – she now only enjoys sitting up.  She’s still so small but she loves looking around at everything. 

We were invited to the beach near our friends Diane and Steve on Wednesday.  Diane was hosting a mom’s group and was nice to invite us as well.  The beach is a small sandy area near their neighborhood boat launch/dock.  Samantha was pretty content sitting with me in the water and started kicking her chubby legs (a clear indication that she was having a great time!).

 

When we weren’t in the water, we were relaxing on our big beach blanket.  Baby Scott was nice enough to share his toys with Samantha.  

 

I think we have a lot to teach her about sharing though!  She always wanted to play with what Scott had...

On Friday we met up with the Stay-at-Home Mom’s group for a meet and greet.  It was a nice time and I got to re-meet one of the women in our childbirth class. 

My branch at work had their annual picnic on Saturday afternoon.  The picnic is always at Jack’s house – they live on the river and have a lot of boats.  It’s a great place for a picnic because all the kids enjoy playing in the water and normally we can all go out on the big catamaran.  We left a little early (and missed out on the boat) because Samantha needed a nap.

 

 

After the picnic, we came home to rest before our next party.  Our next door neighbor, Jeff, is turning 50 this year so they had a big party.  We didn’t know it when we were invited but it was also a 16^th birthday party for their daughter (and a Bastille Day party for their French foreign exchange student).  We ended up with dozens of teenagers playing in our front yard.  The party migrated to our yard because theirs is so small.  Fortunately the neighbor cleaned everything up while we were at church on Sunday.    

Samantha tried a couple new foods this week – avocado and oatmeal.  She absolutely loves the avocado and can’t seem to get enough!

 

She is Daddy’s Little Princess too.

Here are her weekly photos:

                                                     

We hope to have more house work to report next week!