Breckenridge

We needed a getaway….badly.
James and I hadn't been on a vacation {just the two of us} since Micah was 6 months old. That was June of 2009.

My parents own a timeshare in Breckenridge, CO and we booked it for an entire week for only $169!
Three of the days my parents and my sister watched the kids for us.
Yes…3 days and nights alone!

We slept in.
We ate out.
We laid by the pool and sipped on frilly drinks.

Our gorgeous mountain views….poolside!

We played sudoku on the kindle…in peace and quite!
We even watched about 2 movies a day.

Bliss.

Then the crew joined us for the remaining 4 days of the rental.
Let the chaos commence.

 Ella doesn't like to share.

My brothers "vintage" lego box saved our sanity.

Our ad for apple juice.
It was HOT even in the mountains.
We had taken the kids to a little fun park, and got suckered into paying $18 to let the two boys jump in a bouncy house. We made them jump for 45 minutes so we didn't feel guilty about paying that much!

I taught Ella how to lounge.

Watching her brothers swim (constantly).

My lady bug loves her water!

Movie night….somebody loves popcorn. {No, she's nothing like me}

Pizza at Fatty's. {That's how I felt when we got home}

{No..the sun wasn't shiny RIGHT in our eyes…}

And the most fun we had was on a Chuck Wagon Dinner.

Of course we were the last to arrive so we had to wait for our wagon to make the trip back up the hill.
But it was worth the wait because we were the only ones to ride it!

Pictures do not do these mountain views justice.

The kids had SO much fun and the food was delicious.
The show was hilarious and really interactive.
Worth every cent for the ticket price.

What a great trip. We only left a day early because Ella is the worst sleeper ever.
But other than that…AMAZING trip.

Prayers Needed

Scary.

This photo was taken 1/4 mile from my parents home and Bed and Breakfast.

Please join me in praying for a miracle and for protection from the fire.

So scary!

But today I'm thankful to be speeding unexpected time with them, and so grateful that they are safe!

Update:
July 6th 2012


I wanted to post a quick update for all of you who have been praying for my family.
Thanks so much for everything!
Both my sister and my parents returned to their homes which were completely undamaged.


We praise God for His protection and for peace during these troubling times!


Praise God!

Tour De Backyard

What a difference a couple of years can make.

2012

We purchased our newly built home in 

2010

 This is what we had.

This is what we did.

James (with help) put in the sprinkler system and sod (about $600 all together).

We hired a company to put in the spit rail fence (about $1,500)

We laid a rubber mulch path from the driveway to the back yard with the spare (tires) from the play area and plan on adding trees and bushes to the front of the fence.

The is our side yard.

This is what we had.

This is what we did.

We had a professional landscaper come to our home and draw out a plan for the yard.
He priced it out at $20,000 for the finished backyard.
His plan did not include the retaining wall, brick garden box, or rubber mulch.

Then we hired him to pour our GIANT patio ($4,000).

 James built the retaining wall ($700 including dirt and mulch).

We laid and filled the retaining wall with planters dirt, flowering bushes (they will grow), and some wood mulch and spaced out a couple of spots for seeded flowers to grow (they will grow…hopefully).

This is what we had.

This is what we did.

We got a steal for this playset at a garage sale for $55.

James laid the rock path to my garden box..it's so pretty up close!

We laid rubber mulch down around the play area.

Now….about that…

It is EXPENSIVE. I won't sugar coat it.

We could have probably filled this for about $90 worth of wood mulch, but this cost us about $300.

Why would anybody do that?

Rubber mulch is soft on feet, doesn't deteriorate, and keeps it's color!

It's made of old recycled tires and is then painted.

It cost $550 for a ton. 

We purchased a ton of it and have been using it in the front yard as well. 

We had a lot extra.

We totally think this is worth the investment, and should make us our money back within 5 years (seeing as we never have to buy mulch again).

James built the garden box (about $300 including dirt and plants). 

There is nothing better than fresh tomato and basil!

James laid the rock path to my garden box..it's so pretty up close!

We're not finished yet. In the fall we'll plant lots of trees and bushes to give us that privacy we're missing now.
But like I said earlier, we were quoted $20,000 from the landscaper.

Here's what we spent(ish) and the breakdown:

Patio- $4,000
Fence- $1,500
Rock- $575
Sprinklers and Lawn- $600
Brick Retaining Wall- $700
Garden Box- $300
Rubber Mulch- $550 (whew!)
Misc tools (edging, drip line etc)- $300
*Trees and Bushes- $1,500

Total: $9,725

*We still plan on spending close to $1500 on trees and bushes this fall so we'll add that now!*


When the landscaper drew out a very basic plan.
It didn't include the retaining wall, the mulch, the brick garden box, or the pathways.
So we saved over $10,000 by DIY.
And were able to give it a completely custom look.

So I think that's a pretty good savings.
Whew….I'm tired…like…really, really tired.
So grateful to have a DIY hubby!

Beauties

I just wanted to share with you some new additions in my shop!

Check out these beauties!

Find them HERE

Find them HERE

I'm so excited about these lovely new necklaces.
Easy everyday were!


And don't forget these completely custom word pendants.

Find it HERE