Tuesday & We're At It Again

yay!!

That's right, my office has officially been open for one full year. I just looked back at the entry I made this time last year; it does and doesn't feel like it's been a full year since we opened our doors, but here we are, growing steadily and running full steam. Happy Expressaversary, to us!

To celebrate, the ladies of the office closed up for lunch and treated ourselves to Seasons 52.

seasons 52 | rookwood | cincinnati, oh

Fooooooooooooood...

bring on.. the lunch (:

We do things in rounds when we celebrate...

a proper 3-course lunch:
pesto chicken flatbread appetizer | cedar plank salmon | mini indulgence desserts!

Oh, and Nancy bought cupcakes from the Sweeterie. 

sweeterie! ;)

After work, I stopped by to pick up Sydni and headed home, pulling in the driveway just as Rob rolled down the street on the bike. We wasted no time switching clothes and adding work gloves for night 2 of some catch up on yard work.

We've had small brick pavers in the bed of Rob's truck for almost two weeks now, and tonight we finally moved them to the backyard, where they'll eventually become a miniature firepit. It was a quick process, especially since there were three sets of hands to help!

such a great helper!!

taking a break... after 3 whole minutes of work... whew! ;)

We contemplated using them for the front yard, but decided instead for the back yard.

this is how we transport around here.. haha.. toys..

As a reward for her hard work, she got to cruise down the block and back with Rob on the bike. Don't worry, friends, I could've probably run faster than they were moving, but she took to the bike like a charm and it was harder to peel her off than get her on it.

little harley girl!

For dinner, it was an easy decision to skewer up some meat & potatoes for the grill. I snagged one of the cupcakes from work for these two, and all together it became dinner for 3, and we are happy little campers!

grilled-up deliciousness [is that even a word? ...who cares]

Tomorrow it's volleyball, willing the rain holds off.
Hopefully it does.
Because hey, volleyball double-headers are the best ;)
See ya then!

xo | cmd

Workhorses!

I'm friggin' beat. This was the first truly exhausting yet sheerly gratifying day of manual labor I've had yet this year. I loved it!

I started the morning off by sleeping in to a magnificant 8:30 [in mama-world, that alone is the equivelant of a mini-vacation]. Since Sydni was up late last night with all of her little friends here, I crept out of bed and left her to snooze while I got the laundry moving, cleared and cleaned the remnants of dishes and pans from last night, and tackled what ended up nearly an hour and a half cleaning up our basement, which serves as the kids' stomping ground during small group. I topped it off with a house-wide vacuuming, and when it was all said and done, I spent another near hour buzz-cutting our dog's hair down to a 1. It's not exactly the best look for her, but we do it a few times each year for a little relief from the summer heat. Come to think of it, she looks a couple years younger with short hair. Puppy mode :)
 

yeah, that's the same dog :)
before + after

getting started!
step 1.. movin' bricks

Once I'd cleaned up all the dog hair, given her a bath [and myself, since I was by then itchy and covered with dog shavings], Sydni and I loaded up for a pitstop at the store before making our way to the Gobles. We wasted no time getting right down to it; I managed to snag a few shots during breather breaks before and after. It wasn't long before nearly our entire small group was on scene and fully engaged in everything from ripping out weeds, gravel and brick, painting shutters and garage trim, tearing out rock and plastic liner, tilling, planting, mulching, and even chopping wood. In the midst of it, we even managed to have a little fun climbing trees, playing with the kids, and of course eating. Hey... we're actually a pretty cheap labor force: we'll work our tails off for burgers, hot dogs, and chicken, and not be a bit sorry for it! :)




repainting shutters | jackie

takin' breaks to play with the kiddies in the tree :)
becky. tom. cori. raymond. william. jacob!

mulch. lots of mulch.
jackie. tom. julie

ripping up gravel & plastic
jarod. becky. julie. alex

gettin' dirty!
tom. cori. joe. alex. julie

chopping wood
joe!

ax men
jarod. raymond. joe. landon

Tom, Jarod, Becky and I were the last men standing at 10pm as we unloaded the last bit of mulch from Tom's truck into the newly-planted flowerbed in the blasting glow of Jarod's headlights. We tidied up and sank down next to the fire pit to unwind for a bit before calling it a night and heading home with sleepy kids and dirt-creased hands.
Shower.. check. I think I might've even dozed off a few times during. I can't remember.
My bed has never looked so comforting..... Time to oblige it.

Church in the AM!

xo | cmd