Project Complete

Just thought I'd share the finished product of the path. We brought in fill dirt and planted a few small things, but the fun things are the new raised vegetable garden box (hidden in the background) and the sweet "barriers" Del built. (The mini fences are to keep Oakley on path when screaming around the corner and will easily come out for whoever lives here next who may not have a crazy dog)

I'm very happy with how this turned out! Unfortunately, we don't get to enjoy it tho :-( Del and I looked at each other and said, "why didn't we do this a LONG time ago!?" Oh well, live and learn and hopefully someone else down the road will appreciate it...if not, at least it's less lawn to mow or replace when it gets neglected by tenants :-P

In other news, my mom comes to town tomorrow followed by my dad on Thursday night. The guys will then head up to New Meadows for a weekend of hunting while mom and I have some girl time at home! Looking forward to it!

Checking In

I just realized that it has been over a month since our last update and the reason is two-fold. Partly because we haven't had any drastic news or events to report and also because we've been busy doing this and that.

Since Del's return to Boise we have been busy many of the weekends. Labor Day weekend was camping, then a visit to my Grandma in Twin Falls, ID, and an overnight trip to The Big Nasty Hill Climb in New Plymouth, ID (dirty bikes racing up a steep hill).

Our Labor Day camp site - on the N Fork of the Boise River

Family Photo :)

And if we werent' out of town, we were home getting things done! We took on one last project before calling it quits (kind of) on the house. Our dog has a habit of running back and forth from our back sliding door to the side door into the garage and that poor small area of lawn in between became a mud pit. So to avoid a really messy upcoming winter and future frustration, we found a good deal on Craigslist for a load of pavers. Del got to work, dug out the grass, and laid the pavers!

Del awesome work! As usual...

Since this pic was taken, we've trans-planted that big Sandcherry to the bigger area across the path by the fence and moved a shrub from out front to replace it. We've also bought a few new plants but we aren't sure we want to spend more money on plants we won't be here to take care of in the spring. So it may stay pretty sparse back here. Renters won't mind :-P

Well, I don't think there's much else to report. Del's just forcing himself through this last semester of school while I work. Still no word where we're going with Kiewit, probably not for at least another month :-(
I think time is going to fly though! It's already October and we're fast approaching another busy stretch! Parents coming to visit in a couple wks, then Thanksgiving, then my birthday, then Del's graduation and more family coming to town, then Xmas......all leading up to the big move and our Hawaii trip!! I just hope I can stay sane thru all this....:-P

It's Official!!!

Those of you who are close to us already know this, but Dellas was offered a job after completing his internship with Kiewit this summer. We're now proud to say that he has......ACCEPTED the job offer, officially, as of today!!! We thought he might take a little bit of time to explore some more options but we decided this was an opportunity he couldn't pass up.
We don't know details as to where we'll be, and we don't even have a very good idea of when we'll know either! His boss told him "hopefully around November" but the HR gal told him today it's exactly like the internship process (which was 2 wks before he started!) I'm praying more towards the November side, personally! We're also speculating that Seattle is the most likely area, but he was also told the Hawaii project is looking for new hires to go out there...but we're trying not to get our minds set on anything yet. Del still has to actually FINISH school first haha.

Other than that exciting news, it's awesome having Del back home with me! This past weekend, we went to Lake Cascade to a friend's cabin and relaxed. He started school again yesterday and is fine tuning his schedule to be easy as possible for his very last semester. This coming weekend will be spent at home then Labor Day weekend will be spent on our 1st, and possibly last, camping trip of the summer.

Anyway, hope all is well with everyone. As usual, I'll keep you posted once we know anything on the new job! Wherever we go, we better get some visitors!

Summer Heat!

Today has hit about 100 degrees so, since I'm actually home and plan-free, Oakley and I had to find a way to keep cool! (Other than sit inside in the A/C). Not sure why the video is sideways but I'm not gonna worry about it - just tilt your head :)

In other quick news, Dellas had his evaluation with his boss at Kiewit yesterday and it sounds like it went very well! I'm so proud of my hubby for doing such a great job and impressing everyone out west. Says a lot that they are still impressed even after he showed them his true, sarcastic colors ;)

Proud 'Mater Grower!

When my mom came over this past June, she brought over a small tomato plant that a family friend's great(?) grandparents had brought over with them from Italy. It's a little different type of tomato but we're thinking it will turn out to be somewhere between a cherry and regular sized tomato.
Anywho, it's my very first tomato plant, but in the month and 1/2 I've had it, it has really taken off in this heat and I was super excited when I noticed that I may have done something right!

My sis-in-law seems to think I have some sort of green thumb, but I just tell her all I do is water things and they seem to grow! So I just wanted to share what my "just watering" has produced! Can't wait to taste them :)

10 Down, 2 1/2 To Go!

We're coming to the home stretch of Dellas' absence and I'm getting anxious! This past weekend marked my last visit to the coast that I returned home alone. Luckily, a little bit of warm weather followed me over to the great Northwet and we had a wonderful summer weekend together.
I flew in a little earlier than usual (3pm) which we thought would be nice but, after sitting for 2hrs in "the Friday Flee" traffic to get down to Olympia, we sort of wondered if I should've just stuck to my usual 8pm arrival :-P However, enduring the traffic allowed us to get to Oly in time to meet my parents downtown for dinner and ice cream which was nice.

My favorite mountain, always fun to see from the air. (Mt Rainier)

On Saturday, we did our usual Starbucks/Costco/Home Depot run and got home in time for the weather to be warming up nicely. The "men" puttered around outside on the tractor for a couple of hrs before I put my foot down and told them to stop being boring and go kayaking with me :-P
In order to see pics of kayaking you'll have to check out this facebook album because the pics are from my mom's camera and not available for upload from my laptop.
After kayaking a bit, we came back for a yummy meal of BBQ ribs, homemade potato salad, dutch oven baked beans, and dutch oven berry cobbler with homemade ice cream.
My plane wasn't due to leave on Sunday until 8:15pm so we had a little more time to putter around home with mom and dad. Del drove dad's tractor around most of the day so I hopped on for a few minutes as well :)

Once the "work" was done, Dad and Del took each other on at HORSE and played best of 3. They'd been talking about this game all weekend so it was an intense hour!

After splitting 1-1, game 3 was the deciding match that gave dad the winning title. Maybe next time, Del ;)


The time came for Del and I to head back up to the airport so we gave ourselves 2 hrs to get there and we needed almost all of it again due to traffic. Once close to the airport, I decided I had a few extra minutes to grab a bite to eat and I'm glad I did! Because, halfway through eating, I received a text from my airline stating "Flight #### is delayed. New departure time is 10:40pm" (remember, it was 8:15pm) UGH! Instead of sitting alone at the gate, we wasted those 2 hrs sitting in a mall parking lot, reading, talking, and getting a McFlurry from McDonald's :-P I was also glad that I was able to coordinate with Del's cousin to drop my car off at the airport to avoid her having to pick me at 1am!
At 12:40am I landed in Boise and was welcome by 80 degree weather. By 1:30am I was in bed, exhausted, dreading work. Luckily, I had texted my boss on Sunday night (in case my flight got canceled or something) so on Monday morning, she texted me and told me to go back to bed and come in at 11am  :) I didn't question her and crawled back into bed for a couple of hours!


SO! I'm home now for just 2.5 more weeks until I go to steal my husband back!

Together Again (for a few days)

I suppose I should probably give an update on how Dellas' visit home went, and it went fabulously :) He flew in Wednesday around noon so we were able to grab a quick lunch and run home (before I returned to work) for Del to reunite with his pup. Funny thing is, Oakley ran right past Del and straight to me! But once he gave Del some sniffs and they started playing together, I could tell it all came rushing back to Oak of who this guy was and they enjoyed each other's company the rest of the week.
Since I had to work Wed, Thurs, and Friday, Dellas did his thing during the day which included, washing my car a few times, replacing the drip system in the front flower bed, mow the lawn a couple times, clean up the exterior of the house and a few other odds and ends. I sure appreciate all the things he can do around the house!
Saturday, Dellas invited an old Norco co-worker over for sourdough pancakes which were DELICIOUS! That afternoon, Del, Jake (his best friend), Oakley and I went up to Lucky Peak for some fun in the sun. Jake had his jetski running so they dumped it in the water and took turns cruising around while I relaxed on the beach. In between jetski runs, Del would swim around with Oakley too.

Del and Oak, takin a swim

Lucky Peak

Toes in the sand :)

Oakley intently watching Del ride on the ski

Saturday evening my oldest sister, Jeni, and her two sons, came into town to stay with us for a night until her husband flew into Boise Sunday morning. (They were on their was south to Jake's family's cabin.) We had a little BBQ at our house and visited for the evening. I bought my nephews a couple of Super Soakers for my oldest nephew's bday (turned 11 on Sunday) so they chased each other around the neighborhood for awhile too.
Sunday afternoon Del and I were able to stop by his aunt and uncle's house to have lunch with them and Gma & Gpa Clark who were in town from San Diego for about a week. It was a special visit since it was the first time we'd seen them since the wedding! Almost 2 yrs ago! We hope to make it down to SD this fall, but who knows what our schedule will be like for Del's last semester.

All in all, it was a great 5 days! It made me feel a little more normal to have hubby home and be doing everyday things with him. My next visit is next weekend and it will be the last trip I take without bringing him home with me!