Friday, May 28, 2010

Meet me in the gazebo

I have always loved gazebos. They conjure up images of serenity and tranquility that only seem to exist in movies. The movie that comes to mind is The Sound of Music-- and that famous scene with Leisl and Rolfe singing You are sixteen, going on seventeen....
There is something about gazebos that suggests an elegantly landscaped garden and lazy summer days - days when one might languish in the shade, reading a great novel and perhaps sipping a tall, cool glass of lemonade, while listening to the chirping of the birds and the rippling of a waterfall. A scene which speaks of simpler times.



I never dreamed that I would ever own a gazebo, much less a waterfall! Now we have both, and the only thing lacking is the time to enjoy them!



We are working on laying a pathway up to the gazebo (read: Lee is working and I am shouting encouraging words from the sidelines). Well, I actually did load a fair number of the paving stones onto the cart at The Home Depot, and handed some over to Lee when he was on his knees, positioning them in the sand. I have also been backfilling against the railing that has defined the sides of the path. We will probably remove the rail when we finish (again, who is this "we" I keep talking about?). But I have been trying to be helpful, nonetheless.



There is still plenty of work to do. We want to landscape around the gazebo, as well as, sand the wood and apply a protective sealant (which should make it easier to clean off the bird droppings!) Anyway, it is going to be a labor of love, because we certainly do LOVE our gazebo.

Saturday, February 27, 2010

The Playhouse!

Well, it just keeps getting better and better around here! I think being grandparents is the best phase of life! Here is the playhouse Lee built for the kids. It fits under our new sunroom, so it will be protected from the sun and rain.
The red curtains form a little puppet theater - not for use while the basketball hoop is in play!



The front porch bench looks inviting...



The grill is just the thing for preparing an imaginary BBQ

Princess Castle dollhouse

We are having way too much fun being grandparents! Lee designed and built this Princess doll house for Isabella:



The furniture has incredible detail. Each drawer pulls out.









The cuckoo clock looks like a little bird might even pop out!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Ben is so grown up!

Ben has really grown up this past year. Where does the time go? Turn around and they're tiny, turn around and they're tall...

When did he go from this....






To this, and beyond?











He is getting to be a fine young man and we are so proud of him. He plays the piano extremely well for having taken lessons only a short time. Perhaps I should upload a video of his latest performance ~ but, that will have to wait for another day.

All Princess ~ all the time...

We have some little granddaughters who love to play Princess. Here are a few random photos to illustrate my point:

Bella looking so regal and grown up!







Here is Bella playing Princess dressup with a friend:



Bella on Halloween:



Here is a photo of Sophie and Bella on Halloween, with big brother Ben watching over the two Princesses:



Katie certainly loves beautiful dresses and Princess jewelry:





Dylan 's Fancy Footwork!

There was a time when I loved to run and play, but that was long ago . . . In lieu of an active life of my own, I have decided to share some photos taken at Dylan's soccer game in October. He is really into the game, and very focused:











Wintery Stream

I thought it would be interesting to compare our little stream bed from fall to winter. My previous blog entry shows the stream in October (archived in 2009 - in case you want to compare the two seasons), and this one shows photos take in December: