Board and Batten in the Living Room

  Our living room has been virtually empty since we moved in.  Just random pieces of furniture, no paint on the walls, no curtains- NOTHING.  It was so nothing that we even started calling it "the empty room"   Well no more!    I'd been drooling over the board and batten treatments out in blog land.  For awhile actually.  Anyway, Matt was going out of town for work, so I thought it might be the perfect time to do it.   I have a hard time multitasking-  If I have a big project the house looks like a disaster and we eat cereal at every meal.  Seriously. I cannot do both. We started out with a hellish trip to home depot, (the kids were great- I was just sweating like a pig)  got all of the wood into the van. Blah-Blah-Blah.... long story short.  We got started a day later then expected.   It was 3 days of work.. we basically lived/worked in pj's, had movies/Wii/ computer games going nonstop/ as was the miter saw, Olivia founded a newspaper,  no dishes or laundry were done. And the house looked like a sawdust bomb went off. And of course daily swimming breaks were a must.  We ended up getting everything done about 5 minutes before Matt got home.  Dean was a BIG help- although he denies it.  I didnt take a before pic-  I thought I had some- but apparently they are on the old laptop:( Anyway, we love the way it looks- very fresh and clean.

Freshening Up

I had done these really simple curtains in the family room, like a year ago.  Originally I liked the simpleness of them. Then I got really bored.   It really didn't take long to lose interest, they were sooo boring I just couldn't figure out what to do with them next. and was lazy  So there they hung.  A few days ago I came across some really beautiful ball fringe in my bedroom closet...my. closet.   that's another story. I had bought it  years ago for some project that never happened.  Anyway- lately I've been getting the itch for a project.  I hung up the fringe with the curtains- just to see.  AAAHHH- Perfect. Please. Please forgive the awful picture. It was night time and the flash was blinding

The Hideout

I was in the kitchen this evening doing dishes/cleaning up & starting a batch of bread. It was later than usual, around 9ish. (Hence the horrible flash.) The kids were chattering away over at the table, getting along great, which is a hard thing to do when its late and you are tired.  I glance over- and see nobody- they are all under the table with all kinds of lute- blankets, pillows, and I think Charlotte had her backpack. ( and for some reason Olivia has a tape measure at her head)  It was very sweet, everyone being so snug and cozy on the hard/dirty floor.  They wanted desperately to sleep there tonight.  I really wasn't "filling" it so instead they are having a campout in the girls room listening to "The Hobbit."  A nice quiet evening:)

Scout Camp

Our Dean-o has had the opportunity this summer to attend not 1 but 2 scout camps! The first one he went with another troop and got to see a bunch of boys from his cub scout days.  That camp was only 20 mins away. which is nice- just in case. It turned out to rain most of that week. We went over for a fireside meeting on the last night (families were invited) I went to give him a hug and he was a little damp WET. I thought for sure he would want to stay that last night (he really is hard core) But no- when we finally got a to chat, he said he was ready to go.... long story short he got home late that night.  His pillow was even soaked. For those of you who do not know- Dean LOVES to camp. Especially when parents are not present:)  I neglected to take some pictures of this weeks  packing process- which would've been easy seeing as all of this gear was washed and left on his bedroom floor:/   This week he is at a different camp- about 2 hours away-  His ride left here this morning at 4am- you heard me.   It took me a good hour and a half to get back to sleep. I had to go over all possible disasters and go through some project ideas.  Next week the paint in this house will be flying!!! 

The Garden

This is our 3rd attempt at a vegetable garden. 1st and 2nd were basically failures, with a handful or 2 of squash, zuchini and a few tomatoes.  This year we have made a fresh start with raised beds.   8 tomato plants, 4 yellow tomato plants  in pots (those were gifts from a friend)  4 crock neck squash, 4 zucchini, cucumber, cantaloupe, eggplant, 6 green bell pepper, and 6 various hot peppers.  It is really fun to have a successful garden!!!  We have gotten MANY squash & zucchini. And it has been delightful!   The tomato's are just starting to really get going.   I made fresh salsa this afternoon. The recipe comes from a family cookbook my sister put together a few years ago for a fundraiser.  It is loaded with oldies but goodies and a bunch of new ones.  I remember this salsa from when I was a teenager and my Aunt Jenny would make this to share- seriously so good! Here is the recipe:

Fresh tomatoes (about a quart)
Fresh green chilies
1 onion
1 T. sugar
black pepper, onion salt, garlic, red pepper flakes, cilantro
Chop all veggies, stir in seasoning. Mix and enjoy!

Schools out!

Yes I know its a bit late, in fact its way late.  We got out of school mid May.  Charlotte finished Kindergarten, Grant finished 1st, Olivia 4th and Dean 7th.  It had been a really great year- everyone did beautifully on their report cards- but we are glad its summer!  We already got word that Grants teacher is looping with her class for next year. He is thrilled!

We are back in business!

Since our last blog " Life in the Country" disappeared into thin air last year, I thought maybe my blogging days were done.   Then blogger's guilt kicked in.   So I am starting fresh with this new blog called "Rector Family" (no I don't have a cute, clever name. I tried, I really tried but I just can't seem to come up with anything:)  I'm thinking this blog will be similar to the old one, in that we will have family updates, pictures, funny things the kids say and the occasional craft projects and of course recipes.  Olivia had her 10th a few months ago.  She chose Skate Nation for her party- It was LOADS of fun!  None of ours kids had ever been on the ice before- and I hadn't in years. I had it all played out before hand- I would fall and break my neck. The End.  No it didn't happen, fun was had by all. no accidents or anything of the sort.  I totally dropped the ball in the picture taking department though- NO PICTURES WERE TAKEN WHEN WE WERE ICE SKATING!!!  In my defense- I was a little distracted that morning- the van barely started- I just knew were going to get stranded somewhere- with all of the little girls at skate nation with no birthday girl there ( I always play out the worse case scenario) Of course everything worked out fine- My Excellent Husband changed the battery while we were skating-  and I was imagining he was broke down and walking somewhere to get a battery.  Boy what a Debbie Downer