Memorial Day Weekend

It's been a nice weekend! It wasn't quite as warm as they were predicting, but considering that it's still 70 degrees at 8pm, I am NOT complaining! And we had a few thunderstorms, which I thoroughly enjoy watching/listening to. So no complaints there, either. It's been a good weekend!

Saturday night, we went to our neighbor's house for dinner. This is Gus' coworker and his family, who literally moved a block away from us (they're originally from New Jersey). What are the odds? Anyway, some of Gus' other coworkers were there, and we all had a lot of fun. Perhaps too much. But even the kids were talking about how they can't wait to go back. We will have to have them over here soon!

Yesterday, we got off to a slow start. We hung out at the house, enjoying the warming weather. Maya discovered that if she threw dandelions, it looked just like Elsa doing her ice magic! So she got her Elsa dress on again. And we took pictures (again). And Maya's editing requests led to the creation of this, hehe!!

Shortly after we finished taking pictures, I was sitting on the deck and Niko announced that he had felt a raindrop. We mobilized, getting everything put away and getting ourselves inside. Just in time for the DOWNPOUR, complete with thunder and lightning! It was awesome!

A little later, Gus was finally feeling motivated to install the laundry room counter that we made months ago and has been sitting in the garage ever since. It goes across the washer, dryer, and shelving unit, and is AWESOME! I am so happy with how it looks in there!!

I'm already working on a faux set of drawers to set on top of the counter to cover up the water and electric hookups. I was pretty excited to find that we had the perfect pieces of scrap lumber, and that the hardware store across the street was discontinuing a bunch of drawer pulls and selling them for only a quarter each. This project is going to end up costing about one dollar, and will match the countertop exactly. So awesome!

Anyway... while I was picking through scrap lumber and brainstorming in the laundry room, Gus was out working on our chicken coop remodel. We do plan to get more chickens in the not-too-distant future, but their living space needs some remodeling. This has been in progress for a while, but we (meaning Gus) couldn't finish it while the ground was still frozen. Refer to exhibit A:

As you can see, he is digging a trench all the way around the area beneath the deck. This is so the fencing will go down below ground level, preventing critters (like foxes) from digging their way in. Those trenches will be filled back in once the fencing is in place. There will also be a gate one one side, which we'll be able to latch (and lock). Inside the now-completely-enclosed area, Gus is going to remove the old run from the coop (the circled part) and get it out of there. The coop and nesting box will be put up on stilts for better ventilation, more ground area for them to run around during the day, and because birds like to roost higher up. We'll also set it up so that the nesting box is close to a window, so we can collect eggs without actually going outside. And then Gus will add some other spots for them to roost. And eventually, he will build a chicken tractor so that they can free range in different parts of our yard. With luck, the next chicken we lose will be to old age! No more foxes, hawks, whatever. No more sad children! It will be much, much better. Plus, no poop on the deck, which is a small thing, but makes me happy nonetheless.

Anyway... we got a lot done! And now it's back to the grindstone. We have another busy week-- I'm volunteering at the Book Fair tomorrow, Niko has a playdate, and Maya graduates from preschool on Friday, in addition to all the typical stuff. Busy busy!