We have completed lots of projects around the house these last few months, so we thought we would get you a little caught up on things around here. First off, the laundry room was completed and unfortunately we even had to buy a new washer and dryer this last week as our old washer failed (it was about 15 years old though) 😪. Sam finished his bookshelves, with a little help from Dad, and just recently we moved Sam into the office upstairs and Dad then moved downstairs to the den. Sam’s computer and 2 monitors was a little too big for the small space in the den, and we also realized we could move his bookshelves into the office as well. Since there was plenty of desk space, Sam even got to move Octavius up to the office. So hopefully now they will be able to spend some more quality time together 😄. The front foyer got an update with a new entryway table/shoe rack and a new mirror. Then just recently we finished the new kitchen table and finally we bought Alex his new bed for his birthday. In between all those projects was a LOT of yard projects and a LOT of interior painting. Almost all of the trim/molding downstairs is now completed and we knocked out a few more of the interior doors as well. The original paint was oil based, so we had to prime everything first and then put on a coat of latex… this has been quite a chore, but the results are worth it. We also repainted the stairwell, upstairs and downstairs hallways, bookcases and den. Believe it or not, we still have quite a bit more painting to do, but if luck holds out we will be almost completely done by the end of October. We will then start on Alex and Sam’s room in late Jan/early February because they need to have the floors refinished as well. We’ll try to post some more photos as we finish more projects up later next month. Don’t forget if you want to see any of the photos we post a little closer, be sure to go to the blog and you will be able to click through all of them full size (rather than just in the email).

This was the first time, Dad put together a tabletop like this with the bread board ends and he had to enlist the help of one of Gung Gung’s antique planes to get the job done. You can see from the video below that he still has to work on his technique a little, but it did get the job done.

During all the chaos of the last year and a half we decided that Sam wouldn’t attend JPII for his senior year of high school. Instead Sam earned his final year of High School at Pitt Community College, but in the process, Sam unfortunately didn’t really get a Graduation Ceremony. We, of course, had a big dinner at the house and he did get a couple of nice gifts (cold hard cash and a new iPhone). We also ordered him an actual HS Diploma and completed his high school transcript. After all the calculations were completed, Sam finished high school with a 3.6 cumulative GPA and a 3.7 weighted GPA (includes advanced classes he took at JPII). Sam then officially became a College Student in August when all the paperwork was completed and now he will be graduating in the spring with a welding degree from Pitt Community College…. a year ahead of schedule. After that???

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Well this isn’t as scary bad as the movie, “The Meg,” and fortunately not as long either but here is a short video of Sam’s last dive on August 15th. Sam, Mom and Dad all took a trip down to Wilmington, NC (actually Bolivia, NC to be exact) so Sam could go diving for Megladon shark teeth, which are somewhat plentiful along the coast. Sam had a great time and was able to get a couple of teeth and what we think is a whale bone. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad went to Oak Island, NC to do some sea shell hunting on the beach before going out for dinner to celebrate their anniversary. We also made a stop at Carolina Beach in Wilmington on the way down on Saturday.

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Well it must be a party because Dad has the salmon on the grill! We had to celebrate the birthdays a little early this year, because Sam had a dive on the 15th of August. We chose the weekend before, August 7th, to celebrate Alex’s birthday, Lis’s birthday and Mom and Dad’s anniversary. Alex chose salmon for his birthday dinner and Mom had grilled shrimp this year, while he had some seasoned potatoes and French fries for the sides. We also had an untraditional, but very decadent chocolate and caramel cake for dessert. Alex, unfortunately, did not get an actual present on his birthday as it was decided we were going to get him a new bed. We looked several places and found one he liked at Ikea, but it wasn’t in stock at the time. As soon as it is available, we will go out and pick it up for him, along with some new sheets and maybe a new dresser. Not an exciting birthday present, but one that he needs and will be able to use for a few years… besides he is 23 years old. 😄 Mom on the other hand hit the jackpot as she got 2 new outdoor hose attachments for the garden AND a set of hand stitched wool dryer balls…. can you believe it!! On top of all of that for her anniversary present she got what every woman wants on her 26th anniversary…. a worm farm! We still haven’t started the farm yet though, as it is surprisingly complicated and a little too hot right now. She does have a gift card for 100 red wigglers though whenever she is ready. Mom and Dad will also be going out to dinner next weekend while Sam is on his dive… hopefully to get some crab cakes in Wilmington.

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This year Mom planted some sunflowers around the yard and we by far had the best results up in the front of the house as you can see from the photo with Sam. The sunflowers in the backyard just didn’t get enough full sun (blocked by the hydrangeas) to really get big, but they were still very pretty. We will definitely do this again next year and maybe try a couple of different locations in the backyard. Mom has harvested some of the sunflower seeds and will probably take down the rest of the sunflowers later this week.

Meanwhile, Dad had a chance to visit the NC State sunflower field this year and he was able to get a couple of photos… obviously they planted a few more than we did. 😉

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After an exhausting week of a vacation for Mom an Dad, which was actually a staycation involving house painting and yard work, Father’s Day arrived on Sunday. Sunday was also Sam’s belated birthday dinner so Nana came down on Saturday to help us celebrate. Dinner on Saturday, which Nana brought down with her from Waynesboro, was barbecue chicken, baked beans, couscous and brownies with ice cream. On Sunday Dad cooked Salmon on the grill while Mom opted for Old Bay steamed shrimp. Dad luckily made it in the house with the food right before the skies opened up and it started pouring as tropical storm Claudette was moving through town. We also had couscous, sliced tomatoes with birthday cake for dessert. The cake was from Harris Teeter and was unusual… something was definitely off with the icing so Mom will be taking that back and getting Sam a new cake on Monday.

For his birthday, Sam got his favorite gift of all – money! Dad meanwhile got a new pair of Nikes and a great Jayhawk – ‘Man Cave’ sign from Alex… believe it or not he actually found it at the beach in South Carolina a few weeks ago when he went down with Matt and Jeremy. The rest of the day on Sunday was mostly relaxing, Mom and Sam worked a little in the yard in the morning – trimming flowers before the rain and Dad and Sam worked a little after dinner on his new bookcases in the workshop. Alex had to work the early shift (7a-1p) so he spent the rest of the day napping and playing video games.

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Sam had an ocean dive on Sunday down in Morehead City. Overall it was a good day for diving but little else as it was cloudy and sprinkling most of the day. Mom and Dad went to the beach while Sam was diving but didn’t take any photos as it was just too cloudy. Mom did however manage to pick up some more shells, even though we have quite a few jars of them scattered around the house. Sam even picked her up a couple on the ocean floor, this time with no critters inside. Sam was, unfortunately, having camera difficulties, but did manage to get off a quick video at the beginning of the dive.

As mentioned in our previous post, Sam had a dive at Fantasy Lake in Raleigh. Unfortunately we forgot to include the photos from the dive…..

Sam had his second dive a few weekends ago and while he was diving at the quarry, Mom and Dad went to the historic Yates Mill park in Raleigh (https://www.alltrails.com/trail/us/north-carolina/yates-mill-pond-trail). It was a nice day, but the park would probably be very pretty in the fall when the leaves are changing, so maybe we will make a trip back then. It was however apparently snake breeding season at the lake and we saw quite a few baby snakes slithering through the creek.

Sam did get some good practice time with the underwater camera so hopefully this weekend he can get some good shots on his ocean dive. There wasn’t much to take photos of at the quarry but Sam had been having a hard time working the controls on the camera.

What a difference a few years can make…

Just this week…..