Boots and a Deck

This is what we have been seeing for a while now, looking out our dining room window. Mike, hard at work, up on a ladder...all evening, practically! What you don't see in the picture is Papa - Mike's dad - who has also been hard at work, building our new deck for us! Yay!

I hope to have pictures up soon - the behemoth is almost finished...and we are so excited to spend more of our summer days and nights outside... More play, more meals, more relaxing, more star-gazing! Our old deck was about 8'x10' - this new one is 14'x16'... and Papa calls it the "biggest playpen he has ever seen"! I am loving the fact that it feels like an extension of our house. He even put a gate on it (for me). :)

What Mike is doing up on that ladder is staining the house...our house is 150 years old and it was in desperate need of a face lift. It is old barn board siding (see background of picture!), and it was more faded than we realized. He first had to tear off the siding, remove bee nests, bat homes and other creepy crawlies that were hiding under there - apparently the wood is yummy and cozy to the non-human population...then run some wire for electrical outlets and three new outdoor lights to create the ambiance this new fancy deck "needs"... and he also re-insulated the front of the house while he was in there... it's a brand new place! Awesome. Pictures soon - it's coming out great!