I wanna live where the green grass grows...

When we first moved into our house, we had very little grass in our front yard.  And the grass in our backyard wasn't exactly lush.  That wouldn't have been a huge deal, but our yard flooded every time it rained hard because there wasn't any grass to suck up the water and the mud just eroded everywhere.  So this fall, Aaron & his dad Jeff aerated the yard, planted grass, and fertilized it.  It's made such a huge difference when it rains!  And... it looks a lot better.  :)

Yay, green grass finally!

Before... the front yard turned into a puddle.

How it looks now after it rains!
Also, our neighbor pressure washed our sidewalk
for us while we were out of town and it
looks a lot cleaner.  What a nice surprise!

Before

After

Before

After

Backyard before

Backyard after

Backyard after

Backyard before

Backyard after

I'm so thankful I don't have to walk through puddles to get to my car anymore! 

Camping Trip!

Last weekend, Aaron & I went camping at Pilot Mountain with 3 other couples from our small group and had so much fun!  Beautiful weather + colorful trees + crackling campfire + yummy s'mores + good fellowship = great camping trip.  :)  

Pilot Mountain

Me & Jessica

Starting the fire

Dinner  :)

The Riddle's mama tent

And the Bowers' baby tent

Good morning!

Our small group & camping group  :)

Pretty leaves!

Beautiful views on the hike

I love camping in the fall!  

Removing moss from the roof.

After we moved into our house, our lovely insurance company said they were going to cancel our homeowner's insurance because we had moss on a small section of our roof.  Really?  I thought that was a bit overkill for a little moss that doesn't even hurt the roof but... to avoid being dropped from our insurance, Aaron & I set out to remove the moss.  All we used was a liquid solution (half water, half bleach) in a spray bottle and some scrub brushes.  

The moss

Thankfully, it was just a small section over the porch. 

No more moss!

All clean.  :)

It really wasn't that hard & didn't take too long.  But I'm not gonna lie... it took me a while to get off the roof & back onto the ladder.  Thankfully, I survived!  :)

2011 Buddy Walk!!

Last weekend, Aaron & I went to the Buddy Walk (for the Downs Syndrome Society) with Emily, the Huitsings, and the Millers.  It was such a beautiful day & so fun to see all the precious kids and their families!  

Walkers with Janie Grace  :)

I could have taken her home with me!

Ha...Emily & I kept trying to take pictures
of Aaron pushing the stroller.  

Janie Grace & Jennifer  :)

So thankful for my little buddy, Josh.  He's been such a blessing!

Happy birthday Emily Alison!

Today is the 26th birthday of Miss Emily Alison Hunt!  We grew up together and have known each other since elementary school so she's one of my closest friends.  Unfortunately, she lives really far away from me (Omaha, Nebraska) so I don't get to see her that often.  But she's been in town this week so we celebrated her birthday on Saturday!

Dinner at Kiosco

The birthday girl!

Dessert & Just Dance at my house  :)

Friends since elementary school!

Happy birthday Emily!  I love you!  :)

I love my chandelier.

The Lettered Cottage is one of my favorite blogs because I love Layla's cottage-y style.  I loved the chandelier she put in her dining room... so I copied it in our dining room.  And I really like it.  Thanks Layla!  :)  Here's how I did it:

Got my lamp shades & braided jute cord.

Glued the braided jute to the bottoms of the lamp shades.

Jake hung it for me.  

Voila.  Dining room chandelier.  

Now I just need to repaint my table...

The chandelier was from Ikea, the lamp shades were from Lowes, and the jute braid was from M&J Trimming (I ordered 2 yards online).  Overall, it was only about $75 and really easy to make.  :)