Roofing Report: Daddy is Down in the Dumps

Last night while I was at work our volunteer crew managed to get the shingles off the front of the house. Here is what it looked like early this morning.

The back side of the house is progressing a bit faster than the front... but then again, it is the larger side of the roof. See the progress they are making?

This morning Joe and Grandpa are working on getting more shingles on the back side of the house. It is starting to look really good!

While the boys worked on the back, I started cleaning up some of the nails and paper on the front side of the house. I couldn't help for too long because I had to keep an eye on the boys, but at least I got to help!

My roofing crew is working so hard! I know Joe was hoping we would be a bit further in the process by now, but there are a lot of little things that take time, like cutting the shingles for the edges and getting everything lined up.

For a little while this morning Joe was in the dumpster, getting the shingles spread out. There was a heap right off the edge of the house where the shingles got shoveled off. We are happy that we will not be needing a second dumpster. Everything will definitely fit in the first one!

I was laughing when Joe was in the dumpster because Joe was literally "down in the dumps" over this project!

The boys were watching Daddy, of course. They like to climb up to the edge of the dumpster and peek inside. I suppose it's fine as long as neither one of them ends up inside there!

Roofing Report: New Shingles

I have to tell you that new shingles are a beautiful sight to behold! This morning Joe and Grandpa really got going on the shingles. Of course the boys wanted to go up on the roof and check it out.

So here is Jacob and Ephraim just hanging out on the underlayment. They had a great time up on the roof watching Daddy and Grandpa work.

Don't the new shingles look great? It is exciting to watch the portion of the roof with shingles on it get bigger, while the unshingled portion gets smaller.

I have the hardest working crew ever! I have to say that they are doing a fabulous job! I couldn't ask for harder workers! Every morning they are up on the roof before 7 a.m. They work until lunchtime and then take a break during the middle of the day because it is so hot. Then after dinner in the evening they are right back up there on the roof.

Of course the boys find all of the work absolutely fascinating. They would LOVE to spent more time up on the roof, but I figure Grandpa and Daddy don't need to spend their time watching the boys and reminding them to walk, not run on the roof! (especially that Ephraim!)

Even though there is a lot of hard work, we also have some good laughs about the roof. One thing that makes us laugh is the fact that Ephraim calls Daddy's nail gun a "bubble gun". It is such a crack up!

This evening while I am at work a bunch of our friends will show up to help shovel the shingles off the front of our house. Then we will really get to laying the rest of the shingles! We are so happy for the help because I know that Joe and Papa are pretty exhausted from all the work they've been doing.

Roofing Report: It's Raining, It's Pouring... No one is snoring!

What a night! By the end of yesterday we had shoveled the shingles off the back half of the house! Hooray! It is the larger side of the house, and it was really nice to have help with shoveling shingles, since it is definitely the most physically taxing part of the job. It also looks like the dumpster is not going to get overfull either.

The forecast called for sunny weather all week. So of course at 10:30 p.m. last night it started to pour buckets and buckets. This is definitely not good when your roof is covered only in plywood. So Joe, Grandma and I were on the roof in the dark spreading out all the tarps and drop cloths we own so the water would not soak into the plywood. Fun times, let me tell you!

Today my roofing crew of two had to clean up all the leftover nails and paper from the back side of the house. After putting the boys to bed this evening  I went up to check out the progress on the roof. With a neighbor's help they got the underlayment down on the roof. So for now we don't have to worry about it raining!

In addition to the back being covered, there are also some new shingles up there. Hooray!

So I got to relax for a minute and watch the sunset from the rooftop. So beautiful!

Roofing Report

Then this morning Joe and Grandpa (or Papa as Ephraim calls him) started shoveling more of the shingles off the house and working on the drip edges.

Naturally the boys wanted to help. So we let them go up on the roof and pick up nails to put in the bucket.

I wasn't too nervous about Jacob being on the roof. He has a healthy sense of fear and self-preservation.

Ephraim on the other hand has absolutely no fear. We had to tell him repeatedly to walk, not run on the roof!

So I kept my eye on him, as did Joe and Papa.

The boys weren't up on the roof for very long, but they thought it was SO fun. During the hot part of the day the roofing crew took a break from working on the roof. It was just too hot! So we went a did some shopping at Costco instead. Then after dinner they started up again.

A few of our neighbors and friends are up on the roof this evening, helping us shovel the rest of the shingles off. It is so nice because this really is a HUGE job!

I have the best roofing crew ever! I hope the work goes well and swiftly. I hope the weather is cooperative and not too hot. I know we've only just begun, but I can't wait for the roof to be finished!

This evening I wish I could have been helping on the roof, but I guess somebody has to watch these guys!

Shortest Hair EVER

As you know, I recently got my hair cut. This is the shortest I think I have EVER had my hair. I don't know if I will keep it this short, but I do think it's cute and have enjoyed being a bit cooler during the hottest part of the summer!

So here is what my hair looks like when I straighten it.

I know these two pictures are nearly identical, but I couldn't decide which one I liked better. So I just posted them both.

The other nice thing is that it is pretty easy to do my hair curly if I am in a hurry. Since it is shorter I can actually get it to curl a little bit better. Here is my hair curly:

Cute, huh?

Joe prefers it curly. I like it curly and straight, but I feel more like I have "done" my hair when it is straight. So what do you think of my short hair?

Grandpa and the Chrysalises

Hooray! Grandpa Devereaux arrived today.

This morning Joe and I got started on shoveling the shingles off the porch of the house. It is amazing to me just how hot it is up on the roof! I only stayed up there an hour and I was dripping sweat by the time I got down.

I finished cleaning up around the house and then we went a did a little grocery shopping. By the time Ephraim woke up from his afternoon nap Grandpa was here! The boys were so excited! They warmed up to Grandpa right away.

We had a great time looking at all the goodies that Grandpa brought for us. There was a whole tub of plastic food, a Buzz Lightyear kite, a play sink, more plastic dinosaurs, roller skates, clothes, and a bunch more! One of their favorites were the giant coloring books. After dinner they both had to go color and have grandpa help.

I thought it was pretty cute to watch the three of them coloring together.

In other news, our caterpillars have made chrysalises! It was amazing how quickly each one made a chrysalis! Once they started hanging upside down it took a little over an hour. It was amazing. Today I took the top off the jar so I could put them in the butterfly habitat so they will be contained when they come out.

Of course I had to take pictures to show you what they look like.

I have never really seen a chrysalis up close like this before. They are pretty cool.

So it looks like we will end up with 5 butterflies within the next week. It should be pretty exciting. We also start our roofing project in earnest tomorrow, which should also be exciting... at least it will be when it's done!

Dumpster Diving

Today our BIG dumpster arrived in preparation for our roofing project. It was my job to do the research, find the best company, and get the bin delivered. So here it is!

Is it weird that I put my boys in the dumpster to take their picture? They thought it was fun, so I guess I'll stick with fun rather than strange.

Jacob and Ephraim thought it was fun to run around in the empty dumpster. I actually thought it made an interesting background for pictures. So I made the boys pose for me. Aren't they cute?

Hmmm... posing my boys in a dumpster. I guess maybe I am a little bit strange after all. :o)

More Pool Boys and the Caterpillar Report

This afternoon we actually made it to swim lessons five minutes early! Usually we are just in time for the boys to jump into the water. Since we had a few minutes to spare, I had the boys pose in front of the pool for me.

Aren't they just the cutest little swimmers ever? I love their swimsuits too because it is nice not to have to put sunscreen all over their backs and bellies. It's much easier just to do their faces and arms.

Jacob looks like quite the little swimmer with his goggles on, doesn't he? The boys have done so well at swimming lessons that we have decided to sign up for another session in August. I'm sure the boys won't mind because they LOVE it.

Here are a few more cute pictures of the boys. Above is Jacob jumping into the water, and below is Jacob dancing on the side of the pool.

Here is Ephraim holding onto the edge of the pool in the deep end. He is much more comfortable in the water now as well.

Ephraim wants to wear goggles just like Jacob does. So after class I let him put on Jacob's. Of course he managed to put them on all skiwampus.

What a funny boy!

I think they look a little better on Jacob, don't you?

In other news, our caterpillars are getting big! Just check out how big they are in their little cup.

We are waiting for them to get big enough to make their chrysalises. We are excited because it should be soon! I'll keep you updated. :o)

Foamy Fun at Preschool

Today Jacob's preschool was at our house. I decided that we would make some fun foamers for the kids. This is the easiest craft ever! You simply take a plastic bottle and cut the bottom off. Then you rubber-band a piece of an old towel to the bottom of the bottle. Dip the bottom in a little water first to get it moist. Then just use the bubble solution. It makes tons and tons of foam!

All the kids have to do is blow into the top of the bottle and watch the foam stings come out. Even Ephraim can do it!

Some of the kids made the funniest faces while blowing on their bottles. It was so funny!

If you are looking for something fun to do on a summer day, give this one a try! It's tons of fun.

We've Got Shingles! (For the roof, haha!)

This afternoon I heard a really loud noise outside. So we went upstairs to see what was going on. It was the delivery truck from Roofer's supply! Our shingles have arrived!

The boys thought the truck was really fascinating. They sat on the steps and watched the entire operation.

They especially thought the arm on the truck was really cool. It had a conveyor belt that one of the men rode up to our roof. Then they watched the shingles and other supplies go up the belt onto the roof.

It was a hot day, so I was glad it wasn't me up their moving around all those shingles. They are SO heavy! The delivery guys were pretty fast and efficient though!

Just look at all the supplies on the truck that they put on our roof!

Delivery was definitely worth it. I would not want to try to get all those shingles up to the roof ourselves! I took the boys over to the other side of the truck to get a better view of the shingle delivery truck. They were fascinated, but apparently Ephraim thought it was LOUD!

Daddy got home on his bike just in time to see the supply truck. After that he had to check it out and see what was up on the roof. He checked out all the shingles, underlayment, nails, and other supplies. The boys thought the bundles of nails were pretty cool.

I though they actually looked quite pretty... all coppery and shiny.

So now we are all set to begin our big shingling project next week! It will be a big job, but it will sure be nice to get it done!