Home Improvements

Good afternoon all! As promised, here is a blog about our little home improvement projects we've been working on. (Chris and April, we're still waiting for pictures of your kitchen renovation!!)

First, I have been wanting to replace our fence gate for quite some time now. It was sagging and rotting and just, plain falling apart. It took an act of Congress to get it to latch... Not to mention that the previous owners had attached a piece of chain with a padlock to the latch to keep the gate closed (and failed to leave the key with us). A few weeks ago, Bryan removed the old gate, which now looks like this:



Keep in mind, we had to remove a couple of the boards for something else, so it was a full gate while it was still hanging.

Now, the gate looks like this:



And look... NO MORE CHAIN!!! :) Bryan removed the padlock with a grinding tool that he put on his saw that my parents gave him for his birthday this past year. (He said thanks, guys!!)


I've also planted a tomato plant. Here is a picture of it... I'd like to point out that I've had it for several weeks now, and it's still alive!!



Here is an upclose shot of a yellow flower on the tomato plant, which I've been told is where a tomato will begin growing soon!! I sure hope you're right, Mom!! :)


Finally, we babyproofed the house this past weekend. Our biggest challenge was our entertainment center. It is completely open on the bottom where all the "stuff" is... DVD player, etc. We came up with this idea:



It's a sheet of plexiglass that Bryan cut in half and put a hinge in the middle. Then, on each end, we drilled a hole and put a cabinet lock around the post of the entertainment center. I think it turned out pretty good if I say so myself. We also put the cabinet and drawer locks in the kitchen and our bathroom. We've started referring to Maddy as Evil Kineval... She's become quite the daredevil... Let's hope that we always keep a close enough eye on her!! :)



So, that's what we've been up to. Bryan left for his 6 week training in Little Rock today. I think it'll go by pretty quickly. He's already planned a trip home for the 4th of July, and Maddy and I are considering going to visit for a week-ish while he's out there. After he is finished with his training, we're planning a 2 week road trip... Maybe we'll even come to a city near you!! As it gets closer, I'll be sure to give some more definite information. Grandpop, Maddy loved the aquarium in Corpus Christi, TX so much that we're hoping to make a stop in Atlanta where our favorite aquarium tour guide lives... I hope you aren't already booked!! Love ya!

Love you guys!! Hope you are having a good start to your week! :)