Hot tub fun!

Well, here it is...the cherry on the top of the whole deck project. Our hot tub arrived last week! We bought a used, refurbished hot tub from a company in town that sells only used tubs. The price was 1/3 of what we would have spent for a new one and this used one works GREAT! The delivery was not without it's headaches though. As they were hoisting it up onto the deck, one of the guys let it dip too low and the side panel ripped off. So, the tub had to sit on it's side for 24 hours while they fixed it and repainted it. Then, once it was filled and warming, I walked outside and to my horror, water was gushing out of the side of it. Apparently, a tube had come loose in transport and had popped off. Casey quickly fixed it and now, everything works great. Casey and I have spent every spare evening out in it (once kids are in bed). I read my book while he watches a movie on the laptop. It has been great fun.

Here is week 40!

week 39

Moving!

Oh my goodness, we are so tired! (well, mostly Casey but I'm tired for him!) He has been frantically moving his entire business from one location in Springfield to another bigger location in Eugene. Thankfully, we have three big cargo vehicles so the move is made a bit easier but they have certainly gotten a work out this week! Load after load after load of inflatables, rentals and DJ gear has made its way over to the new office. After 8 years in this location, it's amazing how much stuff we can throw away. With new technology has come outdated cassette players, Cd players, books and books of Cds and even some dance lights that are now just too cheesy to send to an event. This move has given Casey a chance to "gut" his inventory and get rid of all of that stuff that is no longer in service. The hard part for him has been to load and unload while still trying to maintain his business. The phones are still ringing despite his inability to sit at the phone.


This Saturday, he and I spent the entire day loading up the front office and setting up the new one. (He set up a PA system for me so I could listen to conference while I worked.) While he cleaned and organized the massive warehouse, I got to work on the "showroom." It's really just the front lobby but it's the first place people see so we needed to make it look professional.


This is a small portion of the front lobby but I had a blast setting up the "Fall" table. I even figured out how to set up the photobooth all by myself!!! Needless to say, we will be glad when this move is over...phones are transferred, internet is set up and Casey can just sit at his desk, answer phones and write up contracts! Hopefully soon....we shall see!

WEEK 38

A birthday!

Here's the low-down on Charlotte's 13th birthday! She had a GREAT day!

busy weekend

What a weekend! This will officially be the last post made about the new deck because as of this weekend, it is finished. (Well, except for the trim on the stairs which we had to special order.) We found a killer deal on clearance patio furniture and we spent Saturday hosing off the deck and putting together the table and chairs! Even though it takes up half of the yard, our yard feels so much bigger now!

We also found these Adirondack chairs for $10 a piece (also clearance) and we put them outside our bedroom door.

Also on Saturday, we spread new bark and playground chips throughout the yard. We are so happy with the way everything looks...clean and fresh.

Because we tortured the kids by making them weed the playground and pull up the tomato plants (and it was torture for them), we rewarded them by taking them to the EWEB fountain for some playtime (and then for ice cream). It was so HOT today so the fountain felt really great!


Finally, I finished Charlotte's 13th birthday cake yesterday. She wanted a zebra print cake and since I had never done one before, I watched a few Youtube videos showing me how to do it. What would we do without the internet? Anyway, we are celebrating her birthday tonight! I can't believe we have a teenager!

big projects

Hey everyone! We have so much to report this week! First off, I started another new project (this one I don't intend to finish for several years but thought it would be fun to start now.) As I've watched several of my good friends send their children off to college (and even marriage) I started wondering how prepared my girls will be when it is their turn. Charlotte is only 5 years away after all. So, I started to compile our family's most favorite recipes and over the next few years, I am going to create a cookbook for each of them to take with them when they leave home. Each recipe will have a picture and some fun memory or advice about the dish. Once it's finished, I'll get it printed and spiral bound. So, for now, I'm working on including our favorites...and remembering to take a picture or two when we sit down to dinner. The next step is to start teaching my older girls how to actually cook!

I have only done one page with 2 recipes...two recipes that every single member of our family devours. The funny thing is, both of these recipes come from my mom. I have a feeling there will be lots of Grandma Millar recipes in this book!


Secondly, the deck is ALMOST finished!! Casey just has to build one more set of steps and do the finish work on the stairs. Hopefully by Saturday, it should be done! Isn't it huge? We love it and I am amazed at how solid it is. It doesn't creek or groan when you walk on it. Since it is made of plastic, we will never have to refinish it or replace rotted boards. The far corner of the deck is where the hot tub will eventually go. It will be my little oasis :) Casey swears he will never ever take on another project like this one. We saved so much money by him doing all the work though, it was totally worth it!

Finally, we are MOVING! No, not our house...we'll probably be here until we die..but our office. We found an amazing office space in Eugene that is 5X the size of our current office and costs about the same as we are paying now. It even has a conference room! Casey is so excited about it. We start moving our business over on October 1st. To make things look more professional, he designed these new vertical banners that he will display in the new showroom and at bridal shows and trade shows. (of which he has 3 next month.) He got them in the mail last night and we had so much fun setting them up.


Anyway, October will be a crazy month for sure! Wish us luck!