Outside Over There

(Bonus points if you know the title reference.)

It's summer project season!  We made a list of outside projects to complete this summer and I am pleased to say that as of nearly two weeks ago, we finished them all.  Of course we've added a few new ones since but the major things are definitely done.  Let us examine!

The two biggest jobs we had planned were to restain the back steps and the play set.  It was a big job!  We sanded it all and stained them and they turned out great!  Also, while I did do a lot of both steps on the stairs, Drew did all the sanding on the play set and most of the staining.  He gets big high fives.

Before...

Sanded...

After!

It makes the backyard look so much more put together.  We also repainted the back railing, added a screen door and replaced the light cover.  The backyard featured two dead fruit trees (alas!).  They blended in during the winter but became eyesores again in the spring.  So Drewbles took a chainsaw to them and voila:

Much better.  Maybe next summer we will plant some new fruit trees.  One unpictured project was that we painted the mail box post using leftover spray paint from the front lights, and another is all the weeding we did in the beds bordering most of the house.  Again, Drew did a lot of it whilst I managed the munchkins, but I helped!  A little.  Anyway, we weeded the beds and put new mulch down. 

Overall the yard just looks neater.  Yes, it is still covered with dandelions, BUT we have made tons of progress.  We celebrated by buying a fire pit and when it occasionally stops raining we get to roast marshmallows.  (Seriously, this rain!  I love it.  But I want more marshmallows...)

Final project that was done first: I made a wreath for the front door.  It was very complicated.  

1) I went to Hobby Lobby and bought a grapevine wreath and two bunches of fake flowers 2) I cut the flowers apart and stuck them in the wreath 

3) I hotglued spots to keep everything in place 

4) I put it on the door.

Now to go back indoors for our next big project...the kitchen!

(Dun dun dunnnnnnnn!)

Awesome Things, or, In Which I Ramble About Stuff

Have you ever been sitting in a public place and suddenly heard a sound like a tiny Godzilla cry?  That happened to me, just this very minute.  I'm going to take it as a sign that this blog post will be as epic as a gigantic reptile creature bent on massive destruction.

I like making lists.  I also like other stuff.  Sometimes these likes come together and I write a blog post dedicated solely to things I am currently liking a lot.  That's what this post is!  It has no other purpose.  

(Did anyone else read that last line with Aragorn's voice?  "It has no other master.")

Here's stuff I like lately:

The Amazing Spider-man!  I feel I should declare my love for it publicly, since people keep not believing me when I say it's my favorite movie of 2012 and I want to watch it everyday and I want to put Andrew Garfield in my pocket.  I (completely unexpectedly) loved it!  It's true.  It's true, I swear!

Strangeland!  I want to put this in my pocket next to Andrew Garfield.  He can keep pressing play for me.

Veronica Mars!  We just finished watching it recently (Drewbles had never seen) and every time I rewatch it I love it all over again.  And hey, Veronica would probably actually fit in my pocket too.  Two words: huevos rancheros.

Sherlock!  Need more be said?  I am eagerly anticipating the arrival of season 2 uponst my doorstep.

(We watched the second Sherlock Holmes movie the other day...I spent most of it killing Mephisto in Diablo II.  Need more be said?)

Summer!  I know summer has its sweaty inconveniences, but overall I think it has a lot of fun things to offer and this has been a great summer so far, full of fun and new things.  That said, I am very glad we have air conditioning--and a hearty supply of otter pops to keep Drewbles going.

Last and by no means least, is this beautiful thing:

Look at it big!  Giggle and flail over the anticipation!  Then put something awesome in your pocket. 

Keen

We saw Keane last night!  Here is how it happened: Drewbles heard someone mention the upcoming show on the radio.  He mentions this to me.  I say "Let's go!" in a squeaky sigh.  Drewbles investigates tickets.  Drewbles scores tickets for $10 each.  Huzzah!  So off we went.

We decided to be extra adventurous and take the Trax up to Salt Lake.  It was more uneventful than adventurous but mostly it was successful.  We arrived, staked out our bit of grass and got a dinner of concession food (pizza and nachos--both winners).

 

 
First Kiev played.  Look at them, playing music and stuff.

 

  
Then after a while Keane came out to play!  Let me say now that I fully admit to not being any kind of dedicated music person.  I don't spend much (=any) time finding new music peeps and I don't really care about seeing people in concert.  It's just not really a big thing for me.  But that said, I did get rather giggly when they came out, maybe because I love Strangeland SO much.  

Anyway, hello, Keane!  Let's be BFF.  

Here's a bunch of pictures:

(Did I mention that there were two very tall people in front of us?  Luckily they sat down for a lot of it.)

I liked their show so much that I even shelled out for the overpriced t-shirt.  Doesn't that say it all?  I confess I was a little nervous--you never know how someone's going to be live--but I was not disappointed.  (Phew.)  You know who else wasn't disappointed?  The mom in her khaki capris and cardigan who was REALLY excited to be there.  Also the dancing guy in the football jersey and black pleated skirt.  In other words, a good time was had by all the different types of people in attendance.   

As a bonus, now Drewbles is their biggest fan ever and they are his most favorite people in the world.  Well, that might be an exaggeration, but he has been won over.  Win win! 

Now, what's that mysterious ticking noise?  It's the countdown until August when we'll go see Harry and the Potters AND Potter Puppet Pals.  Ohhhhhh yeahhhhhhh!

I Got Married. Did You Know?

Well, it has been almost 4 weeks to the day since Drew and I were wed. One of these days I will do a post and tell you all about our windy, wandering path to marriage. But on this day I will tell you all about the actual wedding day. Some of you were there so you know all about it already, but some of you weren't for a variety of reasons so read on and be enlightened. There are many pictures, partly for the benefit of you non-Facebookers. Speaking of which, if any of you would like to see the pictures on Facebook but can't, let me know and I can send you the link. Anyhoo, let's get going.

August 15th. It started early, at 7:00 and it was cloudy and very rainy and wet outside. Our poor tent went right down on the ground.
Drew went for a run because he is crazy, and I camped out in the downstairs bathroom to get my hair done. There were no windows around so I had no idea what was happening in the rest of the house or out in nature. So I spent the early morning chatting with Kami with a K (ie, not Drew's Sister Cami) while she did my hair. I was getting pretty antsy by the end of it, since the breakfast was getting started at 10:30 while she was still wrestling with some hair that absolutely refused to curl. The hair, in the end, did refuse to curl for longer than the next twenty minutes, but I didn't care and look at the end result! It's fantastic and has lots of bobby pins in it.
So, as I was heading towards the stairs D-Rew met me at the bottom and said "Guess who's here?" And then I said "Annnnnnnn????" and he nodded and I fairly squealed my head off running for the stairs. It was a glorious reunion! Seriously, it was one of my favorite things that day. And her nice manfriend, JM, came along with her so I didn't have to worry about her being bored since she didn't really know anyone besides my sister.
So the breakfast was great and there was tons of food and friends and family. In the meanwhile our poor tent sat forlornly on the front lawn. Finally, midway through the breakfast, the wind died down and the rain had stopped so all the menfolk went outside and put the poor thing back up (where it stayed the rest of the day). We were a little anxious about the weather, but we had a few backup plans so we didn't fret too much.
A few hours later and off we went to the temple, each with a parent in tow. By this time we were seeing some blue sky among the clouds but it was still mostly cloudy. Unfortunately Drew had forgotten something at home so after a few attempts to have it found via the telephone, he ran back himself (ran=drove). What was it? This little number, made especially to coordinate with the rest of my jewelry:
And then we got married. It was nice to look around and see a bunch of friends and family, some that traveled a ways to be there. I don't know what else to say about this part except we got married and no, I didn't cry.

So then we were all married and stuff and we headed out to greet everyone. Doesn't he look so good in his tux? I wish he owned it so I could make him put it on periodically so I could give him googly eyes. I guess I do that anyway.
So, we took lots of pictures and everyone was really good about getting in their spots when their group was up. Oh, and the weather--it was perfect! Just a few clouds hither and thither and a nice cool temperature. Everything was dry and my heels only sunk into the ground a few times. The only really sad thing was that my poor hydrangeas in my bouquet were very unhappy and they started to wilt almost immediately.
After we had a lot of pictures taken we headed back to the house where things were coming together for the reception. The cake arrived and we were happy to not worry about it melting in the unseasonably cool August weather. Isn't it pretty? It's just what I wanted and it tasted great too.
I stuck my bouquet in some water during the meantime, but alas, they just couldn't pull it together. But that's okay, they still look pretty in pictures and the ones on the tables lasted just fine. I finished packing and walked about barefoot with the lace of my dress wrapped over my shoulder like a sari.
So then we had a reception, and it was great. People had a good time and we got all manner of compliments. I don't remember the name of a single new person I met. Luckily there were lots of familiar faces too.
The only reception tradition we did was cutting the cake. I never got around to ordering a bouquet for throwing, I vetoed any dancing and we both vetoed a garter toss. In the end the line lasted so long there wasn't much time for doing other things besides taking some more pictures with friends and family and eating a single creme puff.

So, at long last, we decided it was time to head off to Salt Lake City. I changed out of my dress (*sigh*), threw around a few last directions ("Don't forget my shoes!" "Please dry my flowers!") and headed to the car, dispensing last hugs along the way. Did I mention the car? It was delightful.
And that, my friends, was the wedding day. It went off with nary a hitch and the biggest potential problem was resolved halfway through the day. And now, in bulleted fashion, here are my favorite things from the day:

• Wearing my wedding dress. Going along with this, finally revealing it to D-Rew, who had just right reaction of jaw dropping and gasping and plentiful compliments.
• Delicious foods. I always like good food.
  
• The family! Of course. It's always fun when a bunch of the family is together at once, and not just a few. This always makes me wish we lived closer.
  
• The friends! They came from near and far and made everything that much more special.
  
• Not to be predictable or anything, but marrying Mr. Graham was my very favorite and best.
  

So, the events are all over now although of course the Graham household is just beginning. Four weeks in and everything just gets better and better.

And thus concludes my wedding post. If you'd like to read about the wedding and the honeymoon from the Mister's perspective, you can check out his posts. Also, in case you were wondering, we have no plans to combine our blogs or start a new one or anything. Business continues as normal in the blog world.