Smorgasbord #5

Here are some random happenings at Gilburthsire!

Since I'm off for the summer, I want to do all of these little projects that I've pinned on Pinterest. One I found here showed you how to put placemats in your refrigerator so that the shelves are easier to clean. This was a pretty easy job and inexpensive. The placemats cost about $1.50 each, but I found some that were 94 cents after I bought the other ones. I used 9 and even put them in the drawers. I did have to cut them down and use two on each shelf. They're working out pretty well and even liven up the fridge a bit.

A few weeks ago, we went out to see my dad's rock 'n roll band, Studebakers, play at a local bar. Brianna and I were joking that our babies were dancing. We both grabbed our bellies and Chris took the picture. I got a little sad when I saw this picture because my sis is due in just ONE WEEK and we won't have many more pictures like this. It has been a lot of fun to be pregnant with my sister and I'm going to miss all of the things we've done together. I know we will have much more fun with our babies interacting with each other, but pregnancy is definitely a special time with my sister.

One last thing. My sis bought this table awhile back and sawed it in half. They used one half for their house here

She asked if we wanted the other half and we happily said yes. I had been using a hope chest that was fairly low to the ground in the front door area and was wanting something different. My sis stained and painted the table last week in time for the party and we put it up. Chris put the Bible and Bible stand that his dad made for our wedding on the table and I put a few more 4th of July decorations on it. I am in love with this table as it adds a bit more character to our home. I can't wait to decorate it with each holiday.

 You can see the blue picture frame with the 4th of July subway art in it from another post. I'm having some ideas with that for our local church's bazaar silent auction that's coming up in September...

4th of July

4th of July came and we celebrated by dressing up our dogs. Doris had a necklace and tank top and Mr. Bates had a hat and handkerchief. Don't they look excited for the festivities??

I bought Chris this shirt at Wal-Mart for $4 a few weeks ago. He said it looked ridiculous, but he wore it with pride and showed off his new homeland.

Before the party began (more like 10 minutes before), we put up the final touches to the deck.

I bought these wind socks at Dollar Tree and the paper lanterns I bought a few years ago on Ebay.

Once the guests arrived, the pool was the place to be. My grandad even got in!

Here is my sweet niece all decked out in her patriotic wear.

More guests arriving and celebrating

These two were so funny sitting around the fire with the big kids.

Our old neighbors even stopped by to say hello!

My brother and cousin cheesing it up!

And finally our old neighbor, Connie, and Chris showing off their "guns".

 

 We had a great time on 4th of July and it was nice to see everyone. We had plenty of food and conversations. We had to shoo people out at 1am so Chris could sleep before work the next morning. Our dogs were so worn out that they slept until 10am the next morning.

 We look forward to finishing the deck and another 4th of July party next year with one more person!

Smorgasbord #4

I'm getting ready to can pickles with my Grandma and Brianna on Friday. I went to the Farmer's Market in Corsicana to pick up cucumbers that are small enough to become our kind of pickles. I also picked up some dill and a small watermelon. The Farmer's Market was a bit more expensive than the grocery store, but knowing how hard it was for us to grow our garden I didn't mind paying for the hard work that went behind the produce.

4th of July is coming up and I wanted to add a few more decorations to our home. I saw this on Pinterest and it looked easy enough to create. I just bought a cheap picture frame, spray painted it, and printed out the free image to display. The website had a ton of free printables and I may print off a few more for our party next week. I got this garland at Dollar Tree and couldn't resist to add a bit more "pop" to the decor.

Last night, we went out to eat at a local Mexican restaurant and I was chowing down on chips and salsa. As soon as we ordered our meal, I started to feel bad and a lot like how I felt at 8 weeks of pregnancy. A few minutes later and I was in the restaurant bathroom paying homage to the porcelain god. We got our food to go and headed home. I don't think Eli particularly likes spicy salsa.

My stomach finally settled and animal crackers sounded good when I got home. We were getting ready to head to bed and I was snacking on my crackers when I saw the doggies looking like Oliver Twist. You would think that we never feed them. I gave them a few crackers and then closed up the lid for the night. They love their animal crackers.

I took the dogs to the pet parlor yesterday because they were in desperate need of a good washing. I asked them to paint Doris' nails. She is a lady and we try to treat her as such. Here she is showing off her pretty pink nails. 

 When I picked them up I asked how Mr. Bates did. They said that he barked the entire time (5 hours!). I felt so bad because Mr. Bates is a very sweet dog, but he is very vocal. Maybe next time we can work it out to where we take him for a shorter period.

Just a little bit of what's going on at Gilburtshire!