Summer Vacation – Week 4

Planter box made from wood scraps.

Tomorrow is July 1^st!  I can’t believe June is ending already but WOW!  What a June we had! 

With the chicken coop project we veered off course a little bit from our original plan but we still managed to do a lot and we were able to get back on course by Tuesday. 

Monday – we started out our day with a little tidying up around the house and then we got back to work on the chicken coop.  It’s done!  The girls have really enjoyed working on this project and have been anxious to get going every day.  Our peeps are doing great in their brooder.  We have really been enjoying them.  My oldest and I built a planter box out of wood scraps and planted petunias in it.  We were also blessed with sod scraps from a neighbor so we got those planted in our bald spots in the lawn.  We finished off the day with a “Date Night” to Applebees.  Saturday was supposed to be our night but we were too pooped out from coop construction to do it.  We used their free meal coupons from the summer reading program so I only had to pay for my meal plus a tip - $15! 

Tuesday – our day started out with rain, of course - I washed the windows yesterday.  We began our day with a quick trip into the library to pick up a couple of books I put on hold as well as the grocery store to redeem coupons for soda and wieners on the way to the nature center we visited.  We walked through the nature center.  It was really nice and tranquil until we came upon a group of exuberant cub scouts.  We ate our lunch at the park and checked out the mileage map for a planned bike excursion along the greenbelt in the not too distant future.  Off to Fred Meyer to redeem store coupons for milk, cheese and sour cream.  We are getting a jumpstart on our July grocery shopping.  Then I took the girls to the hazardous waste station to drop off used batteries, expended propane cylinders, used anti-freeze and our dead TV.  They kind of thought it was cool and we discussed why it was important not to just toss these types of things in with the regular trash.  Finally, home to water the garden and for the girls to dive into those new library books.  I pretty much sat in the yard and watched the sprinklers.  I’m still pooped out. 

Wednesday – the girls and I went on a “field trip” to the Boise Watershed, the facility that processes our wastewater and then returns it to the earth.  They have an educational center and on Wednesdays they have booths set up for fun activities and crafts.  They made crystals, silly putty and did some mud sculpturing.  We had a great time and learned a lot about what happens after we flush the toilet.  We stopped at the grocery store to pick up some loss leaders – pork chops, chicken, wieners and root beer.  Home for a picnic lunch in our yard, lawn time with the peeps to get some exercise and explore, read our library books and just took some time to enjoy our pretty little yard.  It was a very nice day! 

Thursday – we started our day sanding the deck in preparation of new stain.  I told the girls we would be doing this project in stages.  After two hours we called it quits, got cleaned up and headed out for some fun – thrift store shopping!  I bought one vintage quart sized canning jar, that’s it!  We still had a great time looking, however.  We picked up our tickets for the rodeo next month turning in the girl’s vouchers from the summer reading program.  After fees and taxes my ticket came in at $14.  Not bad for taking three people to the rodeo.  We stopped at the store on the way home to do our July monthly grocery shopping and then home to get our bikes and head to the park to eat lunch and relax.  It was a beautiful day! 

Friday – a free day today.  The girls got to do whatever they wanted and so did I.  I worked on the deck for a little bit and then did some housework and a load of laundry.  We rode our bikes to the park and spent about an hour there.  Not too much to report on today.  Nice and quiet.   

How was your week?