New Roof

We got a new roof today! Thanks to Hurricane Ike 2 years ago it was free!


Before


After!
It's kinda hard to tell the difference in the small pictures so click on them for a bigger look. The old roof was black and the new roof is burnt sienna. It looks really nice with the red shutters and trim.

Peonies

I love peonies. They are my favorite flower--probably because my Grandma Maurer had a row of them lining her garage. They bloomed beautiful white and pink flowers every May just in time to take to the cemetary for Memorial Day.

I tried to grow a peony bush at our house in Dayton, but we had too much shade. I was so excited when we moved to this house--which has no shade--and we had 2 bushes on the side of the house. They have grown into the biggest peony bushes I have ever seen! They are at least 4 feet tall without the blooms. We brace them because, inevitably, right after those big blooms pop out we get a huge storm and they turn to mush in the mulch--plus I just hate to see them all drooping over from their weight.

So, here are some pictures of my fragrent, beautiful peonies in memory of Grandma Maurer.

A Belated Welcome to Jada Christine!

My brother and sister-in-law, Chris and Becki, welcomed their second daughter, Jada Christine, on April 26th.
She's a cutie with soft, curly brown hair--its origins remain a mystery.





Vivian with Nicolas, Aubree, Julia with Jada.

Spring Family Pictures

We had pictures taken last week for Vivian's 2nd birthday and Nicolas' 4 month update. Here are a few of our favorites. . .

Happy 2nd Birthday Vivian!

Vivian turned 2 on May 5th. Where has this last year gone (do I say that at every birthday?)

Anyway, here she is at 2 and a look back at at 1 year ago and when she was just a few days old.