Home Improvements this summer

SO what's a girl to do all summer with no husband? Renovate of course! I did all of it myself except the plumbing and the tile work. Other projects not on here were fixing up a yucky bench out back to bring some schnazz to the front patio, hanging up real curtain rods with the anchors and all (totally worth it), lots of paint touch ups and cleaning, and a failed attempt with the pressure washer. Not all that tragic, but it just wouldn't run properly. And don't forget the hours of mowing and weeding. I have one proud husband, that's for sure!

New tile! This is our master bathroom that used to be a nasty ratty CARPET! Crazy. I love the new tile. Just waiting on the last few finishing touches before it's done.
Hung shutters! Only one window had them and they were an ugly burgandy color. So with the help of a friend and a rope around my waist, I have fancy new black shutters. Totally scary but I rocked the power drill!
Of course with new shutters, you have to have a black door. After trial and error on Mrs. R's door, we found the best paint. (Don't every buy Rusoleum brand "door" paint. It's horrible.) I think it looks pretty snazzy :)
New faucets. These are in the master, and they replaced the oh so fun crystal globe builder grade faucets that were all over my house. Now we have sleek brushed nickel in every bathroom. These are just a bit fancier than the other bathrooms.
Aaah. Brushed nickel. So much better than brass! We had the yucky gold all over the place and I couldn't stand it anymore. So me and my power drill got down to business! Well, Mr. L's power drill that is.

Getting back into Blogging...

I am SO sorry it's been months since I posted. I have been here and there, all over the Caribbean, and now that Mr. L is on his way home I figured I needed to jump back in! I will pick out my favorite photos from summer for you, starting with this one...

Little Bo got pretty aggressive this summer and I finally got fed up and met with a dog trainer. We went through all the training Petsmart offers and nothing was helping. She was fantastic and told me to incorporate more structure into his day, leave safe toys in his crate, and to train him A LOT with the clicker. But with only one dog or so at a time so he's not so agitated. He's doing a lot better, but we still have a lot of work to do.

Mr. L is heading back from deployment very very soon. Obviously can't give any details because of security reasons but I will certainly post pictures when he's home :) It's been a crazy 6 months and it's hard to believe it went by so fast.

So again I'm sorry for the long absence. I promise to be better!

Forgot

Mrs. R and Miss Maddie enjoying Dinner at the Flying W Ranch.
We had a fun time in the Western town, had our Chuckwagon dinner of beef, a biscuit, applesauce, beans, a baked potato, and spice cake served on a tin plate. Complete with lemonade in a tin cup! Then we listened to the Wrangler stage show. LOVE it!!!

You can check it out here: http://www.flyingw.com/

The Perfect Finale...

Girls Nite Out! We had some yummy sushi with some great friends and went to see Sex in the City 2. SO awesome!

One word: Gorgeous.

The Mule.

These are totally in the wrong order... but this was the end result. I had to pick him up and carry him for a bit because there was no way he was going anywhere!

We were warned by the breeder that he would act like a mule if he got tired. He would lay down and not budge. We hadn't previously experienced this phenomenon, but he sure showed us today! Here's how it went down. Bo and his grandma were sitting outside waiting for me to finish teaching a spin class. A gentleman came by and met Bo and asked to take him on a short jog. They ran around about a 1.5 mile track, stopping frequently to mark things and drink some water. He had a ball. SO then we go to Garden of the Gods (where the temperature was around 92 degrees). We got close to finishing when Bo decided he was done! He found some shade, plopped down, and would not be moved! I carried him a little ways and he finished it himself. Crazy! I promise though we gave him plenty of water and let him stop a lot-- we took care of him but he was just done!

Garden of the Gods

Balanced Rock
Little Bo with is Grandma
Taking a break
Momma posing with the huge formations... You can see the Kissing Camels at the top of this one!
Beautiful Day!!

Cog Railroad Adventure

Braving the 110 mph hurricane force winds at the top! And for a refresher, we went up the Cog Railroad, a 14,000 ft. climb to the summit of Pikes Peak. It was around 70° at the bottom, but it was 21° at the top with a -17° wind chill... Crazy times! This is the only photo I took at the top because it was SO cold and windy.
My Momma, enjoying the sights :)
On the way up!
This was right at the summit.
So we are all smiles here, but when we got to the top they cut our time up there short. It started with 80+ mph winds, then when they got over 95 mph, they decided to get us out of there. We were getting pelted with rocks and crazy winds on the way down. No more trains went up for the rest of the day. THEN when we were almost to the bottom, we stop for what we were told was downed power lines. Turns out there was a huge fire and 3 trains were stranded for over an hour! They didn't tell us that, but we found out when we saw it on the news later that night!! We call it our great adventure.

This Blog Should Be All About Bo...

Because I get so many good pictures of him... Basically he's the center of my world. He's my person, after all :)

He's Gotten So Big!

SO sweet :) Look how much he's grown!

My Snuggle Bunny!

:)

Somebody's getting excited...

We got the new kennel today that's airline certified. Bo likes it! And of course it's blue because he has to travel in high fashion :)

Self-Portraits

Sorry they are obviously self-taken... Not so great angles. Just wanted more hair photos!

Makeover!

Before...


Chopped!
After! Love it!!

Yes, I'm 25.

But this is the coolest thing ever!!

Check it out here: http://pixiehollow.go.com/

Bo's First time up the Incline

Bo and Mrs. L at the top! He totally smoked me- practically dragged both of us up the mountain
Mr. L and Mr. Bo half way up! Funny story-- it started to rain as we got to the top and started the trek down on the 3.5 mile trail, and a few steps later it was an all out downpour and hailstorm. We were miserable but Bo was leading the way... I see what they mean about "hearty and rugged" as a description for his breed!

A Bow and the Bo Jaw Quiver

Just Because...

I haven't posted anything about our little man in a while... Isn't he handsome? Getting big... and smart. I have never seen such a smart and sweet dog EVER! I might be a bit biased though...

Forgot the Best Photo!

All smiles at the top! We made it!

Cakes by Mr. L

Our Easter Bunny Cake

And the fun cake for Malia's First Birthday. Complete with purple and green icing layers on the inside!
And I didn't help one bit! LOVE IT!