This blog is pretty much just gonna be a ton of pictures of my trip to Cali to visit my mom and dad and also my most recent trip to Lake Powell with the Brower clan. I've been a pretty terrible blogger this summer but I have high hopes of not leaving for another trip for at least the next few months, so maybe I'll get back in the swing of things. Going to California was a blast and I loved being able to spend time alone with my parents so much. Cody was still in school so just me and Gage took advantage of some time in the sun. Gage was a wild man when it came to the ocean. He'd run full blast at it and brave the waves while he could stand it. He showed a little more reservation after his Grandpa let a wave crash over him but after a few minutes he was back at it again. It was exactly the vacation I had been hoping for! Then just a week after that I went to Lake Powell with the Browers for their annual house boating adventure. We all had so much fun and oddly we had a fairly relaxing time even with 5 kids being 2 or younger. I was so proud of how well Gage figured out how to swim and manuver in the water with just a life jacket on. We didn't even have a kid accidently fall off the boat once. I was worried that Gage would hate having to wear a life jacket all the time except when sleeping but he did great. Overall it was a much less stressful event than I thought it was going to be with a reckless 1 1/2 year old. And now to finish off the summer with some real relaxing. At least till Cody starts school next week.
Here's one of the summer projects that Cody and I worked on. The first picture is when we moved in and other two pictures are our final product. We bought the house with a great little shed in the backyard but it was pretty beat up. Plus one of the neighborhood kids punched through one of the windows with his hand one day so we had a lot of work to put into it. The great part was that we picked up the paint for free and we only had to pay for a new window ($30) and replacement wood for some of the trim ($20) and we got a new looking shed for cheap! The mulching and trimming of the tree's helped a ton too! I feel so validated every time I get to improve my house a little bit and am so glad to live in Denver where we can get so many things for cheaper prices. 
