The Pragmatic Perspective

We had the opportunity to spend some time with our friends the Brostroms this weekend. Rain was forecast in town, and Jesse truly needed some quality time off. We called them Saturday afternoon, then drove straight to Bismarck and their home. Of course, they fed us yummy food several times; and we got to catch up and enjoy making some new memories. Their boys kept Zoe entertained both Saturday evening and Sunday.Whenever we go to Bismarck, it's usually a busy time of shopping and seeing family. This was a nice change of pace with only one stop at Walmart for just a few items. My folks were gone, so we had their air-conditioned house to ourselves. ( Thanks to my folks!) I'm so thankful for the time we had. Thanks, guys , for the food and fun! Our place next time!

Zoe has been in swimming lessons Monday through Friday, for 5 weeks in all. She has passed 2 levels, and learned how to swim in the process. Her dogpaddle/frog thing is so cute to watch! She started out with some hesitance,and I nearly gave up hoping she would learn to put her head underwater. By the end of the first week of the second level, she was doing bobs like an old pro. I'm very proud of her "go-get-em" attitude and determination. Today was the last day of lessons, and once again,she raced ahead of everyone in the class. She is a fast little kicker for such a tiny person! She also earned "Fish of the Week" and an American Red Cross card recognizing her swim level completion. I do believe, that at 5 years old, she has nearly surpassed my skills in the water! Good job, Zoe!

Here's some shots of Jesse working on the roof of our "new" building. He has devised a plan to rebuild a roof that leaked due to being flat in spots. When he's finished framing, the whole roof structure will slope to the back roof drain. Yay! Of course, then we have to cover it. We found a roof system through Resource Conservation Technology Inc. It is basically a paint-on rubber roof. Very cool, and should hold up well. Needless to say, Jesse has been busting his butt working on this roof. Tear off has taken nearly 2 months, and now he's reinforcing what's underneath. Then framing, sheeting, and finally priming and painting. When he gets done with his daily work for Splinters Contstruction, LLC; he heads to the roof for several hours of hard labor in the hot sun. I'm so proud of his drive and determination! He has put hours of thought into planning, and now even more hours of work. There's only 2 other men I know who work this hard and this smart. No ...

I've been a fan of tennis, especially Wimbledon, for over 10 years. I used to set the VCR while I was at work to tape hours of it to watch after work. After Zoe was born, I had no time nor cable to watch. A couple years ago, the mommy fog began to clear and I remembered that tennis existed. This year was the first in 8 years that I've watched so much of the tournament. It was an incredible one, with tons of great matches, especially in the men's division. A new favorite has emerged for me; Patrick Rafter is long gone, but this young guy is amazing! The Spanish Rafael Nadal is a fighter to the end. It was the longest running final in Wimbledon's history. Switzerland's Roger Federer was a great opponent, and the entire match was close. It ended after 5 awesome sets with some of the best shots I've ever seen. Rafa's emotion at the end was contagious! After he got off the ground, he climbed on the NBC box to hug his family. Then he walked across another box to g...

Yep. Here's our project for the summer. Tear off roofing 107+ years old and start fresh. Fun times. I don't like the heat we've been having, but it's better than rain when you have huge holes in a roof. Jesse gets to work on it every day after work and on weekends and holidays. Too bad I only get to help when I can get a sitter. We did get to watch the Fourth of July parade from up there, though. Zoe thought it was "so cool!" and we didn't have handfuls of candy to rot her teeth. It is a lot of work, but we feel this is worth every drop of sweat. In a few years we may look back and laugh. Or at least smile.