This and That

Ivan got back home from camp on Saturday and yesterday we celebrated his birthday since he was at camp when the 17th arrived.

I'll have a post for his birthday celebrations in a few days.

Jenelle was so happy when Ivan returned!
They have been such good buddies this summer...she had a hard time the day he left.

This picture was taken on the day he left for camp.

Now they're back together!

:)

Outside it is HOT HOT HOT!
Flowers and plants don't seem to mind as long as we keep them well watered.
Jenelle and I planted these Zinnias from seed and they are so pretty at the front of the house!

The first harvest of my two large lavender plants yielded 10 bundles!
They are hanging in the basement to dry.
I'm hoping there's still time for a second wave of flowers.

Desk update:

Well...it is so close to being in Hannah's room!
It's all finished and we are just letting it set in the garage this week to allow the paint to completely dry.
I would love to say how I did this all myself...buuuuut...Donald did a major amount of the work!
I'm so thankful (because it was the hardest part too)!
He sanded it completely - even taking apart some of the pieces to do a cleaner job.
He stained the top - love the look of it - and put the primer on.
I ended up painting the body of the desk and the drawers with a white color Hannah chose.

Hannah and I will chose some hardware this week and by the end of the week she'll have a gorgeous piece of furniture in her room!

And finally, Ivan has graded for his purple belt in karate! 

He hadn't planned on it because he wasn't sure he was ready, but his Sempei said he was...and he was!

Good job Ivan!