JULY 6 UPDATE: Gotta love acceleration

We had a very productive holiday weekend! Don and Mary were here Friday through Sunday, so we got a fair amount of done while Nama and Grandpa took turns entertaining the children. Don and Dave also framed in the pantry door so that area could be drywalled, and Don sanded the granary window that will go in the wall between the living room and Sofi and Erik's room. (Painting that is next on my to-do list.) And then Doug, Mari and their whole crew came on Sunday, and while we girls (and Erik) had fun in the wading pool, Doug and Dave put in a hard afternoon's work in the new house.

We are getting really close to being able to paint! In some rooms, anyway. I mudded in the bathroom, and did touch-up work in the addition and Sofi and Erik's room. Doug finished what I had left in the bathroom, worked in the dining room, did some work in our bedroom, did some of the mudding in the kitchen, and then got to work sanding in the addition.

After seeing how fast he worked, I thought to myself, why didn't we get Doug to help us sooner?! Dave and I are dedicated, but (we both admit it) slow on this work. Doug had done this taping and texturing work for a couple months last year between jobs, and he's definitely got a knack for it. But then I remembered why we didn't ask them sooner -- they were finishing their own basement project, which needed to be done before baby Brie arrived in May. They've been a little busy.

In any case, the addition just needs a bit more sanding, then some vacuuming, I imagine, and we'd be ready to paint! Oh, how exciting.

Dave says yes, he was slow, but he was also learning how to do this while he was 15 feet in the air. True enough.

The little ladies (minus baby Brie, and plus Erik) had fun in the pool while the menfolk were working. I didn't realize how much fun that little puddle of water could be! Or that they could all fit in it with so little fighting.

There was a little splashing.

They treated us to a rendition of "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" (inspired by a sighting of a not-so-itsy-bitsy spider) from their pool stage (they are at the "out came the sun" part). Even Amara worked on playing along!

The girls went out berry picking after supper and found a treasure trove of them! Ah, those strawberries are so fragrant -- it's like filling the kitchen with perfume. The sweet scent of summer!