Happy Birthday!

It's hard to believe, but Annabel is a year old. Where does the time go? We celebrated with a small party for family yesterday afternoon.

One thing that Annabel enjoyed was her cake.


This is actually the same cake that Jordan had for his first birthday. (Being the decidedly un-metrosexual male that he is, however, he would like me to point out that his cake was a manly brown - NOT lavender).


Annabel received lots of books, constructive toys and clothes. Here is a picture of her new doll, who we have named Helga, in reference to Annabel's cranky alter-ego. Happy Birthday, Annabel! We love you very much.

Time Out

As many of you know, my sister Kim and her husband Jon have joined us out here in Colville. They bought land next to us, and they are planning to build their dream home in a couple years. In the interim, they have decided to build a small cottage in which to live. When I say small, I mean small (as in 320 sq. ft tiny). As Jordan's Dad says, "That ain't a cottage, that's a cot!"

Jordan took a break from the construction work at our house to help Jon & Kim build their cottage. It's amazing - they went from this:

to this, in just 6 days:

This photo doesn't really do the cottage justice, either. It's absolutely adorable, and I know that my sister will have the most beautiful cottage in the west by the time she is done fixing it up inside and out.

Jordan very much enjoyed getting a break from the construction of our home. He was even able to stop and enjoy the views from time to time. The sunset reflecting off the nearby mountains is just beautiful!

Getting Plastered

Don't get too excited, we mean getting plastered walls, not getting plastered!

We have decided to put several layers of plaster and lime over most of the interior walls at the house. Here is a photo of the first layer, which is quite ugly and messy. Next week, we'll be applying a second coat of a finely textured sand & plaster. We'll have one final, tinted lime layer after that.

Jordan was even able to make me a nice arch in the wall of our bathroom. I think it looks very cool - thanks honey!

Jordan continues to work like a dog. In fact, he often comes home at the end of a long day and curls up on the chairs to get some rest - just like our dogs! Poor guy - we are wearing him out!