My Lumberjacks!

As you know out house has a lot of trees! Even with the ones that we have already trimmed or taken down, there is still a lot and they are very messy. Gregg and I both really like trees, but unfortunately not the type that the owner planted everywhere on the property. And poor Sydney is allergic to the tree droppings from either the Cyprus, Pine, or the Pepper tree. Well yesterday Bob Anderson, Gregg and Papa chopped up some serious tree. They are taking down the 4 trees in the middle of the yard. So far they are about to finish off 3 oth them!They create the mot mess and the most of an eye sore. Although I'll bet that the things I now see due to the new "view" will be just as much of an eye sore. But Thank You Gregg, Bob, and Papa for you hard hard work!!!!

Here is a before pic from last winter when there was lots of rain and everything was much greener and the 4 trees had no idea what would be their fate! You can see the Cyprus, then the Pepper Tree, then the cyprus (really close to the ground) and then lastly the Pine Tree.



Do not be fooled! the pics make it hard to see that the trees are acutally gone. Due to the trees in the back ground but all that is left are the tall stumps! Just a few branches at the top of the pine tree to go!

Here are 3 of the trees, first Pepper, then the Cyprus, then the Pine with a few branches.



Here is the Cyprus tree and the Pine.


Here is the Pepper Tree, or what is left!


You can see all 3 in this pic!

A taste of the remodeling before and after

A lot of people do not know what I do. I thought I would post a few pics of a Kitchen and Bar that my Dad and I designed. We work for a "Design and Build" company that goes from concept to completion. I love what I do and the before and afters are one of the best parts! So here are the pictures from this job that we just completed! Enjoy the pics!

Kitchen Before


Bar Before


Kitchen After


Island after


Bar After

a few more pictures from today

A messy kitchen is a sign of a good meal. At least that is what I tell myself. :-) At least it is clean now. I could not resist to add some more pictures of Sydney!

Dinner at the Bowcocks

Yes... We are the Bowcocks, and we love to have people over for dinner! So tonight we had Mom, Dad, and Papa over. I love having them over because first and foremost they are great company, but also if I forgot to buy anything at the grocery store, mom is all over it! Thanks Mom!
Today Gregg had his kidney stone procedure again, this time on his right kidney.at least until next The "surgery" was successful, and we hope not to have to go through this again... years "Yearly Cleaning"! This time Gregg made sure that they did not use as much anesthesia. Last time he got real sick and ended up in the ER. Turns out that last time they did not give him the anti-nausea meds. So this time he made sure that they did. Hello! Gregg is doing great! When i asked if he wanted to have dinner at Mom and Dads, he said "But the Darts are here!'. I laughed! He is definitely doing better this time around!
After we got home we got into bed, i had a heartache, and Gregg was drugged up. We had just got a new dog "blanket". I put it on the bed and first time we let Sydney up on the Bed. :-) We laughed at all of the funny things she was doing. She would scoot as close to the edge of the blanket to get as close to us as she could and then make faces. I played keep away with my hands. She loves to "chase" them.
Now, we are watching "Lady in the Water". Gregg did not get to see it when the family went to see it over Christmas break because he was working. :-( What did you all think of it?

Just because she is cute.

Ventrua!

Gregg is now officially at the Ventura Office. He has now for four days. The first 2 days Gregg drove around with one of his classmates from the academy. He lives here in town, close to mom and dad. They drove around so that Gregg could start to get a feel for the area. Ventura has a huge area with a lot of non freeway roads. They take care of the unincorporated areas taken care of by the state, like Ojai. So far Gregg really likes the Change. Mom, Dad and I were able to eat lunch with Gregg, his co-worker and his family on Saturday. That was fun! Although Gregg’s co-worker had to leave before he could order due to a crash.
Sunday Gregg was working so I went to Church with out him, but Gregg was able to come and spend a little bit of time with us at Sunday School. Everyone was happy to see him. They all said that they felt so safe! Craig joked that they may feel safe but do not get in his way… he is packing heat! It was nice to see him.
After work Gregg and I spent some time at Mom and Dads watching the Super Bowl and then when over to Chris and Jillian’s for some of Chris’s famous Chili and the half time show that we did not watch.
So, so far Ventura has been great!