Our Latest/Nash Rambler/Chompie Byte

April 8, 2008

 You know, I can barely remember March, but we had some adventures.  I came down with the flu or something like it that first week.  I felt pretty yucky, but that was actually one of my most productive weeks around the house.  "How did that happen?" I keep wondering.  I guess when you're sitting in a stupor you realize you're staring at something that really needs attention and you can't stand to look at it in that condition any more.  So it was with my miniblinds and my back yard.  The miniblinds aren't much to report besides feeling glad they're done, but if you're looking for a great way to get filthy blinds clean with minimal labor, ask!  The back yard, on the other hand, was a big deal.

 We hadn't raked it the entire time we've lived here, plus it was a mess when we moved in.  There was a 4-foot swath of long grass growing through deep pinestraw in the middle of the yard, so I wasn't sure where lawn ended and pinestraw bed began.  We decided to just clean out the whole shebang and start with a clean slate.  I started working on it during Daniel's afternoon naps one week, and with the help of my Visiting Teacher one day, we got it done in three afternoons and put 45 bags of lawn debris out on the curb for pickup.  It was a really big job, but I am so glad to have it finished!  We found a bunny in a burrow while we were raking.  That was fun for the kids to see.

 The middle two weeks of March were pretty run-of-the-mill.  David discovered bugs and dirt in the newly-exposed back yard and loved doing what boys do best.  Add some rain to make puddles and we had one happy camper on our hands.  I finally broke down and bought him some rain boots because his shoes were coming in a soggy muddy mess on a frequent basis.  He also liked to put a bucket on his head in lieu of a raincoat.  What a goof!

 For Easter I decided I wanted to visit with some family, so I packed up the boys and went to Charleston, SC to visit my brother Preston and his family for a few days.  David loved playing in their backyard with the big trampoline (netted in for safety) and the treehouse that Preston built before he left for Iraq.  David had a lot of fun playing with his cousins and especially Uncle Preston.  He asks me frequently if we're going to Preston's house again.  While I was there we visited Downtown Charleston, which is one of my favorite places to go.  I've been there so many times, but with the exception of a few unmistakable streets (Rainbow Row, the Battery), I get lost among the old homes so each trip is like seeing it for the first time all over again.  I love it!  David really enjoyed playing on the old cannons at the Battery.

Preston and his three kids: Matt (6), Kaitlyn (2), and Leanne (4) plus David (3) on a cannon at the Battery in Charleston, SC

 We came home Saturday afternoon to spend Easter with Nathan.  He had Easter baskets ready for the boys and plastic eggs hidden around the house for David to hunt out.  That was a big hit!  Even still David brings his bucket of plastic eggs to us and asks us to hide them for him.  One day he went and "hid" them all himself, to find himself, in some very creative places.

 Monday after Easter we had the very great joy of hosting Preston's family on our turf.  Preston applied to NC State for grad school and wanted to visit the campus, check out  the area, etc.  His kids were on Spring Break so they all came on up for a couple days, much to David's delight.  Then that Friday we got to host my brother Brenden for several hours after a work-related seminar in Raleigh before he headed down to Woodbadge training in Savannah, GA.  I was delighted to have two spur-of-the-moment visits from my family in one week, and David has decided that anyone named "Uncle" is really cool.

 Our next big thing to report is that we got our garage renovated this past week.  Yipee!  We have a small double garage, and when we moved in it had two single doors for entry.  The Corolla fit in fine, but the Van was a tight enough squeeze through that doorway that I didn't even want to try after my first attempt.  We hired a company to remove the center column, replace the headers with a single load-bearing beam, and install one double door.  Barring some communication and HOA issues, once we got the go-ahead they made quick work of it.  I called the contractor on Monday, they came on Wednesday and did demolition and reframed the opening, then Thursday they did exterior trim and siding replacement (in the rain, I might add), and Friday we had a new door installed.  Now all that remains is to let it all dry out enough for them to paint it.  I'm very excited and have relished parking the van in the garage over the weekend.  The Corolla got stuck outside because there are still construction materials on the other side of the garage.  J

 Daniel has amused and entertained us greatly this month.  He started crawling forward now, so we don't have many snail trails around the house anymore.  He just mops it up with his belly as he goes along.  He really moves, though, and keeps us all on our toes.  David scurries ahead of Daniel moving toys he doesn't want played with.  A lot of times now Daniel crawls over to my feet and then extends his arms and legs, balancing on his tummy, to tell me he wants to be picked up.

He loves Cheerios and detests getting his face washed after meals.  And as good-natured as he is, he's also got a string of chiding syllables he'll send our way when we take too long to do something (like get him up from his nap).  He and David are good pals.

We love you all!

The (Other) Other Nashes,

Nathan, Natalie, David, and Daniel

--
Natalie


"No matter what you've done for yourself or for humanity, if you can't look back on having given love and attention to your own family, what have you really accomplished?"
- Elbert Hubbard