Remodeling the playhouse...part 1

Scraping and Priming



I never really noticed what an eyesore the green playhouse was until we started to remodel it, every single neighbor came out today with lots of encouraging words. Some that make the top of the list are:
"I was just hoping a strong gust of wind would just blow it down".
"It will be so nice once I can open up my blinds in the morning and not see the big green playhouse". "White primer sure beats the awful green color they painted on there before".

Stay tuned in upcoming weeks as we continue our quest not to be the neighbors with the awful playhouse!!!

Piper Lou Who

As most of you know Piper has always been real intrigued with Dr. Seuss. Ever since I can remember Chris would read her the ABC book, and as an infant she could recite it back~word for word!

The latest Seuss craze has been the movie "Horton Hears a Who" (Katie can so attest to this...I think they watch it everyday I go to work~poor Katie). And at Christmas time "The Grinch" can always be seen around the Schweigert house.

Today Piper woke up with the single most perfect curl...Just like Cindy Lou Who. Do you think there is a resemblance, minus the red bow of course???

~Happy Saturday!

"I can do it myself"!

Very very last laugh with the hotel furniture!

So in the infinite words of my 5 year old, "our hotel furniture doesn't fit"!!

Our anxiously awaited bedroom suite finally arrived yesterday, and to my surprise OUR measurements do not exactly match up with Costco's!! And so again, this experience solidifies to my husband that I cannot make HUGE financial decisions at 2am!!

Oh well, even though it is too big, it is still stinkin brand new and ALL mine!!!

Tiki~riffic 4th!

This is the first year that we allowed the boys to go pick up fireworks, and with a $20 limit and a strict list of absolute NO's, they came home with some of the old favorites: snakes, smoke bombs and sparklers. The day ended with a beautiful fireworks display on Bellingham Bay!!

Happy 4th!

*click on picture to enlarge

Too hot to handle!

Being the long holiday weekend, Chris had today off, and to be brutally honest, there couldn't be a better one! The weather forecast predicted 80's, yet I think we topped 90's~so instead of staying inside (afraid we might melt), we took it all out with sandboxing, sprinklering, and just plain ol' lounging in the backyard.

The best ribs ever!

Here is a fun rib recipe that was given to me by my good friend Kelda. Super delicious and a fun 4th of July tradition at the Schweigerts!

• 2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon course salt
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1.5 teaspoons onion powder
• 2 racks (4 to 5 pounds) pork ribs ( I get them at Costco)
• 1.5 cups BBQ sauce (whatever you like. The recipe comes from KC Masterpiece)

1. Dry Rub: Combine paprika, salt, thyme, chili powder and onion powder in a small bowl. Line counter top with Glad Press n Seal wrap. Place ribs on layer of Press n Seal wrap. Divide the rub and spread over both sides of ribs. Wrap in Glad Press n Seal and refrigerate over night.

2. Heat grill for indirect heat. Allow ribs to stand 20 minutes at room temperature. Remove from Press n Seal wrap.

3. Place ribs, bone side down in center of gill. Cover and grill ribs over medium heat 1.5 to 2 hours. During the last hour of grilling time, brush the ribs with BBQ sauce every 20 minutes until meat is tender. Let rest 5 minutes before slicing into individual ribs.

*The cooking instructions are based on a charcoal grill. You kind of have to judge the cooking time based on the look of the ribs. Usually, I let them go pretty close to 1.5 hours.

Enjoy!