Summer Ventures

summer jet ski

Summer On

It’s already August,  but summer is just getting started! We refuse to go quietly into fall. Hold your horses, autumn. We’re hanging onto summer as long as we can! These last couple weeks have been a whirlwind of sun, sand and sanding. I’ll start with the fun stuff.

Camping

We went camping in Alexandria, MN and spent a lot of time on the water!

camping jet ski

Joe got some action on the lake.

summer camping lake carlos

As usual.

baby jet ski

He even made a little friend.

baby on a jet ski

The younger, the better to start ’em jetskiing I guess.

floating on tube baby

Ladies and little gentle man.

group photo camping

Here’s a goofy group pic. Thanks for a fun weekend, Martinsons!!!

Sanding

It’s a fact: My car is not in the best shape…

I’ve been meaning to sand and paint it for awhile.

painting and sanding car

Really not sure why a mattress was on my car, but these things no longer surprise me.

hand sander car

I started with this handy sander.

sanding rust on car

And took it to some of my rust spots.

DIY sanding car

You do NOT want to get it near your face. Gloves and safety goggles and long sleeves.

primer and paint car

Then I put a primer on the spots I planned to paint.

(Later, Joe told me that I should have used a white primer, not clear) Lesson learned.

DIY how to spot paint your car

I picked up a custom-mixed paint from an auto parts store that mixes in house.

how to paint a car

I thought this little aerosol can was a really good idea! I have such an odd color that this was the only option. Has anyone worked with one before? They get freezing cold.

Here’s the before:

auto body damage

Here’s the after:

do it yourself auto body repair

It did an OK job. Overall, it didn’t exactly match and I probably wouldn’t do it again.

vehicle for sale

So either of these vehicles are up for sale if you know anyone interested 😉

how to paint your car

For Fun

I watched softball tournaments all last weekend while Joe spent 15+ hours working on a furnace and AC. I think I had a tad bit more fun than he did. But he’s on call all week anyay, so he figures he may as well stay busy.

Although my bro won the division, the team didn’t do so hot in the state tourney. It was a good run.

softball tournament

But my uncle’s team clenched their state ‘ship, playing 6 games in one day! The final game was against a team of former Minnesota Northstars players. How cool is that!? Their uniforms are old hockey jerseys.


 

Sago Palm plant

Check out this plant I picked up! It’s grown a whole foot! I can’t even believe it.

growing plants

It’s already taller than this. I think it grows at least .5″/day!

how to care for Sago Palm

What is budding? More palm frons or flowers? I have no idea.


 

birthday cake popcorn recipe

One other think I just have to share is Birthday Cake Popcorn. I got the recipe here and made it for my mom’s birthday.

cake batter popcorn recipe

I used raw kernals in the air popper. Which I’d never done before and thought was really cool!

Just mix melted white chocolate with yellow cake mix and drizzle over the popcorn

how to make birthday cake popcorn

And add birthday cake sprinkles. How cool is that? I even made a batch with fruity pebbles for the boys and a dark chocolate batch for moi.

If that got you thinking about dessert…

Today is Miracle Treat Day at Dairy Queen, so you basically have to go buy a blizzard. We all got $5 at work to get one!

Miracle Treat Blizzard Day Dairy Queen

 

 

 

You may also like

1 comment

  1. As always, I love your blog! I can’t wait to hear about the rest of the summer. I’m glad we’re a part of it:)