Run, Lodi, Run

Fence

We fenced in the backyard this weekend. It looks great thanks to Eric's handy work.

Getting to Know Lodi

Day 2 of Dog.

We have been having a blast playing with and getting to know our new dog, Lodi.
He continues to be affectionate, curious, playful, housebroken (yay!), and just a big lover. We still have yet to hear him bark, but the foster home said when he does bark it's a big one.


Click to view photos on picasa

Meet Lodi

Meet Lodi (Low-die), our new Doberman Puppy that we are adopting today!

He is probably 18-months to 2 years old and comes to us after being rescued by the Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue

Pictures from our initial meeting with him on April 29th.

The Hedge gets a haircut

One thing we have come to learn over the years is how wonderful our friends and family are. Especially friends that own power tools :)

This week our friend Ed came over with some snazzy gas-powered hedge cutting devices and the boys went to work. It went from a hippy look to a buzz cut.

Before/During:


look how high and uneven it is....





"After": All even and quite a bit smaller! looks great...




We also got most of the weeds/grass in the front yard cleared, and the maple tree and creeping jenny are doing great:

The Front Yard Project

We are slowly taking on the 'front yard project'.
It is slowly morphing. Here is the history:

Because of our neglect of it last summer (when we were focusing on the inside of the house), weeds had taken over. So this weekend we are working on clearing out the space again, and spend some time and resources on the yard in the next couple of months.

Today we started clearing weeds and planted a new weeping willow.

Winter Vacations & Snowboarding

Winter get-aways:
We have been lucky to have 3 weekend get-away since January:
- We celebrated Eric's 31st Birthday at a cabin near Mt. Baker with 15 of our closest friends over MLK weekend
- We headed to Whistler in February with friends for an impromptu ski weekend
- Over President's Day we visited friends Andy & Michelle in South Ogden Utah for a weekend of snowboarding & fun!

Here are photos:

Mt. Baker:


Whistler: I dont have photos uploaded yet, so coming soon!

Utah

Happy Holidays!

We sent a limited number of Holiday cards out this year, so here is an electronic version... happy holidays to all!

The Merhar’s Ode to 2008

‘08 arrived with snow on the hills;

To the mountains we drove, despite the gas bills!

With season passes, and friends in masses

we snowboarded in the New Year.

Then came the long weekend of MLK,

the first annual Baker-cabin get-away!

We rode Mt. Baker during the day

while dining and partying the night away.

And Oh, P.S… do I need to say?

We celebrated Eric’s big 30^th birthday!

In February

it was off to B.C.

For a Whistler weekend

of snow, beer and sushi.

Like the year before,

on the equinox of spring;

Friends joined us each Wednesday

for our weekly BBQ thing.

A standing invitation, good friends unite

Washington wine is sipped, and oh yeah,

…the food is tight!

On the airplane we went to Cologne in April,

To visit sister Kelly & get our ‘Kölsch’ fill.

But when we arrived Kelly & Chris quickly shout:

“We’re expecting a baby: little brussel sprout!”

Proud to soon join other “Aunties & Uncles”

We toured Belgium with our share of triples.

What’s in a summer without a wedding or two?

Off to Michigan we flew for the Spicer’s “I-Do’s”.

And then in August we hopped on a ferry,

to watch our dear friends, Kate & Jim get married.

To Richland we drove

for Independence Day.

To see Eric’s folks

(by the pool I did lay).

Great food and wine

Good times with the fam,

a sparkler or two…

Firecrackers? “KA-BAM”

Then the time came…

“It will never be the same!”

The Merhar house remodel

was well underway.

Walls they did fall, Drywall and all.

The ceilings were scraped;

2x4’s replaced.

Up went new walls after insulation was hung.

All in all not so bad…

No necks were wrung!

In the midst of our house mess

Our life wasn’t “less”

A new job for Christina…

At Crisis Clinic (the best!)

In August we learned

my Opa died.

My heart sunk to the floor.

I cried and cried.

(I miss you and love you, Opa)

As the leaves changed colors

Our house did too.

With paint and trim done,

we were ready to show the crew!

Thus a party occurred

to see our house’s new fate—

and to wish Christina a “happy 28”.

Little Myrna was born

(Kelly & Chris’s little girl)

She’s SOOOO adorable

she has us all in a twirl!

The Holidays are here…

What will we do?

Enjoy family and friends,

like we do the rest of the year.

Happy Holidays to you and yours.

Much Love,

Eric & Christina Merhar

Let it Snow! UPDATED 12/21

We got a couple of inches of snow today, and it keeps falling all day! And it is 12/21 and we now have more than 6 inches of snow at our house!! we took a lovely walk down to Carkeek Park and hiked back home :) All of the pictures can be seen

Snow 12.18.08

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Before & After's

I have been meaning to do before & after's of the house-- so here you go!

One reason we are delayed in doing so, is we are still slowly putting back together the house. So, as you will see, the walls are still pretty bare, and we still have some more cleaning and detail work to do. But other than that, it looks and feels great! Enjoy.

Living Room (off of the front door entrance).
Before:


After:



Kitchen:
Before

After:


and the new breakfast nook:


The wall between the living room and front bedroom before:


The new french doors in replace of the wall, and the front bedroom (now our tv/reading room):
Our Bedroom (we dont have any 'before' pictures):


Bathroom. Before:

After: (all we did was paint... this is a project in a year or two)



And lastly the 2nd bedroom/office (I dont have a before picture... and it is currently a mess so I will only show a bit of it...)