House
As you all know we built a retaining wall across our back yard (72 feet long). After the dirt was moved around we realized the wall wasn't long enough so we added another 45 feet. As all of this was going on, a nice neighbor wrote us a note letting us know that our yard look like HELL and was lowering the property value of our neighborhood and how much of an eyesore our yard was to them (we have lovely neighbors around here). When we were finally ready to put our grass in it was August and was 104 the weekend we laid sod down in our backyard (all 6500 squared feet of it). Luckily some of the guys Mark works with did the tractor work and helped out with the sod (thanks Tom and David). Luckily a wonderful neighbor from down the street came by and helped for a little while (thank you Randy) or I think we would be dead in our backyard. As though that weren't enough, we noticed that we still had erosion problems up by the sidewalk in the back So we built another retaining wall about 3 feet high by 50-60 feet long (we are still working on the stairs). Three weeks later the side yard was done but because it was cooler (a balmy 94) the 8500 square feet went down so much easier. Two weeks later we did the majority of the front yard. We still have the front ditch and the side yard near the garage side (the one that was seeded last year and didn't take), which will be done this spring. We also have to thank Colby's friend Keith who helped us out a lot with the muscle work and thanks to Colby and Noah for their help too. We have put in some flowerbeds during this time and are finally getting things together. Maybe next year we will get to rest and enjoy our yard. BUT WE FINALLY HAVE GRASS!!!!!
We had to stop feeding the birds to keep the squirrels away. They kept getting into our back porch, making the hole in the screen bigger and it was just scary having squirrels trapped in our porch. The squirrels won !!! |
Speedbump Updates
Ethan won't stop growing. He is so smart and makes us laugh everyday. He has learned interesting things from brothers, as well as words he doesn't need to be saying. When the boys' friends are over, Ethan thinks he is one of them and tries to hang out with the big boys.
Ethan loves the 'Wizard of Oz' and Little Eisteins, they are his favorite. He loves to swing on his swing set.
Colby and Noah will be updating you on their own web pages (Links are below):
Colby - Hot Spot
Noah - Noah's Page
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Mark and Tina
Mark photographed a wedding in November (on our anniversary in fact). The photos turned out great. He has also taken pictures for a family down the street. Finally, his hobby is paying off.
Tina has finally finished training on Flash and rebuilt Fotosaurus.com. She is still working out some kinks and learning things that they don't teach, but things should be running smooth soon. (I figured out some more things, so it's almost perfect now. hope you enjoy the new fotosaurus. )
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Family
As we are writing this, it is a balmy 78 outside and we have caught the flu bug....what's wrong with this picture. Besides that, things are going great. Colby and Noah are in public school, which we call the juvenile center of dysfunctional kids. Yes, they pick up things at school and next thing you know Ethan knows it too. It has been less stress on Tina without all the fighting all day long.
The Baker family (Tina's side of the family) came in for Thanksgiving again this year, minus one. Travis did not make it this year. There is never a dull moment with the Baker family.
We are getting ready for Christmas (we will head down to Louisiana this year). So, try to catch-up with us if you can.
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Stuff
PLEASE check out the what's new page. We have been changing the look of "The DeMarche Chronicle" and hopefully everyone likes our new look.
We have also added a video section. The link is located on the photo gallery page and requires Flash to view the video (If you don't have Flash you can click this sentence to get it for FREE).
We have a new guestbook for you to sign and hopefully this one won't get spammed since it has spam protection. Please sign our new guestbook.
If you're new to the site, please see the archive section for complete past editions!!!
We are only going to press every two months or so. |