We Are Fa-mi-ly! 🎶

This past weekend my cousin came to visit! And by visit I mean... WORK! My mom is one of seven children and my dad is the middle of three, so I've got lots of cousins who I love dearly. But Megan... Well, I'll just say it... She's my favorite. Out of all the cousins, we are closest in age. So we sat at "the kids table" together. We played endless games of make-believe at the beach (we were the best mermaids ever!) And we have enough random inside jokes to make anyone groan. She's got the truest heart, so when she offered to come help with the house in a Facebook reply, I knew she was serious!

Megan knows her stuff when it comes to building. Her dad (my uncle) is a contractor and has taught her a ton! Bill was even impressed, especially when his drill burned out and she quickly offered "I've got a cordless in my trunk, wanna borrow it?"

Megan, my mom, Bill and I had a solid "to do list" dreamed up for the weekend. We wanted to paint the front porch, expand the driveway a few more feet, lay mulch and build a retaining wall in the front garden, and finish clearing the backyard of brush and debris. Makes me tired just thinking about it! We also threw in a few bonus jobs, like staining a set of table legs for an antique oak table top I got as a hand-me-down, and clean the chandelier in the dining room. And guess what, we did it all!

First, we tackled the front garden. Adding mulch made it look much more finished. Mom put it perfectly: "it's like makeup for the Earth!"

Megan and my mom dug out a few more feet to make more space in the driveway. Hard work!

Bill built this killer retaining wall to keep the dirt in the garden and give us a good border to follow when the snow comes and we need to shovel. 

We started painting the porch. But I was very disappointed when my Cadet Blue came out looking like Cookie Monster Blue!!! I just couldn't convince myself to love it. So Bill and I went back to The Depot to have the color adjusted. 

While we were out, Megan and my mom disassembled the chandelier and ran the crystals through the dishwasher. Magically years of dust and cigarette smoke residue just dissapeared! Check out that before and after pic!! Now it's officially dazzling!

Late at night, after mom left and Bill hit the sack, Megan looked at me and said "ok, what's next?" I laughed, but then realized she was serious. Not many people have a battery like mine and I was happy to take advantage of our momentum! 

We finished off the night staining the table legs so they would be ready for Bill to assemble later. 

The next day we added the second coat of paint to the deck. And the crowning jewel to the weekend, we finished completely clearing the backyard of brush! The swamp monster was defeated!

On Thursday we put all the bundled brush out on the sidewalk for the Trash Service. They took it all! 

Finally, as the sun was cooling off on Sunday, we cleaned up the tools and looked at each other. It was time for a treat. We had a nice trot down the street to the pizza place for cream soda and slices. Three cheers for a job well done!!

Having my cuz there by my side was yet another reminder of how blessed I am to grave such an amazing family. It reminded me of my mom and her sisters, how they show up for each other when it matters most. 

I remember when I was in high school and my mom was sick. My Aunt Carolyn (Megan's mom) showed up to help out. Not only did she give my mom a hand with the basics, but she also managed to enlist me and my brother to help her paint the living room walls! It's memories like that one, and the memories that Megan helped make when she visited that really make up the yummiest parts of life.