ORGANIZED TANK HOUSE- I'M SO TANK-FUL!

Today was CLEAN UP AND REPAIR day on the property. My oldest Rugrat is cleaning out our Tank House. He is putting together and installing shelves so we can have all the crud up off of the floor and the outside. We drive right past the Tank House on the way to our home and it was starting to look like an old collector of junk type person had moved in to the Tank House. I was so excited that they were working on this project so I came down to snap some photos.

This is an inside BEFORE photo........ I think we need more stuff..... =)

I shouldn't run out of water but man I never noticed just how dusty that water tank is! I don't think "Good Housekeeping" will be calling me anytime soon to feature me in one of their articles. Please wait while I dry my tears...

This photo is of our Pump House. My teenage Rugrats keep their weight sets in there. It's hard to see but my Hunk cut up a dead tree on the property and built a "hitchin' post". I just love it. We are purchasing a statue of a horse and we are placing an old saddle on it and going to tie it up to the hitchin' post. It is next to our driveway so we thought it would be fun to see as we drive in.

Ahhhhhhhh the generators. YES we do run soley on generators. Well, the "well" is on solar and we hope to get the rest of our things on solar soon but for now we are powered via the generator. We have a big propane generator and a big diesel generator. We live on the backside of a lake and we are the only ones who live on this side of the lake so there has not been any power brought back in here. We were quoted over $200k to bring it back in to where we built on the property. That price is with above ground poles and wiring and my Hunk can't stand to look at that. He will trench and put it all underground. When you add the cost of that up we decided to go with Solar Power and generator back up. For now it is Generator Power with a Generator back up. We have so much we want to do to the property that we haven't the funds for Solar yet.

I wonder what they see in there? They are looking at it like it is VERY INTERESTING. Hmmm, I doubt it's anything exciting like a rattle snake, a squirel, a possum, a bobcat (though I did have a nice EMBARSING encounter with a bobcat before....lets just say I haven't always been a country girl, but I always was a girl who dreamed of owning a BIG cat, and when my dogs had a Bob Cat tree'd I thought it was my lucky day, I tried to coax it down, yelled at the dogs to leave it alone and I tried to feed it. I brought my other cats over, who by the way were not happy with me in the least, to show this BIG cat how nice I was to other kittys and that it should come down and let me hold it. I didn't realize it would want to eat my kittys or claw at me I was just so in AWE of the beauty. I called my hunk and told him I needed to him to put his gloves on when he got home, just in case he tried to claw at him, and get this BIG cat down for me. I told him the coloring was so beautiful that it almost looked like it was half wild.....I went on to tell him how I've always wanted a big cat like this. When my Hunk came home and looked at this BIG cat of mine, he bust out laughing. He said he could see himself walking into our livingroom while I'm in the rocker holding this BIG CAT and he stops in his tracks and says to me "SLOWLY PUT DOWN THE BOB CAT". What BOB cat? It's not a BIG beautiful cat who was going to be forever mine? Sighhhh I was bummed, my dream burst, I already had a name picked out for him. I already imagined my friends coming over to meet my new cat. Oh how they would comment on his coloring and yes his size......but this was not to be....However, I do recognize a Bob Cat now and I've never tempted one with a snack (my kitty's) again.).....

CRUD! I've been spotted! I thought I was being so sly!

Daddy watchin' as his son does what he just explained to him..... Proud Daddy moment.

I love watching moments like this. Moments when a father is teaching a son. When a son is drinking in all the wisdom his father has to give him. I love watching them work together. I love watching them play together. I just love watching them! (yes, I was trying to be invisible while taking this picture! I wanted to capture the moment...... and when they see me they start up with the dorky faces, the toungues sticking out, the eyes buldging for what they think is a hysterical photo.... GOOFBALLS!)

I think my Hunk is trying to tease me by bending over like that...... sighhhhh

This is our old dump truck. We have hauled (why yes, honey you do have a mouse in your pocket)...OK, My HUNK has hauled many loads of sand down to our beach are with this truck. She ain't perty to look at but she will getter' done!

I was on my way back down to the house and I spoted this birds all gathered on a couple rocks out in our cove.

Here birdie, birdie birdie.........

There were four boxes of shelves in my Rugrats truck and now there is one. There must be progress going on inside! yahoo!

There he is with my nephew (who just came out from a visit from South Dakota. He is in the military and recently returned from Iraq, thank you dear sweet nephew, and he is out to visit with us here in Cali for a couple of weeks) putting shelves together......

Give me an "O".......give me an "R"........give me a "G" ......give me an "A"...give me an "N".....give me a "I"...........ok this is taking too long..... If I finished this chant, what would that spell?? ORGANIZED........ YEAH! We are on our way!!

Man these shelves are filling up fast. Sighhhh there goes the dreams of having so much extra room that all my Holiday decorations could be stored out here...........

It's looking so much better, so organized, so..so...clean, so amazing, sighhhhhhhhh I'm just so TANK-ful!!

So you know you want to hear a story about the Tank House. My youngest son (16) had friends over for the night. It was the first time a couple of them had stayed over so they decided to go out in the middle of the night (because they are boys!) and walk around the property. My son takes them up to the tank house. He tells them an old man lives there (since it is a log cabin look, they had no idea a water tank was inside).... he tells them that the old man is grouchy, yada yada yada..... Then he tells them he has this great idea and he goes up to the tank house doors and he starts banging on them and yellin'. Well, these friends of his just about die, they are expecting this grumpy old man to wake up and get mad, they can't believe my son would be so BRAVE..... My son took off running back to them (as if the old man had started to open the door to get him) and his friends ran like the wind back down to the house. They were scared half outta their minds.... These brave 16 year olds.....My son laughed so hard that I thought he would pee himself! YES, another prime example of how much they are like their father!.....

There is never a dull moment around here. And most days I don't complain about that. ;)

This is why we have children right? They are put here for one reason and one reason alone. To work for their parents, to do the things we don't want to do. I know this isn't true, but isn't this what our parents said when we didn't want to do a chore? When they wanted to give us a bad time?? When they wanted to irritate us?? Basically when they wanted us to realize that we were going to do what they needed/wanted done so we might as well stop complaining and get to work..... But lucky or is it UNlucky? Hmmmm, might have to ask this question of him.... my oldest Rugrat does work for us..... I'm proud to say he is a very hardworker. He is such a good boy. And isn't he just adorable?!? He is a carbon copy of my Hunk of Burnin' Love at that age. Well, he is taller than my Hunk but otherwise carbon copy. I don't even know why I had to be at the birth. I was just a Host for this little guy. Is it possible to only have one parents dna? I don't know why anyone would want to deny this Rugrat as their own but my Hunk couldn't do it if he tried. He looks like him, talks like him, stands like him and his sense of humor?....well, lets just say if there is someone around to pull one over on he will jump at the chance, just like his father. And when you tell him "you are just like your father!" (Now we all know when we say this to our children it isn't always a positive thing! ) Well, my rugrats take great pride in this statement. There chests swell up and a grin spreads from ear to ear and then the little chuckle comes out. They are so proud. And of course I start laughing and my Hunk just swells up right along with them. It makes him feel so good that his children enjoy being compared to his goofball self. What I'm so thankful for is the strong work ethic and integrity that they have. Nothing could make me more proud.

Momma bragin' on her family? You betcha!!! Don't we all from time to time?

Have a B-E-A-utiful day!

Ciao Bella~