12,000 Pounds of Sand

How do you move it?

One shovel full at a time.

Of course....my back will probably not be happy with me tomorrow.

Found Ring!

My honey found the ring as we dug in the dirt this morning looking for it!  So happy to have it back and to NOT be in more trouble right before our anniversary.

Lost ring?!?!!!

I went outside this evening to do a little more work on my project as I am hoping to have the sand delivered early next week.  But, in the process of working I am pretty sure I lost my wedding ring in the dirt.  I am not a happy camper.  Kristen is not happy.  And I may have to see if I can rent or borrow a metal detector this weekend and find it!

Friday, Saturday, Sunday

Catching up on the rest of the week....

Friday
While it was gloomy and rainy outside, it was a very good thing as it gave us a down day...a day of rest, as it was leading to....

A Very Full Weekend!

Saturday
OK, my day started back in our backyard trying to complete the work I had started on Thursday.  Another several hours of work and I had the edging done.

Doesn't really look like that many hours of work, does it?

Now, I just need to reinforce the low sides and order the filler material.

For the afternoon, Kristen put together a bowling trip for the family with another family, the Conroy's.  It was the first time for Kevin and Ben, the Conroy's two boys, got to go bowling that wasn't candle pin variety.  We had a great time at PINZ, though I was so busy that I didn't even take one picture!  We then made it home for a late dinner and a little relaxation before bedtime.

Sunday
We started the day at church, of course.  Then, home to get ready for another get together at the house.  Kristen invited a number of friends and their kids to come hang out for the afternoon starting at 4:00.  So, we had lunch and let the kids have some down time, while Kristen put her ribs in the oven.  Then friends arrived and we had the whole front and side yard full of games, people and excitement.

We were exhausted by the end of the night and had enough energy to simply get the kids inside, wash their feet and get them and ourselves to bed.  A fun weekend, but tiring.  Hopefully a few good memories and time well spent for everyone.

Vacation, day 4

So, you saw the pool in the previous posts...you also could see that it didn't seem to be too full.  Well, it is supposed to be able to fill up to around 30" of water.  Of course, that is contingent on a person setting it up in a flat space.  It wasn't set up in a flat space.

So, I have been tasked with creating said flat space.  And I started that work yesterday.  I can't say I made a lot of progress.  I certainly did a lot of surveying and planning and such...but only got so far in digging the areas for the 2x4's and driving in the stakes.  Hopefully, I can get it dug out and set up by the end of the weekend and figure out how much pea gravel or sand or whatever we need to put in it to level the area out.


After all that hard work, we did have some friends come over for dinner.  The kids had a blast, we had awesome ribs that Kristen made and she go to enjoy her second fire in our fire pit.



The weather was perfect for it and the kids got to play out side till 10:30, which they thought was an awesome treat.  They even learned a new game called "Man Hunt" from the other kids.

July vacation day 3

So, yesterday was a toss up day...we were not exactly sure how it was going to turn out because of the work calls I had to be on to start the day and the fact that I had a ministry meeting scheduled in the evening.  I was up until about 2am finishing the work stuff...so I wasn't really sure if I would have the energy to do anything either....  

Me the night before..... :)

Luckily, I got through the calls, (the boys and mom were also busy during this time washing the cars!...Thanks boys for my shiny, clean car!) still had energy and we decided to go back to the YMCA for family swim time.  We had a good time, even though the water was cold and the pool was packed.  Kristen even got in the water for awhile so that I could work with both boys on their swimming.  She ditched us a short time later for the hot-tub that resides right next to the pool....but at least she came in for awhile.

Post swimming, we went home and had dinner but then decided to head out to the local beach for some more time in the water.  The weather was too perfect not to be out and we figured it would be a fun memory for the week.







Well, the memory for the day may end up being me having to splash into the water to grab Jude who was trying to drown himself...so not exactly the memory we were expecting....but everyone was safe at the end of the day, tired and had enjoyed themselves...so a good vacation day nonetheless.

Vacation...continued

Yesterday was highlighted with me getting to watch the boys at their swim lessons.  I love seeing their individual character traits play out so distinctly.  Jaden still wanting to achieve, frustrated for not being able to do what he wants...cautious in how he moves forward.  He loved today though as he got extra coaching from the instructor and was able to move at a pace he felt more comfortable with.  It was "sick", as he explained.

Jacob, on the other hand basically ran to his class and dove in.  Kristen said in the previous class she was beginning to wonder if he was going to come back up to the surface!  He is NOT a strong swimmer...he just has no fear.  His smile was on the whole time and he craved the attention of anyone and everyone....watch me!  I certainly did and it was a wonderful joy.

Busy Spring...

Maybe I will take a couple of posts and try to recap the last couple months since I have not been blogging.  However, today, I am simply going to post that it is my "vacation" week.  I say "vacation", because I still have to do some work today and tomorrow and I still have to do some ministry stuff....BUT, it is a week I hope to spend a good bit more time than I usually get to with the family (so long as we don't kill each other in the process).

So, yesterday we celebrated the 4th with Kristen's family here at the house with a barbecue and time in the above ground pool that Kristen bought.  It may have only held about a foot of water for the day because of the slant it was on, but the kids still had a blast.  They hung out till around 4pm and then went home for Todd to have a baseball practice.




For us, we relaxed until the evening and then went to a fantastic fireworks show in Bellingham.  We got to play football with the boys (can't forget to mention what an amazing arm Kristen has...she should be playing quarterback somewhere ;) ) and have a picnic dinner while listening to some music coming from a band playing at the event.  The fireworks show was so long that both Kristen and I actually kept wondering when it would end...yep, that's the finale...oh, just kidding!  Can't imagine how much it cost!  A great memory with the kids so, all in all, a great day.