Easter (by Heather)

Easter weekend for us was super crazy! My sister was in town for a dress fitting and I also hosted a bridal shower for her Saturday night, with twenty guests plus four extra children. It was a blast and Michele scored some great gifts. Sunday we had more General Conference, Easter baskets, and the Easter bunny came and hid eggs. We also had a nice Easter Lunch with Michele, Benjamin (her fiance), and my cousin Bethany. It was a great weekend, even with all the crazy going on. I've posted some of our favorite pictures of the kids.

Getting the goodies out of the baskets.

Finding Easter eggs!

After Easter we had a week off for spring break and enjoyed visiting friends and NOT doing homework. :) This week it was back to soccer games Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri and trying to fit a somewhat normal routine in there.
We visited the dentist this week and were given another thumbs up. No cavities! So far we've been fortunate enough to not have to deal with cavities for any of our children yet. Hopefully that will continue.
I was also called to be the fourth Sunday teacher in Relief Society at church. I'm a little nervous, just because it's been so long since I've had to prepare more than a five minute lesson for family home evening, but I'm sure once I get going it will come together fine. Well, I think that's it for news this week. Until next time then...

Happiness is... a Fence!

Call it a barrier. Call it a wall. Call it a division. Call it privacy. Call it what you will - I will call it a little slice of heaven! (now that it's done, of course)

We've been in our house for about 2 1/2 years now and we've just installed a fence. Don't get me wrong - we enjoy our neighbors. They're good people, and good friends. Our kids play together on trampolines, swing sets, and on the sidewalks and street. We have fun conversations and we all work hard to provide for our families. At the end of it all, though, I'm happy to have a little world called my back yard that I can say is a lot more my own now.

Maybe it's the fact that I miss the wide open field before the houses were built behind us, or being able to see the construction of other new homes. I actually don't mind the look of dirt in the back door neighbors yard as long as the weeds don't grow as tall as I am (and taller). Whatever it was, I don't have to think about it anymore because this is what I see in my back yard now (click for larger view)...

We've been saving for a while to make sure the fence could happen this spring. The hard work has paid off.

The project actually started a couple weeks ago when I borrowed my neighbor's truck and trailer, and got some help from Nate, Scott, and my good buddy Jared. We had to prep materials for the retaining wall. Here's the reason why - the grade from our back yard to the house behind us is about 2ft higher on the property line...

Nate and Kirsta are in the process of redoing their flower beds - giving them a more modern look with some curbing, so I asked to take these cement blocks off their hands. (It's hard to resist free materials - a win-win for me and Nate!) We moved a total of 100 big blocks (plus some smaller finish ones) that Saturday. We're guessing that each big block weighed 70-80 pounds - 16 in wide, 6 in tall, and 12 in deep - solid concrete. After moving the blocks I got Scott to help me get some necessary tools and other materials from The Home Depot.


Next came the prep work - we needed enough space on the property line to place the retaining wall, as well as a clear path for the posts to be installed. In this process I determined that I wanted to go one level higher on the retaining wall than I had originally planned. I had to arrange to get more materials on another day.


The installation crew came and placed the posts last Friday in a matter of about 4 hours. At that point, I proceeded to assemble the retaining wall. I completed about 2 sections of wall on Friday night and then worked all day Saturday. Nate came down to help pay back some manual labor I gave to him while finishing his basement (although he claims I worked him harder). His help was greatly appreciated because in a matter of about 4 hours, we finished out the materials that we had on-hand. I made cuts on the blocks to make the posts appear to come up out of the wall. Diamond blades and a tough saw did the trick just fine. A hammer and chisel helped with the finer details.


The wall was about 3/4 done on Saturday. Easter Sunday came and we woke up to a blanket of snow. The weather didn't want to cooperate - we had rain and snow through Tuesday. Finally on Tuesday evening I got my neighbor to come help me and Nate load up another 40 big blocks to finish out the project. I took Wednesday off and finished the retaining wall. I filled the hollow core of the tall posts with some additional rock, sand, and concrete to help stabilize them.


I finished the retaining wall just in time. The installers came back the next day to place the panels. It took the crew of three a little more than an hour to complete the install. Here is the finished product (again).


What I've Learned:

1. I have a new respect for masons - stone, brick, etc. I cannot imagine how they can do that work day after day. Not a profession I would choose.
   
2. I have no desire to ever build a retaining wall again, but would know to do a few things differently if it were required.
3. Having the right tools for the job is priceless. My investments in a new saw, hammer drill, concrete blades, brick chisel, as well as other tools I have owned for years have been well worth it and have saved me time and money.
   
4. It all starts with an idea and a vision of how it should turn out. It all ends with hard work.
   

Heather's 31st Birthday

Yay - some pictures!

Happy belated birthday to Heather in the blogging world. Since no-one else knows how (or is daring enough to attempt) her favorie - ice cream cake - Heather made her own cake again this year. She didn't want a purchased one since hers are better. Notice the creative 3-1 with the candles on the cake - yeah, that's my contribution.

Heather's birthday prizes came early this year when we had a shopping spree at Kohls. We got her a food dehydrator to go along with all the other kitchen gadgets and appliances we now own... time for a bigger kitchen, right? Not for a while, although that would be nice.
So the family gathering was a couple days after her actual birthday. The morning of her birthday, the kids planned out their attack...

Breakfast: pop-tarts and a banana
Gifts: chocolate bar (raided from the pantry), a homemade bead necklace, and a card
Decorations: balloons from an activity from the night before, custom signage (and one misspelling: brithday - we all got a fun laugh out of it.)

The girls came up with this all on their own. Heather was surprised and I was impressed that they pulled it together in a morning BEFORE Heather got up to get them ready for school.

I think she had a good time turning one year older.