Working weekend

Dear James, Daniel and Emily,

After the fun of Friday and Saturday morning it was nose to the grindstone time. Kim & I managed to clear out the old garden/current trash and misc. gathering pile area and turn it into a nice patio extension with gazebo. It wasn't easy, and took a lot of work, but I am pleased with the results. And I can't wait to show off the results next weekend.

Friday was a fun day, what with the down adventure, and then the family barbecue. And Saturday morning was casual up until time for soccer. Then the last soccer game of the spring for James. All in all the boys didn't have much cause for complaint as far as having fun with family.

But on Saturday morning I woke up determined to finally get that section of our back yard cleaned up, leveled and covered. So when we got home from soccer and I laid Emily down for her nap, I got to work. And when Kim got home from work she changed and got to work with me. Saturday was about picking up, digging and moving the concrete. We cheated a little by just putting it in the corner behind the shed, which gets it out of sight and mind, and should discourage kids from running around back there as well. Then we leveled the dirt out (more or less) and finished the cinder block wall that I started several months back. Leaving us exhausted and sore Saturday night.

Sunday we got up, ran to the store, where we had some pretty poor behavior on the part of Emily & Daniel. Then went over to Connie's and got the deck materials from her yard (special thanks to Dad and Dustin for helping us transport the materials in their trucks). Then we set about building the gazebo (which was surprisingly easy, it's not the sturdiest item in the world). Deciding where we wanted it and staking it down. Then we started just laying the deck planks on the ground. It was a lot of work, requiring a lot of trimming with the saw, and some creative geometry. But the finished work was very pleasing. We now have a nice covered extension of the patio that can view both the driveway and back yard. It was a lot of work, we were both exhausted again Sunday night, but I am feeling very pleased with the finished product.

Now we can gear up for this last week of the school year, and make plans for the weekend. Kim has to work every day unfortunately. But her schedule still allows us to have an afternoon barbecue, so that is our plan for Sunday. I will send out an Evite invitation later today for that event.