Day 3 & 4

Day 3:
I started at the edge of the porch instead this time. The bricks were a lot harder to get up though because half of them are buried! I counted how many bricks I dug up. Day 2 - 267. Day 3 - 311.

Here is what I started with...Digging them out of the dirt -
All of the bricks I got up -
Finished for the day...
I decided to take a break from the bricks and plant some flowers out front. Our front porch was covered in leaves and so messy. I have clients coming by so often now that I really needed to clean things up! Now hopefully I can keep them alive.
Day 4:
I have been working during nap time everyday. But today they woke up super early. So...I decided to just set up their gate outside and let them play in the dirt while I worked! They had a blast, but were SO dirty when I was done.


Here are the brick I dug up today - 524!
The progress -
What I have left!
It hasn't taken me nearly as long as I thought it would. it is really hard work though and I am very sore. I think I am going to take a break tomorrow. I think it will only take 2 more work days though to get up the rest of the brick. Then for the fence...

The Weekend and My New Project

The weather was cold Friday and Saturday so we stayed inside and didn't do much. The weather was much better today though. Kim, Chrys, Stan and Judy were out at the State Park so we went out there for lunch. As the kids get older they will be spending lots of time hiking and playing out there.

Here they are in a play pin that is older than Eric!Papa & Mason
Mimi & Sawyer
Mimi Judy reading to the kids (I didn't get any of Stan though)
Now for my project. I have been wanting to be able to take the kids outside and let them run around and play, but don't really have a safe place. Our backyard is full of weeds, 3 dogs and lots of dog poo. Our front yard is close to the street and full of stickers. And I can't really take them to the park by myself yet and watch them like I need to be able to. So... last week I had an idea. I am going to turn our back porch into a yard for the kids. First I needed to trim the trees and bushes. Then I have to dig up all of the bricks that form the patio (which is A LOT). Next we will have to build a fence from the brick wall to the neighbors fence to keep the dogs out. Then I will plant grass to cover the yard. Once I am done it should be really nice and just need some fun yard toys! I am thinking about a little fort slide thing and a sand box. And then of coarse a little kid pool for the summer. I have heard that the water/sand table are really great though. Does anyone have any suggestions?? Any favorites from your kids? So here are some pictures of my project. I am 2 days into it!

Here is the porch when I started:

This is the space where the fence will be built - from the wall to the fence.
Day 1: Trim the Trees and Bushes


Day 2: Start Digging Up Bricks
This is how much I got done the first day digging. I worked for maybe a hour and a half and was completely fatigued when I was done. My shoulders and my hands are so sore. The worst part of it though was hauling the bricks out of the backyard in the wheel barrow. It was so heavy! I hope I can move tomorrow!



Have a great week!

New Shades & a New Do

Spring Break

This past weekend my parents were in town for their Spring break, so we took the kids outside a lot to play and ran a bunch of errands. It was a busy weekend. I also had 3 photo sessions. We took the kids out to Jacob's Dream to let them run around and try to get some pictures but they are too busy to sit still for pictures. Here is what I did get though.






Mason sitting on daddy's head -
After eating -

These babies LOVE to eat. Especially Mason. Sometimes I can't believe how much they can fit in their little tummies. Tonight for dinner they had sweet potatoes, broccoli rice casserole, brisket, corn casserole, black beans, yogurt with cereal, strawberries, grapes and a little bit of pear. They don't eat a ton of each thing, but it is still a lot of food!! And it is so messy. They love to spread it all in their hair and all over themselves. It is not much fun to clean them up.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The Weekend...

We had a weekend full of visitors, parties and work. I had two meetings with potential wedding clients and Eric worked all weekend. They are doing physical assessments for applicants and he has been working nonstop all week.

My Aunt Susan and Uncle Mike were in town from Vermont and it was so much fun to get to see them! They had never met Mason and Sawyer.
Then we had Sofia and Maddox's birthday parties to go to. Sofia was the first kid to hold Sawyer when she was a baby! Here is a picture of them. I don;t remember how old Sawyer was though.


All the kids at Sofia's party -
Sawyer playing with her friend Meg -
Alison was in town for the festivities as well! They moved away right before we both got pregnant and our kids have never met! So it was great for Ella, Sawyer and Mason to get to meet each other for the first time.
Sawyer, Ella and Mason -
Mason and Ella were very taken with each other. I think Mason has a new girlfriend!

On a sad note, the preacher at our church (Mike Cope) announced his resignation this morning. We are SO sad that he won't be our preacher anymore. When I was a freshman, he was a big part of the reason I stared attending Highland and stayed there. Eric was the other reason :) It will be interesting to see who they find to take his place. I know they will not be the same as Mike, but maybe they will find someone good. It doesn't seem possible to find someone that will be as good as him, but we can hope.