Like a Ton of Bricks

When the pool was built we had to remove some of our brick paver patio to make room. Knowing we were going to have it fixed after the pool was done we had the demo guy save the bricks. He dumped them in a pile in the back lot. Back in January, the kids (including Roz - she was here visiting) and I spent a warm, sunny winter morning stacking them neatly on a pallet.

We knew we wanted the patio fixed before swimming season really got rolling so we made a few calls to get some estimates. It wasn't a big job. Just fixing a few bricks, straightening the brick line by the pool, and then adding a little bit to one corner to even things out. We didn't think it would cost too much since we had the bricks. We just needed the labor.

The first guy came. Jerry didn't like him. I didn't like him either when I saw his estimate! It was almost $2000! No thanks, we'll pass. The next guy was better. Jerry liked him. I liked his estimate. It was almost a quarter of the first guy's, but he said he was busy and wouldn't be able to get here for about 3 weeks. We said that was fine.

When it had been three weeks and we hadn't heard from him, Jerry called. "Thursday or Friday" is what we were told. No one came. Another call. Another answer. Another no show. Ugh. Then it was Spring Break and he went on vacation. Then another week passed. I was seriously ready to start calling around for more estimates when we were told "someone would be out today". Let's just say I wasn't too optimistic. But, I was also pleasantly surprised, because they came! Finally!

Unfortunately, the three man crew came without instructions. I told them what we wanted and they got to work. They had gotten here late in the day Thursday and didn't work long. I was a little concerned when they left that they didn't understand what I had said. (We had a slight language issue.) When they showed up on Friday morning, I asked them if they understood and they said they did. At that point there was really nothing to do but wait and hope they truly did.

They were done by lunch. And they did just what I said.

So here are a few "before and after" photos.

This first one is on the way to the guest house. We called it the "fiscal cliff" because Annabeth would stop and request assistance to cross it. The pool guys had to dig the bricks up here to run the electrical. Last summer I just laid a few bricks in the gap to make do until we got it fixed.

You can see the line along the pool fence needed to be straightened. Then we wanted to add a few bricks in the far corner to even things out.

Here are the after photos! No more "fiscal cliff"! But I still step funny when I walk here. It will take me awhile to stop that.

We now have a nice straight edge along the pool fence. This line actual runs at a funny angle so each of those bricks had to be cut to fit inside the brick "frame".

 

The corner was filled in as well. It is a little bit lower than the rest of the patio but it looks like it was always that way.

They had to cut a lot of bricks around the little piece of pool decking here as well. Jerry and I might have been able to lay the bricks but we would never have been able to cut them like this! Which is why this was not a DIY project we wanted to take on.

Here is the view from the back patio now. You'd never know it wasn't always like this!

One more thing of our checklist!

New Boy Band

At the last 4-H Community Club meeting, the Cloverbuds got up with the teen leaders did a little dance demo. They asked the kids to wear jeans, white t-shirts, hats, and sunglasses.

Jerry said they looked like some kind of new boy band. As you can see Hayden was really getting into it.

Of course, Annabeth didn't want to miss out on the fun so she got out her sunglasses.

Now it's not just a boy band! Thumbs up!

Make that two thumbs up!

If I was trying to be funny I would say something about coming to see this new boy band in concert or buy their CD. But if you know us, you know we can't carry a tune in a bucket! Bummer.

Easter 2013

Our Easter started bright and early with church at 8am. So we were up, fed, dressed, and out the door by 7:30am. Yawn. Here's a picture of the kids I took before we left for church. I took about five and this one was the best of the bunch.

After church we came home and opened some Easter cards from Grandma Molly and Grandpa John. (Thanks GGS and Pop!) The boys were very excited to find a little money in each one!

My family has a tradition to hide a dollar for each kid to find on Easter. The only rule is you have to be able to see at least part of it when it's hidden. It's harder than you think! The boys enjoy it but don't last too long before they start to ask for hints. Grandma Linda and Pa sent us all a dollar for that! (Thanks Ma and Pa!) When we were done the boys ran off to put their money in their wallets before Dad could take it to put in savings. That darn "savings" takes all their money so they can't buy stuff!

Since church was so early we still had time to work a bit on the chicken coop before lunch. (That update will be another post.) I also baked the lamb cake then set it to cool and made the deviled eggs for dinner. Then we started a new Easter tradition... the Easter swim! It was sunny with a high of almost 90º so it was quite refreshing.

After swimming, I frosted the lamb cake. I didn't have any jelly beans so I had to improvise. We skipped the lamb cake last year so it was good to have him back!

For dinner we had: ham, scalloped potatoes, peas, and deviled eggs. Annabeth ate about 4 helpings of the ham and peas. She kept saying "more, more"! I think she ate more peas than all five boys put together.

After dinner we ate the cake. It was delicious. Hayden didn't get a piece since he didn't want to eat his peas. Eli, in true Easter spirit, offered to eat Hayden's peas for him so he could have a piece of cake. Although it was a very sweet gesture that doesn't quite work when it comes to nutrition.

Hope you had a great Easter Sunday as well! 

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, 

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord 

came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, 

rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was

like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 

The guards were so afraid of him that they  shook and 

became like dead men. The angel said to the women,

 “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking 

for Jesus, who was crucified.

He is not here; he has risen, 

just as he said. 

Come and see the place where he lay.

Matthew 28: 1-6

Demonstrations

We are approaching the end of our first year in 4-H. The four younger boys are in Cloverbuds, a group for kids (ages 5 -9) that are too young to sign up for more complicated 4-H projects. Basically, they get to sample all that 4-H has to offer so they know which projects they want to join when they are a little bit older.

This week each boy had to give a short demonstration in front of their group. Actually, it was more than their regular group, it was parents and the 4-H teen leaders as well. The goal was more to experience public speaking than to actually go all out on the presentation. It was suggested each Cloverbud chose something easy to explain.

We thought for a quite awhile before we came up with our subject matter. In the end this is what the boys chose:

Eli demonstrated how to make Grape Kool-Aid.

JD demonstrated how to make pudding.

Justus demonstrated how to sort laundry. (That is his current big chore.)

Hayden demonstrated how to draw an Angry Bird.

We made our posters and practiced several times at home. The boys were nervous and we talked about how everyone would be nervous and that was okay. I suggested if they were nervous they should volunteer to go first. Of course, then they all wanted to go first! The leader was smart and had the kids draw a number to see what order they would go in. Eli lucked out and drew the #1. Justus, on the other hand, was last. Thankfully, he was okay with it.

I went up with each of them and held their posters for them, but other than that I did not assist them in any way. They did great! I was so proud of them! Not only did they do a great job presenting their demonstrations they also fielded questions and comments from the audience. When it wasn't their turn they were very good listeners and asked questions of the other presenters.

Each Cloverbud presented something different. We saw everything from how to make paper flowers to how to set up a chess board. I think a lot of these kids are future senators and representatives! Public speaking didn't bother them at all!

Mini Pool Party

We love going back to our old (rental) neighborhood to play and visit. According to the boys, we don't go nearly enough. During a visit last week we decided that for the next playdate instead of us going to the neighborhood they would come to us!

So after a week of waiting, yesterday was finally the day! A few weren't able to make it, but we still had a pretty good turn out! I counted 14 kids plus 5 adults.

The kids swam while the ladies chatted. My silly boys were the first ones out of the pool! I think they were lured by the snacks we had at the table.

Annabeth woke up right before everyone arrived. I was sure she would want to get in the water because she loves the pool, but she was happy to sit on Pearl's lap visiting and munching snacks. We decided it was perfect weather. Warm enough for the kids to swim, but nice enough for the rest of us to sit in the shade and not get too hot.

It was just the kind of fun I envisioned when we were planning the pool and we're looking forward to doing it again soon!

The Coop (Part 3)

From 3/23/13:

Another weekend! You know that means... more coop building!! Jerry took the day off and was out bright and early Friday morning. No rest for the weary. We also had an early morning delivery. Can you see that 15 ton pile of rock in the background? (That's another project and another post!).

First up, roof rafters! These were the most complicated of all our cuts and didn't work out exactly right, but they were close enough. "Good enough for government work" as my mom would say. Ha ha.

Once the rafters were up we used the staple gun to put chicken wire over the triangles at the top. We thought these openings would help keep the coop cooler since hot air rises and all that. As an added bonus we didn't have to cut the siding to fit! :) We framed out windows but have decided to see if these openings provide enough ventilation before we cut holes in the siding.

The rafters are long in the front to provide some shade in the afternoon and to offer a bit of protection from rain. Ana White's plan had the door on the shorter side and no overhangs on either side. We moved the door to the taller side and added the overhang.

We took a break for lunch and Jerry went to the store for siding then... it was back to work. After watching several You Tube videos on cutting siding, Jerry decided to buy a large sheet of insulation to cut on. He laid the siding down on the sheet of insulation and set the circular saw to cut just through the siding. It worked great! Much better than trying to balance a floppy piece of siding on sawhorses.

The first piece up!

Then we worked our way around.

Siding goes up pretty quick (relatively speaking). The front will be open and didn't need siding so a short time later we were putting up the last piece!

It was looking pretty good! Like a real coop! This is where we stopped for the day.

Saturday we moved onto the roof. The roofing product we wanted to use (Ondura, if you are curious) was out of stock, and possibly not available for some time, so we decided to go with it's cousin called Tuftex. It worked out nicely. It came in 10 feet sheets and our roof is exactly 10 feet from front to back. That meant only one row of sheets and no overlapping seams in that direction.

I didn't get any photos of the process, but it was pretty straight forward. We got five sheets. They overlap and are held down with special screws that create a seal to keep water out. We chose the tan color hoping it would be cooler than the darker green color they make.

Since the Tuftex was pretty floppy and long it needed support in both directions so we had to add some horizontal purlins to the roof. 

I didn't get any pictures but Sunday after church we stapled chicken wire to the front and put in vinyl flooring. We read it is easier to keep vinyl clean. We used the cheapest peel and stick tiles we could find. It ended up the cheapest tile was a "wood floor" pattern so it doesn't even really look that different from the plywood. You won't see it anyway, it will be buried under several inches of bedding (and chicken poo).

The only thing left to finish are the doors. We started working on the people door, but ran into a few technical difficulties and ran out of time so the completion will have to wait until next weekend. We haven't decided exactly where the chicken door will come out yet. Then, of course, we'll have to make a little chicken ramp too. No chicken coop is complete without a little ramp! If you see any fun signs that say "Chicken Crossing" or "Fresh Eggs" let me know!

In case you missed them:
The Coop Part 1
The Coop Part 2