How We Beat the Texas Heat

It was in the 90s today. We were soooo hot ... The girls needed to cool off and the lawn needed watering. We killed 2 birds with one stone...


Riley came up with the idea of swinging in the sprinkler on her own. I put videos at the bottom.


Natalie is the Queen of the Swing!




They had so much fun!

Backyard Update

Here are a few photos to show you our progress on the backyard. We actually finished the walkway, I'm just so worn out from working on it this weekend that I didn't take a final picture.







Here you can see our patch of grass that is still in "shock". It is actually turning green. You can also see the sandbox we put in for the girls- a favorite. The red wheelbarrow is where the butterfly and hummingbird garden will be. Hey- I'm working on it. It's pretty hot here ya know!






Here is another look at the patch we finished sodding. We have a fully sodded backyard now. Hard to believe that not to long ago it looked like this.

I've been playing with my Photoshop Elements (finally). This is my first attempt at editing a photo without reading the directions. LOL



They look so sweet, don't they?

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Tim and Natalie were unloading the dishwasher this evening. Natalie was speaking with her "boo" in her mouth. Tim told her to take it out when she talks. Here is the conversation that followed.

Natalie: Doodie's coming.

Tim: Yes Natalie.

Natalie: Daddy, when you were in Rushshaa, Doodie cut up my boo. I don't want her to cut up my boo. She made me real mad.

Tim: She played with you too.

Natalie: Yeah, but she cut up my boo and I'm still mad.


I went to tuck Riley in bed tonight and here is what she had to say...

Riley: Why isn't there a Kids Day?

Me: What do you mean?

Riley: You know like Mother's Day and Father's Day. There is no Kid's Day and that is not fair. Ya'll get a day all to yourselves where you get presents and kids don't get that.

Me: Oh you mean that birthdays, Christmas, Easter, Valentines and Halloween don't count as kids days?

Riley: giggles Oh yeah- I forgot about those.

I'm Tired

Riley: Mommy, I'm so tired. I slept the whole time at nap time and they had to wake me up.

Me: Do you think it might be because you stayed up too late last night? Maybe you need to go to bed earlier.

Riley: No Mommy, I just got tired playing so hard at school. I played hard, listened hard, worked hard, and learned hard. That's all.

Are We Done Yet?

Is it me or is this year's TAKS testing dragging on FOREVER???? Where is the finish line?

Oh, if you want to know how the yard is coming... better... but we're not done yet.

A Lot Can Happen in only... 48 Hours

Our weekend began with a large pile of dirt (18 cubic yards to be exact). Friday the dirt came and Tim cursed at the back panel of the fence as he removed a section so the dirt could be brought in via wheelbarrow. This did not go over with great enthusiasm, so early Saturday morning he flagged down the bobcat driver and for a few dollars and 30minutes worth of work...

BAM! All 18 yards were in strategic piles throughout the backyard. The girls were thrilled and pitched in. They chose to use their dump truck to haul heavy loads of dirt to the flowerbeds.



Tim and I did the dump and rake team method. We had all the dirt leveled out by 1pm. Then we showered and headed off to Riley's friend Madison's birthday party to relax before a long day of sod laying on Sunday.



The girls awoke bright and early. They even got dressed with out being told!!! Riley chose to wear her princess tiara for a long days work playing "Queen of the Hill". Natalie was content to move dirt with her new shovel and bucket.



Tim and I had a cup of coffee and he was off to Home Depot to get the PVC to lay below the dirt and sod for the electricity to be run to the outdoor kitchen. He also picked up the necessary wood to make the girls a sandbox. You can see below that the dirt pile is significantly smaller and that the sand box is NOT finished but only framed for sodding purposes(That's next weekend's project).



With the help of our neighbors Karen and Dale, we laid 2 pallets of sod in 3 hours or so. We have a third left to do later this week. The sod truck did not bring in enough pallets.


Through the sweat, the tears, the blisters, aches and pains our yard has transformed into a real yard, not a dirt pit! YEAH!!!





It's amazing what a little grass will do. And below you can see where I began building my rock wall raised flowerbeds. These are for next weekend.

Not too bad for 48 hours, huh?