Building a Patio: Update #3

We made a lot of progress on the patio is past weekend. After catching up on some much needed sleep, we ran to Home Depot before diving into to all the work that needed to get done. We picked up one load of pavers, some bricks for the edges, and more weed block because I didn't get enough the last time I went. 

The first thing we did was lay out the rules of the sand to the boys (and then repeated them multiple times throughout the day) before we started to spread out and water the sand. 

Meanwhile, Charli rocked her new ponytail do while kickin' it in the sand pile. I don't know how much sand she ate, but two days later, she's still pooping it out... Hunter and JP opted to make a huge mess of the dirt pile Perry dug up the other night. After throwing chunks of dirt at the mower though, they promptly were kicked off...

Perry started laying down pavers while I finished spreading out the sand. Once I was done with that, and when Grandma arrived, he showed us how to lay the pavers too. When he was checking one of the first couple pavers I set, he dropped one on his finger and pretty much ripped the nail off. It's barely hanging on. After a short injury break, everyone went back to work. Grandma and I still weren't even remotely close to as fast as he was with an injured finger, but we held our own. 

Grandma had extra help. Hunter was her very own "water boy" asking her if she needed a drink about every fifteen minutes. If he wasn't doing that, he was randomly shouting, "Let's go Grandma!" or "Get it moving Mom!" Very motivational....JP also helped out by banging the hammer a few time for Grandma, and by being the wobble tester. They both like this job of standing on the paver to see if it wobbled. Very important job for them. 

 By the end of Saturday night, this is what we accomplished. 

By the end of Sunday night, this is what Perry accomplished. I say Perry because after laying 3 pavers and it taking about 45 minutes, I gave up crying. It's quite frustrating. It's level left to right, but it has to much or to little slant. You fix the slant, you mess up the level. After I kind of got it together, my new job was to sprinkle sand in the cracks and water it down to help set them. 

Update #4

Hiking the "M" + Golf with Aunt Kim

I some how forgot to post about our hikes to the "M" with Aunt Kim! Way back in January, when we had a heat wave, Kim and I took the boys to hike Mount Sentinel so they could touch the "M". 

 The first switch back was a little muddy on the way up but they boys didn't seem to mind. That's as far as we made it though because the kids were getting cold. 

 They were pretty impressed with the view either way!

 When we got back down, we took them across campus to check out the big grizzly bear. They had a lot of fun playing on it and I'm pretty sure Kim has a picture of them pretending to be bears. 

 In May, we had some great hiking weather. Unfortunately, Hunter was at preschool when we took our 2nd hike to the "M" and actually made it! Jim made sure he climbed on it.

 I wasn't sure if we were going to make it all the way up because we had to be across town to pick up Hunter. After powering through the last 4 switchbacks, we hung out at the top for about 5 minutes before marching back down to get Hunter from school.

 JP had it easy. Sort of. He hiked up a couple switchbacks, but whenever he became tired, Aunt Kim carried him. I would have helped, but I had Charlotte in my front carrier. She some how carried him down the mountain too!

 The other weekend, Charlotte and I had more fun with Aunt Kim when she took us golfing. (Perry wasn't impressed that I went golfing without him...)

 Charlotte couldn't have been any better! She chilled in her car seat the whole game and snacked on food. She was just starting to get fussy when we finished the 9th hole. Perfect timing!

It was the perfect day for golf, especially since we missed out on the thunderstorm headed our way!

Building a Patio: Update #2

We have officially started on the patio!! On Wednesday to be exact. That's when I wanted to start reupholstering my table and chairs, but didn't have any staples so I was forced to put my project on hold and go to Home Depot with 3 kids the next morning...Anyways, I instead spent my time helping Perry move all the pavers that were already laid down. He was impressed I was *asking* to help.

On Thursday while I finished up my project on the deck, Perry worked hard on breaking up the ground and shoveling rocks. I attempted to help him with that portion of the project on Friday, but because of my lack of muscle and skill, I was gently kicked off the "shoveling rock" job, and the "pick" job. Lucky for me, there was one other job I was able to do. Move sand. Correction, move 4 tons of sand. [See truck with tipped trailer]

While the kids and I were at a park on Friday afternoon, Grandma borrowed the truck and trailer to pick up the sand for us. (Pays to know people in the construction field!) From the moment I saw all the sand, I was dreading having to unload it. Although I did unload the majority of it, Perry lightened the load by filling up the boys' sandbox to get some of the weight off the trailer while I was at the store getting weed block to put down.

I loaded up wheel barrel after wheel barrel and hauled them to the backyard to dump. I had a few close calls getting them there. Just when I finished up the trailer, Perry informed me that the truck also needed to be emptied that night as well due to all the weight that was on it too. Understandable. The back right tire was nearly flat because the load was so heavy. I got a few loads of sand dumped from the back of the truck before our neighbor, Judy, came over to help. *We are SO thankful for ALL her help!* She ran the wheel barrels while I filled them up and if she hadn't been, I wouldn't have finished until 2 am, unlike 11pm when we finished up.

 

Here's what we accomplished as of Friday night. Perry was able to get all of the ground broke up while we we're unloading sand. The picture of the sand pile doesn't give it justice as to how big it actually is... Later this morning Grandma Betty is going to come into to town to help lay the pavers down, which I can only imagine will be a big job. The boys are so excited to see her. And we are excited for the extra help!

[Update #3]

Reupholstered Folding Chairs + Card Table

The other day as I was sitting on my deck listening to the boys play in the yard, I glanced over at the folding chairs sitting on our deck. They had been in storage all winter and after eating off our laps outside, I figured it was time to pull them back out so we could have a table to sit at. So while I'm looking at these chairs, I realized that the pads are only held on by bolts. Then I wondered how hard it would be to reupholster them. After dinner, I asked Perry if he cared if I messed with them. He didn't. (I probably would have anyways...)

If your not on Pinterest, good for you. Stay away because it will suck you in! And if you have a Pinterest account, you can follow my boards here. When I have a project in mind, like when we updated the bathroom, I go to Pinterest for ideas. I did the same for this project too. Why would I try to figure it out myself, when someone else already has?! For those wondering, I used the tutorial that Adventures at the Orange Door Inn posted. Her version was very helpful!

This is the set I'm working with. There is nothing wrong with any of it, other than they were in the wrong place at the wrong time when I was feeling crafty. 

Materials I used:

1/2 yd outdoor fabric per chair (or home decor if they're staying inside, but make sure it's thick)

1 yd out door fabric for the table

Light duty staple gun

1/4 in staples

Philips screwdriver

Flat-head screwdriver

Pliers

Sewing scissors

Water resistant spray

Optional: Babysitter. A full day project can be easily shortened into a few hours with one. Just saying.

 Let me begin by saying I took the easy way out, and didn't take off the original covering on the chairs or the table. I just stapled over it. 

First remove the cushions from the chair. I had two screws on the top cushion, and four on the chair pad. I had a little plastic piece that was stapled on, which covered the fabric edge. I used the flat-head screwdriver to lift the staples up, and then used the pliers to pull them out. Even though between all the chairs, I only was required to pull out 16ish staples, I probably pulled out closer to 50 because I wasn't pushing hard enough when I was stapling. Trial and error with the staple gun!

 Next lay the top cushion on the fabric, ensuring that it is straight (otherwise it'll drive you nuts when it's done - take my word for it). Once it's placed how you want it, fold up one of the short sides and staple it in place. Do the same to the other short side, being sure to pull it tight. At this point you can cut off any extra fabric you have for the long side. *When you're stapling the curved side, I found it's easiest to hang the cushion halfway off the table so you can press on the staple gun without bending the cushion.*

When you get to the corners, pleat and staple.  Then cut off any excess fabric. The top cushions are 10x harder than the bottom square cushions, but the process is the same. The key to success in this project is making sure you're pulling all sides tight. Once you're finished screw them back into the chairs and TAH-DAH!

 You have these cute things! I'm spraying them down with a water resistant spray because most likely they'll be outside. 

 I am in love with my chevron chair! When I was fabric shopping, I wanting the chairs to have color to them, but knew that whatever patterns I chose, one of them had to have green on it...

These two chairs will always drive me nuts because the blue fabric is a little slanted on the top cushion. On the red one, due to how the fabric was cut, I had no way getting anything centered on the top cushion. Maybe Perry gave me a bit of his OCD....? Either way, I'm still calling this project a success. 

Especially when they are sitting at the table. All the colors, some how match. I lucked out... I love the set so much I want to do another. How'd I do? Tell me which is your favorite!! 

Building a Patio: Update #1

For Perry's 29th birthday and for Mother's Day this year, Perry's mom bought us a patio dining set. We eat outside fairly often in the spring time, and just about every day in the summer (because we don't have a/c). Lately we've been eating with our plates on our laps while the boys used the coffee table, but previously we've been using a small folding table. Both arrangements have worked fine for us.

It goes without saying that an outdoor dining set, that seats 6, will get a lot of use. The problem is we have no where to put it because I refuse to get rid of our love seat and chairs on our deck. I use them just about everyday in the summer time! If we put it on the deck, we'll have no room to move. If we put it down by the garage it'll sit on dirt/grass.

So we're going to build us a patio, with all the free time we have...! Here's what we're working with. 

This is what the back of the garage looked like when we first bought the house in 2009. We've since taken out the garage door and moved the back entrance. I think in this conversation, the current homeowner and I were talking about the patio. They had started to put one in, but stopped.  

We've also thought about finishing it, but rebuilt the deck instead. We've had little luck growing grass in the patio area. It's probably because of all the walking to and from the garage done by Perry... And do I need to mention that muddy spot off to the right of me...How many times have the boys peed there? Guess. I dare you. It's an unreal number. Burn that spot and never walk barefoot...

So here's what we have currently - a grassy, muddy mess. Our plan is to extend the patio out from the garage to the end of the deck. And then put the grill next to the stairs where all the flat rocks are, that way it's *kind of* tucked away. 

When are we starting....Good question. I don't know. On Sunday we discussed it and decided we'd do it. We were planning on working on digging out and leveling the area in the evening while all the kids were in bed...but then the Bachelorette was on... Seriously. Life goes on hold around here when the Bachelor/Bachelorette is on, as well as Hell's Kitchen. So dumb. But honestly, Perry's been crazy busy at work, so he's been exhausted after work. It probably wouldn't have happened even if our shows weren't on. But stay tuned, because we want to get it done in the next couple of weeks!

I'm thinking another Lemon Party will be on the agenda when it's done! Who's coming?!

[Update #2]

Monkey Shiner Babblings

H - And mom! On the way home we saw lightning! But we didn't see any thunder...

J - Yuck! Mom! You need to go take a shower!
M - Why?!
J - Because your legs are gross!
M - They just pokey, I just shaved them the other day.
J - Well you need to do it again, right now, because it's yucky!

H - Mom, how did Charli's hair do that?!
M - Do what?
H - Stand up like that?! It's like magic!
M - It's called a wet rag bud.

M - So here's the thing boys. I think we need to learn to ride our bikes without training wheels.
J - No, only kids in Kindergarten can do that. So we can't.
M - No, you can, and I think our goal for the summer should be to get both of you riding without training wheels. And if we can do that, I'll get you a special reward. What do you think it would be? What have you always wanted to do?
H - Hmm...I think...we should get some of Charli's animal crackers!
J - Yeah! Her animal crackers!
M - I bet you if you learn how to ride, I'll give you your OWN BOX of animal crackers!
P - Or maybe even the FROSTED animal crackers!
M - With the sprinkles!
J - YES! Let's learn how to ride our bikes so we can get those Hunter!!

Summer Has Arrived!

I have survived the first full week of our summer vacation! Only 11 more to go! 

We spent a lot of time outside and Charlotte is loving every minute of it. She learned how to climb up the slide too! Slow and steady...and yes, JP slid down the slide *between* her legs. She looked at me like "what just happened?" 

A few day later we went to a birthday party for a boy who was in Hunter's preschool class. It was so nice to get together with the moms and just chat. There wasn't a plan for the party, other than to eat cake and ice cream, but that's my kind of party. We walked the kids to a park a few blocks down from their house and they all played while we sat back and watched. As luck would have it, Hunter left his hat at their house, so it gave us a good reason to get together again. 

 Yesterday we did just that. After a long morning cleaning up the house, we met up at one of the splash deck parks and let the kids run around. I was surprised I was never called away to go play, push them on the swings, or something similar. It helped there were trucks at the park though!

 Hunter enjoyed running through the water a little bit.

Charlotte hung out in her bathing suit, but mostly just scooted around the blanket. She was an angel!

JP seemed to always be off doing his own thing, and could usually be found spinning the horse heads around. 

Before we scurried away to the park, the boys brought me some lilacs that I quickly placed in a cup before heading out the door.

When we got home, JP found a caterpillar on them, and Hunter snatched the thing up and hardly put it down.

 With a lot of convincing, JP retrieved a leaf for the little guy to roam around on. Then they built him a home out of our fire wood pieces. They were devastated when he was no where to be found in his new home an hour later...