Catch up again..........

My phone downloading to my computer has been on the fritz AGAIN!  It is so annoying.  Anyway, I'm all backed up, so here I go AGAIN, trying to play catch up with our life.

Remember THIS shed (on the trailer above)?    Well in a matter of TWO DAYS, it had been entirely taken apart and stacked in the shop. (see below)

It will be entirely re-built, and you won't even be able to tell it's the same shed by the time it is finished.  It's going to take a little longer, and be a little harder, because when we checked out the wet well/pump situation, the water table is TOO HIGH to work on getting things changed out at this point, so we will just have to be patient and wait.  Zac is not a patient person like his mom...........so it will be temporarily built IN THE SHOP..... stay tuned for more updates on this. 

Hannah, Cam, Dave? and Christine
Cam spent a fun weekend in COOL Flagstaff with her cousins.  They had a great time, and it was good to get out of the 120 degree heat of Chandler AZ. 

Our chickens are laying like gang busters...........we have this one chicken though, who is mighty stressed (haha) 

July birthday celebration.  These are the birthday boys.
It would be nice if we could get everyone to look AT THE CAMERA and SMILE........ but we take what we can get, right?
Dad is 83, Landon is 32, Mark is 53, Brian is 24 and Roger D. is 62

Then we grabbed most of the grandsons..........and I totally forgot to get Zac and Landon in this picture (duh!)  Dax, Tag, Thatcher, Payson, Brian, and Devin and Thatcher in front. 

My parents, 83 years young. LOVE THEM !! 

Miss Bexlee Boo loves the swing

Brightyn is sitting on my lap, and I'm sitting in the tube, and we are FLOATING down East Canyon Creek.  Look for a video in the future (when I get some time).  

Landon and Bexlee were quite the pair.  Bex LOVED LOVED LOVED it.  

Another project that was completed, was an early morning cement pour at Zac's.  
An approach, linking the asphalt to the gravel (to the "barn") was poured.........

And under the lean-to out back of the "barn".

There was alot of labor to get the cement where it needed to go.  Good thing we had some muscle !

Rog, Zac, and Treyson provided the muscle, and Ernie and Steve did the smoothing and finishing. 

It is nice to have another "man" in the family who is big and strong enough to help.

As always, it's a worry........will there be enough cement to do the job?  Have I calculated correctly?   Zac was up most of the night before worrying (another trait he inherited from his mom).  Thankfully, there was just a little bit left over, and they were able to use it in front of the chicken run, which is habitually a dirt spot. 

Cam and Manda headed out last weekend for a fun-filled day trip to Jerome. Manda is rockin' her new haircut.  I wish I had her confidence and style.  Love THEM !!! 

More floating the creek, with my friend Angie and her grandson Cooper

The garden is still going strong.  We are going to have a bumper crop of pumpkins and squash.  I'm looking forward to the harvest party we will have in September/October. 

And now for the PINK LADIES........

Bright and Bex had their hair dyed, and it turned out so cute :)

And I sacrificed another sign to the cause (new shed cause).  It is so calming to know that I will have a job for another 4 years, without having to worry about the election.  Hallelujah !!

 

Cement and Asphalt

The Asphalt is finished, and good weather prevailed !

Sure looks nice

Zac took work off last Friday, and we help to get the rest of the cement poured. 

We were worried that the rain wouldn't hold off, but it did !

Another Pour

Another Day - Another Pour
Friday morning - Zac took the day off work.  This cement has to be finished so they can get asphalt next week.  All formed up, ready to go.  2.5 yards needed. 

Who's that flashy red woman helping? 
Grandma D !!!
Don't know what we'd do without the crew to help. 

This slab is right outside the garage door, and will also be where the air conditioning unit goes. 

2nd pour a yard finishes it off, and takes us down the mow strip

Tagg was a GREAT help !

We were sure happy and relieved to have Steve come help finish it.  The wind was blowing so hard, and it was drying so fast.  He is an expert, and it would have been a disaster without him.  Seriously.  

The sun kept shining........and the wind died down a little bit. 

Dark clouds were moving in NORTH of us

and South - looked like a downpour up Hardscrabble.

But blue skies still shown above us.......
Fingers crossed - rain rain stay away !!!

All done !  Yahoo.

The rain did eventually start, but we were prepared.
Good job to have done !!

Pouring Cement

Zac has started the mow strip around his yard.  He was hoping for an early start, but the cement (you pour) place wouldn't start up until it was at least 45 degrees.  I think they headed for the first "yard" at about 10:30 am. 
Zac had enough formed up to pour 2 yards.............or so he thought. 

When CJ walked across the yard, I did a double take !
She got her hair cut (for the first time in a year) and colored.  It's super cute. 

Mom and Dad (Grandpa and Grandma D) came to help.  Dad commented that they had been doing this for 50 years.  YUP, since 1967, when they did all the cement work at their old place (where I grew up).  I remember for sure, waking up in the mornings in the summer on a Saturday, to the sound of the cement mixer going out front.  Grandpa Reed Dickson would be shoveling gravel into the machine, and getting it mixed with the cement and water.  Dad would be wheelbarrowing it and dumping, and Mom would be tamping, raking, tapping with a hammer.  Dad would then finish it up.  Good memories.  Who would have thought that 50 years later (2017), they would be helping their grandson do some of the same things.  They are amazing.  It ended up that Zac needed 2.75 yards instead of 2, but he got all of it done that he had formed.  It was a little much for one guy to finish, and he wasn't too happy with it.  He's a perfectionist.  Unfortunately he had to miss Tagg's game in order to get it all done. 

Tagg was disappointed that they lost their 2nd playoff game - 18 to 12 in double overtime.  A sad way to end the season, darnit !!.  Zac tried to cheer him up.