Under Construction

We have been doing a TON, and I mean a TON, of demolishing and building this weekend!

When we bought this house it had a huge shed, one that eventually just started collecting junk. And when I say huge...I mean it. We measured it and it was a big as Masons bedroom. And I am so not kidding. :)

Well, I have wanted that shed down for years!! This weekend (Friday) I finally got tired of looking at it and thinking, well when we get more help or more time or whatever other excuses I could find. I was ready to just rip it to shreds. Literally. haha Ok, so....thats exactly what we did!

Towards the end we encountered a problem. How were we going to get the roof off now that it was too unstable to stand on because we ripped the sides off? Can I just say that it was like a mini home extreme makeover. What does she mean by that you ask???
YES...we literally pushed it down!! hahaha It was the coolest thing ever to watch. The kids LOVED it! :) I am so thankful that we took the sides off first though. Who ever built this thing built it to last. Our neighbor joked that it was probably safer in a tornado than our houses. It was put together very well. There were so many nails though and the roof was built like a real roof. It was insane. There would have been no way for us to have taken that apart while standing on top of it. But it would have been fun to watch. hahaha

So I'm sure your all thinking why on earth is she taking that down if its that nice? Or maybe your not, but I'm gonna tell ya anyway. :) We bought a wooden swing set a couple years back and regreted it the minute we brought it home. It fell apart so easy and when you would swing, it would move back and forth. And I'm not talking about the swing moving (haha), but the whole swing set would move! Not cool, right? So we have wanted to build a nicer or more stronger one ever since. And if the shed was down then we could put it there so it wouldn't be in the middle of our yard. So by the end of Friday that shed was down!! Oh, side notes, 1) all of the interior wood from the shed was treated so we could use it for the swing set (yay) and 2) the floor of the shed was built like a deck, literally, cross beams and everything... very sturdy. So we moved it to use as a deck and are going to add benches and railings once our pocketbook recovers from this. :)

On Saturday the building process began! The swingset was going up and I was determined that it was going to be fully up by the end of the day! Impossible?? I think not! :) There were a couple times where I started to doubt myself, but at 10:00pm the last nail went in. The kids could not control themselves! They just had to play on it before we went in. Oh, and I can even swing on it and it doesn't go anywhere! Woo Hoo!! When we were building the swing set the twins were being very creative with the wood that was laying all over the yard. Who needs a swingset, just give 'em 2 by 4's. haha

A fire pit.

A balance beam.

An obstacle course.

A teder toder. (sp.?)

An airplane (with a gun on the front).

Lastly...a ladder. Try climbing that one. :)

So Sunday we began the landscape. By Sunday we were so exhausted that we could barely even move. And I'm so not kidding. You know that you look exhausted when the guy at Menards says "You look out of it. Are you tired?" Seriously, thanks mister! Like I didn't already know that. :)

We mulched around the swingset (so we wouldn't have to deal with mowing) and finished putting a bench under it so that we could steal Renays wonderful idea of a gravel pit. Tied up a few odd and end things and we were DONE!! Finally!

Play date anyone???

Seriously...

What is going on?? I had an AWESOME day yesterday! It was really a good day. One I hadn't seen in a long time. And then today when I woke up I could barely roll myself out of bed. I was in such a gloomy, sad, lay in bed all day kinda mood. I had so much to do today and I all I wanted to do was crank up the music and sit on the couch/bed and do nothing! Serisouly...nothing...not shower, not clean, not sit on the computer for hours deciding on curriculum, not entertain the kids...nothing. I had NO motivation or energy. How is it possible to go from such a wonderful mood to the complete opposite?? I felt so far from everything when I woke up this morning. I know that I am not the only one that has experienced this this week based on the other blogs I have read. What is seriously in the water?!

I did, eventually, manage to roll myself out of bed and force myself to try to get some things accomplished. I made a few runs to the bookstore and Teachers Delight to look at some books that I thought about using for curriculum. I didn't end up buying any of them, of course! I am having such a hard time making a decision. A REALLY HARD TIME!!! The school year is approaching and I am not anywhere close to being ready and its really frustrating!

I was so very thankful for Renay today!! When I checked my email and saw, "wanna go to the fair?" Of course I do!! The only place I wanted to be was the house, but truely it was the last place I needed to be. I tend to withdraw from everyone and everything when in one of those moods that I woke up in. Thank you so much!! So I guess not all of today was gloomy. :) But I really thought that today was going to be one of those days. Even as I sit here typing this I am supposed to be at a birthday party but I'm just not in a people kind of mood. :(

The boys had a blast at the fair. We walked around and looked at the projects. I would love for Mason to get involved in 4H next year. So as we were looking at the projects I was explaining to him that he could participate and do something next year. He was not interested. I was shocked to hear his answer. Since we had gotten there he had been asking to go and see a certain animal, obsessively asking. Mind you we live in the city so his answer may shock you. This is what he wants to do...

No I did not post the wrong picture. He wants to show pigs! Seriously how fun could that possibly be?! They stink, they smell, they are loud, they are messy and frankly some of them are ugly. Why on earth would he choose this animal? Did I say I wanted him to get involved...maybe I should rethink this. hahaha Something not many people may know is that Mason loves and I mean LOVES animals!! He is always asking for more animals and unreasonable ones at that. A zebra...seriously (and I'm really not kidding)! I should have known that given the choice between a project or animals he would choose animals. He was so sad when he thought one of the sheep was lonely. He just has a heart for them. So, mind you, as much as I don't like the idea of being around stinky smelly pigs, I will not discourage him. I will however be praying that if there is a calmer more appealing animal that could spark his interest, that it happens. haha :) So on that note, if anyone knows of anyone with pigs that Mason could use or how to even get a pig, please let me know. I can't believe I just said that.

I think Weston is going to follow in Masons footsteps. He was all about petting the animals. I have so many pictures with him in them and not many with Isaac. Isaac would barely get near them. I had to force him. :)

Look Mom...are those twins? I loved that Weston made this assumption.

Weston, "Mom are those Llamas?" hahaha We did eventually see and identify a Llama. Look Weston...a horse! Just kidding!
Can you tell which ones Isaac?! haha

Then...on to the RIDES!!! This was Masons first year where he was big enough to ride the rides without us and with a friend. Thanks T.J.!!

Don't they look so grown up riding by themselves. :)

I can't count how many times the boys hit their heads..HARD..on the mirrors trying to find their way out. haha We eventually had to go and help them out. It was a very funny moment. Ya know, one of those where you wish you had a video camera. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time.

We were so exhausted by the end of the day. Mason still wanted to go and look one more time at the pigs. Goodness, haven't you seen enough of them. haha Once you've seen one pig you've seen them all...right? So we went to use our free hot dogs coupons that the boys got from doing the tractor pull before we went to see the pigs one more time. A friend had so graciously offered to let him in the pen with theirs and see how he did up close and personal. Well...we never made it and this is why.

Now isn't that a good sleeping picture if I do say so myself. haha This is what happens when you spend hours at the fair with NO nap. :)

So, tomorrow we are off to have our up close and personal experience with the pig and watch a little bit of the judging so he can see if this is really what he wants. I will definitely have the camera then. This should be good!!! :)

Christmas in July

So I know what your all thinking...Christmas??..what is she talking about? Well this is what we have been hearing in my house for the past couple weeks and probably many more to come as he masters both hands. Please excuse the piano tuning, we haven't been able to get it tuned so if it sounds a little off, I'm sorry.

Gotta love the head bobbin to the beat! I tried to get him to play it with both hands, but he said he doesn't have it perfected yet and he knew that I was going to put it on here. So he played this one with both hands instead. Its still not perfect, but he has been practicing this one for a long time and finally doesn't have to do it anymore. :)

Mason wanted to me to tell you that he messed up at the end and that last note was right, but the one before it wasn't. I am so very proud of him! The twins are doing great too! Isaac has played his first song all by himself with no help!! Way to go!!! It amazes me that the twins, at age 4, are starting to learn to read music. It blows me away, but it is very cool to watch. Such a proud mommy moment. :)

OK, so I'm going to bore you all with some more sleeping pictures because I have caught some cute ones and just can't resist myself! :)

Don't their little red faces look so exhausted. LOL

That can't be comfortable.

Thats Isaac under that blanket. Obviously that was taken on the way home from Wisconsin. Apparently my music was too loud. hahaha

I hope everyone has a great week! Maybe we'll see some of ya! Anyone wanna go to the cove? I'd love to make it there this week.

:)

Pictures, Pictures and.....

MORE PICTURES!! Did I mention pictures? haha So, I have so many that its so hard to choose. We had an amazing trip! When we got there it was pretty cloudy and we were kinda worried, and with the exception of one 5 minute rain storm it was gorgeous! The park opened at 9am and we made sure we were there "on time". I don't even know where to start. So I guess I'll let the pictures do the talking. Oh, side note...we rented a free digital underwater camera so that we wouldn't ruin ours. We did use our occasionally towards the end of the day, and with the exception of not wiping off the lens it took pretty good pictures for a 2.0 camera with no zoom!
ENJOY!!
We left at 3am so we could get there on time and then the kids could sleep the entire way and we wouldn't here the famous, "Are we there yet?" At about 4:30 I here "Mom, when we gonna be at the waterpark?" Isaac had been awake that whole time waiting for us to get there. haha I kindly explained that it would take a LONG time and he needed to get his sleep. :) The boys first glimpse of the park!

Big Kahuna Wave Pool Pictures! There were 2 wave pools but this one was our favorite!

Adventure River! A version of a lazy river only with more of an adventure side. haha It had lots of soaking opportunities. And for some reason I was the one that always ended up in the right spot to get soaked. But I did manage to snag some pics of the boys getting soaked. :) Water Slides!! There were over 47 water slides! Some of our favorites were Kowabunga, Congo Bongo Falls, Black Anaconda (the longest in the US and one of the few that actually goes up hill...a must do!), Dark Voyage, The Slidewinders (the twins could do those and we stayed there for what must have been over an hour), the Tadpole Bay which had smaller versions of the big slides that kids the twins age could do alone and Flash Flood which we rode a total of 5 times!! Isaac

Weston
Black Anaconda

Flash Flood

SlidewindersOnly a few more...I promise! Hang with me! :)

By the end of the day we were ALL exhausted! We had so much fun though and none of us wanted it to end. I won't bore you guys with my sleeping pictures though. :)

The next day we did a few things before heading home. We rode the Army Duck Boats. They are boats that go on land and water and were also used in WW2. Its an amazing and very educational tour. Our tour wasn't a full one due to all of the flooding they had. The floods wiped out Lake Delton and Highway A. We did get to see the damage though which was a good history lesson for Mason.

The gap in the middle is what happened. The land used to be connected and when the floods hit it washed it away. You could see the pipes that were supposed to be underground.

Highway A

We finished off our day by doing a little Mining (for gemstones that is) and this is what we found...

The big pink one in the bottom right hand corner is rose quartz and the brown one in the upper left hand corner is actually a ruby when refined and sanded down. How cool!

Okay, so I just went back and proofread everything...I AM SO SORRY! I had no idea how long I had made it. I tried to figure out how to delete some pictures but couldn't do it. But I guess by now if your reading this your already at the end. haha Hope I didn't bore you! Please say you'll visit my blog again. LOL :)

So needless to say we had a fabulous time!!! I would absolutely recommend the Dells as a mini vacation to anyone. The kids had a blast, we had a blast and now...we're all tired out. Ha Ha Ha!

Night all!