Summertime=More Pond Improvements :-)

Bobcats at work moving dirt; boy have we got a lot of dirt!

Hello All! It feels like eons since I last posted and now I know why. I guess I was spending a lot more time on the computer than I ever admitted during the school year! Since the kids have been home for summer vacation, my computer time is limited to about 15 min. a day! Between the kids e-mailing their friends, playing "Toon Town", "Webkinz"and various learning games, our computer is in use for hours at a time. When it is not in use, I'm keeping the kids busy and enjoying outdoor time.

Tonight Tom had to work late so the kids and I ate our dinner outside on a picnic blanket. Hmmm, why didn't I discover this trick years ago...no table to clear, no crumbs to sweep, and juicy watermelon falls right on the grass and not down our shirts! One of the many joys of summer! :-)

Last night our nephew Kevin stopped by as he was driving from California back to college in Missouri. He and a friend stayed over and we had a nice visit with them. College kids are so sweet. They eat everything you put in front of them, they rave about home decor and genuinely appreciate hospitality. They both left thank you notes for us when we got up, their beds were made, towels folded, and I think they were just about the nicest college kids I have ever had the pleasure to know!

We've got another home improvement project in the works this week. Last year we had our natural pond dug out deeper, and the extra soil from the pond was used to create an island and a big hill that the kids enjoyed sledding down this winter. Now we are changing the sledding hill to include a waterfall with big boulders. This will enable the water to start moving and hopefully clear it up as it is pretty murky and muddy. Fortunately, 3 turtles have survived the yucky water, but if we can clear it up then fish could be added. They would keep mosquitoes at bay and we would enjoy having our own catch and release fishing pond. I've already got plans to start looking for a little dingy boat with a few oars so we can 'tootle' around the pond this summer!

Here are a few photos of the pond action...

Spillways for the water to flow into the pond...

The island full of weeds...soon to be landscaped with a picnic area.

The top of the hill with a crater in the middle...interesting how they dug little pools in the middle of it.

You know kids, dirt hills are an instant magnet! :-)

Tom enjoying one of his favorite pasttimes...his ride on lawn mower! What man doesn't love to sit down when he mows his lawn!

I've also been busy arranging details for our upcoming trip to CA to empty my parents house. I have found a woman who does estate sales, and she and her team will be helping me with the big project of emptying everything so that I can prepare the house to sell. I also have a car to sell while we are there. We have rented a U-Haul to get everything that we can keep back to CO. Thankfully our friend Warren has graciously agreed to make the thousand mile trek and drive the U-Haul for us since Tom's work schedule will not allow for that much time off.

We're also going to meet the special teachers who are our scholarship recipients, and submit an article and photo for the local paper. I hope it will generate more interest in the coming years so I can keep the scholarship fund as an annual event!

Lastly, I wanted to apologize for completely neglecting our 3 week challenge. I lost all momentum on my trip out to CA a few weeks ago. Cleaning and sorting through my parents belongings was a lot more emotional than I anticipated and my grief was so raw for weeks after that I have fallen off the exercise wagon and I am not proud of it! So, until I can get my own act together, I promise not to start challenges I cannot follow through on. I hope you are all making positive life changes though, and hopefully your changes will help inspire me to start back up again!

Until next time, Happy Summer!