A New Backyard

This last week we have been doing a little landscaping at the manor. After many quotes to fix our defunct pool we decided to fill the sucker in! The first quote we got to fix it was 10-15 thousand. Since we have made a promise to ourselves to stop borrowing money we spent a good year saving up for that project. We didn’t have all the funds but we brought another contractor out to see if we could at least get started.

After they drained the moss and frog filled pool they discovered the price tag to repair was actually going to be around 25-30 thousand. Well then, that is the same price to have a new pool installed. So that is not realistic for us now or for many years so we took part of the money we had saved and spent it to fill it in and reshape the backyard.

I can’t wait until next spring when the grass starts coming up and we can play with the boys back there.

In all reality the year and a half we have been in our home we have only played in the front yard. We never wanted to take the chance on someone getting hurt by falling into the empty pool.

 The funny thing about taking the pool out, we no longer have a pool house with a restroom. We now are just the proud owners of an outhouse!

Purl approves of the new backyard!

Our week was a carnival!

 
We had an action packed week and we did in fact end it with a carnival! Daryl's preschool has a carnival every year for a fundraiser and this year the theme was western. Daryl had that covered and went to the event wearing his boots and cowboy hat, he didn't want to wear his holster for fear that was taking it a little too far. Geez mom!




I also blocked and washed Daryl's vest and it looks smashing on him. It will look better with a shirt and a navy bow tie. I'm working on that.
















It was also KU Homecoming this weekend. We hadn't tailgated yet this year so it was a good time seeing all our KU friends. We had tickets to the game and it was a really good one...for the first quarter. After that I just felt bad for our boys. It can't be easy to keep marching on that field when the score is getting embarrassing. I hope they get a big XII win this season. That is a monkey no one deserves on their back. Just to keep track of all the firsts, it was Alex's first KU football game! He really dug the popcorn.



After two weeks of my long run failing to be ten miles I finally had a double digit long run today! I was so relieved to finally run ten miles that I went eleven just for the fun of it. I got my mojo back just in time, I will attempt my first half marathon in one week. I'm as ready as I will ever be, and now that it is cold in the morning I'm ready for this race to be done so I can stay snuggled in my bed in the morning!
I'm a fair weather runner, when it is cold I'm a sleeper!

Finally, this evening we gathered to celebrate cousin Carter's birthday. It was a great family gathering and Carter was so excited for his party it was too cute. He showed me the biggest wrapped present and told me it was from his mom and dad. I asked him what he thought was in it and he said he dropped it and he was pretty for sure it was legos! He was right and when he was showing me the legos he said he had been waiting for this particular set his whole life! That was a rough seven years, I'm sure.  :-)

Alex got to eat cake and ice cream with Aunt Nikki!

What can you make in five months?

In 5 months I can make a pair of socks! Bam! The first sock took me a week the second sock took me 4 months and three weeks. This is known as second sock syndrome. It was almost a fatal case!
In fact, I had to look for the first sock for twenty minutes tonight so I could say I had a pair! After that little scavenger hunt I can safely say I have too many knitting bags.
Sock Pattern: http://www.myknittedheart.blogspot.com/2012/08/vanilla-socks.html



This week our family went to one of the best football games of the year! We are not talking about some Chiefs blow out win (I know I just typed that and I'm not even joking), it was the Thursday night Freshman Holton vs Silver Lake game.
With 29 seconds left Silver Lake scored to take the lead. It looked like it was all over. Then Holton ran the kick off back for a touchdown! Silver Lake got the ball back with nine seconds on the clock and could not score. Holton for the win! It was a great game and we loved watching cousin Carson on the field.

Now where did I put those teeth.....

No, this is not a funny thing I remember my great grandma Ruth saying. Daryl lost his second tooth on Tuesday. When I got home he was already asleep. So we retrieve new lost tooth and replace it with a dollar. Then as I'm heading to bed I remember I but the first tooth in a very special place so I would never loose it. I lost it!
I looked all over my room and I can't find that darn thing. This story has a couple of possible endings as I see it.
Ending #1-By the time Daryl looses all of his teeth he is bound to have found at least one of them since I'm evidently hiding them like Easter eggs.
Ending #2-When Kelly and I make our final move to the bone yard and our grand kids are cleaning out our place they start to wonder who their grandparents really were because they find kid's teeth in a piggy bank.

PS-Just checked the piggy bank, no dice.

Had a cute picture to put here of Daryl with his missing tooth. Kelly downloaded a new operating system on his phone and now I can't get the pictures to show up here.
Do we notice a running theme about how technology wants to kill my blog...

Had a visit with Daryl's teachers today and of course they said Daryl says the funniest things and one time he said-
Daryl- "Can I tell you a secret?"
Teacher-"Sure, what is your secret."
Daryl-"When I first met my brother, I didn't know his name."

I may have to direct them to the blog. They could probably be regular contributors!

Pictures!

 
I didn't end up getting home on Friday till after eleven. Boo! But, both the boys slept till 7:40am on Saturday! Yay!
We were kind of lazy yesterday and today only really got laundry done. But I'm loving being home and listening to these crazy boys.
Tonight Kelly took Daryl and Alex to the park. When they came home Daryl had his bottom lip out so far he could almost step on it. I asked him what was wrong?
D-"Dad made us leave the park and I had to leave my friends."
Me-"Oh that is sad, were they friends from preschool?"
Kelly-"They were three kids in High School!"
D-"THEY WERE MY FRIENDS!!"

Kelly said these two teenage boys and one girl were throwing a football around in the park. Next thing he knew Daryl was standing right in the middle of them playing catch. Then they took him to the swings and the slides. Kelly was really impressed that these  three kids played with Daryl for at least 30 minutes.
We don't know who they are but they made a very big impression on Daryl. The girl wanted to give Daryl a hug when it was time for him to go but he was so sad he didn't want to.
So next time you think the young people around are selfish remember these kids in the park who played with a five year old and made his day!

 
On the knitting front I just need to add pockets and buttons to D's sweater vest and I started a KU shawl. I was knitting on it when they won yesterday, I think it was good luck!

Sweater vest is pattern Pepo Pie

 Shawl pattern is Stripe Study Shawl

I'm coming home!

My week away from the manor is almost over. I am so happy to be seeing all my boys tonight. I wanted to post to show pictures of Pittsburgh and the progress on Daryl's sweater. Unfortunately I'm not that good at working from a tablet and can't get the pictures to post.
See Kelly, this is why we can't get rid of my old laptop! New technology doesn't like me!
I'll post pictures soon from home. I have to go hunt a souvenir for Daryl and Al and then off to the airport. Yay!!!!