The McCune Ohana: September--Catching Up

A LOT of our energies this summer went into our yard. Here are a few more progress pictures. It was an exciting day when they poured our concrete, and the kids had fun pressing their hands in to the concrete. It was harder than I thought it would be, but I like the finished product. It is on the back walkway right next to our back patio.

We widened the front step, and made a walkway to the backyard.

They put a concrete stamped border on either side of the driveway and walkway, and put in a concrete edging to go around our lawn. The kids have had fun on the "balance beam". Hopefully it will keep our lawn contained and looking nicer.

Thursday, Sept 25 we worked on the final prepping for the sod all day. EIGHT pallets of sod were delivered first thing Friday morning (4,100 square feet!), and we started laying it. Crazy enough, I had a Presidency meeting to go to, so I left while my mom and dad started laying it. A member of our ward who owns his own landscaping business showed up with his son, and the four of them finished our entire front yard while I was at my meeting! I couldn't believe it. It took my breath away to drive up to that. That afternoon we hit the back yard. We had several friends show up, one even bringing an Air Force buddy on their way home from work. Kevin Thomas, Staci Nielsen and her hubby and their friend, and Tina Spencer came to help, and the Elders came for about an hour, and we got it all laid! It was amazing how fast it went once it was all prepped. Kyle got home from Hawaii at midnight on Friday (I know, rough! Hee, hee), and Saturday morning we got up and went back to work. We had planned on overseeding the parking strip area between the sidewalk and the road, but we had enough leftover sod that we decided to do that, too. So we spent all of Saturday prepping that (pulling out lots of old grass, bringing in dirt, raking, etc.) and laying the sod. The last section was a bit of a tetris job, but we had just the right amount of grass to do it all! I never thought we'd use all 4,100 square feet of sod (and was overwhelmed by how much they delivered), but we DID! The end result has been enjoyed every day since then. I love it.

The kids had been waiting all summer to put the sprinkler underneath the trampoline. I really wanted to wait until their was grass (less mud), so on Saturday, they went at it and had a blast. It's so nice to have it there; even Andon can get on and off completely by himself!

The second week of September we welcomed part of the Schnell family to our house! They are our dear friends from Salem, and we have missed them. Christian and Julie were taking their oldest daugther, Margaret, to her Freshman year at BYU-Idaho, and stayed here one night on their way. It was so fun talking and laughing and being together. Kyle was in Alaska that week so missed the fun, and we missed not having the other four kids here, but it was still so much fun. Margaret was their FAVORITE babysitter in Salem, so it was cute to see the kids playing with her again. We hope they come again soon!

One thing about our current yard: it is a boys' heaven! Dirt, dirt, and more dirt, everywhere you turn. One day in September when Landon and Brigham Thomas were here playing, I let them have free reign of the dirt, and they had a BALL. They were all in heaven, digging, scooping, and building in the dirt. Dust was flying everywhere, and all four boys got a much-needed bath following the fun. They rode the jeep around, jumped on the tramp, loaded up the dump trucks, and built up lots of immunity from all the dirt they were inhaling. It was a great time!