Day 5 - it's finished!

Day 5 - it's finished!
Originally uploaded by Robin's Nest3

Brian and his crew were just finishing up this afternoon when I got home. I surprised them in the middle of "staging". All I can say is Woohoo!

As a special treat, Brian and Josh made us a little table out of the cedar scraps, topped with some very nice tile. It's very lovely and was totally unexpected. It will provide a convenient spot many glasses of wine, and juice boxes too.

I took this picture of the final product this afternoon, in between storm clouds. This pretty much sums up the week they had to work outside, and our summer in general---cloudy with a hint of sun. But, at least you can see the shadow cast by the cross-pieces on top of the pergola.

The next project is outdoor curtains for the pergola. It just needs to stay sunny long enough for me to figure out where to put them for maximum shade effect.

Day 4 of construction

Day 4 of construction
Originally uploaded by Robin's Nest3

Only one more day...then it's done!

Day 3 of construction

pergola day 3
Originally uploaded by Robin's Nest3

Looks like we may just have one more day of construction left if the rain holds off tomorrow. We've been lucky so far as it's looked like rain all day the last two days. Yesterday, the rain didn't start until around 4:00, and today it's held off for the day. Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Day 2 of construction

2009 07 21_pergola_2693_edited-1.jpg
Originally uploaded by Robin's Nest3

The rain held off until about 4:00 today, so they made some great progress on our backyard project. But, wow, is it ever big! I'm not great at seeing a design on paper and then visualizing it in reality. As Brian said when I got home, "We're building a super structure out there."

We're really happen with how it looks so far. And a great side benefit is that my yard and garage smell like a warm cedar chest.

For more pictures, check out the sidebar, or go to the pergola set on Flickr.

Older cousin

2009 07 19_2550_edited-1.jpg
Originally uploaded by Robin's Nest3

Blake's older than his cousin, Logan, by about a year. He takes this responsibility very seriously. He likes to hold her hand and "show" her stuff, whether she likes it or not.

Logan, Curtis, and Allyson were over for BBQ yesterday, so the kids spent quite a bit of time exploring the weeds/flowers at the back of the house. Whoever said weeds weren't useful?

First day of construction

2009 07 20_pergola_2685.JPG
Originally uploaded by Robin's Nest3

When I got home from work today, the smell of cedar was permeating our backyard, and Brian (from KW Custom Bath) and his crew had up part of my fence, and the pergola over the hot tub started. It looks awesome!

And, in case you're wondering why we're having KW Custom Bath (a bathroom specialist) do our fence/pergola project:
>Brian's finished two basements, three bathrooms, and a porch for us
>He can build anything
>He always does a great job

I can't wait until our latest project is done!

All horses, all the time

Faith is at her Grampa and Gramma's farm for 10 days and it's been all horses all the time. Yesterday, she went to a driving clinic with Grampa and Sydney. Sydney helps out Dad with the horses, and Faith loves to hang out with her any time she's at the farm. They left at 8:00 am and returned home at 8:30 pm. To me, this is a lot of horses, but Faith insisted she wasn't even tired at the end of the day. Dad was another story.

During the day, Faith got to do a half hour driving lesson. They needed to but a box on the floor of the carriage to rest her feet on, and Dad was a little worried she might get bounced out as the terrain was a little rough, and she's pretty light compared to most of the drivers. But other than that, she was off. And, she got to ride Sheba (one of Dad's horses) bareback. The kid is going to turn into a horse soon.

I'm not sure who was more thrilled by the whole experience, Faith or my Dad. Either way, we're constantly in awe of her love of horses, and how excited she is to be around them. It's a truly wondrous experience to witness your kid find her passion.