Yard Work

I had planned on blogging today about the kids' activities we have been doing this summer, but lack of time and patience in getting my video camera to load the videos. Instead I am just venting in the frustration of your yard. Which I shouldn't really complain because the amount of yard work I have done is so small compared to Robert's part that he has done and our friend Josh with his bobcat, he has helped us out a TON!



We were suppose to get grass this last monday, but that didn't work out. Due to the rain they moved it back to this Saturday. Which is okay I guess. The silly rain keeps making things difficult for us to finish this project and move on to the next.



We (and when I say that I mostly mean Robert) rented a machine to fluff up the dirt and make it all loose so when they come in and do the hydroseeding it will take better. I am now thinking maybe the more expensive sod would have been better. Less work on our side to prepare the ground.



For the hydroseeding, we also have to have all weeds out of the ground and like I said have the dirt dry and loose. Today while Samantha was sleeping I took my chances with leaving the other girls in the house to govern themselves while I went out to prepare the dirt.



First our dirt was TOO hard, and now it is TOO soft, like soggy muddy soft. I couldn't even in some spots run the machine out there. I was getting the raking machine stuck in the mud, my shoes stuck in the mud, and it was all I could do to get out of the mud while losing my shoes. (Although Robert would argue saying flip flops aren't really shoes.)

While I was out there earlier in the day I was trying to adjust the sprinklers. Robert said, "good luck with that, I tried for half an hour with no luck," when I told him I was going to try to fix them. While I was dodging the sprinklers and trying to figure out how to make them not spray the house and get the place where grass will be one day, I heard thunder. I decided to keep working, until I saw a flash of light. I didn't want to continue in the lightning! As I rushed to manually turn off the sprinklers it started to hail. I then remembered the rented power raker was still sitting in the rain. I quickly put that away. I was soaked from the sprinklers that I was trying to adjust and having troubles maneuvering in the muddy areas.

I had gone out later when both the little girls where napping and it started to rain again... of course each time it rains, all my work is basically all undone, making it necessary to redo those areas to fluff the dirt up. I kept working in the rain, I didn't ever hear any thunder, or maybe I just didn't hear it over the tiller I was using. (I didn't hear Rob calling me on my phone.) I was SOAKED yet again... but I just kept working...and then it stopped raining.... and then it started to rain again! Can you believe it? What kind of summer are we having? It rained 3 times just today!

I managed to get quite a bit done, and dried off when the sun came out and the wind started to blow. My face felt sunburned, but it might have been more from the wind.

Once Robert got home I went back inside to do dinner and tend to the kids. At 9 pm I was able to go back out and help... although it didn't help much because the belt broke on the lawn raker, so that was all I could do. That left Robert out there again by himself to do the work.

I have more work to do tomorrow, and it will be all on my shoulders since Robert is going for his big race, the Ragnar Relay Race, or Wasatch Back Race or whatever it's official name is. The hydroseeders are coming tomorrow and I hope that I will do as good as a job as Robert would have done when they come. The bad thing is that the sprinklers aren't hooked up so you have to manually turn them on at the little boxes. Not to mention one station is TOTALLY off, they spray the neighbors rocks and our house and the door and the playground area which will have NO GRASS. I guess that is what I should work on first.

While all this craziness was going on. I thought I heard Amber outside. I looked on the balcony and didn't see her, then I looked on the front porch and I didn't see her. I looked in the garage and I could hear her but didn't see her. I finally asked, "Amber - where are you?" she answered me back, "in here mom," as she was sitting in the rabbit cage with the rabbit. I looked in there, she has a giraffe halloween costume on, a pair of sunglasses, and a Toys R Us Geoffrey the Giraffe hat which looks like a safari type hat with giraffe print all over it. Never a dull moment here, that is for sure.

I hope tomorrow's yard work efforts bring forth more positive results. Wish me luck!!