We Have Lawn-Finally

Finally the dead lawn is gone and the new lawn is in, but it was quite an adventure getting it done.........

A couple of weeks after the lawn died I received a phone call from the lawn company to schedule the removal of the old lawn and the installation of the sod. I was happy to hear from them so quickly, because not really having a yard for the summer was not going to be fun. We scheduled them to come remove the old lawn on Saturday, May 30th and then the new sod was to be installed the following Wednesday, June 3rd.

As promised the crew showed up on the 30th and cut up all of the dead lawn and rolled it into big rolls. They told us that the old lawn would be removed by the next crew who was coming to prepare the soil, and that we should expect them Monday or Tuesday.

Monday came....nothing....Tuesday came.......nothing .....Wednesday, June 3rd came and I called to see what was happening. It turned out that even though they called me to schedule the installation they did not write us on the schedule. However they PROMISED a crew to prepare the ground on Friday and that our sod would be installed that upcoming Saturday, June 6th.

Then it started to rain almost every day.

Friday came....nothing.........Saturday came.......I received a phone call telling me that the sod could not be delivered that day so they PROMISED it would be done on Monday. It continued to rain..........

that weekend we received a notice from the city saying they were resurfacing our street one day next week. We would be notified the day before they were coming and there could be nothing on the street. There was no contact information on the notice.

Monday Morning the sod was delivered................but our yard still looked like this

And there was no sign of a crew to work on the yard. I called the Lawn company to let them know about the street being repaved and asked them to please get the sod off of the street so we did not get a ticket. I also let them know that they would be paying the ticket should we get one. By Monday night there was still not sign of workers.

Tuesday morning.......it was raining. I called the lawn company to see what they were planning. They said they could not put this sod in because of the rain. the ground was too wet and they would not be able to prepare it properly. So they were going to have to throw this sod away and they would order new sod for Wednesday. I reminded them about the street being repaved and they said they would for sure come and move the sod that day.

I decided that I needed some more information about the street resurfacing so I made some phone calls to the city. They got me in touch with the company in charge of that and the manager told me our street was scheduled for that Friday. I thought "oh good they will for sure have the street cleaned off by then. So I called the lawn company and told them everything had to be off the street by Thursday night. My neighbor was at my house while I was making these phone calls and she heard about them tossing out the sod. Because of all of the rain the sod was still in good shape. The company just couldn't use it for contract reasons at this point.

Wednesday, June 10th .............. my neighbors bought most of the sod from the lawn company at a really cheap price. They ended up not needing all that they bought, but they sold a few pieces to other neighbors and friends and got rid of the five flats they had purchased. This made the neighbors happy.

That evening a crew showed up. I was relieved, until I saw what they were here to do. Instead of just getting the sod off of the road they started taking the rolls of old lawn off of the yard and throwing it into a big pile on the street. Then it started to rain again.......so they left. I called the company to make sure everything was going to be off the street by the end of the day tomorrow (Thursday) for the street people. The girl on the phone said they would, but then she said, "Oh today is Wednesday, huh?"

Now it was Thursday, June 11th.............The crew showed up and again started throwing everything out onto the street. So I went out and found the one guy who spoke English (why didn't I take Spanish in High School?) He was the crew manager. When I told him about the street repaving he was surprised. No one had told them about it. Soon after our conversation the notices came around the neighborhood about the street being closed the following day. The crew manager told me they would for sure come and pick everything up off the street tonight. So his crew continued to throw everything into a big pile onto the street. I felt a little bad because it started to rain on them a bit, but they were supposed to have had it done a week ago. They had the yard mostly cleared off and then suddenly it started to pour. The rain and hail were coming down so hard and fast that it looked like this..........

We had one big river coming down the street. The crew all ran for their cars and when it let up a little they got their tools and left. The yard was pretty much cleared off, but the street still looked like this.

A few minutes after the crew left. I got a phone call from the lawn company. They informed me that they had talked to the slurry company and that our street was not going to be done until 10:00am so they would get the stuff off by 9:00am Friday morning. I was not very happy. I was sure they were not going to show up in time and I was going to have to deal with the street people. So you can imagine how relieved I was when the storm let up and Thursday evening the crew showed up and cleared the street off.

Friday, June 12th......The street was repaved. The sweeper had to go back and forth in front of our house at least 7 times to get the mud off, but they didn't say anything to me. The neighbors were happier because our yard looked somewhat normal again, and their sod was really doing well with all of the rain.

We did not have a new date set for them to lay sod, but at this point I didn't care anymore. The big mess in the yard was gone and the weatherman had predicted rain almost everyday for the next week.

Saturday, June 20th........We received a phone call telling us the new sod would be delivered and installed on Monday.

Monday, June 22nd........A crew showed up and started preparing the ground for sod. The weather report looked clear and all was looking good. The crew preparing the soil did a great job and fixed a lot of the things in the yard, including taking out an old tree stump that was in the middle of the front yard. By the end of the day the yard was ready for the sod, but there was no sod to install. A call came from the company telling us that the sod would be there the next day.

Tuesday, June 23rd............No sod delivered all day.........7:00pm the sod finally shows up. I figured that meant the crew would be there the next day to lay it and by this point I didn't really care.........8:00 pm the crew shows up to lay the sod......The sun sets, the crew leaves and the front yard is about halfway done.

Wednesday, June 24th........8:00am the crew shows up and finishes installing the lawn. I wish they would have gotten it done three weeks ago, because the rain really would have helped our water bill, but the yard looks better than it ever has.

Things I learned.........

1.When dealing with construction companies, a scheduled appointment is always flexible....meaning they might not show up.

2. In these situations being the one that yells the loudest does get the job done faster. ( The crew manager actually told me this is a true fact)

3. I am still too nice......When I was at my yelling stage, the receptionist kept thanking me for being so nice about everything. (I guess they were doing 52 lawns at the same time as ours)

Emily the Entrepreneur

Last week we did a major clean out of the kids rooms and got them switched around to get ready for the new baby. While cleaning out Emily's room she decided that she wanted to sell some of the things she had in her D.I. bag. Her plan was to go door to door and try to sell the books she no longer wanted. She was making plans with a friend about how to sell them and all of the money they could make doing it.

Me being the dream wrecker that I am, told the girls that they could not go door to door selling things. However I did know that one of our neighbors, who happens to be Emily's activity day leader, was planning a Garage sale for that very weekend. So I called her and asked if Emily could come set up a little table and sell a few things. She was happy to have her.

Emily and I went through the things she was getting rid of from her room and picked out the best stuff. We priced them all out and put them in a box.

The day of the sale we headed to the neighbor's a little before 7:00am and set up Emily's table. She was really proud of all of her treasures and was sure that everything would be snatched up quickly.

People started coming. Emily tried to show them how great her things were. She would pet her robotic dog to make it bark and she was constantly rearranging her table so you could see what was on it. About halfway through the morning she had sold a few books, but had not sold any stuffed animals. She kept commenting that she couldn't believe no one had bought them. To her they were all treasures. The sale continued and she sold a few more things. A storm was coming in and around 11:00am it started raining hard enough that we packed it in for the day.

Emily ended up selling one stuffed animal and some of her books. She made a total of $4.00. (which was really good considering the items she sold were priced between 10 and 50 cents.) I think she probably would have sold more had it not been a rainy day, but she was really happy.

The Bird Fiasco

At any point in the day I can look out and see many different kinds of birds coming and going from our yard. The type I see the most are Quails.


The other day I looked out the front window and saw a male and a female quail with about ten little baby quails following them around and eating something from the ground. I thought about grabbing my camera, but instead I quietly called the kids to come see before it was too late. The kids were good and quietly looked out the window at the little quail family. Soon the birds left and the kids went back to their playing.


A little bit later I saw that the quail family was now in the back yard. So again I called the kids. Before I knew it, they were all running outside (Emily with a camera) to take a closer look and maybe get a few pictures. The quails did not like the site of the kids, but the babies were too little to do anything but run.




Before I could get out there to tell the kids not to scare the birds, four of the babies had run right into the window well. Than Emily informed me that Josh might have touched one of the babies. This worried me because I know that if a human touches a bird the parents usually abandon it.

Emily was excited and already telling me all of the things we would have to do for a baby bird to take care of it. Being three weeks away from having my own baby, raising a baby bird was not something I wanted to do.

I wondered if the one Josh touched was in the window well and would be left there. I got the kids back in the house and had them wash their hands. Then we waited to see if the parents were going to come back for the babies. After a while it did not look like they were going to get out on their own, so we made a ramp that they would hopefully climb up. A few hours later I went and checked the window well and all of the babies were gone. I could see the little family over in the neighbors yard happily hunting again.


I am glad the family took all of the babies back. I would have felt really bad for setting my kids loose on them if they had been abandoned.

I don't think that little family will be visiting our yard again

Family Fun Day

Bounce Houses, Snow Cones

Face Painting, Ice Cream

Popcorn, Water slides, Games, Music and Lunch.

Best of all............. it is all FREE!

Every year our Stake puts on a Family Fun Day for the whole neighborhood. There is always lots of fun things to do and the kids have a great time. This year Emily went around with her friends to the activities and the boys spent most of their time on the big water slide. Even though it was a cloudy day, we had lots of fun.

Our Little Clown

The last day at Joseph's preschool is called Circus days. The kids all get to dress up and they do fun activities all day. Last year Joseph went as a pirate. He looked awesome and I thought he would want to go as that again, but when I asked him he said. " No they have already seen me as that. I want to be something different." He decided he wanted to be a clown this year.
This costume fits Joseph perfectly. He is our little clown and is always trying to do things to make us laugh. He thinks he looks pretty funny and was excited to go to circus days. After school he said everyone who saw him started laughing. He was very happy about that.

Swimming Lessons

Two summers ago we ended up getting Cryptosporidium from a public pool. For those of you who don't know what that is, imagine a bad flu that lasts about 1 to 2 weeks.......if your lucky. Because of the bug I avoided pools last summer like the plague. Emily has a friend with a pool so she did not suffer and the boys seemed happy enough just playing in the kiddie pool in our back yard.

This summer I decided to brave it again and I signed the kids up for swimming lessons. I asked Josh, who is 3, if I signed him up for lessons would he get in the pool? He smiled and said yes. I asked him how you get in a pool and he answered, "You go down the slide on the swing set." I then explained to him that swimming lessons were done at a big pool. He said I know mom and then continued to describe the kiddie pool we had last summer. Josh was too little to ever remember seeing a real pool and he did not understand. I decided to sign him up anyway and just see what happens.

The first day The kids were all excited. Emily is a fish and has always loved the water.
Joe had a hard time last time he took lessons, but he loves swimming now. He was really excited because two of his friends signed up with him. (Charlie, Ethan and Joe)

Josh was just excited because Joe and Emily were. Everyone got in the pool just fine and began their lessons. After about 5 minutes I heard Josh start crying for me. The lessons are at a school and the parents sit up in a balcony to watch, so I was not sure if he could even see me. I learned from Joe's lessons when he was 3, the best thing to do is not get involved. So I stayed where I was and watched.
Josh cried for me for most of his lesson, but he did everything his teacher asked him to, even jumping in from the side. After the lesson he was still upset, but he sat with me and watched the rest of Joe and Emily's lessons.

This morning Josh did not want to go. He told me he never wants to go to that pool ever again. With the help of Emily and Joe we talked him into trying it one more time. He said that he would as long as I did not go up the tall stairs and stayed down by the pool. I told him that I would, but that if he cried I would have to leave. He agreed and got ready.

I kept my word and sat in a chair on the pool level. Josh did great. He did not cry once and while the teacher was working with one of the other kids he started splashing a little with the girl next to him. He even smiled and looked like he was having fun. But every so often I would see his little blue goggles peak over the edge to make sure I was still there.
On the way home I asked him if he was going to go to swimming lessons tomorrow. He excitedly said yes I like swimming! I am glad.

Me and My Shadow

The boys and I took a trip to the Gateway yesterday. After a yummy lunch with dad and Grandpa, we walked up to the fountain. As the boys headed into the water, I noticed that Josh was not going to do anything without Joe and was happy to follow his lead.

Wherever Joe went Josh followed

When Joe turned Josh turned.

When Joe stopped to play in the water so did Josh.

Sometimes Josh wasn't quick enough and got left behind in the spray.

By the end Joe was brave enough to get in the spray himself, and Josh was right on his heals.

I love how Josh looks up to his older brother so much. I also love that Joseph is happy to have Josh follow him around. I couldn't help wonder yesterday, as I watched the two of them, how much longer the shadow will be tolerated. Will there come a time when Joe wont like having his little brother on his heals all the time? Will Josh's Independence take over one day and he will no longer want to be like Joe? Or will this friendship stay like this?........ Two little friends happy to be by each others side.

Conversations With Joseph

Some of the best conversations I have with my kids happen as we drive around in the car running errands, driving to school or appointments, or just getting from one place to the next.

Joseph is now five and full of important questions as he tries to figure out life.


There have been a lot of baby questions lately because of the new baby on the way......Can a boy have a baby?......How does the baby get out......Can you loose weight when your pregnant? (I wasn't too excited about that one)

The last few weeks He has been focused on his future. On the way to school a few weeks ago he started asking me about "Adult School" So we talked about how after you finish 12 years of school then you move on to college. He then wanted to know the difference between kid school and college. I told him that in college you get to choose what you want to learn about. Then after you learn about it you use your college education to get the job you want to have when you are and adult. Like Dad went to Law school because he wanted to be a lawyer and my dad went to school to learn about being an accountant because he likes math. His other Grandpa went to school and took science classes so he could learn about plants and animals for his job, because that is what he likes.

I told him that there are lots of different jobs in the world and if you get good grades in "Kid School" then you can choose what kind of college you want to go to and learn about something that you like. That is where the conversation ended.

Then a few days later he got in the car after school and on the way home he started another conversation.

Joe: Mom I decided what I want to learn about when I go to college.

Me: What Joe.

Joe: I want to take science classes.

Me: There are lots of different kinds of science classes. There are ones where you learn about plants and animals, ones where you learn about medicine, some where you learn about space........Do you know what kind you want to learn about.

Joe: I want to take science classes so I can find dinosaur bones when I grow up.

Me: Oh that would be fun. That kind of scientist is called a paleontologist.

Joe: yea that is what I want to be.

I thought that was a good goal to have and pretty typical of a 5 year old boy. That was the end of this conversation for a while, until yesterday when we were driving to a doctors appointment. On the way we passed a fire station and of course Josh got all excited because it was not the normal station we drive pass.

Joe: Josh do you want to be a fireman when you grow up?

Josh: No I don't want to.

Joe: But Josh that is what you like.

Josh: No Joe I don't want to.

Me: (trying to stop this from turning into something bad) Joe what do you want to be when you grow up.

Joe: Mom I told you a palentogist.

Me: Oh a Paleontologist.

Joe: Yes, Do you know why I want to be a paleontologist?

Me: Why?

Joe: Because, I like dinosaurs, I like to find things, and I like to do puzzles. A paleontologist has to put together the dinosaur bones he finds to make the dinosaur just like a puzzle.

Me: (thinking to myself) "Wow, he really did think about this."