Project Completed!

We cannot believe that our gazebo is finally finished! At times, it has seemed like the never-ending project, but it's truly been a lot of fun and involved quite a few laughs (see above!). :) Nate & Dave worked all day last Saturday in order to finish it for Joel's graduation party. They even got it completely stained before the guests arrived...though we warned everyone not to lean up against any of the posts, since they were still drying. :) Nate has, once again, proven his nickname of Nate the Great...he was a huge help for this entire project!
It's hard to believe that this is what we started with....
and now...
We are looking forward to lots of great BBQs with our family and friends in the gazebo!

And...I should add that Dave keeps telling me that the gazebo isn't really finished until...1) we buy furniture for it, 2) we landscape around it (isn't grass good enough?), and 3) most importantly, it passes the final inspection from the city!

A Quick List of Threes

3 Trips I'm Looking Forward To:
1. 5th Anniversary Trip to Jamaica...in 11 days!
2. Trip to Minnesota to visit my grandma, sister, and friends in July
3. Weekend Getaway to Lake Texoma in August with our Keystone friends

3 Books I'm Taking with on Vacation:
1. The Dead Don't Dance by Charles Martin
2. What God Whispers in the Dark by Ron Mehl
3. The Brethren by Beverly Lewis

3 Happy Things About Today:
1. Tomorrow is my last day of school before summer break begins!
2. I got enough Starbucks cards from students as end-of-the-year presents to last me until Christmas!
3. The gazebo is done!

3 Movies I'm Excited to See:
1. Maid of Honor (yes, I know it's already out...I just haven't seen it yet!)
2. Mamma Mia (What could be more exciting than a movie version of my favorite musical?)
3. ??

3 Movies People Can't Believe I Haven't Seen:
1. August Rush
2. August Rush...
3. ...and, August Rush--Do you know how many students and parents of students have asked me if I've seen this??

Drive-in Movie!

Last night we went to the Brazos Drive-in Movie Theatre in Granbury with Kimi & Rob to see the new Indiana Jones movie! We got there in plenty of time to eat our picnics & hang out before the movie started around dark. While some of us may have slept more than others during the movie (mainly Lake & me!), it was a great night!

First Swim of the Summer!

Dad and Dave took the first swim of the summer on Sunday afternoon! They spent most of the time sitting on the edge, talking about construction and reading the Wall Street Journal...but eventually they both got wet! We are looking forward to lots of great times in the pool this summer!
P.S. Now Dave and Dad have another obvious thing in common: the same farmer's tan, as Emily pointed out! ;)

The Roof Has Risen!

Dave and Nate worked on the roof all day on Saturday. We are hosting our friend Joel's graduation party in the gazebo on May 31, so the pressure is on to get it done!

Inn on the River

Knowing what a difficult time Mother's Day is for me, my sweet husband planned a special getaway this weekend. We started our time on Saturday morning at the Fort Worth Zoo, which was a lot of fun!

We laughed really hard while watching the huge elephants swim in their pool, and Dave had a great time walking through the Parrot Paradise. I tried going into the Parrot Paradise, too, but after 10 parakeets tried to "dive-bomb" me, I ran out! I was also very proud of myself for walking through the entire "herpatarium" (the snake house), though I was very glad to get out!




After our adventure at the zoo, we made a quick stop at the DQ for emergency ice cream cones before driving to Glen Rose, where we stayed at the Inn on the River. This truly was a lovely and restful little hotel, and we enjoyed reading by the edge of the river for hours.

Last night we got a taste of authentic Texas BBQ at the "Ranch House Barbeque" which we both agreed was delicious, though one thing we saw describes the entire atmosphere: the deerhead on the wall was wearing a feed cap. There were also 2 full coyote skins on either side of the door to the restrooms.

After a great breakfast in the inn's dining room, we spent more time down by the river before heading back to Ft. Worth. I am so thankful for special times like this weekend to spend together.

Bridge Demolition!

Last week, I had the incredibly fun experience of destroying completely one of the Texas Dept. of Transportation's bridges. (Don't worry, we built a new one!). Here are some of the photos...
The "Hammer" on the end of this excavator can put a hole into almost two feet of reinforced concrete. It doesn't take long for a whole span of the bridge to hit the ground.
Knocking a bridge down is pretty exciting and everybody likes to stop what they're doing for a few minutes to take a look. Even after completely hammering through the concrete of one of the columns, the bridge still holds up. The resillience of these things is a good thing!... Part of the over-engineering for safety.
When this span came down, it sent a tidal wave from the creek up the slopes of the creekbed. You can feel the ground shake from a good way off. The weight of this span coming down impaled itself on one of the columns that used to help support it!