our new project .. day two .. the trapeze artists ...

we are at the point where we needed to add some "brains .. brawn .. and charm" to our assembly process .. so we asked the "trapeze artists" from work if they would like to come over for a hamburger cookout and then help us work on the play ground .. luckily for us .. they said they would love to ..

yes .. jeff reading directions .. again .. see this is lots harder than we thought ..

daniel .. is the best there is .. not only did he have the super power tools with all kinds of fancy 1/16" whatevers that we needed for the job .. he also is brilliant ..

jeff could not get the bolts .. washer .. and nuts ready fast enough .. noah and daniel were waiting on him most of the night ..

we needed to move some the pieces around .. that was cash's job .. right here cash .. stack it up with the others .. but dad i wanted to put this one in my tractor and hammer on it myself .. no .. cash .. put it right here .. but dad .. my tractor .. later cash ..

they had the rest of the bottom part done in nothing flat .. now for the hard part .. the part where it says you need 6 adults .. does this sound familiar .. maybe like the basketball goal ..

they hammered and tightened all the bolts before we added the top part .. just in case we did not get them tight enough .. daniel did not want it to come tumbling down ..

cash .. where are you ..

oh .. well hello there .. cash aren't you supposed to be moving all that wood for noah and daniel .. yes .. oh mom .. you are so pretty .. ok cash .. you can stay right where you are .. fine with me ..

finally we are adding the top pieces .. lots more hammering .. it seems that those long bolts don't really like to go in ..

all the hardware comes in about 12 bags .. none of them are labeled nut f or bolt 122 or washer 28g .. it is just simply big plastic bags with a mixture of hardware .. so .. you have to dig thru the bag .. find what bolt/nut/washer you think it might be and then hold it up to the picture in the directions .. see .. all those estimating skills i had my 6th graders do would come in real handy right now .. but i am not allowed to help with this part .. it takes me to long .. so daniel was helping .. it seems he does this much better than me .. he also knows the difference between a lag bolt and a lock washer .. apparently this is important .. not sure why .. but it is ..

more hammering ..  thank goodness we had cash to help us out ..

jeff is telling noah that he is going to throw this board up to him .. what noah says ..

jeff is now helping .. this is the part where jeff starts to mention mike's tools .. mike is gone .. he was on his way to nebraska by the time we started this .. and then you hear daniel say .. mike told me not to let you use his tools .. and then jeff says .. i know ... but i called him .. he said it is ok .. noah and i look at each other and wonder .. hmmmm ..

we are almost done for the night .. it is getting to dark and the bugs are eating us alive it seems .. but they were able to get the ..

tire swing installed .. yea .. !!!

our new project .. day one ..

last week jeff drove to oklahoma city to pick up our new playground and to check on his dad for me .. hank had knee replacement surgery a bit ago and i wanted him to stop by and say hi .. so cash and i get home from school and this is what we see .. jeff was waiting on us to get home before he started .. i said to him .. great .. that way i can get pics from the beginning .. he said .. no .. so you can help me .. oh ... i said ..

cash heard those words .. the help me part .. and he sprung into action .. he did just what grandpa does anytime jeff needs any help .. he went and got his tractor ..

so first you measure .. where do you want this babe .. he says to me .. well .. what about right here .. in the shade .. that way the slide will not be 100 degrees and burn their little hiney's when they slide down it .. and i won't be hot while i sit and watch them play .. ok .. he says .. so we measured .. and yes ... i see how gross and dirty the bottoms of ellie's feet are .. and yes .. i know that she is not wearing any shoes ..

then you sort and unload and unwrap and lay all the pieces out ..

if i was in charge we would then sit down and read the directions from beginning to end .. you can see that they have not even been opened .. not so much as even a crease in the page ..

break time .. we had to sit down and get a plan .. not the plan like what was in the directions .. but jeff's plan .. he knows way more than the rainbow play systems people .. way more ..

ellie had the best seat in the house .. all that jumping and running around without any shoes on wore her out ..

cash helped wiggle all those little pieces out .. he spent at least 30 minutes on it .. and notice uncle dan .. he is wearing clothes !!!

baby blue on a break ..

oh .. wait a minute .. whats this .. jeff .. reading the directions .. holy cow .. i hollered over to him .. what are you reading .. the warranty information he hollers back at me .. oh .. sure .. i can see that now is the perfect time to read about the warranty information .. sure .. is it on the page where step #1 is .. if it is .. can you go ahead and read step #1 ..

this is as far as we made it the first night .. noah and daniel .. the trapeze artists from work are coming to help .. they are bringing their super fancy power tools .. i am betting that things move along lots faster ..

2nd grade .. really ..

ellie .. the 2nd grader .. give me a moment .. i need to take in a breath ..

what do you say about this .. this sweet picture of ellie and granny and grandpa .. and .. cash .. my beloved son .. on his very best picture taking behavior ..

i think every girl should start her first day of school with her granny walking her in .. don't you .. holding hands .. getting that last little bit of love in .. hoping that it will calm your nervous stomach .. with granny saying all kinds of wonderful and sweet things ..

followed by her brother in christmas pj's .. wearing silver sparkle flip flops .. with a ratty bed head on his skut bike ..

ellie has a turkey sandwich with tye dye (colby jack) cheese on flat bread .. a few wavy lays and a super secret surprise .. (a merritts thumb print )

and of course our back pack matches our lunch box .. that is how it is done in the second grade i was told .. you must match ..

and best of all .. our sweet little friends .. right .. because that is what second grade is all about .. working on those social skills ..

open house aka supply drop off

tonight was open house for ellie .. to me this is code for .. parents .. please bring all your supplies tonight so that i can get everything all sorted and organized so that the first day of school is not so crazy .. i think this is a super idea .. in fact .. if i was still teaching .. i would still be at school going thru all the goodies that all the kids had picked out .. putting all the crayons in the big crayon bin .. sorting pencil top erasers and glue sticks .. stacking up the kleenex boxes and clorox wipes .. you can tell many things about a kid by their school supplies .. what they like .. what they don't like .. which ones have neurotic parents .. this is easy to tell because the neurotic parents have already printed pretty labels with fun things on them that color coordinate with their students binder and notebooks/folders .. not that i would know about this or anything ..

cash brought along his skutt bike .. his favorite mode of transportation .. why walk when you can create mass confusion in a hallway already full of confused and lost parents and kids ..

 .. last year he would ride it in every day that we took ellie in .. he would weave and dart thru all the kids coming down the hallway .. i am pretty sure that he ran over a few toes .. but before the poor kid could figure out what happened to them .. cash was gone ..

really .. ?? she is in second grade .. how did this happen .. can anyone explain it to me ..

and this is ellie's teacher .. pretty and sweet little mrs. smith .. we are very lucky .. mrs. smith is a super super teacher .. we will have to find out if she likes oreos or not .. how could she not like oreos .. they are the best thing ever invented .. better than starbucks coffee and cake balls .. ok .. maybe not better than starbucks and cake balls .. maybe the same as starbucks and cakeballs .. anyway .. i am sure that she likes oreos .. i will ask her and let you know ..

so there you have it .. open house was a huge success .. ellie knows most of the kids in her class .. she is very excited to see her friends and learn triple digit double multiplication facts and how to balance chemical equations and tell time and all the fun things that you learn in the second grade .. but as with every first day of anything she is also just a little nervous ... she starts on thursday .. wednesday she is going to stay home with granny all by herself .. cash will be at school .. so that will help .. how can you not be better after staying at home with granny all day long ..

a box of love and a much loved box ..

a box came for me the other day .. a box from my new most favorite store .. b.h. .. i know not a very fancy name .. it doesn't really grab you right off .. or make you think of anything fancy .. like pretty dresses or shoes or anything that might sparkle .. but oh baby .. does it it ever get me excited ..

look .. just what i need ..a fl280k .. studio lights .. for my tiny little make shift studio in the garage .. oh .. i am serious now .. oh baby ..

so the box .. is now in the possession of cash .. cash loves boxes .. especially if they are big and are filled with packing material .. bubble wrap is his favorite .. it sounds like fireworks in the house until he pops it all .. his second favorite is peanuts ..

just so happens .. this box has peanuts in it .. lots and lots of them .. so this box is now his boat .. and he has filled it with all his tools .. just in case he needs to work on a boat .. there are also oreos and cheetos in the bottom .. covered up with the peanuts so that i won't notice

my box of love .. is now a well loved box ..

cash's first day ..

cash had his first day at new haven on friday .. he has moved upstairs with the big kids .. ellie has not started school yet so she went with me .. being a graduate of new haven herself .. she showed cash all around the upstairs .. where the computer room is .. the spanish room .. the indoor motor room .. the bathroom .. poor cash .. his head was spinnng so fast from looking from one room to the next .. i am sure that he is totally confused .. he was greeted by his old friends .. hampton and bayleigh .. they were thrilled to see him .. and he was thrilled to see them .. and by mrs. haley .. his new teacher .. he is going to have a super year ..

and who i ask you .. would not want this sweet and totally well-behaved boy in their classroom ..

the pop box ..

jeff comes home from work on friday night .. he says .. hey babe .. i brought home the pop box .. pop box ?? .. i say to myself .. no .. it is sitting in the game room .. don't you hear it running .. pop box !! cash shouts .. wow dad .. i am thinking to myself again .. i do this alot .. cash .. do you know what a pop box is .. then .. i remember .. ohhh .. ughhh ... i say to myself .. the pop box .. what he means is an abandoned pepsi machine .. i see this on the back of his truck .. knowing full and well that they used the forklift at work and 3 big boys to get this on the back of his truck .. can you help me ? .. help you do what .. i ask .. out loud .. get this off the back of my truck .. sure .. why not .. we installed an 8 person basketball goal .. why not move a pepsi machine ..

no .. you don't have to he says .. i made noah come over to help .. thank god !!!  i had just had a manicure that day and i did not feel like moving a pepsi machine ..

so jeff and my savior .. noah .. wiggled the pepsi machine over to the forks on the tractor .. they were going to use the tractor like the fork lift .. and noah .. he is as strong as 3 big boys ..

they were having a hard time getting it to line up just right .. so that the forks would slide under the pallet that the pepsi machine is sitting on .. see here noah says .. you have to move it over .. really dude .. jeff says .. yes dad .. cash says .. move it over .. like noah said dad ..

good work fellas .. it is on the forks of the tractor .. now what .. ???

oh cash .. i wonder what kind of crazy things you are going to do when you grow up .. then i wonder to myself .. should he be watching all this .. is this giving him ideas .. i can see the wheels spinning ..

ok .. you back up and i will hold onto the pepsi machine ..

oh .. this tractor does not work like the fork lift ..

ok .. step one ... done ..  get pepsi machine off big truck .. now what .. where are you going to put this .. you are going to move my grill and put it there .. how am i going to grill i ask .. you aren't jeff says .. oh .. got it .. great plan ..

right there .. jeff says .. now .. in case you ever want to know how to move a pop machine from a pallet on a tractor onto the ground .. just watch ..

catch it quick before it falls over and breaks into a million pieces onto your pool deck .. and smashes the toes of everyone close by

tilt it backwards just a bit  ..

push it back with all your might ..

wiggle it even closer to the wall .. and then remember that you did not plug it in ..

pull it back out from the wall and plug it in so that it will really work ..

wiggle it back and then check to make sure that it is even ..

 dad .. yes cash .. can i put some rootbeer in there .. why sure cash .. what about orange pop .. sure cash .. you can put orange pop in there to ..  what about ellie's barbies dad .. can i put those in there to .. no cash .. no barbies in the pepsi machine .. and for the record .. we drink diet coke ..