1. Mason & Eric started regular team football practice 7 a.m. Monday. They've had weight training, football camp, captains practice, and more all summer long, but from here on out, football season is fully upon us. 5 hours a day so far. It sounds like they've been doing all kinds of wild hill training stuff - "wheel burrowing" each other up a steep hill.. sprinting up a steep hill while giving teammates piggyback rides. Army crawling up a steep hill. Sprinting with dummies over their heads up a steep hill. And yet, Mason & Eric don't appear tired or sore. They've stayed well conditioned all summer. (But they are drinking an extra outrageous amount of milk when they get home.)
2. We formed & poured more concrete early this week. Apron, sidewalk, step. Mitch was checking the weather right up to the hour of delivery - it showed 0% precipitation for our area.
The cement truck arrived at 1:30. Mitch & the boys had about half poured when at 1:45 a dark cloud blew in and rain poured down like we haven't seen in months. Luckily it passed quickly after 5 or 10 minutes, but oh - what a mess. So much water turning everything into soup & slop! Zero % precipitation, whatever. That was quite a little storm system for radar to miss. weather.com did not impress us much that day. But the new sidewalk turned out great.
3. Weds. night we made a late evening trip to Duluth to haul home a heavy trailer of material. The lumberyard is by far our most common date night destination. We stopped for dinner while we were in the area.
4. Johnathan, Lilly, & Beau have a tent pitched in the backyard. They continue to have campfires every evening, and had a special friend over today. We went for a ranger ride deep into the woods. Picked a few raspberries. I pointed out which tree I would live in if I were a raccoon.
5. This evening Mitch raised the first wall of our new addition! (And the back doorway & another wall.)
So far all the framing used is lumber he has made himself from logs & his sawmill. When you buy a 2x6 from a lumberyard or building center, it's not actually 2x6, but 1½ x 5½. Mitch's lumber is of true dimension, therefor a bit heftier. It's very exciting to be moving forward (upward.)

I hope to keep somewhat of a progress log from here on out now that our project is in our hands.
Photos to come!
Happy weekend!
(Sharing with Random 5 Friday)
7am ouch! I'd love to pitch a tent in our back yard and have campfires, lucky guys, and this is interesting about the lumber measurements-and I am looking forward to your progress photos-
ReplyDeleteYou sound busy - and happy. Good luck with your project.
ReplyDeleteOh my those poor boys! Five hours? That seem a bit much to me, but I'm an old woman. Lol.
ReplyDeleteExcited to see the progression of your add-on. Isn't is nice to have a handy man in the house? :)
oh i have worked with concrete. that's tough work. i bet your muscles are huge & maybe hurting a bit. fun times it sounds like. ( :
ReplyDeleteenjoy your weekend.
Exciting to see the construction for the new addition. Grab those date nights wherever/whenever you can! You are busy!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finally getting the project under way! I look forward to following the progress. :-)
ReplyDeleteHouse additions are always exciting! Can't wait to see more photos. xox
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteNever a dull moment at your house!
When you told about the boys’ football practice and they are not sore I thought ... "youth! They are in shape and young their body can take it."
How exciting to be making progress on the addition. Sometimes, it's nice just to take a drive and go out to eat with the Hubby, "Date Night" or parts/supply run.
hooray for progress - even if with a surprise downpour now and then! :)
ReplyDeletere: your sons, oh, to be young and resilient like that!
Exciting!! And I am super impressed with how hard Mason and Eric are working! Definitely inspiring for my soccer training's :)
ReplyDeleteIt sounds as if the building project is coming along nicely in spite of the unexpected rain. Your boys must be in superb shape -- I got tired just reading the drills they do.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a wonderful week! I remember my parents setting up a tent for me in the backyard one summer when I was kid - I loved it and have great memories. I am sure your children will too. :)
ReplyDeleteAmanda,
ReplyDeleteYou are such busy bee! I love knowing that you have a favorite Tree to live in if you were a racoon!
Have a lovely weekend!
Jemma
How wonderful to have started your room addition.
ReplyDeleteSo much pleasure from doing it yourself.
So excited for you about your new addition! Can't wait to see it. I know it will be amazing based on the gorgeous lake house your husband built! It's crazy that it rained when you had no chance of precipitation. Ugh! At least the concrete turned out well in spite of the rain. I can't imagine how hard football practice must be! But sounds like it's not hard at all for your boys. I don't think I'd survive one day of practice!
ReplyDeleteI see your weather reports are as reliable as ours! :) Good luck with your addition. I want to see photos when it's finished.
ReplyDeleteWow! You're a much braver soul than I! Best of luck with your construction project ... and keeping up with the kids. :-D
ReplyDeleteHi, You all are doing great with your addition... Hope you got the concrete to work--after the rain.. The weather people NEVER seem to get the forecast correct, do they????
ReplyDeleteIs it getting cool up there now? We've had a fairly cool summer --and the past few days have felt like FALL... Crazy summer!!!!!
Sounds like the kids are having a good time camping out in the backyard.. When do they go back to school? Schools here have started.
Have a good week. Thanks for your nice comment on my blog post.
Hugs,
Betsy
What a bummer for the concrete job. So much for the weather reports. I hope it wasn't totally ruined....
ReplyDeleteGood luck and good weather! You are great in making it a fun holiday for your children AND doing all the other important stuff! Impressive!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like my kinda luck. I never trust the weatherman. Congrats on getting the walls up. Can't wait to see more photos.
ReplyDeleteHugs~
Very awesome! No doubt that soon it will be a great addition.
ReplyDeleteVelva
Very exciting times! Hoping to have it all weather tight by winter no doubt.
ReplyDelete