May 12th, 2009

Oh, the yard...

We had to bring in another 12 tons of rock for a total of 22 tons. Add to that, another 30 yards of topsoil for a total of 80 yards. I suppose under-estimating is better than over-estimating when it comes to rock and dirt. It's hard to return this stuff if we get too much, but we can always order more!

For this round of wall-augmentation and topsoil backfilling, I used a Bobcat MT55, the smaller cousin of the T-190 that we used last time.

The MT55 is a great little tool -but it falls a tad short in the "ass kicking" category. That said, it was adequate for the task of moving a sh*tload of rocks and dirt.

Our friend Brian came by on Sunday to help with the on-going rock wall construction. He was an enormous help. I rewarded him by letting him go nuts with the bobcat for 10 minutes. Thanks Brian!

Mother's Day weekend was a nice break from heavy yard work. Chris came down for a visit, and we had French toast with strawberries and whipped cream for brunch.

I built a wood shelf and clothes rod for Nicole's closet, and stained it ebony to match her dresser drawers.

I also picked up a 10' zodiac on craigslist for 600 bucks.

These boats sell for twice that new. And this one was new -a display model from a boating store! This will make a great boat for summer lake activities, since it's easy for swimmers to get in and out of. I also ordered a small electric outboard motor for it.

Last but not least, we FINALLY (after 3 years of waiting and 6 months of procrastinating) ordered the Canon 5D mkII camera.

This is a huge upgrade to our 5-year old Canon 20D. The low-light noise and high ISO performance are amazing. So hopefully we'll have some better photos on the site with our next update!!

-Rob and Nicole

"My Name's Elliot and I'm fuggnin' cute! What's your excuse?"

"Want me to go a bit slower dad, you don't look so good."

More DIRT!

"Elliot try not to stand on the controls, I can barely drive this thing as it is! Take the picture, darling!"

"Sweet mother of GOD, this sh*t is FUN! Now I know the real reason why you're doing all this 'landscaping'..."

Mother's day breakfast... but guess who stole the show again!

Nicole stops chopping strawberries for a sec to look pretty. Not bad for girl who's 8.5 months pregnant, has a brutal sinus congrestion, and simultaneously is the mother of a 2-year old boy...

Also she hasn't had any coffee.

"I don't need no stinkin' haircut!"

Mom and Elliot playing during a lighting test.

More ROCKS!

"Hey mom, does thing thing go fast enough to catch any decent air?"

Here are a few shots from the 3D model I've been working on. Yeah... it's kind of a nice thing that I use this software all day at my job -because it's coming in VERY handy for our house projects. The model is built to the inch off the original 1957 plans. Great for prototyping and visualizing ideas, getting measurements, and sizes.

Super-mom pauses to show off her her super-bump, only two weeks to go!

"C'mere, you!"