Workhorses!

I'm friggin' beat. This was the first truly exhausting yet sheerly gratifying day of manual labor I've had yet this year. I loved it!

I started the morning off by sleeping in to a magnificant 8:30 [in mama-world, that alone is the equivelant of a mini-vacation]. Since Sydni was up late last night with all of her little friends here, I crept out of bed and left her to snooze while I got the laundry moving, cleared and cleaned the remnants of dishes and pans from last night, and tackled what ended up nearly an hour and a half cleaning up our basement, which serves as the kids' stomping ground during small group. I topped it off with a house-wide vacuuming, and when it was all said and done, I spent another near hour buzz-cutting our dog's hair down to a 1. It's not exactly the best look for her, but we do it a few times each year for a little relief from the summer heat. Come to think of it, she looks a couple years younger with short hair. Puppy mode :)
 

yeah, that's the same dog :)
before + after

getting started!
step 1.. movin' bricks

Once I'd cleaned up all the dog hair, given her a bath [and myself, since I was by then itchy and covered with dog shavings], Sydni and I loaded up for a pitstop at the store before making our way to the Gobles. We wasted no time getting right down to it; I managed to snag a few shots during breather breaks before and after. It wasn't long before nearly our entire small group was on scene and fully engaged in everything from ripping out weeds, gravel and brick, painting shutters and garage trim, tearing out rock and plastic liner, tilling, planting, mulching, and even chopping wood. In the midst of it, we even managed to have a little fun climbing trees, playing with the kids, and of course eating. Hey... we're actually a pretty cheap labor force: we'll work our tails off for burgers, hot dogs, and chicken, and not be a bit sorry for it! :)




repainting shutters | jackie

takin' breaks to play with the kiddies in the tree :)
becky. tom. cori. raymond. william. jacob!

mulch. lots of mulch.
jackie. tom. julie

ripping up gravel & plastic
jarod. becky. julie. alex

gettin' dirty!
tom. cori. joe. alex. julie

chopping wood
joe!

ax men
jarod. raymond. joe. landon

Tom, Jarod, Becky and I were the last men standing at 10pm as we unloaded the last bit of mulch from Tom's truck into the newly-planted flowerbed in the blasting glow of Jarod's headlights. We tidied up and sank down next to the fire pit to unwind for a bit before calling it a night and heading home with sleepy kids and dirt-creased hands.
Shower.. check. I think I might've even dozed off a few times during. I can't remember.
My bed has never looked so comforting..... Time to oblige it.

Church in the AM!

xo | cmd