Monday, June 4, 2012

Fencing…Not the Kind with Swords!

This week was all about fencing and bathrooms.  We are very close to finishing the vanity in the master bathroom.  We were able to build a frame (to raise the height), add plywood, cut out for the sinks, and tile the top.  We still have to add tile to the sides and backsplash but we should be done with that in a few days.



We also had a local company come out to give us a quote for the shower door.  We need to decide which style we want to go with and then it will take three weeks until it can be installed.  I can’t wait to get to use this bathroom!


We have been waiting for weeks for the landscaper to finish our yard – we were hiring them to smooth out the yard and seed it.  On Friday afternoon they finally finished.  About an hour and a half after the last piece of straw was in place, an enormous storm hit the area.  I have never experienced a storm quite like it – extremely strong wind and very heavy rain.  It washed a lot of the straw, seed, and dirt away.  Fortunately the landscaper is going to come back and re-do everything after it all dries out.


This weekend my parents came down to visit (all because of Samantha of course!) but we took advantage of having them here.  Our entire back yard is fenced and it has a lot of issues.  The fence material is a rusty rectangular metal and it is mostly held up by very crooked metal posts.  The worst areas are the sections facing the road.  There are two gate panels in each section of fence in the front and neither gate works well (or at all). 



We bought all our materials at Lowe’s on Saturday morning and rented their truck to bring it all home.  After lunch, the guys got busy digging holes for the posts, I cut all the pickets, and my mom babysat. 

Chris and my dad did a great job getting all the posts set in the ground and installing the rails (only on the left side).  They also built the gate for the left side.  We still have to finish up the rails and gate on the right side and install all the pickets.  Fortunately the big work is already done and we can take our time finishing.


I spent way too much time with pickets.  We purchased 10 foot sections of 1x6 for the pickets.  I made a jig so that I could cut them all down to 5 foot lengths and then I set up another jig to cut small 45 degree “dog ears” on the top of each picket. 

The rough cuts did not look good at all so I spent a couple more hours sanding each picket.  I had to sand the flat sections and each cut edge.  It all worked out to making 312 cuts and sanding 936 surfaces or edges.  Let’s just say that my whole body hurts today.  



Samantha spent a ton of time with Grandma – they went on plenty of walks!  Apparently Grandma thought that they were going for a walk in the Arctic – Samantha was so bundled up even though it was in the 70’s all weekend.


Samantha is starting to get much more interactive now.  She is really enjoying playing with toys more now. 



She enjoys books so I take her to Play Partners at the library each week.  They sing songs, read books, play with puppets, and make music (she likes grabbing onto the bells and shakers but hasn’t learned to shake them yet!). 


Just in time for the odd news about “zombie attacks” last week, Samantha has started her own version.  She opens her mouth really wide and lunges for your face – I’m still not quite sure what she’s trying to do!  She seems to alternate between your lips, cheek, chin, and neck. 

She is also doing more sitting up – she went from a reclining position to sitting upright tonight.  We wouldn’t be surprised if she starts crawling soon – she already seems to have the creeping perfected. 

Also, since she’s mastered rolling over, now she only does it when she wants to be on her stomach (she was doing it every time we would lay her down…possibly for practice?). 



Here are a few more pictures:




We’ll keep our fingers crossed that next week we have more bathroom and fencing news to report!
 

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