Spring Break 2011...it ain't over yet!

We have one more fun day planned tomorrow as we spend the afternoon out at Pirtle Pines Ranch (or as we call it...the real El Rancho Dominguez) with our awesome Life Group. The boys are excited to go fishing and ride horses with all their favorite friends.

We've already had a full week of fun (and craziness). Secretly, I am *somewhat* ready to get back to our normal routine. This whole hanging out thing has been fun and all...but I'm a routine-oriented kinda gal. My schedule has been thrown off...I usually try to do small loads of laundry everyday and keep the house picked up. Those ideas have flown out the window the past few days and I'm in for it Monday when I catch up on all of it.

The BIGGEST (and I mean BIG) thing we did was our new playscape construction in the backyard. We've been researching and pricing playscapes since December. We settled on a new line that Lowe's is carrying and our "load" of fun arrived on Monday. In about three. zillion. pieces. We had made prior arrangements with the handiest man we know, aka my dad (seriously he's Mike Holmes & Bob Villa rolled into one...can build or fix ANYTHING), to come help us. Even he was a bit shocked at the sheer magnitude of pieces. We had estimated 1-2 days and put in a good 4 in the end...not including the day it has spent drying from the sealant we applied.

I was a HUGE help in the building process. I walked around with my camera each day capturing the progress. SO helpful, eh? I did manage to fix/or purchase lunch every day and keep bellies full and bodies hydrated.

Day one of building...lots of "groundwork". Literally. Laying everything out on the ground.

Day two...actually looks like a playscape.

Freckles!

Midnight the dog even helped out. She basically laid down in the middle of the action and let everyone work "around her". Helpful.

Day three let the rock wall and ladder go up so the boys could start playing on the finished areas.

Lean mean playing machine

Annnnnd done. The slide (day four) proved to be the trickiest part. They also added the monkey bars (in the back) that day. Whew. This is David & my dad with the "extra pieces". Always nice to end up with those.

This also proved to be a very pricey week as my dryer finally gave up the ghost, too. Not sure how many visits to Lowe's we made this week. We kind of saw the dryer nearing its end. It's been taking two 75 minute rounds on med-high heat to dry an average load of clothes. Not exactly efficient...for my chores or our electric bill. We actually had the washing machine/dryer fiasco of the century back in October (and I mean FIASCO). Long, complicated story. The "short version" amounted to us literally moving in and out three different sets of machines from this shop in Austin that we thought was giving us a good deal. They finally told us we must have damaged the sets in the transport from Austin to Killeen (because people never have to move washers & dryers?) and they wouldn't service it. So, after paying for a set from this shop, we ended up at Lowe's buying a new washer anyway in October. And now...the dryer from that shop has gone out. So, we've now purchased the mate to the new washer. All in all, for the money we spent with this ordeal, we could have just walked into Lowe's and bought the nicest set they had and saved a whole lot of time and aggravation. Instead, we have a nice, new, high-efficiency set, but not quite the "top of the line". Kind of makes me want to throw up. Major lesson learned here. While we're all about helping mom & pop shops, this put a very bad taste in our mouths and we're sticking to Lowe's from now on. We purchased the super extended warranty after this whole thing, too. David has told me he will never again move another washer or dryer.

So, the big Lowe's truck will be here on the 28th. Amen & hallelujah.

And now I'm off to HobLob to drown my sorrows in new fabric and Easter decor. Just sayin'.

Dad-- thanks a bajillion for all you do! We would have been clueless without you this week! There aren't words enough to show our appreciation. And mom...thanks for coming along and keeping me company. And going to Walmart with me and not being overly-embarrassed of the massive coupon binder that rides in the buggy at Walmart with me. Love you guys.