The Fort / Sandbox

So, Here it is (Almost complete) "The Fort"..... I built it almost entirely out of wood from some shipping containers I salvaged from a huge job that I sold. The only costs that I had were for (3) 4"x 4"x 8'0" Pressure Treated Posts, (3) Concrete Block Footings, Wire Mesh around the sides, 1 1/2 yards of sand, 12lbs of screws, and some hardware for the trap door and counterbalance assembly. The freebies were the labor, the wood, the Coiling Overhead Door Shroud - turned slide, blood, sweat, tears, and Zach's constant pressure to meet his completion deadline. I now have an extension on the deadline, but have met his "substantial completion" for occupancy. This picture shows the view from our patio. Note the strip of dead grass from where the slide used to be.

This is the side view from the gate. At the base of the fort you can see the (3) separate lids for the sand toy storage. The ladder goes up the tree and through a push up hidden trap door...
Here you can see the trap door as it is in the open position. It actually balances very well considering that the 4"x4" chunk of post that acts as the counter weight was the first thing I tried....... Dumb Luck!!
And here the door is closed. It works very easily for Zach. My biggest worry was that he or Abby would fall through any opening that was left around any type of ladder that I built. Zach climbs up the ladder, opens the door, closes the door with his foot, and goes down the slide.... It proves to be no fun at all!!
And here is the happy owner sitting on his dream fort. About five minutes after I took this picture, Zach told me that he wanted me to build him a fort in the front yard.... I told him that he needs to wear the new one out first before I'd think about it.... They're never satisfied!! My next project will be more along the lines of watching the grass grow, or watering the grass, or watching Zach mow the grass with his bubble mower...... Sounds nice! (Once this job has the final stamp on it!!)

An Early Mother's Day Treat

At Zach's pre-school today they had a special Mother's Day celebration for all of the moms. I knew they had been working on "things" for it for awhile now, because Zach has been dropping little hints about their big surprises. So cute. Anyway, the whole thing was so sweet. The kids sang a special song for us, and then recited a very sweet Mother's Day poem. Then we had a little tea, punch, cake, and strawberry celebration at our little tables, complete with tulip centerpieces! The kids were so proud of all they had done! I loved seeing that joy and pride in their eyes. It was just the best morning and I'm pretty sure I have the sweetest little boy in the world!

I of course didn't bring my camera, which I'm pretty upset about now, but I did take some pictures of the card and present that he made and gave to me there. A little potted handprint flower.
Inside it said this. Geesh, I'm getting all choked up again just reading it! I will be saving this little gem forever, that is for sure! And the gift. His little footprint plaque. The other thing you see is the corsage that he made for me. How cute is he?!? I just love him and he's just growing up so fast. It's hard to think about sometimes.

Some of Zach's Favorite Back To The Future Videos

http//www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGlrobvb-ao (Gigawatt Mix - Very funny)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-NMph943tsw (Huey Lewis - Power Of Love Music Video)

DeLorean

Back To The Future

I have no idea why Zach is so in love with the movies from Back To The Future?? :) He just loves the characters. Marty McFly & Doc Brown are his favorites, the Libyans, Loraine, Biff, and George McFly are also well roll played throughout each day of his play.
I recently found a 1/18 scale die cast model of the DeLorean from the Back to The Future II movie on eBay for a good price. (they want an arm and a leg for those things!) I told Zach what I had bought and that the Mail Man would bring it soon. A few stipulations would apply... Start napping in Mom and Dads bed so Abby could move into her and Zach's room for naps so we could remove the port-a-crib from ours.... And work harder on trying new foods and eating his dinner without all of the power struggles. He has done very well on everything so far.
The DeLorean arrived on Friday. Amy left it on the front porch until I got home from work. The video clip is below. The car is really cool. I want to buy one for myself now. :) Zach has had a ton of fun with it already. He has a little LEGO man who fits inside the car who he had previously named George. George fits the bill for now, but there are actual Back To The Future "Mini Mates" that will fit in the car great! Looks like I'll need to watch those eBay bids for now and the make another deal with Zach. After I finish painting and re-assembling the Pink Barbi Jeep - TURNED - Silver-Chrome and Black DeLorean, I'll post that too. Yikes!! (I'm a little obsessed with all of this too)

Beach Fun

We spent last weekend in Yachats, OR enjoying a family reunion with my mom's side of the family. There were probably about 30 of us that made it, and we had such a great time just relaxing, enoying the beach, and each other! Here are some pictures of our weekend. Sorry there are so many, but as I was complaining to my friend Brynne that I was going to have a hard time figuring out which of the hundred pictures I had to post, she said, "Don't worry, just post them all!" So, I thought that was good advice and posted a bunch. Not all of them, but indeed plenty. :) Exploring the beach. The weather was CRAZY that weekend.....from sun, to hail, to even snow! We caught a sunny break and ventured out, had fun, and then made it back inside just in-time before a hail storm hit. Oh well, it made it kinda exciting. ;-)
My brother, Matt, the mountain goat. He just maneuvers around on those rocks like he was born to do it. Cracks me up!
Brother Mark and niece Elena watching the breaking waves.
My brother Matt, brother Mark, and husband Andy. :) What a handsome group! And then there's this handsome fella, Zach. Zach and Elena. They are so cute together! The last time Zach talked about her he said, "Elena is a lovely girl." And she is! Me. I'm not much of a lover of photographs lately, but I decided to put this in anyway cuz I like the setting.

My brother Mark and my nephew, Jace. Zach and Jace had a BALL in the pool. I think they drug their dad's down there at least 5 times over the course of the weekend. Pretty good.

The twins......can you tell they're father and son, or what???? Abby, who we thought would love the water, really wasn't too thrilled about it. I think it was because she was a bit sick and thought the water was cold? Who knows, but this was about the best picture I could get of her in the water.

Andy and the kids, plus niece Jasmine.
During one of our breakfast extravaganza's. Man, with everyone pitching in, we had some GOOD stuff to eat. It was fun.

This is my cousin's little girl, Sophia. They live in the Czech republic so it was quite special that they were able to join us since they don't come to the states very often. Sophia is such a cutie, and it was so fun to hear her speaking both English and Czech! (she's 19 months old)
Zach, Jace, and Elena posing in a golf cart.

Kids playing together.
My brother Matt brought "Guitar Hero." I didn't know what it was before, but now I totally love it! It's quite addicting, especially to those of us who fancy ourselves musicians I think. Makes us feel like rock stars!
Zach wanted to play sooooo badly. He thinks he's really rocking out here. :)

Yes, that's me. It was fun, ok? Andy brought our Wii, so the boys had fun playing lots of those games too. This is my brother and my uncle boxing. Pretty funny!
Peek-a-boo!
Coloring cousins.

Popsicle anyone?

After lunch one day last week I gave the kids each a popsicle. Abby hadn't had one before and was fun to watch try to maneuver it and figure out what this cold thing was! I thought these pictures were cute from their sticky fun! (just ignore their dirty, haven't cleaned them off after lunch yet, faces)

(I think there was a little brain freeze going on here with Zach)

Some pictures from the weekend

First of all, Abby's first ponytail. I know, it's pretty pathetic, but it's there nonetheless!! Abby and I went on a walk Saturday morning. It was SO BEAUTIFUL outside! Anyway, after I had her all ready to go I had to laugh at the "pinkness" of everything. Pink stroller, pink coat, pink pants, pink crocs, pink cup, and pink shades. Andy said she looked like Elle Woods (from the movie Legally Blonde) and I had to admit there were some similarities there! Too funny.
Abby trying to blow bubbles, just like big brother does. She doesn't get any to come out, but she sure has fun trying!
Zach on the other hand, is a pro!
Trying again with daddy's help. Man this weekend was so sunny and warm - we were in heaven! :)

A little lesson on Andy...

So this is something that is going around on blogs, and although no-one tagged me for it, I'm going to do it anyway! It looked like fun and I figured my husband deserved a little attention. Why not, right?

What is your husband's full name? Andrew Leo Lynne Stapleton

How old is he? 32

How long have you been together? We started dating in March of 2000, got married in August 2003.

How did you meet? Andy's roommate and my roommate were dating, so we met through them. Or as Andy likes to say, "At a bar." (This is kinda true, but I like the roommate connection better!)

Who asked who out first? It was pretty mutual. We had been doing the flirting thing for awhile and then decided we should "hang out" sometime. He called me the next day and asked if I wanted to play BINGO with him. So on our first date we played BINGO at the Knights of Columbus Club and had a great time!

Who eats more? Sadly, me.

Who said I love you first? Andy

Who kissed who first? Andy kissed me.....FINALLY! I was ready after our first date, but he was too nervous and waited until about date 3. :)

Who is taller? That would be Andy....6' vs. 5'3"

Who has more speeding tickets? Again, Andy. Somehow I've only had one!

Who is smarter? We can hold our own, but Andy has this amazing ability to just "get" everything. He can figure anything out and does, and he has a fantastic memory! Ok, he's smarter.

Who is more sensitive? That would probably be a tie.

Who does the laundry? Well I'm supposed to do it, and I claim to do it, but somehow there's always piles of it to be done, so Andy ends up doing it so that he has clean clothes for work. I know, bad wife.

Who does the dishes? Usually me, but Andy does sometimes. Especially if we've had company over, he's really good about helping to clean up.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Moi

Who pays the bills? Definitely me!

Who mows the lawn? Both of us. It's really long right now as a matter of fact but our lawnmower is broken.

Who cooks dinner? Me, unless it involves the BBQ. Andy is the master BBQ'er. :)

Who drives when you are together? Well it had been me for the last TWO YEARS, but now that little mess is cleared up so now it's all Andy. I like it.

Who has more siblings? Andy! He's one of 9, I'm only one of 4.

Who is more stubborn? Andy

Who is the first to admit when they're wrong? You know, I think we're both pretty good about that. We really don't argue very much though, so this isn't a huge issue. Thankfully!

Who wears the pants in the family? Me, of course.

Who eats more sweets? Andy, although I can put down my fair share too.

Best personality trait? Sorry, but I can't do just one! He's sweet, funny, a little bit whacky, smart, creative, hard-working, loyal, helpful to anyone who needs it, understanding, embracing, he can fix anything and everything (very handy) and he's hands down the best daddy in the world! I love how he loves our kids! Oh, and how he loves me and takes care of me too. :) I'm a lucky girl for sure and I'm very in love with this man!

Best feature? Again, there's just too many. I'm slightly obsessed with his: arms, ears, hands, belly, back, legs, feet, and FACE of course. Ok, pretty much his whole self! As I'm always telling him, "you're just so darn cute!" sigh.......

And that's it! I love you, honey! (And I hope I didn't just totally embarrass you with this!) :)