This was our last Sunday at our Olde Towne in Ridgeland. I know that it was where we belonged up until this point, but now it is time to raise our family in a church in our own community. We have been going to Briar Hill on Wednesdays for three weeks now and really enjoy it. We know that Sundays always have a different dynamic, but we are hoping that we still enjoy it.
Now for the update on our projects. Since last Sunday's post we have added another 335 blocks to our wall, putting the full wall at a total of 13.5 thousand pounds (we shouldn't have to worry about this wall blowing away or rotting anytime soon).
We have our carpet scheduled to be installed this coming Friday and still have to tear the wood floor out of our bedroom before then. I was able to get Jacob's out but still need to get a little adhesive up. Beginning tonight we have our bedroom set up in the front living room and Jacob has been sleeping in Joshua's room for several nights now. The only prep we will need to do to Joshua's room is to remove the furniture and take up the baseboards since his floor is a lovely linoleum tile number.
Yesterday we had a friend from work come out with his tractor and auger to dig 31 holes for our new fence. I am thankful that he did because there is no way it would have happened with post hole diggers and shovels since we had to stop and sharpen the auger several times, and fill the holes with water and come back many times because the ground was so hard. We really need some rain and cooler weather; it shouldn't be over 100 for several days already here. It is like we are back in Texas or something.
After the holes were dug we set the posts. Today as soon as we got home from church we started taking the old fence and deck pieces to our ever growing burn pile. We have only one last section of deck remaining which is only being spared temporarily as I use it to cut our fence boards on. Our fence is going to be primarily welded wire as install the actual fence as funds allow. The finished product will be treated wood for upper and lower pieces with black powder coated aluminum balusters vertically between them. Once the fence is complete we will add black caps with solar powered lights in them . As soon as we have completed a few sections of fence we will post it. For the time being we will have the wire that you see in the wall pictures. 
The above picture is courtesy of DecKorators, the brand of balusters that we are using and shows the style of fence we are building.
As I stated, this will be a busy week as we get ready for the carpet to be installed, work on the fence, install a couple of new interior doors for Jacob's closet and the laundry room, and basically run ourselves ragged.
I think that I will sign off now and try to start getting ready to hit the bed hard shortly.
I think they might like it.
With 200 blocks installed:
We're getting there! Only another 300 blocks to go.
Here he is digging a trench for the drain that goes to the pool overflow and the downspouts for the gutters. 
Here he is digging so that we can put in drainage behind the garage. During the wet season, water just stands back there. I was only a little nervous as he dug near the propane line.
Upon returning home we spent some time playing in the pool before getting to work on our massive landscape project. It is slowly moving along. 
We made some progress with shovels, but John decided the job required bigger tools. We made a quick trip to Home Depot's Tool rental, and the job got much more fun for John. I got a little nervous when he first started digging and the machine was tipping a bit. He just told me not to worry because it has a roll bar. 
I am a little sad to see the Fig tree go, but it was not in the best location. We took some cuttings off of it a few weeks ago and planted them a little further out in the yard. Of the four, two are still growing. We think the moles have taken the other two. It's either moles or deer. The joys of life in the country. We will probably spend the majority of the day tomorrow working in the yard. We are hoping to get everything dug out so we can set the first layer of retaining wall blocks tomorrow. We will see if that happens. We still have to go get a load of sand and at least 100 blocks to get us started. The party never ends. Our next few weeks are going to be very busy. We are planning to get the holes for the fence posts done next Saturday so that we can get started on the fence. We have gone back and forth between a couple of fence styles. We have finally settled on wood with aluminum balusters. It is going to look nice, but it won't be cheap. Since we elected to go ahead and do carpet this month, the fence will be done in stages. We will get the fence posts set and then run a mesh fencing material around them. I know it isn't going to be the prettiest, but we have to do something because we have to have the pool fenced. We are going to do the balusters a little at a time. As we install them we will remove the mesh. We figure we will be able to have it done within four months, so we can live with wire mesh for a now. I will of course post picture as progress is made. Someday I am hoping to have something other than home improvement projects to post about.
As you can see, it is a deeper blue than the original color. We like it since it matches the pool liner really well. Plus, we like to be different. All the other slides in the neighborhood are light blue. 
John and I moved it into position tonight, but it isn't secured yet. Hopefully, John can bolt it down and get it waxed tomorrow. The kids can hardly wait.
Anyway, while we were on our way to the store John suggested that maybe Jacob should get a buzz cut for the summer. He argued that it would be much cooler, plus is would be easier to see and treat his bugs. Jacob agreed, which is a big deal. He has had longish hair for quite some time because he has a weird issue with his forehead showing. I have no idea why. 
Anyway, as soon as we got home John cut his hair. After dinner I washed his hair with the lice shampoo and then John combed it out. John said it looks more like dandruff to him, but we aren't the experts. Hopefully, it was caught early and we can put this little adventure behind us quickly. I guess this is just one of those things that is more likely when your kids are in daycare. It was just our turn. 
He is a cutie even with his forehead showing.
Today, I spent hours moving dirt. The picture below shows how much I got done. The rock retaining wall will go up to the point that I dug to and then split to become two levels. We will round the edge that is jutting out. The plan is to make a flower bed on the lower tier with the upper tier as a backdrop for the flowers. The wrought iron fence will be where the back string is at. We have lots of work to do, but I am sure it will be worth it.
While I enjoyed my afternoon shoveling dirt into the wheelbarrow, John spent some time sanding the pool slide. We are hoping to have it complete and back in place within two weeks. John's friend Derrick is planning to come help paint it next weekend. Derrick's family owns a body shop and he has experience painting. That should come in handy for our fiberglass slide. I know the kids (John included) will be very happy once it is operational.
Of course, we had to burn all the landscape timbers. It just isn't Saturday without fire.
John took some time to mow the front yard late this afternoon. He couldn't resist heading to the back to stir the embers.
After the kind people at Domino's delivered dinner we headed outside to make some S'mores. It was a great way to end the day. Now the kids are getting ready for bed and I am about to hit the shower. I think we did a pretty good job of keeping the work in check and finding time to play. Tomorrow shouldn't be too busy. John has a church council meeting that will take up quite a bit of his afternoon. The kids and I may just have to play all day. I can handle that.