Stage 2 .... plus

Friday evening we started the work on the retaining wall.  Here it all is:

Mom and I working to cut back a little more of the berm 

Jaden assisting Papa; Dad created a retaining wall in their backyard so we asked him to help us get started

Progress

All done, looks great

 Now onto the patio

Time to level the sand

The patio is taking a bit longer than we would like, mostly cause we keep changing our plans a little.  We no longer need a step off our deck which means we need to remove a barrier we put up to hold the sand in.  Jacob has also needed to make a few modifications to our "built to sustain a natural disaster" deck before more progress on the patio can happen.  We are still hopeful the patio will be complete by the end of this weekend and some progress is better than none.

2 more pictures; Jaden's first day of preschool 2011:

Stage 1

Before:

During

After

Jacob is out right now buying blocks for the retaining wall and flagstone for the patio.  More pictures to come of our progress.

Last tribute to summer ...

Now that it is September we bought the boys a swimming pool, ha.  Our backyard is in total ruins and summer in Corvallis did not really begin until last week, those are my excuses of why it took so long.  Literally we hit 90 degrees just recently and luckily it will be around 90 the next couple of days as well.  A benefit to buying a pool in late August is you get it at 50% off, sweet.  

That's right, it has a slide!!  You are all jealous now.

Jaden loves to help dad mow, water, pull weeds, basically any project that involves helping dad.  

Crazy boys

Speaking of the backyard we are starting that project tomorrow.  Jeff is bringing a backhoe to pull out some old fence posts, a few tree stumps, and dig up all the weeds and grass.  Our plan is to replant a section of grass, build a retaining wall, and add a patio off our current deck.  This will take care of about half the yard this summer and next summer we will tackle the second half that luckily is not in as bad of shape.  

The great outdoors

Camping trip #1

In July we met up with Andrea's family at Devil's Lake for a weekend camping trip.  Crystal and Jeff brought their boat so we all got a chance to get out on the lake.  This was Caleb's first time camping and he did great. Jaden loved sleeping in the tent and his new sleeping bag.

I know this picture is poor quality but the concept of the picture is why I included it

Caleb paddling Papa's raft

Heading out on the lake

Enjoying the beach - Devil's Lake is in Lincoln City on the coast

Camping trip #2
In August our church hosted a weekend camping trip at South Beach in Newport.  We arrived Friday night to a drop in temperature :(  Luckily by mid morning on Saturday it began to warm up and ended up being very nice weather.  Jaden enjoyed playing with all of his friends and sharing all the toys.

The water was actually somewhat warm - unlike his mom Jaden loves to swim in the cold ocean

We did eat a few handfuls of sand

Building a sand castle after playing in the water

Some of the gang, we unfortunately did not get a better picture of everyone

Happy 1st Birthday

On Tuesday we celebrated Caleb's 1st birthday by enjoying a family dinner of homemade pizza, cupcakes, and opening presents.

Caleb enjoyed opening his gifts and of course Jaden was right there to help if needed

 

New bike helmet from Aunt Judy and Uncle Eric

Mommy helping to blow out the candle

He enjoyed his cake :)

Family picture, Jaden was thrilled

Compared to 1 year ago:

Luckily Caleb gained weight and I lost weight - wow what a difference a year makes!!

Caleb had his 1 year check up on Friday and he is doing well.  Here are his stats:
Weight: 20.6 lbs - 16%
Height: 29 3/4 inches - 55%

Swim lessons

Both Caleb and Jaden are currently taking swim lessons.  Jaden is now old enough to take level 1 without a parent.  He is a bit timid but still learning and becoming more comfortable in the water each class.

Here he is about to dunk his head 

And here is Caleb

Caleb enjoys splashing in the water, watching mom or dad blow bubbles, and dunk his head.  We are still working on back floats and kicking his legs.

Can you believe

That next Tuesday this handsome guy will be 1

Tonight we had spaghetti for dinner and we decided Caleb was old enough to eat it as well.  Here is the result:

 Actually not too bad considering; he did go into the bath right after dinner

Can't wait for his party which I have yet to plan, oops.  Well I know we will have a dinner celebration next Tuesday and possibly a family/friend party in later August after all of our trips are over.