Week 33

{August 15-21}

This week was basically filled with watching Olympics every day, the 3 older boys going to XC practice every evening, Kanyon going to Crossfit twice, me working on my Language Arts college class every day and finishing it with the final exam, and Josh working on the floor in the garage after he came home from his job at the golf course every day.

The day after my birthday, I had the most delicious breakfast!!
I just love strawberry/rhubarb anything!

Ammon's girlfriend Hannah made me a
scrumptious birthday cake with strawberry
topping and strawberry filling, too! We all
loved it and ate it for FHE on Monday night. 

On Wednesday night, Josh built the framework for the concrete floor

We decided to pour in two segments: the two outsides first and then the middle.

Beautiful sunset on Wednesday

On Thursday, Josh watered down the gravel
and pounded the floor with a hand-held metal compactor

You can see the metal compactor in the center towards the back.
The floor is now all ready for the concrete to be poured!

Friday was a busy day for us. Josh and Ammon went to work early in the morning, in order to be done before the concrete truck was to come out at 11 (it was 45 minutes late, though). Jonah and Micah left to go on an overnight river trip with the Young Men's group as a reward for reading the Book of Mormon individually throughout the summer. I taught two piano lessons before noon. The concrete truck came out and Edward helped Josh and Ammon pour concrete in the two outer bays that Josh framed in the garage. It was a grueling task, and they worked so hard for hours to get the job done! It was Ammon's first time helping with concrete, and it was harder than he thought it would be. I took Kanyon and his friends to swim at the pool in the afternoon as a reward for reading books for the library's summer reading program. When I got home at 5:00, Josh was just finishing up scraping/troweling the concrete to have a nice finished surface. His hard work paid off, because the floor looked awesome! I took Josh and Kanyon on Kanyon's monthly date that evening to eat Mexican food--we ate burritos at Taco Grande and Mexican desserts and appetizers at Fiesta En Jalisco. It was delicious! Kanyon liked the deep fried ice cream and Josh liked the queso dip with the tortilla chips. It was a very fulfilling day.

Jonah, Micah, and Erik ready to float the Salmon River

That truck backed up as far as possible! It was about an inch from the garage wall.

Josh had to carefully walk across a thin 2x4 to screed the cement on the outside. 

This was a tricky area to fill and level

Kanyon, Abby, and Aidan spent the whole afternoon playing at the pool!
We wanted Brylin to join us, too, but her mom wouldn't let her. 

He wore the appropriate shirt to eat at
the Mexican Restaurant! ;)

Yummy Deep Fried Ice Cream

The Queso Dip is divine!

On Saturday, we only had to pour concrete in the center bay and it was WAY easier and faster than the previous day's pouring! The finishing work didn't go as smoothly, but I was happy with the end results! The twins got back from their floating trip around noon; they had an enjoyable time floating the river and reading the scriptures around the campfire and eating breakfast at camp, too. On Saturday evening, we went to an outdoor barbecue at the Simmons' house. Colleen made a delicious meal, and we cooked hot dogs over the campfire after it simmered down a bit. When the kids first lit it, it was huge, way too hot, and was actually spreading--thankfully Josh thought quickly, unhooked a sprinkler from the hose, and started watering down the surrounding area! That was exciting! Especially since after the kids made the fire, they all left and it was just Josh, me, and Jim near it when it began to spread!

Getting the floor ready for Day 2 of pouring concrete!

Josh finishing the floor by hand! 

Smoothing it out

Kanyon in front of the Simmons' HUGE
weeping willow. That tree is awesome!

The fire right before it started getting out of hand

All the kiddos as we waited for the fire to calm down so we could eat

On Sunday evening, the Deschaine family came over for dinner. It was Jonah's turn to invite a friend, and he wanted Nathan to come. They haven't been to our house for several years. It was a very enjoyable evening for us. We ate fruit, fresh salsa (my 2nd attempt at ever making it) and chips, and chicken enchiladas. For dessert, Leslie made a yummy, moist chocolate cake. After dinner, the boys played outside for hours: on motorbikes, in the ditch, and around the yard. David & Leslie played card games with us, and the Judy family joined us for card games and dessert, too. It was SUCH a nice evening! We had so much fun playing and chatting and laughing, that I didn't take a single photo! I loved it, though, and I felt so happy as I went to bed that night, thinking about the great quality time we'd had with friends and family.

Our finished floor--view from the north garage door

The view from the entrance door on the south side

We had enough extra concrete to even pour a sloped lip in front of it!