What a weekend!

We have had quite an exciting Easter weekend. Jed's parents, Donald and Marti, arrived on Wednesday so we've had both sets of grandparents here. And we've tested the limits of what six adults can accomplish in a short period of time. We had been planning to focus our attention on getting our (new) garden laid out and tilled. But when Marti and Donald looked at our deck, they decided it absolutely had to be replaced before they could think of letting Sam play on it. And so the real fun began.
While Jed and I were at work on Thursday (and unbeknownst to us), they ripped up the old decking. After inspecting the whole frame, Donald and my dad decided it was sound and didn't need replacing. So they went and got new decking and called it a day. Jed and I were both very (and mostly pleasantly) surprised when we came home to find our deck gone!
On Friday morning, Donald and Marti started working on the new deck but didn't get far before they had to head off for a lunch date in Harwich. Meanwhile, the delivery of six cubic yards (!!) of loam and compost for our garden turned into a bit of a fiasco. The truck backed across our side yard to our selected garden site and dumped the dirt. But the back got stuck in the up position because the truck was on a slight incline. That put all the weight on the back tires, which caused the truck to get stuck in our soft, wet soil. We spent about 45 minutes getting the back down and the truck out of the yard ... and were left with a nasty set of ruts (some knee deep or better) to repair ... on top of finishing the deck and laying out the garden.
So by Saturday morning, we really had our work cut out for us. I'm not at all sure how, but it all got done! By 6pm Saturday, we were all worn pretty ragged, but we had a new deck (we still have to finish the railing), and we had spread six cubic yards of damp, heavy soil and tilled an herb garden and a vegetable garden. Oh yeah, and we finished raking and mulching the leaves we missed last fall and still found time for a little fun (Sam LOVES riding in the wheelbarrow). I don't remember the last time I worked that hard, and I KNOW I've never shoveled so much in one day. Our back yard looks like a new place and I'm SO excited for spring!





So today's Easter dinner really felt like a deserved celebration, despite some lingering soreness and the fact that Jed, Sam, and I all have a cold. Jed's Aunt Sue and Uncle John, and his brother Ben joined us, so we had nine people. It was the first time we've had so many for a sit down meal in this house, and we all fit quite nicely into our kitchen/dining area.



HAPPY EASTER!