We had our Jr. Gamma Phi Circus on the 13th and 14th. The kids performed again. Angelique danced and Timothy roller bladed, performed on the gym wheel, and the balancing activities. Timothy also worked as the circus crew.


Now we are getting ready for Angelique's piano recital and her dance student concert. Timothy has started his first week of baseball practice. Daniel has applied for one job and is somewhat interested in applying for others.

What A Beautiful Yard

Here is our finished yard. On Friday the landscapers brought our trees, plants, and sod. Isn't it lovely? Doug called me at work to come and see it. After an after school meeting, driving to dance, leaving one at school for circus; I was finally able to drive home and see the landscapers put the finishing touches on the yard.

What a stir we have created. One man driving down the street stopped his car and told Doug how much he liked the yard. Our neighbor in the two-story came by and talked with Doug for 10 minutes. Doug said that was the most conversation they have had in the past five years. Our walking mailman was at the circus and commented on the yard. I'm sure he's glad that he doesn't have to step precariously through the sinking uneven yard.

Now on to the next home repair project.

Yard Work

On Monday our landscapers came and worked on righting our front yard. For those of you who don't know, in October we had to replace the pipe from the house to the road. The old one was clay and one of the trees in the yard had finally done permanent damage. We had to remove the tree and replace the pipe.

We were left with a HUGE pile of dirt running from the main window of the house to the street. The plumber indicated that it would need to stay this way until spring. The weather would help the dirt settle. The winter snow made it look lovely. The rest of the time our yard was a muddy eyesore with roots, leaves, and twigs embedded in the yard.

We decided that the yard was too much work for Doug and I to tackle ourselves. We had a vision of how the yard could look and now was the time to fix the ugly stuff such as another offending tree and a sparse lawn. While saving for a landscaper, we agreed to have the other tree (the same type as the first tree) removed. When we had a few mild days in February, we hired someone to remove the tree. Now we added a big pile of wood chips to the mess.

With the first whiffs of spring in the air, we contacted a landscaper. Once we communicated our dream yard, dealt with the budget reality, and found a middle ground we were ready to go. Or so we thought. Then came the rains. This of course put the landscapers behind schedule. As mud slid down the street, we received all kinds of flyers from other landscapers.

I had planned to take a before photo and just never did. I think I just hated looking at the mess. Finally the landscapers arrived. In one day they carved a wonderful template of our future yard. They leveled the ground, replaced the brick trim lining the flowerbed near the house that had been dug up to remove the broken pipe and bury the new pipe, added mulch, and created a berm. It looks amazing.

Of course the weather has interrupted our progress. It rained today and there is a prediction of snow tonight. Trees, plants, and sod are on hold. At least this morning our yard was not sliding down the street in a muddy river. I do find myself looking out our window admiring the progress. We'll see what the next few days will bring.