We had had the pallets of pavers and sand sitting in the garage for a month, but knew it would be one of the last and hardest projects we would undertake. We tried to talk Dan's parents out of it, but they insisted on helping us - and boy were we glad! If Dan and I were to have done it by ourselves, we would have likely killed ourselves. We were so thankful for their muscles!
Seeing as it was the dead heat of July we were working in, we didn't start working on the pavers until 8 or 9 pm each night. We would work till almost 11pm, call it a night, and start up again the next evening on the pavers. During the day we worked on the inside of the room, building the bookshelves or working on the curtains. We literally worked from 8am till 11pm each day they were here. I'm afraid they'll never come back!
The first night on the pavers we dug out all of the dirt and grass and transferred it to another area of the yard that had been killed by stucco. Poor Beth's fingernails will never be the same after digging in all that dirt! Neither of the boys minded the dirt, and thought of it as their large dirt box. They loved using their trucks to help us move the dirt!
The second evening we smoothed out all of the dirt, laid the sand, and began the hauling of the pavers. Again, I think Beth did most of the hauling and should have some serious muscles to show for her work that week! Peg was the ultimate sod roller, and managed to roll the largest pieces for us to transfer - while Rod jumped on the shovel. I can honestly say I tried several of the various jobs, but floated back and forth depending on the body part that hurt the most!
Most of Saturday & Sunday, July 4-5th, was spent completing this aspect of the project. We ate each meal outside under the trees and didn't stop until the fireworks started that night. We had just moved the patio furniture on the pavers as the sun was setting. Thankfully we had the fire pit for our smores, and to help light the fireworks. It was wonderful not to have to use a lighter.
I love this picture of Nathan watching the fireworks. It reminds me so much of myself at that age. I hated the loud noise of fireworks, and still do. I remember spending year after year watching fireworks from the inside of my parents' car due to the sound.
On one of our trips to Lowe's during the course of the week, Grampa picked up a telescope for Nathan's fort. Nathan was so excited for his telescope as we had made him wait to get it from a grandparent. To this day, more than 2 months later, he still says, "There's my telescope that Grandpa got me." It's so sweet!
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