the.amanda.sewell

We planned to work on making a retaining wall on Memorial day weekend. Our grass was supposed to get done on Thursday, but then the landscaping company we used had something come up for the city that they HAD to do, so they came Friday and part of Saturday instead. Good thing we had not planned to go away for the long weekend. Anyway, the good news is, we now have GRASS in the back yard! YAY! The good news is . . . Michael and I managed to get the retaining wall done today (well 4 courses of it -- we decided we wanted to add one more layer but we will need to get more blocks for that). The back yard is looking great. We just need to get trees and do the drip line and then add rocks along the edges. Anyway, here are some pictures of the process . . . And here are a couple shots of the retaining wall Mic and I made:

I am so excited. This is a big step toward getting the back yard done. Now we just need curbing, rock, sand, sprinklers and grass. Our goal is to have it done by summer! Here are some pictures of the work that got done yesterday - a patio extension, a sidewalk from the driveway to the covered patio, and then a sidewalk that goes up the side of the yard and around the playground as a bike path for the kids.

So my house has been officially broken in . . . while BIL & SIL were here, they brought their little not so potty trained puppy and he peed and pooped a couple times on the new carpet. I had been doing so well with keeping my puppy from going on it too . . . *sigh* Then J and his cousin decided to color on the walls in blue crayon and pencil. So my living room/dining room now has those all over it. Today was a rough day! My sweet children decided to color on my upstairs hallway walls with black sharpie, and my DD decided to tell me that her brother did it. Her brother was the only one to get in trouble because I did not notice until I was doing the primer that DD wrote her name on one of the chairs so basically I knew she lied to me at that moment and my heart sank. It is the first time she has ever lied to me *cries* The primer seemed to cover it well. Now I just need to get a small roller to put the paint over top of it again . . . . hopefully it turns out well.

The move went super smoothly and we ended up having lots of help! It was great! The new guys from our ward who helped us out were super buff and unloaded super fast! It rocked. I managed to get the kitchen unpacked today and I am thinking I might go unpack my stamp room this afternoon so that I can get back to playing at night after everyone is in bed. I was so tired last night though I think I went to bed at like 8:15 pm. Ooops! We are loving the new house and I just thought I would post a new post so you would know we made it here. Off to make lunch for a couple of munchkins and then back to unpacking for me . . .

The house is almost done. As I promised, here are pictures. We move in, in three weeks and our walk through is on Halloween . . . so close! The kids enjoying the new brick path around our grass in front M and the kids by our new tree in the front yard So, do you want to see inside? Want to see my kitchen? How about my bathrooom? My front hall? Okay, I will show you . . . but you have to wait till I move in to see my stamp room . . . KITCHEN Eventually (like in the next year or so) we plan to rip out the linoleum and put in floating wood floors so right now it is pretty but not as pretty as it will be! We also plan to replace the counter tops with granite, but they are a little further down the list of things to do . . . I am so excited for all the cupboard and pantry space! It will be awesome!!! ALSO, I love my island! It is fun shaped. In the third picture you can see where my staircase is located in relation to the kitchen/family room (tv room). FRONT HALL and LIVING ...