Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for Dave
The new tree
Since we have been taking so much out of our yard, we decided it was time to put some more back in. Dave and I went to Growing Grounds because we knew that we wanted two new trees in the parkway between the sidewalk and the street. Although we technically don’t own that piece of land, we figured that planting trees just makes it look better, so why not? We ended up with a maple and an oak tree. When we told the kids we were going to plant the first one tonight, they were super stoked to help.
And there you have it, a new tree at the bottom of our driveway.
The great deck project
As usual, we finished one project and jumped head first into another one. This time we’re altering our deck. It’s a huge deck, and I always thought it was disproportionately large for our yard. Plus the deck went all the way in front of our bay window, which was just weird to me. You’d look out the bay window and see deck railing. Yuck. So, we decided to tear half of it out. Dave started with just a few floor boards to see what he was in for, but very quickly immersed himself into deck demolition. The following pictures represent about three days of hard work.
I would have to say that most people’s reaction to this project is that we’re nuts. But Dave and I are both very excited about this. I’ve always wanted a patio, and now I finally get my chance to have one. The next step will be to rip out all of the super ugly bushes that are around the current deck space. I. hate. Them. THAT will be very rewarding for me, and I know it will make things look better instantly. We’re still thinking about what we’re going to do to the concrete that’s there. Right now we’re thinking about having some stamped concrete poured over the existing slab or laying some flagstone tiles on top of it. No matter what we ultimately decide, it’s going to be better than that giant deck taking over our entire back yard. Even though I know there’s a lot of hard work ahead of us, I can’t wait to keep making progress.
Sand…YIPPEE!
So it’s been ongoing for some time now, but every part of the play set is now done. Dave finished up the cover for the sandbox tonight, and we filled it with sand. It was like the moment of truth that the kids have been waiting for since it started to get nice out. When they first saw the cover and how it folded into benches, they were super excited.
The benches really are awesome for them to sit on while playing, and they were a perfect solution to the problem of having a good, study cover that you didn’t have to remove and put in the grass.
The boys started dumping bags of sand in.
And both kids helped spread it around. Typically, Ben used a shovel while Emma just spread it all with her hands. Messy, schmessy.
Finally it was ready for them to play. Emma was in seventh heaven. She just loves her some sand.
Although it took some serious time to come up with and execute the plan, Dave definitely did not let us down. It’s, in Emma’s words, “the best sandbox theyuh evah WAS!” We’re all so lucky to have a Daddy who can do things like this. He’s the best.
Happy Easter
We had a lovely day at my cousin’s house in Sycamore with a whole lotta great food and family. Every Illinois Henrikson was there, which doesn’t happen often. So of course, we lined the kids up and started snapping pictures.
Then we lined them up by age (like the pictures we have of all of my cousins together), too.
After the photo shoot, it was time for the egg hunt. The grownups hid eggs all over the yard and the kids were off.
Everyone loved it, and the fact that the Johnsons have a huge backyard definitely helped. The kids were running all over the place frantically collecting eggs. After a very short time, the yard had been vacuumed clean of colorful eggs and it was time for the kids to collect their booty.
It was a really great day. The weather was gorgeous, the company was fabulous, and the food was very yummy. I just can’t believe that I didn’t even get one picture of anyone eating fritters or even a picture of some fritters themselves! That is inexcusable. Guess I’ll have to wait until next Easter since they only get made once a year. Oh well.
I think the most difficult part of the day was that we drove up and back in the same day. I never like to do that because it seems like we spend more time in the van than with the family, but it was unavoidable this time. Thank goodness the kids are getting to be better travelers and they have so much fun with their cousins that they thought it was worth it, too. It’s the toughest thing about living two hours away from family for sure. But at least it’s only two hours, and it makes days like this possible. I love that.
Bye, bye, willow tree!
One of the most distinctive things about this house was the giant weeping willow tree next to the driveway. The branches, in true willow tree fashion, were so long that many of them dragged the ground. The kids loved that, as they ran through them and even swung from some as soon as they saw it. Neither Dave nor I were quite that enthusiastic about it. We hadn’t lived here more than a couple weeks when Dave cut the branches way back, making them about my height off the ground. That was a huge improvement, but we noticed that it dropped leaves and branches all the time. But then again, it was fall. That’s what trees are supposed to do in the fall, right? I think it was after our first snow that Dave started talking about cutting it down. I wasn’t with him at first…it was a really pretty tree.
Then came spring, and the darn thing dropped even more branches. Like all the time. And when mowing season started, those stupid branches had to be raked up. Dave started talking more often about taking it down, but I still wasn’t really convinced. Then one day last week I decided I would rake up the sticks because Dave wanted to mow the next night. I raked and raked, and as I did, I realized that this would have to happen every. time. we mow. What a pain in the butt! That was pretty much the turning point with me…I was on board for the willow tree destruction.
And so it began…this morning at about 9:00 am. Dave was a little nervous about doing this. You just never know how trees will come down.
Uncle Steve came to help, and between the two of them they were able to direct the big branches down right where they wanted them.
Dave pretty much went branch by branch with the chainsaw.
A few of the bigger limbs took a little bit of convincing to fall the right way. This is where Uncle Steve was very helpful.
Everyone pitched in helping haul branches and limbs to the curb. Thank goodness Bloomington picks up all yard waste for you. That made the job much more manageable. The kids absolutely loved helping, and Ben was hauling pieces bigger than him!
Once all the branches were gone, Dave started in on the trunk. I think getting that cut off took more time than the rest of the tree combined.
Before we knew it, there was simply a stump in the yard and a giant pile of wood and leaves in the street. We couldn’t believe how much it opened up our yard.
Although neither Dave nor I are the types who want to take down perfectly healthy trees, we really felt that it would be better without that tree in our yard. Once it was done, we knew we were right. I think willow trees just belong in pastures or next to a lake. A side yard in the middle of town just isn’t the best fit for such a giant, messy tree. RIP willow tree.
Back already
I can’t believe we’re back home in Illinois already! We had a wonderful week in Florida with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Scott. As always, the time went way too quickly because we were having so much fun. The pictures pretty much tell the story of our trip.
Words really can’t describe how wonderful our vacation was. We all feel so fortunately to have the ability to go on Spring Break again this year. I hope we get to again next year!!
And we’re off…
…to Florida! We all can’t wait to spend time with Grandma Judy and Grandpa Scott while enjoying the sun, the beach, and a whole bunch of family who will also be down there. It’s going to be a great week.
We’re leaving at 4:00 this afternoon, and as always we’re hoping that the trip is a smooth one. Hopefully I’ll have lots of pictures to share when we get back!
Happy Spring Break everyone!
More trivia
There was another fund-raising trivia event with friends from work last night, but this time Dave went with me. It was four couples on our team, and we didn’t have to make and creative hats, either. This time our team name was “Snowball’s Chance”, because we knew that we would not come close to winning. But since a lot of the questions were more in the pop culture genre, so we definitely did better. And again, most importantly, we had a lot of fun.
I have to note after attending these two trivia events…I’ve definitely lost my touch. I used to be unstoppable in the trivia arena, and now I’m only ok. I guess I just need more 80s oriented questions. Or maybe I’m just getting old. *sigh*
Two wheelin’
It was a monumental night at the Kerber household last night…we took the training wheels off of both bikes and Ben and Emma made their first attempt at riding two-wheelers. It started while I was making dinner. Emma was watching/helping me and I casually asked her if she would be interested in trying to ride her bike without training wheels. ”NO!” she said emphatically, “it will be too wobbiwy!” So I told her that was fine…she didn’t have to try. But then I casually mentioned that our friend AJ, who just turned 4, could ride his bike without training wheels. I know my kids so well…that was it. ”Why can he do it when he’s littler than me?” she asked. ”Because,” I said, “He tried.” She thought about that for a minute and then said, “Ok, I’ll twy.”
Once Emma makes up her mind about something, she does it, so after dinner we went right outside and took those training wheels off. It was a bit rough at first, but she did really well overall. There was a lot of wobbling, some tipping over, and lots and lots of starting and stopping. But even if she fell over she would jump up and say, “I’m ok!” She was determined.
Meanwhile, Ben had told me that he didn’t want to try. Again, because I know how his mind works, I knew he wouldn’t want to try and I also knew that as soon as Emma did it he would have to try. Sure enough, after a few runs back and forth down the sidewalk he quietly said, “Ok, I’ll try, too.” He was of course more scared, more tentative, and got more frustrated quicker. That’s just the way he is…he has a very difficult time when he’s not good at something right away. I will say at one point he told me that I was the worst bike rider teacher ever. In his words, I was HORRIBLE. You see, Daddy was nice and slow and tentative with him, and I simply ran a few steps and pushed him off. As soon as he tipped over, he was screaming crying. Again, those kids personalities could not be any different. But finally Dave got him back on and he did give it a pretty good try.
So tonight we all wanted to get back out there and try again. And guess what? Tonight they both did it! And I don’t mean they just rode a little bit, either. They were both riding the full length of the sidewalk from one corner to the other. Everyone was thrilled.
I cannot believe it happened so quickly, but I’m really proud of both kids’ determination. I knew they could do it, and I’m glad that they realized it, too.
Fort finishing
The weather has very quickly turned in a good way. It’s been really nice the last few days and it’s supposed to get even nicer next week. So it was time to get the play set finished. Dave had knocked a lot of it out last fall before it got too cold, but he still needed to finish leveling it out to attach the swing arm, put on the swings themselves, and put on the climbing wall handles.
The kids were so excited to have it finished. Now we just need to get that sandbox filled up!
