(There are a LOT of pictures........just so you know)
Before:
There was basically rocks, grass and dirt.
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Thursday, Day 1:
Nyles was a good helper.
He enjoyed playing w/ trucks/boats in the dirt.
He even used the truck to smooth the dirt :)
We finally got through all the grass and roots and got all the gravel and old wood removed.
We were so excited to see Rob!
He showed up about 8pm and worked w/ us another couple hours into the night.
Working in the dark w/ the car headlights, trying to get the stairs dug out.
Needless to say, we were all ready for bed when we were done for the day.
Friday, Day 2:
We started early at 6:30am the next morning.
Steve and Rob working on the stairs.
At about 8am Brandon showed up to help. We were really happy to see him as well. Brandon and I then worked together to frame the sidewalk and make sure it was level and evenly spaced, while Steve and Rob worked on the stairs and Dave reinforced the framing.
Brandon and I starting to frame the upper sidewalk (between our cabin and Mike's).
All framed, leveled and ready to go.
Nyles helping again ;) The stairs coming along.
Nyles loved watching us while sitting on the ATV
About noon Jeff showed up to help.
Again we were really happy to see him and have his help.
Helping get the stairs finished.
Getting closer to being ready for the cement truck.
Stairs are done.
While we waited for the cement truck we worked on the benches around the fire-pit.
Taking Nyles on a quick ride while we wait
Getting buckets ready for the cement pouring
The truck arrived right at 3pm and we started pouring the cement.
Nyles was awake and of course wanting to watch the big truck, so I "supervised" while taking pictures and watching Nyles.
Here comes the cement, finally!
Working it in.
Rob smoothing it out.
The cement truck. Nyles thought it was awesome!
Smoothing it out even further.
Starting the stairs.
Looking good ;)
Working on the stairs some more.
Now the last section going into the garage.
Nyles enjoying a fruit snack and watching the cement truck from above.
And finally the last section!
Nyles playing w/ his truck watching the cement truck.
A pretty flower and Brandon working the cement in.
Jeff and Dave "supervising" while Brandon works.
Nyles loving life!
Sitting on the ATV again.
Jeff helping get the last of the cement in buckets so we can put poles in them as markers in the field, then we had him empty the rest of it in the sagebrush.
Final touches on the stairs
The lake looked beautiful and the weather held out for us the whole time.
Too much work though, so we weren't able to go fishing.
Nyles was a little bummed we didn't get the boat out.....next time ;)
Just letting it set up now.
Mike came over to see our work. Ahhhh........we finished the cement!
Joann and Diane came later that night as well.
We all slept well again that night ;)
Saturday, Day 3:
The next morning Dave went down to Park City to rent a wood splitter. While he was gone Diane and I got the wood frames off the cement, then cleaned out the wood pile in the garage to get ready for the new wood we were going to split. Steve and Rob also started cutting the trees so we were ready. Steve had bought the "4 chords" worth (the minimum amount your could buy) back in June and took 4 trips up to the cabin to cut the wood over the past couple months (Zach helped 3 times, Rob 2 times, Dave 2 times, and Chandler once). I also mowed the lawn since we had time.
The lawn mowed and wood frames gone.
We used the leftover "Caution" tape from Nyles birthday to mark off the sidewalk.
After Dave got back w/ the wood splitter we got started splitting wood right away. Phill and Stacie showed up a while later to help. Diane was kind enough and brought treats and toys for the kids to keep them happy. Nyles and Conor thought it was fun to try and pick up wood w/ the claw toy.
Making progress on the wood.
Getting a good pile in the garage now.
Conor and Nyles wanted to come down where the action was.
They enjoyed sitting on the ATVs while we stacked the wood in the garage.
Trying to keep the little boys busy while we worked, I showed them the rock and wood pile to play w/ their trucks in. It lasted a while at least ;)
More wood stacked
Nyles and Conor now playing on the stairs, luckily it was mostly set up at this time.
It kept them entertained for quite a while actually.
Getting closer to finishing.
Rob was pretty exhausted at this point and needed a quick break.
Diane, Steve, Stacie, Phill, Rob and Dave working hard. ;)
Nyles loved playing in the dirt w/ the new Monster truck Diane gave him.
After dinner we actually went back out and picked up all the bark and old wood and put it in the back of the trailer to take it back home, so we could unload it in the dumpsters.
Once again, we were all tired by the time we were done, and were ready for bed.
Back home this week, Nyles and Conor watching the garbage truck.
Steve and Dave unloaded all the bark and wood into a dumpster on Wednesday this week.
Today, the dumpster was full, so a truck came to haul it off.
Done and done! It was an exhausting weekend, but the end result was fantastic. We still need to stain the deck eventually before winter gets here. It rained for several days earlier last week so the deck was too wet to stain last week. We'll have to go back up to finish it soon. :)
