Backyard Reno Update

It was just over a month ago that I posted about the awesome plan we created for our own little backyard oasis in the middle of West Texas.

Was it really only a month ago? It seems like this has been going on f.o.r.e.v.e.r.

I guess its partially my own fault... I tend to have a little bit (okay, maybe a lot) of an obsessive personality, so tend to throw myself into whatever things I am doing at the time until they become all-consuming. It is being all-consumed with too many things at once that oftens leads to a migraine, but that's a whole other post all together.

Over the past month we have made quite a bit of progress on the yard. Still no hot tub delivery, but we spent one weekend cutting out grass, leveling the yard and building concrete forms, the next actually pouring the concrete and setting pergola posts, the next building a flowerbed out of retaining wall block and finally this past weekend we were busy beginning construction on the hot tub pergola.

Wow. No wonder we have seemed so busy! On the plus side, my tan is already looking quite stellar (at least compared to how ghostly white I was before!)

Here are some pics of the progress so far!

Wave on Wave :)

I LOVE Pat Green. Some of my fondest Texas Country music memories are with a group of friends jammin' out to our favorite songs at his street concerts. Unfortunately, he made it big (I know, so sad :() and rarely ever comes to Lubbock these days.

He DID come this past weekend though so we went on a double date with the Alley's to Triple J's Chophouse for dinner and then to the concert. We were showing our age a bit by being some of the first in the door, and the saddest part of the night was probably that it didn't sell out by 10, which it would have a couple of years ago. I guess the college students these days just aren't old enough to remember how AWESOME he is!

We had a fantastic time and found chairs up on the balcony looking over the stage. We stayed there all night singing and hanging out. Here are some of the pictures :)

Concrete Pouring Day!

Yippie! Let the Backyard Reno begin!

Mentors

I have been very blessed through the years to have many wonderful mentors in my life. These people have helped guide me in all kinds of areas such as school, work, relationships and riding. Without these people, there is no doubt in my mind that I would not be who I am today.

I think whether we are directly concious of it or not, we all have mentors in each of the different areas of our life -- people we aspire to be like, who we look up to and admire. These people can be parents, teachers, friends or even people we have never met.

I am very thankful for each and every one of my mentors -- particularly those who take the time out of their life to help me become the best person I can be. They have been enormous influences in my life, and I only hope that I can one day impact someone's life in the same way they have impacted mine.

No Hour Wasted...

As Winston Churchill said, "No hour of life is wasted that is spent in the saddle."
And after getting back on Ken today for the first time after 2 1/2 months of being stuck on the ground I can honestly say I couldn't agree more!

It wasn't quite an hour, and all we did was walk, but it felt fantastic to be doing something besides just leading him around like a dog.

He was such a good boy today and I can't wait to see how we progress as a pair over the course of the next few months!

West Texas Oasis

Since making the decision many months ago to take the bulk of our landscaping budget during our home construction and apply it strictly to the front yard, we have been talking about all the big plans we have for the back.

We envisioned a very "resort" feel -- complete with pergolas, an outdoor fireplace and a jacuzzi. A few other extras such as an outdoor tv and (of course) a grill were included in our vision too.

We began really laying it all out a couple of weeks ago and finally got our entire design on paper yesterday morning. A quick trip to Lowes for some wooden stakes and string to map it out in the actual backyard was next on the agenda, and a "quick trip" to the local hot tob store pretty much sealed the fate of our backyard renovation budget over the next few months.

A trip to the store led to a trip to the Home Show down at the Civic Center (who knew?) which, in turn, led to the purchase of a shiny new Jacuzzi J-345 Hot Tub with a roasted chestnut shell and opal interior. It hold 5-6 adults and comes complete with its own waterfall and light show.
(Mountains Not Included)

To say we are excited about our fun (albeit impulsive) new purchase would be an understatement. And I argue that it wasn't TRULY impulsive, as we already had a hot tub worked into our design plan and had plans to purchase one within the next few months anyway.

At any rate, the purchase of the hot tub did nothing if not expediate the design process and move us quickly along from "planning" to "implementing" and by noon today Rob has already secured an electrical contractor to handle the installation of all the necessary hot tob electrical wiring and we have a pergola contractor coming to the house this evening to give us an estimate on turning our plan on paper into a reality.

I have to say the only downfall of living in a new home is the lack of fun projects to do. Everything is already done! But I have a feeling this backyard renovation is going to cure our DIY itch for, at least, the remainder of this year.

Here are a few of the ideas we plan to implement:

It's hard to believe that by the middle of May our backyard will no longer be just a blank slate. We are SO looking forward to entertaining out in the yard many, many times over the warm summer and fall months!

Worst.Blogger.Ever.

Really?? Has it REALLY been 3 months since I took the time to sit down and blog?

Wow. I can't believe it! And to be honest, the past 3 months haven't even been that crazy. I have no excuse.

Let's see...

Of course we made it through the holidays and had a wonderful Thanksgiving and Christmas as our first year as a married couple and in our new home. There was something special about recieving a phone call from my sister at 6:30am Christmas morning telling us to hurry and up and come over for Santa.

So we bundled up (flannel pajamas and all) and headed over. Of course, we weren't quite fast enough (maybe I shouldn't have taken the time to make coffee?) and ended up getting a second phone call about halfway through our walk around the block. "ARE YOU COMING??"

It was so fun being able to wake up that morning and walk through the quiet, snow-filled neighborhood around the corner to my parents' house. A truly magical Christmas morning!

The New Year took off in a whirlwind (Did I say we hadn't been busy? Maybe I lied...) beginning with a trip to Salt Lake City the first week of January for the Send Out Cards Recruiting Mastery Event.

It was awesome getting to see the home office, see all of our SOC family and experience a new state and, yes, some more snow. We had a really fantastic time!

Rob decided to come with me on the trip at the last minute... which resulted in yet another hurried move of the horses. This time, to Premier Park Equestrian Center just down the street. It has been wonderful to be once again imersed into the Dressage atmosphere, and we are absolutely loving calling that place our barn "home"

Things were rolling along great for about a day and a half after Salt Lake when I recieved a frantic phone call from Patty telling me Ken had been kicked in the head and I needed to get out there right away.

Looking back, I really wish I had taken a picture, but to be honest I was too shaken up and too worried about the outcome to do anything like that at the time. My horse had a dent in his head. Right between his eyes a big, giant dent. His nose was bleeding and it was horrible to look at.

THANKFULLY, it ended up appearing much worse than it really was and we were able to take him down to Dr. Brock in Lamesa where he underwent facial reconstruction surgery (yes, that's what it said on the bill) and we have breezed through recovery with just minor complications since then.
To be honest, as horrible as it was, I have appreciated this bonding time Kenney and I have had. Hours and hours of hand walking, hundreds of treats and a lot of quality grooming time has been shared between the two of us over the past 6 weeks and we still have 2 weeks to go until we can begin riding him again. We have become the best of friends.

The last week of January we took a trip to Niagara Falls for our anniversary.

Insane pretty well describes the premise of that trip. Why would someone who hates the cold plan a trip to Canada in the middle of January?? Yep, insane is pretty much the only answer I can come up with. Well, that and the fact that a romantic trip to Niagara is one of the items on our pre-kid bucket list. So I guess there lies the true reason for the trip.

Despite the cold, snowy conditions we really did have a wonderful time exploring Canada together. We walked arm in arm around the area (more for warmth and to stay dry under the umbrella than for romantic effect) and saw all the sites including taking a trip to the underground tunnels behind the Falls.

We took a taxi up to a little town called Niagara on the Lake and sampled Ice Wine which was really delicious, ate at a little English-type pub called Corks and explored all of the little shops.

Our last night we had dinner at the hotel restaurant overlooking the Falls, enjoyed a beautiful fireworks show and exchanged our anniversary gifts -- Rob gave me the 2nd band to my ring, and I gave him an engraved watch. It says "Play Full Out" -- something he promised we would always do together in his wedding vows.

February has slowed down a bit... we have both been busy with work and squeezed in a wonderful home-cooked Valentines Day dinner. It was actually warm enough to grill outside with the back door open and we had filets, shrimp and home-made chocolate covered strawberries.

The evenings are beginning to get a little warmer and we've had Tim and Ashlea and Brian and Kristi both over for dinner and s'mores on our new fire pit in the last couple of weeks. It's definitely making me look forward to summer :)

So there you have it -- 3 months and you're all caught up. And HOPEFULLY it does not take me 3 MORE months to update this thing!