Back to school and a new deck

The first thing that I just have to report on is our new deck! It's not done yet but Casey has cranked all of this work out in just one week! (and this for a guy who has never built a deck before...and is learning as he goes.) I am so proud of him. We are so very excited to have this huge outdoor living space done in the next two weeks. I am very very very tired of dusty footprints all over my wood floors! The goal is to finish it by the time the rain starts so finishing by the end of this month is a must!

The spot where Maggie is standing is double reinforced because in some future day, it will hold a hot tub. Since we tore out our master bedroom window and put in a sliding glass door, Casey and I will be able to just walk out of our bedroom into hot tub heaven. (Now to save enough money to afford a hot tub:) )

As you can see, the deck is pretty large and takes up half of our backyard. This section of our yard was just "wasted space" before and we feel like it will get used much more with this deck. Because we are living in Oregon...and we get 9 months of rain...we are using treated wood for all of the foundation and for the top, we are using a product called "Timber Teck." It is plastic and therefore, will not have to be replaced due to rotting. We hope it lives up to it's advertising!!


9 times out of 10, I will look out the window and see Casey in this position. He nails in a board, stops, measures, makes sure it is level and then thinks about his next step. Thankfully, one of our very best friends (Shawn Stockford) is a deck expert and he comes over frequently to check on Casey's work.

Okay, now on to the really exciting stuff!! School started!!! Hallelujah!! Here are some pics of the girls' first days of school in no particular order.

Lydia is in a 3 day preschool. (The same one that all of our girls attended)

Here is my big 7th grader!! Isn't she a beauty? She has really taken little sister Jillian under her wing at middle school. We are proud of Charlotte!

Maggie is in 4th grade and Allison is in second. That makes only 2 kids at the elementary school! That's so strange!

Finally, the biggest change this year is Jillian's start of sixth grade...and middle school! She went a day early so that the sixth graders could have the school to themselves without the craziness of 7th and 8th graders around. So far, she is doing well and enjoying it. (Though she seems so small compared to everyone else. Maybe that is just in her parents' eyes)

I have not quite figured my days out yet. My mornings are very quiet! I have so much that I need to do but I really don't want to start any of it!