Backyard - The Deck

Here's another shot of the backyard!

The updated deck! We kept the stones, but they are totally redone. In other words, we pulled them out, pulled out the trees, and thousands of roots, resanded the base, replaced a few stones and now its a much cleaner look! New table, new sitting furniture, umbrellas, and water fountain.

Brady - Geared for Sucess!

Geared for Success

Napping, pretending, playing dress-up or hide-and-seek -- these may not be high on your little Capricorn's agenda. This child is too driven to waste time on anything so frivolous!

Capricorn kids tend to be practical and reward-oriented from an early age, and they're willing to work hard for the results they seek. They might know early on what they want to be when they grow up. And if they're slow to develop or choose a particular interest, don't worry; Capricorns improve with age.

Capricorn children are planners. Success and approval are among their primary needs. They want other people to see how smart, hardworking, and competent they are, so be sure to reward your little Capricorn frequently.

Giving your Capricorn child an allowance and increasing it with each birthday is a good way to teach her about the value of money. Don't be surprised if she squirrels it away in her piggy bank and uses it only for the occasional, much-coveted purchase.

Your Capricorn child will make a wonderful older sibling, because this sign possesses a natural sense of responsibility. Try not to load her up with too much responsibility at a young age, however, no matter how well she seems to handle it. Even the most serious children need to play and have downtime!

Also, try to teach your child the benefits of flexibility. Otherwise, it's all too easy for your little Capricorn to slip into one rigid way of seeing and being in the world.

A description of Drew - from BabyCenter.com

A Quick and Agile Mind

Your Gemini child will look up at you with bright, merry eyes, making you laugh as she makes it clear there's a lot going on in that head of hers. And if she starts talking at an early age, she's just living up to her nature!

Gemini children tend to be communicative, charming, and social, but even if your Gemini child is a quieter sort, she's still quick-witted, curious, and mentally engaged with the world around her. Make sure she's always surrounded with books and puzzles to stimulate her mind, and give her plenty of space and supplies for her many projects.

Gemini children love anything new, and they tend to bounce from one activity to the next at a moment's notice. As soon as they master a new challenge, they'll grow bored with it and move on. Their mood may also change in the blink of an eye.

Many Gemini children are indecisive or change their minds often. The other side of this coin is their adaptability. Gemini children often prefer variety of experience over depth of understanding, but as their parent, you can help them focus and develop a particular area of strength.

Your Gemini will excel at cerebral endeavors like reading, writing, and debate, as well as anything requiring dexterity, such as playing the piano. Due to their variety of interests, Gemini children tend to have many friends and will often be the center of the circle, naturally excelling at what we grown-ups call networking.

EXCLUSIVE Insider images! Yard..before and after!

Here is a sneak peek into what we have been working on for the past 6 months!

Way more pics with loads of details to follow, but if you look closely at the ground level, you will find all sorts of differences.

The new yard is coming along!

For the past 6 months Derek, along with Papa, Brady, Drew and Melissa, has been tearing up the yard. Cutting down trees, trimming over grown trees that didnt get cut down, redoing the deck, adding retaining wall bricks, new sod(which meant fighting THOUSANDS of roots!), along with many minor details, moving in 8 plus yards of dirt, a busted shoulder and much more! The project is a few days away, so hopefully everyone will see the yard sooner than later!

Brady was along side Papa for a majority of the time...until he assumed his new nickname, VoPa! Which is a combination of Vovo and Papa! You see, Vovo is a great delegator and Papa is more hands on! Both traits are needed for big projects, hence Brady! He loves to start projects, then delegates then to the nearest person! So when you start a project with VoPa, you'd better run or else it will end up being YOUR project!

This girl rocks! She helped Derek move a ton of dirt! She had he own wheel barrel and shovel and moved, and moved dirt! Got physical activity? Got Drew!

Just a cute picture which captures a few things going on at one time! Not an amazing shot, but pretty special for the backyard crew!