June Middles

Susan staining the deck. Now that the pool is done we are working on improving our deck.
Hilli, Lucia, and Rose swimming
Lucia, Susan and Rose swimming

The rest of May

I have been woefully behind on the blog. I decided that to catch up I would just do a few posts that cover entire months. Here comes May. . .

Filling the pool with a sand foundation.
Spreading the sand
Susan, Mary, and Erin
Working on the liner
Working on the liner
Ian was the first one in the pool
Rose, Ian, and Lucia
Hope and Mari reffing
Going away party for our neighbor Vi
Generic pool shot
Lucia playing socer
Lucia’s Soccer Team
Rose’s Soccer Team
Elliot after band concert
Dew Tour
Rob Axe Throwing with Friends
Susan and Rob on anniversary date

Pool Sand and Wall

Today we made some major progress on the pool. The sand was delivered and moved to the pool area. Then, this evening we had some friends and family over to help us put up the pool wall.

  • Sand pile
  • Unrolling
  • Holding up the wall
  • Finishing touches

Dirt Dumpster

This morning we had the dirt dumpster delivered for our pool and by the end of the evening we had our first few wheelbarrows loaded.

categories: Categoriespool

Pool Fence

Over this long Easter weekend we replaced our back fence, to be up to code for the pool. Our whole family and the Reagen kids came over to help with all the work that needed to be done.

Andrew and I used this two-man auger to dig the post holes. It would have been fairly straightforward, except we were working right next to the hedge, so that meant weird angles and roots.
Set posts
Putting up the last picket
Finished product, footprint from the old pool, yellow tape is the approximation of the new pool.

The Pool Arrived

Who’s ready to go swimming? There is a new fence behind it. We need to beef up our back fence to bring it up to code for the pool.
categories: Categoriespool

New Above Ground Pool

Susan and I have been talking about getting a new, bigger pool. Last year we had a small, seasonal pool and we have been looking at something bigger. We have visited a few local stores, but weren’t happy with the pricing. Susan was undeterred and found a good deal from Home Depot. We measured the backyard at 12:30am and ordered a new pool! It is supposed to come in a couple of weeks and then we need to get to work getting the backyard ready.

categories: Categoriespool

Labor Day Weekend

We had a fun, busy Labor Day Weekend. The Mary and Casey were in town and it was the last weekend to have our pool up. On Friday we had everyone over for pizza and to watch the Valley vs Dowling football game. On Saturday we did our own thing during the day and then Mary and Casey hosted dinner at the Rafferty’s (their friends’ house). Sunday was the closing party for the pool.

Friday night dinner
Kids’ table
Susan and I headed to the Connor dinner.
Supply organizing to get ready for another year of homeschooling for Lucia and Rose.
Elliot has been working hard this summer to save money to buy a new bike.
Kids in the pool.
Tube flip
See you next year, pool!

TikTok

The TikTok craze has definitely taken over our house. Andrew spends a fair amount of time watching videos, Mari and Hope like learning the dances, and teaching Lucia and Rose, and Elliot watches videos, but has a self-imposed daily limit. Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Susan and Erin made their own TikTok account and video.

4th of July Festivities

This year we hosted a 4th of July pool party! Gary, Kathie, and the Reagens (sans Nate) came over in the afternoon to hang out, eat dinner, and then enjoy a fireworks display presented by Ian. Having the pool available was fun because it reminded me of 4th of July in Cincinnati, where there was always a pool. Sadly, there was no Chex mix.

Mari’s Cake
pre-fireworks