Hi All! 

This was a tough weekend for me!  I kind of want to hide some of the bad but since I’ve brought you along for the journey I suppose I owe a full disclosure. I’ve always tried to be very upbeat about this project. I fully believe that what you hold in your mind is what will manifest in your life. We have seen some bumps a long the way on this journey (I thought I would be building this summer…) but in the end, I know if I want it bad enough it will all eventually work out.

 So without delaying the evitable, my track broke again on Friday… and worse than that, I really felt I failed as a father that day… The good news is that I did get a lot of important things done and I’m almost back to my “happy place” where I believe I’m capable of making it all happen .. just a few more days and I’ll be back on top. So without further ado… 

So.. to frame this weekend, Karianne had a quilting retreat at thanksgiving point, we had the bright idea that I could take all of the kids to the land by myself and that we could pay Lydia to babysit James and that I could still get some work done. I suppose we weren’t wrong but it didn’t quite work out like I had planned/hoped in my mind.

I left with the kids Thursday at 3p.m. and raced up to Ogden and made it to the county offices in time to get a couple deeds for the well recorded, promising that I solemnly swear that I will filter the water before use and that I will pay professionals to maintain my septic system. Of course there was a $40 recording fee for each of the the deeds and then after a small fee of $888.00 I received my septic permit!

PS when developing .. get ready for the dumbest fees ALL the time. Anytime you deal with a governing body, they make up all sorts of lame fees and hoops to jump through. I think the County is only a half step away from a fee and permit to breathe the air. 

Anyway, this was a huge milestone, that means my well is now approved and I am ready to make things happen like the septic system! That was a reasonably good start. We made it up to the land and I jumped right into the excavator and started moving my huge pre-house excavation dirt pile down the mountain. I had kind of played it out in my head how it would work out. I would start at the top and work my way down the mountain moving the pile with me. It worked as I thought it would but it was a bit more precarious as I had a lot less real estate to work from than I had anticipated. I also knew there was huge storm forecasted that night, so I had to get my excavator out of there and off of the soft dirt.  I made it just before dark and all was well 🙂  

The storm did come that night, I worked in the shed after bed time until about 11 when the rain started.. It came down and it came down hard with constant lightening and thunder. James woke up and I thought I was done for.. but by some miracle he went back to sleep in the middle of all of it. I have no idea how the other kids all slept through it. It was pretty intense!  And on a note about Lydia, she actually did really well that first night with James.. So far so good. 

Fast forward to Friday morning.  The storm had come and gone, but … now everything was totally soaked. And .. when our “dirt” gets soaked out there, it is clay and it clings to EVERYTHING.  And there were lots of puddles and standing water, which if any of you know James.. was a solid recipe for disaster.  The details are a bit fuzzy for the rest of the day but I did get back in the excavator that morning and was going to finish out leveling the dirt in the ditch and in the middle of it, the track broke. I knew I had a weak spot in the track so this wasn’t a surprise to me at all but I was still very bummed. And when it broke it wasn’t a loud crack or snap like when that happened last year. I randomly looked down and saw it was broke. It must of been so weak it finally gave out. I wasn’t doing anything tough or being hard on it (I have tried to baby it for that very reason).

I am so blessed that that didn’t happen Thursday night as I was in lots of very precarious situations. But I am still in the bottom of the ditch and it won’t be vehicle accessible for repairs.. hopefully the shop has some mobile equipment that can be rolled down to the excavator.

Soo with the stress of that fresh on my mind and the mud and James getting soaked and very muddy repeatedly and Lydia being a little less diligent and another kid or two (can’t keep track anymore) peeing their pants when they are old enough not to, I think I did a poor job that day. I was very short with them, and yelled a time or two or maybe lots.. who is keeping track…. I did realize I was being kind of a monster, and after some sore repentance and some apologies I decided to switch gears and the kids and I had some fun building trenches to drain out the puddles and hopefully create a little less mud for James to play in the following day. See pics 9 and 10.  

Kids being kids, they frankly forgave me and we had a lot of fun. And best, they still love me 🙂 It was a tough pill to swallow but I definitely learned a lot. I am grateful that our Heavenly Father is much more patient with me than I am with my kids. This life would be pretty miserable otherwise! 

With a broken excavator I spent all of Saturday working on the shed. We got a little more rain that morning so we were a bit cooped up in the shed. Luckily though I got the loft done and was able to throw up a temporary light up there. The kids love playing up there so that helped a lot. Except for with James. He gets into everything all the time. He kept me and Lydia on our toes. But I did get the second bank of batteries hooked up and ready to go. Very excited about that. And I have a lot more of the insulation in. See Pics 11-14 I think I have only 6 sheets left to cut up. (out of like 30?).  So I am getting close! 

After the rain stopped that morning it turned into a beautiful day and the kids really enjoyed playing in the dirt pile down by the excavator for the balance of the day. They were pretty sad when I said I wouldn’t be leaving it that way indefinitely 🙂 

So.. if you can’t tell, I had a lot of bummer type thoughts on Friday. Thoughts of giving up on the project and that maybe I am not really capable of making it all happen definitely crossed my mind. I did call my mechanic and they said all of the parts aren’t in stock. Which if we all know how supply chains our in this new world of ours, I don’t exactly know where that leaves me. BUT it will workout. Somehow 🙂 I am nervous with cold weather not to far away. I really want to get that leach field installed.. but without a track … I’m pretty stuck. Fingers crossed the parts don’t end up with a 8 weeks + lead time. 

And I don’t suppose I could finish this without expressing my appreciation for Karianne. I know most Dads really get a good look at what their wife does for their children when they have to take the reigns (which usually comes with a full meal plan, groceries already purchased and clothes laid out, etc.). Camping with kiddos in a small space and getting all the meals prepped and dishes washed and the camper clean and kids changed and bums wiped and diapers changed and and and etc. etc. etc.  Well lets just say Karianne is who is making this whole dream project possible.  I work hard but it is what I would actually consider the fun part. Every minute I get to work on the project comes at a pretty high cost and a lot of work for Karianne. So thank you Karianne for all that you do and for making this all possible. Truly she is the MVP 🙂 

Until next week! -sorry no proof read I’m too tired! 🙂 –

Mark