This is why we had so many boys

We've lived here for over a year now, and we're finally ready to attack the back yard landscaping. First we got rid of the large, sharp-edged gravel that covered the entire yard. Then we got some steps and a ramp installed. And next we want to put nice round gravel in the playground area, create a pathway, and put in some lawn. All of this requires a lot of rock raking, weed whacking, great groundbreaking, and sharp shoveling.

The boys were out of school Thursday and Friday for Rodeo Days, so we decided to surprise Dad by starting on this work without him. I wanted to make it fun and motivate them to work hard, so I took advantage of the fact that our boys' screen time is usually very limited and offered them a deal: for each 15 minutes of hard work, they could play whatever they wanted for 15 minutes. It worked great! These boys put in several hours of hard labor, and ended up enjoying it so much that they did the same thing Friday and Saturday.

As it turns out, Adam and Ian probably didn't even need the incentive. They both really enjoyed the physical work of raking, shoveling, and especially swinging a pick. Both have requested this job every week, instead of their usual jobs (cleaning bedrooms and bathrooms).

Here are some photos of our hard-working boys:







































Dad was very happily surprised and joined us in the work Friday, digging out this huge mesquite stump, among other things:


















And by Saturday we even planted several plants (you can also see part of our new steps and ramp):













We hope to have more photos of the progress on the yard posted soon. I'm so excited!

Happy Birthday, Arizona!

From our four seventh-generation Arizonans!

It was exciting to be part of the celebration of Arizona's Centennial (100 years since statehood, for out-of-staters). John and Michelle went to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert in Phoenix last Friday night, which was fantastic. Then we took the family to downtown Tucson for a fun celebration on Saturday. And after our snowy Valentine's Day/Statehood Day today, we'll finish the festivities with Vail Pride Day this Saturday.