Great Grandparents and Yardwork

On Thursday night Mike’s grandparents got into town.  Big Papa and Nana J had road tripped from the Chicago area to see their great grand kids and Big Papa (AKA Stiffy) wanted to help Mike with the yard.

The kids napped late on Thursday as Mike was out of town and they wanted to see him so they also got to wait up and greet Papa and Nana when they got here.  After watching the end of the disappointing Sioux hockey game we all headed to bed.  On Friday morning we were up and after breakfasts Big Papa and his little sidekick got started cutting down the misplaced tree in the back yard.  Papa was impressed with how hard a worker and focus Thomas stayed with the “work project.”  Then the kids, Papa and I started the dirt runs…we did 5 runs for dirt that day and by the end of the afternoon we had 2.5 yards of topsoil in our driveway.  Papa, Elin and I then ran to home depot for some peat moss and to check out their flower/shrub inventory.  Thomas chose to stay home and snuggle with his Nana.  Then came time for the guys to outline the area that we would be landscaping.  They chopped away and by nights end we were all covered in dirt from head to toe and tired.  It was time for dinner, the kids went to bed and then the “big kids” all relaxed.  Saturday morning we were all back at it again.  Mike picked up a rototiller and got started tilling the ground and adding in the dirt and soil.  I ran and got 1 more yard of dirt and then by lunchtime we were ready for shrubs and flower selection.  With how dirty everyone was we elected to do a car nap for Elin.  We all made it to Lowe’s for the first round of selecting and then Elin crashed in the car and Thomas again picked hanging out with his Nana and catching a quick show while Mike, Stiffy and I stopped at the nursery.  Then it was time to head home and get the plants arranged and in the ground.  Again by dinner time we were all exhausted and dirty.  We knew we had rain possibly coming on Sunday so we wanted to get everything in the ground just in case, lucky we did too as they all had a great drink while it rained until 3 Sunday afternoon. When the rain finally stopped  we snuck back outside and worked on the front yard a bit.  Mike and I have a master plan in the front yard, but it needs to wait a bit.  So with our extra help and a few extra flowers we got busy spiffing it up a little.  Mike trimmed the trees, we weeded, raked up the leaves and got things planted.  Then it was time for an early Easter dinner and Nana’s yummy Jack Daniels/Coke ham.  On Monday the yard work was all done and Mike had to return back to real work.  It was a chilly day here and so windy.  We bundled up and headed to the Arboretum, but by the time we got there it was far too cold to enjoy ourselves.  So we revamped our idea and headed toward the Perot Museum, only to be stopped in our plan by Elin falling asleep.  It was then time to head home and have a late lunch and chill. We met Mike out for dinner that night at Bob’s Steakhouse and all enjoyed a great meal and the kiddos did fantastic in a “fancy” restaurant.  It was then home for some before bed snuggles as Nana and Big Papa were heading home the next morning.     Thanks again Nana and Big Papa for all the help, fun and memories.  It was a great weekend and we couldn’t have done it without you both!