Back yard renovation= mulch, mulch and more mulch

Events this week have caused me to pause and rethink what is really important. Gathering these pictures each week and taking a moment to reflect on what the Chafin family has done might just be my first step at working on living more deliberately and focusing on the little things in life which really are important. I often get wrapped up io the little things which are not important...dishes, laundry, bills....In the meantime I hope that all of my family and friends know how much I love them and the value that each of you bring into my life.....Thank you for Being You!

The Backyard renovation continued this week. First we had our 40+ foot Bradford Pear taken out and mulched for the play area. If you aren't familiar with these trees, they grow really fast, have a short life span and are notorious for splitting when it's windy...Ours was coming dreadfully close to the end of its life. This tree was also infringing on the nice hardwood in the middle of the yard (its the tree in the forefront of the picture) and our Leland Cypress in the back were taking a beating as well...so the Bradford Pear had to go......

See the man in the tree?

This crew was great and they made short work of that tree

Yep..I spread all of this mulch over the weekend. Feeling muscles I didn't know I had :-)

Of course Connor had to climb the mulch

This week the fort got walls, a climbing ramp and a slide.

We moved the painting board that Jason made for her birthday a couple of years ago.

Just missing a roof on the play fort.

Hannah and I made Dragons...and she folded some beautiful origami.

The kids and I planted  flowers

And in cleaning out my computer this week, I found some old pictures that I just LOVE

Trying to get a cool Christmas card..hahah!

Playing with her buddy Scout.

Hope you all have a wonderful week!

We have swings...a music concert and an art festival....

This week the kids went back to school. The first couple of days were rough but soon enough they were right back into the swing of things. 

And speaking of swings...we have some now! Check it out!

Mom and dad in on the action

The giggles and fun that these two are having is what it is all about!

 

 

 

We had the whole family on the swing set at one point but there wasn't anyone left to take the picture!

Last week Connor had a friend over and they had a blast being boys in the dirt. They were FILTHY and Im not quite sure why they lost their shirts.  Jason was a bit concerned that the swings would be a let down after the joy that the dirt seemed to bring. 

This weekend we are hoping to get mulch added as the massive amount of rain we have received and are scheduled to receive this week, have rendered the playground an unusable muddy mess. Jason is also planning to work on finishing the fort and adding the slide and gangplank. 

On Sunday while the boys worked on the play set, Hannah and I attended the first annual Acworth Art Festival. It was a big hit. Hannah actually wanted to look in nearly all of the booths and was particularly looking for ideas for new projects. She has asked that she be given free reign in the trash can whenever she is crafting because you never know when junk can be art.  Love this girl up-cycling already!

She 'HAD' to have this bird!

 

Also this week Hannah had her spring concert. All of the kids were in Kindergarten and they were so cute. I was really impressed at how well they all did. Unfortunately the kids weren't organized well in terms of height and I could hardly see Hannah at all. (and we were in the front row :-)

This picture is a bit blurry but it is too typically Hannah to pass up

And here are just a few more random pictures for good measure...Happy week all!

Connor's having tea while I have coffee

Spring Break....Easter...Backyard Fun

Last week was spring break and we enjoyed moving a little slower, staying up a little later and general lounging around....well at least the kids did. I think that Jason and I were as busy as ever. Here are the highlights. (Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom and choose read more  or choose more if you are viewing this on a mobile devise or you will miss some of the picture)

Easter Egg Dying- A favorite around here

Why bother with the spoon...dying himself is much more fun :-)

 

We Played at the park.

....I am still amazed that they are both big enough to use the big kids swings...

We ate with friends....

 

We attended an Easter Egg hunt with 20 other kiddos....there were about 300 eggs :-) Both kids were thrilled.

Playing with friends

Spring Break Fun

Hannah and Connor are on spring break this week and are surely enjoying the time off.....more pictures of their adventures to come.......

 They spent last weekend having a blast with Daddy (movies, bike riding in the park, water play and arts and crafts in the back yard and best of all riding in the Jeep) .....
 

While the kids hung with Jason, I enjoyed some time in the mountains (Blue Ridge, GA)  with some of my mommy friends. It was like an adult slumber party......

Here is my cabin home away from home for the weekend.

Almost all of the interior was wood...really stunning....

 The porch views.....

 ...and most importantly the company!