Building and Dog-sitting

Does anyone else feel like summer is flying by?!?

One of Matt's summer projects is to build a new play gym for the backyard. Our old one was gifted to us, but some of the wood was badly warped. I was nervous each recess for preschool when we had 3 kids swinging at a time that it would break! Luckily it held up for the year, but I didn't want to chance another year. Rather than replacing the wood that was warped, Matt decided that he would build a bigger and better play gym (male ego). Hopefully it will get finished this week, but here's the progress so far.

Digging the holes to place the poles and fill with cement (it has to be extra sturdy because it's extra big!)

#1 helper: Caleb

#2 helper: Carter

#3 helper: the dog we were sitting

Unfortunately his help included digging holes in our grass where we didn't want holes!!!

(Yes, Carter is eating dirt.)

The holes were the perfect size for Carter to jump in

All boy

Where we stand today. Still to do: 2nd tier, roof, attach swings, ladder...

The same night that Matt dug the holes, it rained (which we need desperately!) so he didn't get a chance to set the posts that night with cement. That also meant that the holes in the backyard became mini-swimming pools for Carter and the dog. Carter escaped in the backyard with the dog and thoroughly enjoyed the muddy pools, along with the dog. Then we watched as Carter and the dog climbed up into the sand table (I was impressed that Carter could pull himself up there!). 2 of a kind.

Not a fun clean-up, but the dog and Carter had a lot of fun!

The puppy and Carter were quite the pair for the 2 weeks we dog-sat. The dog stuck like glue to Carter whenever Carter was eating, because something always goes over the side of his high chair for meals/snacks. And Carter stuck like glue to the dog the rest of the day. He was fascinated by him. Carter usually greets me with a kiss first thing in the morning, but I moved down the totem pole with a dog around. The first thing Carter did each morning was run and lay on top of the dog. He would then give him a kiss on the mouth, which for Carter is an open mouth. It was gross to witness.

We learned a lot by dog-sitting. I've been contemplating getting a dog for awhile now because my boys love dogs as do I. I learned that we are not in a stage in our lives where we are ready for a dog/puppy! It was a hard 2 weeks. I think the puppy was missing his family desperately, and we had different rules in our house than he is used to.