Redoing the Pond

Helping the in-laws redo their pond.

 There was a reunion of sorts in Grace with some old friends of my husbands family over Father's Day so we thought it would be a great time for a trip to see my in-laws.  We were joined by Kenny's sister April and her family.  We arrived Friday night and stayed until Sunday evening.  Not only was it a great time to visit with family and friends, but it was a great time to get some work done on the yard.  My in-laws house and yard has always been a work in progress.  It's one of the things I love so much about going to Grace.  I can see the things I've done to shape and mold the house and yard and see my work and inclusion in their lives.  I love it.

Eating breakfast to get ready for a busy day.

Gracie, Hannah and Cadence playing on a beautiful Saturday in Grace.

This summer they've decided to try change the yard around to make it less maintenance.  They were working on improving the pond area the weekend we were there.  I love that pond.  I can still remember waking up at about 4:00 in the morning, the weekend before my wedding to see my soon to be husband and father-in-law with a huge crane lowering 'sacred rock' (the gigantic rock hanging over the pond) into place. My reception at there house was a week away and I didn't know how the yard would be ready for it.  That was the first glimpse into the Newbry family.  The yard looked amazing for the reception, by the way.

Dan, sitting on a rock.

Adam's turn to sit on the rock.

Cute Gracie taking a break.

Hannah preparing drinks for everyone.

Anyway, Kenny, Gary and I spent most of Saturday outside working on the pond.  I cleared out the inside of the pond and filled the hole under 'sacred rock' that a rock chuck had dug out a few years ago.  Kenny and Gary moved rocks, large rocks, and tried to get it looking just right.  It was nice to get our hands dirty and help them out at the same time.  We didn't get as much done as we wanted, but we planned on coming up the next weekend to help again.

I told Helen she had to get a picture of me working so it was documented that I actually did something.  Here's proof.

Gracie helping Grandpa at the truck.

 While we were working the kids were playing.  It was fun to see the cousins play together and it was nice that they were able entertain themselves so we could work. We stopped working in the early afternoon so we could shower and get ready for the reunion at a friends house.

I love this picture because it accurately shows how Dan plays in the water.  He has no fear just like his brother Ben.

After a long day in the hot sun we had to make sure and take a swim in the hot tub.