Yes, still alive...barely...

Hello all you faithful blog viewers...both of you! So, I went on a slight vacation...not that I was ever that great at keeping a daily blog or anything, but this time my break was a bit ridiculous. I mean, come on Christa!! Well, to be fair to myself, at least I am more consistant than at writing in my journal. (I'm pretty sure there's no mention of William being born yet, so I'm guessing we're looking at 4+ years!?!) Ok, so without further ado...what's been going on with the O'Briens:


Well, for starters, we've all taken a turn at being horribly sick. There's been this lovely virus circulating throughout Houma, and we were fortunate enough to all share it. I mean, I did teach my children to share with each other, and so I guess they were just doing as I told them...It was a nasty stomach virus that lasted a little over 24 hours but kept the body sore for about a week. (And I'm pretty sure Natalie got it twice, unlucky girl!) I'll say that's reason #1 I haven't been able to post in a while...tending to the needs of the family.


Let's see here...Ah, yes...the backyard! When we bought our house, it came with an ancient ginormous pool in the backyard with an even huger (is that a word? It is today) pool deck. Well, we kept the pool through the first summer that we lived here and it was ok, but nothing I was overly crazy about. Pools demand alot of upkeep as well as I kinda think they are a big money pit that I just keep dumping money into year round! And the worst part is since it was so huge it left little, if any space for play in the backyard. And with a body of water in the backyard, there was no way I was going to let the kids just go out in the back and play while I put laundry away or started dinner or something. So, it kinda became like we didn't have a backyard at all. So, last Christmas I asked Tom how he felt about removing the pool/deck and he said if he didn't have to do any of the work he was ok with it. So, I spread the word that if someone wanted the pool they could come and have it for free. The neighbor's brother jumped on the offer after about 15 seconds of being on the market. Ok, people, you need to understand a little about southern louisiana...it doesn't matter what it is or how trashy it is, put it on the curb and say it's for free and it will be hauled away within minutes. Case in point: this past fall I broke a rake in two. Yes, I am an extreme raker and that's just how I roll...anyway, there's no way it would be useful to anyone, unless they happened to be a "person short of stature" because that's just how it broke. Not kidding, within minutes of putting it in the trash can on the curb, the crazy guy in the blue suburban asked if he could have it. But anyway...





So, sometime after Christmas a whole crew of the scarriest looking men showed up in the backyard to remove the pool and deck. Obviously they didn't remove everything so we were stuck with alot of debris and a whole brick patio that just didn't make sense with the backyard. I decided to rip up the whole brick patio and move it so it would make sense. It was alot of fun to do, actually. There was a huge "beach" of sand from where the pool had been, so the kids had a giant sandbox to play in while I ripped out this whole brick patio. Once all the brick was removed, I had to prepare the area where I wanted to put the brick, lay the sand, and actually figure out what exactly I was doing since I don't really have alot of experience in brick laying, surprise surprise!


Long story short...I know, too late...got about 2/3 done with everything and we are realizing we just don't have the big equipment to do it all ourselves, so we get some estimates on the backyard to finish it off. We get two quotes, go with the slightly cheaper quote, and then all the real troubles begin...




Oh, my oh my! Lets quickly talk about the few things that Louisiana is known for. In politics, that would be corruption and greed. As for schools, they are ranked 49th out of 50 states, so education probably isn't so important?!? And I know there are immoral people everywhere, there just seems to be a higher concentration here than anywhere else I have ever lived. I think the owner of the landscaping company who we hired to finish the overhaul on our backyard was a great cocktail of all the above mentioned "faults of Louisiana." I don't want to get too messy, but let's just put it nicely, he did his best to mess with us every step of the way. But, we made sure he finished the job and we have our new backyard! So...mom...here are the pictures you've been asking for!

And don't worry...everyone's grass is brown like this right now. It's in the dormant stage. My neighbor thought they were laying a bunch of dead sod!

You can see my brick that I layed. I did about 2/3 of the job and they finished the rest of it. Not to brag, but I actually think I did a better job on my part than they did on theirs! Maybe I have a future in bricklaying!

So, faithful followers, be not afraid! I'm back and will try to blog a little more often. Of course there is much more going on here, there's always a story to tell when you have two kids, but the hour is late and I think I've rambled enough. We are fast approaching our two year anniversary of being in LA and we are looking to move on. I was reading this morning about all the snow that was dumped in Ohio yesterday and it made me miss it so much! I guess you always want what you can't have! But we hope to be able to make a new part of the world our new home soon, and I will keep all of you updated as to our next whereabouts!