It isn't easy being green

Yes, we finally have something green (besides weeds) in our backyard! Yesterday my parents and Logan and I spent several hours laying out two pallets of sod. It's really nice to see something green in the yard again. The sprinklers that Logan and my dad put in during the last few weeks are working really well. And Clark is really enjoying both the grass and the exciting sprinklers. He tries to eat the water spray!After the sod was installed, Mom and I pulled weeds for a few hours while Dad and Logan installed a new water heater. I had noticed earlier in the day that the water heater was leaking. It was not a planned project, but at least it went quickly.

Three week catch-up

Our last two weekends have been so busy that I haven't had time to post updates on Sunday evening, so I made sure to sit down tonight and write before another crazy week starts.
Two weekends ago we spent Saturday afternoon in Capitola with Logan's mom and our friends the Cacioppos. The late lunch at Margaritaville was a celebration for Logan's 30th birthday. It was a gorgeous day at the beach, and we got to catch up with our friends and see our goddaughter Chloe crawl on the sand.
Melissa and 18-month-old Chloe: Logan and his mom at Margaritaville: Clark playing with his favorite new squeaky ball from "Grandma" Shari: Last Saturday Logan and my dad worked more on the sprinkler system in the backyard while my sister and I took care of Clark and prepared for another birthday celebration. We had a birthday BBQ at our house that evening for my grandma and for Logan, so he could celebrate his birthday with my family.
Logan and Grandma making a wish: Can you believe he's really 30?:This weekend the landscaping work continued (do you see a pattern here?) yesterday when my dad and Logan completed the sprinkler system and got the yard raked flat while I was at work all day. Now we're ready to fertilize the dirt next Saturday and finally lay our sod! Today we had a very nice Easter. After church we took Clark for a long walk through the Santa Clara University campus and then the three of us went over to my aunt and uncle's house in Cupertino to have a family meal. Clark really enjoyed playing with my aunt and uncle's beagle puppy, Abby, and came home exhausted tonight.

We're ready to start another busy week tomorrow, and I'll post another update with a picture next weekend when the sod has been laid.

They don't call it FUNston for nothing...

Today was a gorgeous day in the Bay Area so we decided to take a day off from working in the yard to go to the beach. When our family dog, Bailey, was younger we used to take him to Fort Funston, which is a multi-acre beach park that is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area just south of San Francisco. Fort Funston is very unique in that it's one of the only beaches in the Bay Area where dogs can run off-leash. Since it was a beautiful day, there were TONS of dogs frolicking all over the dunes, on the beach, and in the water. This was, as far as we know at least, Clark's first trip to the beach. He loved getting to run free for at least a mile along the beach, and seeing all of the dogs we passed. He was scared of the water, though. We kept trying to show him that it was okay, but I guess he's not the water-lover we had hoped he would be. Maybe that will change as he has more exposure to water in various settings.

Here are a few photos from the day:
Clark and Logan ready to head down to the beach.
Wild dog Clark on the run! Our first family portraitSan Francisco in March?!