Logs and Stones

Oy, I meant to share this post days ago but the week got away from me.  Last weekend Jordan and I enjoyed a lazy weekend at the lake with Mom and Dad.  And by lazy, I mean it was a weekend of tree choppin' and hole digging...lol.  Really, though, it was a relaxing visit.  

Part of the reason we wanted to visit was to see little Sophie.  She recently had surgery to remove a stone from her bladder.  This sucker was huge considering she is a 16lb pup!

The vet actually put the stone in a jar so that my parents could keep it.  Gross!  Still, it was interesting to see this stone up close and personal.  Sophie's surgery was a success and she has recovering nicely.

This is poor little Sophie waking up from the anesthesia.  
When we got to lake Sophie was already feeling like her normal grumpy self again!

Mom and Dad decided to put a sign in their yard at the lake so Jordan and Dad got the jack-hammer to get digging!  I've actually never seen a jack-hammer so it was kind of cool to watch.  Jordan said the tool weighed about 90 lbs!
Above are various pictures of the process.

Dad used a fast-setting concrete which requires very little mixing.  It worked great for the road sign project!  I guess concrete doesn't have to be mixed in a bucket or wheelbarrow any more!
Dad has all kinds of obscure tools...  Pictured on the bottom left is this handy right-angle leveler thingy (I'm sure there is an official name for this tool).  No doubt, this is one of the most level poles at the lake!

The rest of the day we visited around the fire pit and enjoyed the nice weather.  You can't beat the 70's in February!
Top Left: This is Tony's homemade Yeti Colster. Fancy, huh?
Right Top and Middle: The crowd around the fire pit.  
Bottom Right: Abby got to know a fellow lake dog, Thunder.  I think they were both a little twitterpated but they enjoyed chasing each other in the grass.
Bottom Left: Blue sky for a beautiful afternoon!

Jordan and Dad spent much of the day refurbishing an old wheelbarrow.  I'm pretty sure this sucker was purchased in the late 80's or possibly it is older than I am.  Either way, when I think of a wheelbarrow, this old yellow one is what I picture.  

Dad had all the parts but this wheelbarrow has definitely seen better days...
These are a few pictures of the welding process.  Welding is such a handy skill!  Jordan doesn't realize it, but I'm hatching plans for him to weld me a firewood stand. Hehe!

Dad and Jordan had to bandaid this poor wheelbarrow back together. 
They welded the legs to the basin and reinforced it with new metal plates.  They even made new wedges, pictured on the bottom left.  Dad and Jordan do impressive work!  I think Jordan has some DTM (direct to metal) paint leftover from some project so we might even paint this sucker!

Below are more random pictures from Saturday night at the lake.  
We always have delicious food!  In the middle left, you can see Tony's homemade horseradish.  This stuff has some serious kick and it is apparently an eye-watering experience to make!  I think you need a hazmat suit to make it.
Right Top and Bottom: We bought a whole bunch of these Mystical Fire packets for Christmas and they are super cool!  They turn the flames all sorts of colors and lasts at least a few hours.

Sunday morning the boys did some tree choppin'.  As I've always said, it's risky to be a tree within a 1 mile radius of my Dad.  This was a dead tree and had to come down because it was too close to power lines.  
These are various pictures of the process.  All the guys came to help: Jordan, AJ, Tony, Cavin, and Chris.

I thought it would be interesting to video the tree coming down but I got more than I bargained for!  At the end of the video (second mark 23) you can see Uncle Tony busting.  Don't worry, he was okay but he gave us all a little scare!


And here is another video of the tree process:
I tied really dramatic music to this video which makes it hilarious to me!

Tree surgery helps when you've got a massive strong tractor.  Dad and Uncle Tony love using their tractors and really get stuff done!

Hope y'all enjoy!  

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