some things...

Today was a day of hard work.
I finally cleared our bedroom of all of the piles of stuff - some of it was from our trip and some of it was stuff that was waiting for a place to call home. That stuff is still waiting, just waiting somewhere else now. Our room feels good again.
Andy spent the entire day working on our patio. He leveled the soil, used the plate compactor, added some gravel (I helped here, that stuff is heavy and it took about ten wheel-barrows from me and about thirty of them from Andy to move it all), used the compactor again, added more gravel (I didn't help this time - I pulled weeds, filled bird feeders, chased our little birds around, bathed them both, etc.), and used the compactor AGAIN. It is now a beautiful, flat space ready for the next step. You might think this is where we start placing the stones, but - it's not. I don't think that space will see us again until next weekend. But, maybe we can have a picture day by Monday displaying the finished product. That would be nice.
I ran to Fabric Depot this evening to pick up some lacy fabric. Tomorrow morning we are photographing a pregnant woman and I wanted something different. I hope the actual image is as nice as what I have in mind.
Emma has been having a tough time adjusting to being home again. She had 24-hour playmates in her Nana Barbie and cousin Nathan. She was always at the center of attention and now she has to deal with us. We do other stuff too - laundry, yard work, meal prep, clean up - it's tough. I hate that I am looking forward to the start of school so much, but I think she needs it. She does so well and really thrives in that setting. I remember how much I loved school when I was younger - and I can see why she enjoys it so much. Even with the excitement of the return of school, I am a little sad that she will be heading off. We are going to have to fill our days with lots of fun next week.
I don't have pictures for this post. We have a ton still to sift through but just no time. I am in the process of making a collage of pictures from our vacation and the camera is still packed from the trip. I missed a photo op of Andy with the plate compactor today. Since I am on duty early tomorrow, I should have camera out and ready the next time a photo op presents itself.