Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Hopefully the sunshine brings change

Yesterday was such a painful day, I couldn't even write the words in my blog. My father-in-law is okay - so without a doubt - that was the brightest and best and most thankful part of my day.  In fact, having my family healthy is the most thankful part of every day. Mr. Yesteryear Acres parents have been in my thoughts every waking moment.  We have all been so terribly worried for them.  Our visit with them on Sunday was so wrought with emotion. There were a lot of tears between Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad and Mr. Yesteryear Acres mom.  I have never seen Mr. Yesteryear Acres dad cry and I can tell you, there was not a dry eye in the room.  There is just so much love between them. Mr. Yesteryear Acres parents have been married almost 62 years.  They grocery shop together, they go to doctor visits together, they exercise together, they never go anywhere without each other. If you think of one - you think of them both.  They are a matched set. Hearing about how close we were to losing Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad was heart wrenching.  Our drive home from the hospital was pretty quiet.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I both were pretty exhausted.  We were gone for about 4 hours, which is an incredibly long time for us to be away from home. We are always sure to never be away from our home any period of time longer than 2 hours. We seldom ever go anywhere together as the puppies require too much care and one of us always stays behind.  We have missed birthdays, Thanksgivings, Christmas Holidays.  You name an important event, one of us has missed it. The care of our puppies mean that much to us. As you can imagine, we were pretty anxious to get home and when we arrived, we found we lost most of Cheyenne's litter. Cheyenne had moved her puppies and four of her puppies had died. The only thing we can think of is that someone came to visit the puppies while we were gone. We have people that want to stop by and "play with the puppies" all the time despite our strict visitation policy. Whenever anyone just drops by, the dogs all get worked up and thankfully we are here to settle them down and let them know we have things taken care of.  Without us being here and someone pounding on all the doors, Cheyenne probably worried about her new babies and moved them to a safer location.  The puppies either died in the move or she may have smothered them trying to keep them safe. It was just a devastating thing to come home to. If that were not enough, late last night we had to put one of our very beloved older dogs to sleep. Mr. Yesteryear Acres rushed the dog to the ER Veterinarian last night but there was nothing they could do. Mr. Yesteryear Acres came home last night around 12:30am exhausted and heartbroken. My only hope is that with this morning's sun, the dark clouds that have been circling us have finally ended.  We could use a little sun in our lives right now.

Monday, April 29, 2013

It's still Monday... Just Made it!

I know Monday is almost over but it is still Monday! Here are this week's puppy pictures.....just in the nick of time!
Scarlet's Double Doodle babies are big butterballs of love!

Their little ears just opened up

Their Mommy Scarlet takes great care of them

They always have full milk bellies

Sweet Pea delivered her goldendoodle babies

We have 5 girls and 4 boys

They are so precious

Happy Monday!

Sunday, April 28, 2013

Going to Make It!

All of Birdie and Nutmeg's puppies have been picked up by their new puppy families.  I have to say that today's weather has been less than nice for puppy day.  It has been cold and raining ALL DAY LONG.  The puppies have been real troopers about the non-stop rain and have all gone potty outside right away despite the downpour.  It was like they knew they had long car rides awaiting them and were good little puppies all ready for their trips home.  The only downside was that when their new families arrived to give their brand new puppies a big hug.......they got a WET hug back!  The puppies were so excited to meet their new families and......the puppies were also definitely wet.  We did have lots of dry towels ready so hopefully it wasn't too bad.  Now that all the puppies have made their way home - it is time for Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I to finally get to the hospital. Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad and Mom are anxiously awaiting our arrival.  Looks like we are actually going to make it!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Sunny Saturday

Today was just a beautiful day outside.  The puppies had tons of time to play in the bright sunny outdoors and they had a great day.  We had puppy families here picking up their new furry family members and the nice weather made for a perfect puppy day.  One puppy had a LONG road trip to Minnesota so the extra outdoor playtime was great.  By the time the puppy got in the car, it was definitely nap time! Tomorrow we should have time to visit Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad and I am so looking forward to that. The hospital is a little over an hour away from here - so that is at least 2 hours just in drive time.  With the puppies needing to go outside to go to the bathroom, and water breaks and play breaks - there is really no way to go do a hospital visit.  By the time I would get there, I would have to turn around and drive right back home to be back in time for the puppies.  Tomorrow either Mr. Yesteryear Acres is making it to the hospital or I am.  One of us definitely is going.  I have been thinking about Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad all day long.  I can't wait to give him a big hug!

Friday, April 26, 2013

Thankful for Purple Flowers

Yesterday I got the scare of my life when I found out Mr. Yesteryear Acres father had been taken by ambulance to the hospital for heart problems. We weren't sure if he had a heart attack but for sure he needed heart surgery. He is having heart surgery today. I never saw that coming and when I heard the news, I just dropped to the floor and started bawling.  I literally could not stop myself from crying.  I love him so much.  My whole family loves him so much.  He is like the biggest light of love and happiness and all that is good in this world. I cried all day yesterday. I could not stop my tears the entire day. Things here at Yesteryear Acres are SO busy as we have Birdie and Nutmeg's puppies going home this weekend.  I couldn't even leave home to go see him.  Today I had promised 8 families that I would deliver their puppies.  That is 8 excited, anxious, happy families eagerly awaiting their new furry family members that I could not disappoint.  So this morning at O'Dark-Thirty, I loaded the puppy mobile and I hit the road and began my 12 hour drive. The puppies were so excited to meet their new families and the new families were so happy to meet their new puppies.  It made me feel good to be a part of so much happiness. On my long drive back home, I had plenty of time for reflection. I was grateful to see so many spring flowers on the trees.  I was grateful for the beautiful vistas and mountain passes full of lush greenery.  I was thankful for the millions of purple flower buds I saw today.  I think I saw more purple today than I have ever seen.  My drive was bathed in spring beauty! I felt like I had company with me on my drive as everywhere I looked, I found beauty. I was glad to make it home safe - with no tears until I walked in my door this evening. Dear Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad.....  I can't wait to see your smiling face. Please get better soon.  I love you with all my heart.

Thursday, April 25, 2013

It Must Love Me Too

I had a super busy morning today.  I had tons of work to do and most of it was outside work.  By 10:30am - I had already spent 3 hours outside and I was dirty and tired and needed a shower.  I threw a load of clothes in the wash and then took a shower and got dressed.  As I was finally sitting down, enjoying my cup of coffee, I decided to check to see how many steps I already had in for the day. I went to check my handy dandy much-loved step counter and......ACK!  WHERE IS IT?!??!!!!!  It wasn't clipped to my pants!  It wasn't in my pocket! IT WAS GONE!  It is at that moment all the blood drained from my face as panic set in. Nooooooooooooooooo! IT WAS IN THE WASH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I have to admit, I started to cry the second I realized it. I love that thing.  It keeps me motivated.  I have battles with my mom and my sister and my girls and my son AND EVEN Mr. Yesteryear Acres.  We all are synced together and we see who the winner is for the day.  Whoever wins the week gets big bragging rights. Since I started wearing it in January of this year, I have logged 1,385,636 steps! It is a really fun way to stay fit.  I couldn't believe I threw mine in the washing machine.  I ran as fast as I could, and the wash cycle was already finished.  As I was pulling out the wet clothes....there it was.  I AM SO SORRY!  I dried it off with a towel.....tears falling down my face....and pushed the button. It said "YOU ROCK Renee"  OH MY GOSH!  IT DIDN'T DIE!  I was so happy.  I hugged it.  I said, I will never ever wash you in the washing machine again! Yay! All I can think is ....It must love me too!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Puppy Goodies

Today the weather was quite dreary.  No outdoor recess for the puppies. No sunset walk for the doodle doggies.  Just rain, rain, and more rain.  What to do on a cold rainy day? PUPPY GOODIES of course!  We have puppies going home this weekend so today was the perfect day for getting all the puppy packs ready.  Wouldn't you know..... I had many little eager puppy helpers!  What is more fun than playing in piles of puppy toys?!?! All the puppies had their favorites and they were more than willing to personally test out each toy to make sure they were dog friendly.  I think the puppies thought that indoor recess was even more fun than playing outdoors.  They had a blast and once the puppies were tuckered out, I was able to sort all the puppy toys in the right piles and assemble all the puppy care packages. The Yesteryear Acres puppy packs are now lined up and ready to go!  Puppy Weekend is almost here!

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Sunset Walks

Lately my son and I have been going for a late night walk every night. The field hasn't been planted yet so we have tons of wide open spaces to explore.  The doodle doggies have especially enjoyed our sunset walks. They get to run and play fetch and have the best time finding various wildlife encounters. My son and I have used our walks to talk about everything. We have decided that this summer we are going to take a road trip together and take a look at some colleges. My son really wants to go to the Naval Academy.  He has been dreaming of becoming a midshipman since he was in grade school.  After all of our long walks and talks together, my son has agreed to check out a few other places. We are going to visit the United States Military Academy at West Point, The United States Coast Guard Academy, Virginia Military Institute and Norwich.  Sense a theme? I think our Military College Road Trip will be a blast. I know I will treasure our time together. I know how rare it will be. 
I will definitely miss nights like these

We stood and watched the sun slowly sink into the hillside

He loves his dogs

And they love him

And for me.....he will always be my little boy

Monday, April 22, 2013

What we love best

I think today's puppy picture update will sum up what we love best about Yesteryear Acres. Each time we go outside with the puppies - it looks like this:
OH BOY OH BOY! WE ARE SO HAPPY!
The puppies can't wait to soak in all the love they can!
Puppies give the best snuggles!
And are filled with pure joy
It is always a race to see who will get the first hug
Of course, everyone gets a turn
Puppy hugs are the best! They make every day a good day!
Mountain Climbing at its best!
Best Playground Ever!
Is it naptime already?!?
We will snuggle with you!
Raising puppies makes us all feel like this:
Loved
Happy Monday!












Sunday, April 21, 2013

AND a movie???!!!!!

Last night around 7:30pm my son said, "Let's go for a walk!"  I didn't want to.  I had been up since 4:30am.  I had been on my feet all day long.  I had already exercised.  It was COLD outside.  My son insisted.  He said that I needed it.  He got out my hat and my gloves and my warm coat and then he did the unthinkable.  He said, "COME ON DOODLE DOGGIES! ................
WE ARE GOING FOR a W A L K!""
All the doggies got SO excited and ran to the door with their tails wagging.  Then my son said he would stand outside the door and wait for me.  He wasn't going to come back in.  UGH!  I wanted to go sit down.  I wanted to go do NOTHING for a few minutes.  But, of course, I put on my hat. I put on my gloves and out the door I went.

Best decision ever.  We had the best time.  The doggies had the best time.  We saw several deer, a flock of geese, 6 wood ducks, a Blue Heron, and a Baltimore Oriole.  We walked for over an hour.  We played the "what should we name the next Yesteryear Acres doodle puppy?" game.  He always comes up with names like "Diesel" or  "Freedom" or "Remington".  I have cute fluffy names like "Sugar" and "Puddles" and "Coconut".  We walked all the way to the top of the big hill and watched the sun set.  It bathed everything is a beautiful red hue.  In that moment, all was right with the world.  When we got back home, my son said we should watch a movie together and let me pick it out! It chose a ridiculous dumb chick flick and my son fell asleep within 15 minutes of it starting, but he was there.  With me.  Watching a movie. I sat there with my sleeping son and my heart was just overflowing with love. I could not be more blessed.

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Day of Worry

Even though I KNOW worrying does NO good - today was a day of worry.  We actually had lots of things to be concerned about today and having one thing piled on top of another put me right in the "I AM WORRIED" state. My day began at 4:30am so it was definitely a long tiring day. I am usually really good about letting worry go.  I am usually really good at knowing that worrying NEVER changes the outcome. What will be will be no matter how much I worry.  Today, however,  I got a big fat F in the worry department. As in FAIL.  In my defense, I had a lot on my plate. I feel like my entire day passed me by. Now I just need to stop worrying and concentrate on the things I can make better.  Right at this very second, I am taking the time to be grateful and thankful for all my blessings.  I am taking the time to say how much I love my family and my doggies and my life.  I am taking the time now to breathe and smile and know that in the end, everything will be okay.

Friday, April 19, 2013

MITTENS! How I MISSED YOU!

Earmuffs. Check.  Scarf. Check. Gloves. Check. Layers and Layers and Layers of sweaters. Check! In complete contrast to yesterday's beautiful weather, winter apparently decided to come back for the day.  This morning it was still warm and kind of balmy outside.  I had on a short sleeved shirt when I let the puppies out this morning.  By lunchtime, my teeth were chattering!  The puppies teeth were chattering!  They looked at me as if to say, "Who turned the Air-conditioning on full blast!?!"  What kind of cruel joke is this?  I have a dear friend who lives in Kansas and just the other week we joked that she needed to wear summer sandals on one foot and arctic boots on the other. I believe her weather turned from 80*'s to -3* in less than 24 hours.  I guess when I was laughing and joking and telling her to wear a swimsuit AND a parka, I shouldn't have laughed quite so  hard.  Looks like it is our turn now! I suppose I better go finish suiting up for my daily walk with the doggies.  I will do my best to pretend that I missed my mittens.  The good news....no chance for me to get overheated today! I bet even the doggies don't think about swimming in the pond with this weather!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Hello Spring Flowers!

Today was just lovely outside.  The sun was shining.  The breeze was warm.  The grass is so green and all of our spring flowers are finally in bloom. The daffodils around our flagpole look so great.  We have hundreds of yellow blooms surrounding our grand flag.  It just adds that special touch that makes me smile every time I glance out the window. Our tulips opened up this morning highlighting the entire side of our house in brilliant reds.  Our hyacinth are finally popping up as well.  Oh how I love the smell of hyacinth.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres always brings a few in and they make the entire house smell so good.  Today Mr. Yesteryear Acres brought me a little bouquet of spring flowers at lunch time.  We ate our lunch together with our little vase full of spring happiness.  The puppies loved the spring day too.  I let them play outside a long time today as this is supposed to be the last nice day we get for at least a week.  We soaked in all the spring happiness we could!

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

250 Pounds!

Another good day visiting Mr. Yesteryear Acres Mommy at the hospital.  She is finally looking better!  She had color in her cheeks and a big smile on her face.  If she keeps improving she MIGHT JUST GET TO COME HOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  I am so hoping for that day!  We are all hoping for that day!  She has been in the hospital since the beginning of March!  That is way too long.  I asked her if she was trying to get a long term resident discount.....she assured me she was NOT and she wants to go home! We are all keeping our fingers crossed.....and our toes!  I hope tomorrow is another good day!  On the way home from the hospital I had to make the warehouse store run, errand run AND dog food run all by myself. Mr. Yesteryear Acres stayed at home once again as we have adorable puppies that need constant care so I was the one to do all the Yesteryear Acres errands.  I have to say- I did it! Yep!  I got everything on the list! I even put 250 pounds of dog food in the car ALL BY MYSELF!  Now that is a major accomplishment.  It wasn't too long ago that I would NEVER be able to do that.  I guess all that strength training has paid off.  Checklist complete!

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Look for the Helpers

I cannot believe yesterday's tragic news.  I just cannot accept the increasing violence that plagues our society. It is heartbreaking. As many of you know, my older daughter is a 2nd Lieutenant in the Marine Corps. I am often asked how it feels to know that my daughter might die at such a young age. I have people actually say that to me.  "Oh you must be so sad to know your daughter could die at any minute."  Well of course I worry for her safety.  I worry for the safety of all my children.  I worry for the safety of everyone I know and those I don't know.  We live in a violent world. Do I want my daughter to be in harm's way? Of course not.  Will she be in harm's way? Yes.  Yes she will. My son also will be joining the military to serve our Country so he too will be in harm's way.  What drives them to serve? I can tell you - they want to help.  They want to protect.  They want to make the world a better place. A safer place. As yesterday's tragic events unfolded - what brought us hope?  What brought us a piece of humanity? The helpers. The ones that ran INTO the explosion to help save others.  The ones that gave of themselves so that others might live.  We are in fact a country of helpers. That is what makes our country so great. I would not hesitate to help someone in need.  Not for a second. We all need to stand together.  To be a part of something greater than ourselves.  We need to look for the light in all this darkness.  Do not live a life of fear. Live a full and grateful life.  Be thankful for every moment you are given on this earth. Never take a second for granted. And above all - reach out.  Be a helper. Life is too short not to care.

Monday, April 15, 2013

Time for a W A L K!

Oh boy! Oh Boy! OH BOY!  Mr. Yesteryear Acres is taking us for a walk!!!!
If we are really good for Monday Puppy Picture day - we all get to go on a long walk with Mr. Yesteryear Acres!!! Yay!
Of course we were good little puppies for our pictures soooooo
TIME FOR A WALK!
Let's Go!

We better catch up. Mr. Yesteryear Acres walks quickly!

We are coming Mr. Yesteryear Acres!

He loves having us keep him company

We will help him do his work!

This is so much fun!

Can we have a turn now???!

We are really good at keeping in step!

WE LOVE MONDAYS!

Sunday, April 14, 2013

Food Care Package of Love

Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad has completely run out of food and I just can't have that happen.  Having his wife in the hospital since early March has taken its toll - on him and everyone who loves her. Every day we hope Mr. Yesteryear Acres Mommy gets well enough to come home.  She still is on NO food and NO water.  It feels like this has been going on forever.  I know for sure it feels like forever for her! I have been busy getting a food care package ready for Mr. Yesteryear Acres dad.  On the menu:  Pork and Noodles, Spaghetti and Meatballs, Garlic Bread, Vegetable Soup, Hamburgers, BBQ Ribs, Banana Berry Pancakes and veggies!  I also made his lunch for today and for tomorrow.  He hasn't been eating very healthy lunches so I figured he would like a nice big sandwich with baby green beans, sliced cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, avocado, cheese and turkey. I love baby green beans on my sandwiches!  While I was busy making the sandwiches for Mr. Yesteryear Acres Dad, I ended up making one for Mr. Yesteryear Acres, my son and my son's friend.  I guess the sandwich shop was open for business!  My son was nice enough to drive over the care package and help his grandpa out with some chores. I am already busy starting on the next care package - in the oven I have big roaster chicken, roasted brussel sprouts AND a loaf of Honey Flax Pumpkin Seed bread.  Gotta keep those Yesteryear Acres family members fed!!! Care Packages mean love!!!!

Saturday, April 13, 2013

Puppy Visit Day

Today we had families visiting us pretty much all day long. It started early this  morning and we are just wrapping up Puppy Visit Day now. The puppies LOVED all the attention.  They had grandparents loving on them.  They had children loving on them.  They had lots of grown ups to love them too!  Everyone was in love with the puppies and the puppies were in love with everyone!  It makes for a really nice happy day full of smiles and lots of joy.  The weather was a bit chilly but the puppies didn't seem to mind at all.  Of course I had on TWO jackets because I was freezing.  I think I was outside from 9am-4pm with no break.  Brrrrr!  Just a few days ago, I was wearing short sleeves!  One day, I will get this weather thing figured out - but for today - double coat day!  The best thing about puppy visit day besides all the smiles is that tonight - oh my - the puppies will sleep like babies!  They will all fall asleep in a big puppy pile of furry happiness and dream of their new awesome families.  Just two more weeks and they will be ready to go to their new homes. I know we have a lot of excited families ready to bring home their new lovable furry family members!

Friday, April 12, 2013

Now that we are all clean.......

The puppies looked might snazzy today! They all were given lovely beauty treatments. Nails all trimmed.  Coats all brushed. Tidy hair trims for the "personal" areas.... AND new collars.  Oooooh la la.  They look great!  After each puppy got the spa treatment, they went outside to play for a while.  Once a puppy has on a new collar, all the puppy can think about is, "OH MY GOSH, I HAVE A HUGE SOMETHING ON MY NECK!"  Which makes the other puppies think, "I wonder what that huge something tastes like?!"  Going outside is the best way of distracting them from their newest accessory.  They immediately forget about scratching and chewing and trying to reach their collars and instead they romp around the yard with glee. Today they went outside looking marvelous.  And then they played.  And played some more.  They romped with happiness....right into the mud pile.  Yep.  We got a ton of rain yesterday so the yard is not nice and dry.  The yard is wet and muddy.  So the puppies aren't quite as sparkly clean as they once were but they are all smiling from ear to ear.  Nothing beats romping in mud!  It is the very best fun!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Excavate the House Thursday

Remember last week when I SKIPPED "Clean the House Thursday" in lieu of doing the ever so fun taxes?  BIG mistake.   That made TWO Thursdays in a row that I missed my weekly "clean the house Thursday" chore.  The week before was spring break and I decided to "gasp" do something FUN with my son rather than clean. When I started to tackle the house today, I realize that today was not "Clean the House Thursday"!  Today was "EXCAVATE the House Thursday!" In the past 2 weeks Mr. Yesteryear Acres has managed to dump his stuff ALL OVER THE HOUSE.  My son has managed to dump his stuff ALL OVER THE HOUSE! Yes they have been moving rocks.  Yes they have been doing farm chores.  Yes they have been reinforcing the pond wall. Yes they have been busy.  I heard alllllllllll the excuses today.  My son's room looked like a.....well I don't even know how to describe the dirty laundry carnage.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres has been making the dining room his dumping ground.  They are just TOO tired to have their socks actually make it to the laundry room. ARGH!  Well today Mother Nature was ON MY SIDE.  She made it rain.  And rain.  And rain some more!  So NO ROCK MOVING today!  Instead Mr. Yesteryear Acres and my son moved dirty laundry.  Then they moved clean laundry.  And they put away their boots and gloves and rock equipment.  And our house was cleanly excavated.  Clean the house Thursday.....SUCCESS! YAY!

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Hospital Day

Mr. Yesteryear Acres and I sadly had to end our weekly "date" day as we have too much work to get done.  I went to visit Mr. Yesteryear Acres Mommy at the hospital while Mr. Yesteryear Acres stayed at home to care for all the sweet doodle doggies and puppies.  He was sad not to be able to go and I was sad that I lost my "date" but the puppies were super happy to have Mr. Yesteryear Acres at home.  I got to the hospital this morning right before the horrendous thunderstorm. That was awesome timing on my part! The skies literally opened up within seconds of me reaching the front door.  There are no windows in my mother-in-law's hospital room so she never knows what the weather is.  I had to let her know that it was POURING.  We chatted for a while and she looked so tired I suggested she just close her eyes for a few minutes.  She was really exhausted and fell asleep within seconds. Luckily, Mr. Yesteryear Acres Daddy showed up so I was able to have a nice long visit with him. It seems I need to get busy on making more meals for him.  He is almost OUT of food! I am going to have to start cooking tomorrow! Once Mr. Yesteryear Acres Mommy woke up, we had time to do video chats which was a LOT of fun.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres was first and it was as if he were sitting right there with us.  He got to do the hospital visit after all!  We then got to video chat with my younger daughter!  It was almost 9:00pm her time (in Europe) so she was in her room and available to chat with us.   Mr. Yesteryear Acres parents haven't been able to talk (or see) her since she left for Europe in early January.  It was a great treat! I am not sure who treasured the video chat more.  It was clear that it brought joy to everyone. We decided to try to video chat with my older daughter and as luck would have it, she was able to chat too!  Her training at the Marine Corps base ended a little early today so she got to do the hospital visit as well.  Before I left for home, we were able to set up a video chat with my son so ALL of the Yesteryear Acres clan visited today!  It made for a perfect hospital visiting day!

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Yet Another Day of Fun

Wait until you see today's pictures.  Oh my gosh.  You will instantly wish you were here at Yesteryear Acres.  You will be green with envy. You will probably cry yourself to sleep over the deep anguish you will feel in having missed the fun we had yesterday. Yesterday was......
PICK BIG ROCKS OUT OF THE GARDEN DAY!
I know. I know.  You are probably crying right now.
Mr. Yesteryear Acres really knows how to have fun

WHAT?!  We get to pick up rocks?!!  OH BOY!

I definitely think this counts as a workout. 

Am I thinking, "Please Mr. Sun WILL YOU SET Already?!! If it gets tooooo dark, we can't pick up rocks any longer!"
  
No such luck.  This is load.....10 or 11?  I lost track
 
Where are all the rocks going?  To the pond! We are reinforcing the sides of the pond to cut down on erosion.  Today's progress.....so far.
Some rocks..... I don't even bother to help.  I take pictures instead!  OOOOH Look How Heavy!  I am so helpful!
And Back to the pond
I hope you are able to hold back your envy
Oh boy!  MORE ROCKS!  
Why won't you set already Mr. Sun??!!!!  Mr. Yesteryear Acres says we can do at least 3-4 more loads.  OH JOY!
Really making progress now
Tonight we get to finish adding MORE rocks to the curved area.  WHAT?!  We get to do this again?!!!  Man.  I. AM. SO. LUCKY!  I really can't wait.  MORE ROCKS!
This was clearly needed.
I might need to make more ice cream tonight.  And more cookie dough.  Yes.  Both.  I need to make both.  Mr. Yesteryear Acres is already excited for yet another day of fun.