Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day!

Around the Kolste house big projects were in the works so we didn't have time to participate in many of the traditional Memorial Day activities, but the kids were interested in what the holiday was all about.  After we talked about remembering the soldiers who gave their lives in the service of our country they insisted on putting out our flag and some patriotic window decorations.  It was a small act, but it was still meaningful to them and I was pleased to encourage it.  

Most of the weekend we spent landscaping.  The kids helped me plant bushes in the front flower beds.

These are Redtwig Dogwood, and I hope the red twigs will give the front of the house some color during the long and dreary winter months.

Blair helped me plant "our" Forsythia bush.

Once the bushes were in place, I was able to start filling in the gaps with perennials.  It'll be a while before the flowerbeds look like I want them too, but at least it's a start.

Most of the weekend, however, was spent hauling loads of dirt into the backyard, in order to properly slope the ground away from the foundation and patio.

I lost track of how many loads there were (my husband will never forgive me for this oversight and will probably provide the correct number in the comments), but it was a lot of dirt to move by hand.

And as if that wasn't enough, Aaron spent the waning hours of the weekend hanging the last of the doors to finish off the living room project.  (Click here, here, here, here, and here for posts on that project.)  Now the pressure is really on for me to finish the curtain panels.

And that was our weekend.

Stay tuned for more projects!