Walkway

After we decided on our pathway, it was time to start getting dirt. Mom got the first load of dirt and had it emptied before I knew it. She filled in holes here and there and then was off for the second load. Steffie, Katie and Ashlyn got in on the fun this time and decided to play atop the mound of dirt. They had a great time. Next, we proceded to fill our walkway with dirt and sand. We had to add dirt because we figured since the ground was so hard we would not be able to dig it out. Therefore, we added dirt to give us our foundation. Next, we filled in with sand and then we were ready for the stones. We estimated that that the stones were about 35lbs a piece. So, one by one we laid the stones down. We laid the pattern and then would level each stone with the ones beside, above and below it. If it wasn't right then we would pick it up and add more sand or take away until we had the right level. As we got tired, we would pray that the next ones would be level on the first try!! God did hear us because there were a few desparate times that it did actually work the first time. Going all the way to the swing...one day! It starts to take form. Katie likes it already!

After we laid the stones we had to fill with cement. We had a type of cement that was like sand. We filled all the cracks with the concret mixture and then swept the stones clean and leveled the mixture. Then you very gently soak the mixture with water and wait for it to harden. Sounds easy, but definitely it was not.

Me spreading and leveling the conrete mixture. This was the end of phase one of the walkway. After phase one, we had to stop because we were out of forms to hold the conrete in. So, it was time to wait and hope that all turned out okay.