Monthly Archives: April 2013

who says work can’t be fun?

Dave took a day off last Wednesday and we drove down to the Lake to meet up with the fellows from Backyard Buildings who would be building our new toy shed.  We drove separately as they were planning on delivering the shed at 7:00 am (!) and I had to stick around home to get Max off to school before I could head down.  Knowing that I was bummed about not being there from the begining, Dave was kind enough to text me photos of the the beautiful view I was missing of the early morning sky over the lake.  Nope wasn’t jealous at all….

They arrived with the shed kit shortly after Dave got there and wasted no time getting started.  By the time I arrived around 10 am, they had all four walls up and were getting ready to start on the roof.

While they were hard at work with the shed, Dave put a fresh coat of stain on our picnic bench (before I arrived) and then we went to work pulling up the boards from the old dock.

We broke for lunch at Sutherlands BBQ, which we’d been wanting to try for quite some time and were very happy to discover that, not only do they serve lunch and dinner, but they are open for breakfast as well AND serve from the breakfast menu all day..hooray!  Yes, it’s true, I am a huge fan of breakfast for lunch and dinner.  We look forward to trying everything on the menu in the up coming months. 🙂

Back to work after lunch, the two men were rockin and rollin on the shed while Dave and I went to the back of our property to mark the property line more clearly.  We’ve had issues finding our way out without the aid of our iPhones, so thought perhaps we should tie fluorescent pink tape along the line of trees every few feet so we don’t get lost quite as easily!

By the time we finished marking the property line, the shed was nearly completed.  It took eight hours to build…I think these guys might have done this once or twice before!

We left shortly after the shed was finished, only to return the following Sunday, having recruited my awesome friend, Doreen, to help us paint the new shed.  Doreen’s son, Jamison, just happens to be Max’s age and, as they’ve been buds since preschool days,  he was happy to come along and pal around with Max while Dave, Doreen and I went to work on the shed.

The boys found plenty to do while we painted the shed:

After a long day of work, we took a break up on Waffles Ridge before packing up and heading  for home.

We packed up all of our toys into the shed and headed home.  Yes, it was another beautiful day on the lake…

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we’ve received the go ahead!

We’ve been back and forth between the Dinwiddie Health Department and Madison Environmental for the past month…apparently, the original septic plan that was drawn up needed a few alterations.  Another crew was sent out to reevaluate the property, adjust the original plans accordingly and then resubmit them to the county.  It’s been  three months since we first applied for the permit but, finally, we’ve received the approval from the county to go forth and build the well and septic system.  Hooray!!!

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Waffles and Daisy check out their new playground

After a very sad week in which we had to say goodbye to Bistro, our ever faithful companion of 15 1/2 years, we decided it was high time we introduce the rest of the pack to their new playground.  We packed everyone up in the van and headed down to the lake where we were also joined by the Clarke family.   Waffles and Daisy hit the ground running as soon as we opened the door.  There was much sniffing to be done, things to be peed on, cliffs to be jumped off of (naughty Waffles), dead fish carcasses to roll in (yuck Daisy), and best of all, the giant lake to swim in.

Dan and Kris brought their two man kayak along with them and we finally had the opportunity to get out on the lake.  Being that it is L shaped, the far end of the lake isn’t visible from our property so Kris and I decided we must  venture out to see what is on the other side. We rowed the kayak all the way to the other end and back…yep, my arms are a bit sore today.  While we were out, we discovered one of the bald eagles perched high upon a branch across the lake and rowed  over to see how close we could get to it.  We actually were able to get almost right under the tree he was perched in before he got spooked and flew off.  Very cool!

Dave and Dan then took a turn on the kayak and brought their fishing gear along as well.  They each caught their first fish on the lake so were very pleased with themselves.  Hopefully that’s just the first of many to come.

Max and Matthew had a blast swimming in the lake for the first time along with Daisy and Waffles.  Until Waffles decided she needed to play chicken with Matthew and in the process raked her giant talons along his torso.  😦  Bad Waffles.

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Dave chills out on the bank while Waffles and Matthew run out into the lake

A day of many firsts; Kris shot her first gun and Dan and Matthew road their first dirt bike!

After a full day, we packed up the very pooped hounds and headed back home.

Although Bistro never made it to the new property, he was with us in spirit the entire day.  RIP old friend…..

Rest in Peace, old friend...

Rest in Peace, old friend…

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sprucing up the common area

We completely lucked out, weather wise, this weekend when we attended our first annual Colemans Lake clean up day. Every spring several of the property owners along the lake gather together to pick up trash along Colemans Lake Rd and to spruce up the common area in front of the dam, trimming back underbrush and picking up the dead limbs that have fallen over the past year.  The common area just happens to be right next to our property so, yeah for us, they all helped clean up the side of our property as well!  We’ve had entirely too many cold, rainy days this spring, but Saturday morning the sun was shining brightly and the temperature reached around 60 degrees so it was a perfect day to be working outside.

We ended up coming home with an extra passenger…

Although we couldn’t keep him (three dogs are about all we can presently handle at our house), we did take him to one of our local animal shelters and hope very much that he finds a new home.

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yes boys, the war is over

We were driving along, on our way to the property Saturday, pointing out to Megan various things along the way (Jason and the three boys were in the vehicle behind us) when we entered the Petersburg National Civil War battlefield.  Megan remarked that she had never seen a Civil War reenactment and wondered if we had (we have not), when we noticed a large gathering at the Five Forks intersection where we were supposed to be making the turn onto White Oak Rd. As we approached, we caught sight of the “Southern Cross” flying high…..and what do you suppose we had happened upon?!

Megan could have kicked herself for not having played the lottery that day.  🙂

Having grown up in Richmond VA, Max is used to the constant reminders of the Civil War and the heavy focus on the history of the Confederacy, so it was not a shock to him to see the Confederate flags flying. (We had to have a long talk with him when he was in the fourth grade after he returned from a field trip to the Petersburg Civil War Museum proudly wearing a Confederate cap and waving the Confederate flag….there is a certain part of that history lesson that is left out in the 4th grade and a huge emphasis on the pride of southern heritage.)  Never having lived south of the Mason Dixon line, however, Jake and Adam have had no such exposure …I hear the reaction in their car was particularly amusing.

It dawned on me later that April 1st was the 148th anniversary of battle of Five Forks, the loss of which sealed the fate of the Confederate army and led to the evacuation of Petersburg and Richmond on April 2nd, 1865.  (For anyone interested in more information on that battle, you can check out the link to our Civil War history page on the upper right.)

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easter weekend

Jill’s brother and family joined us this weekend for a fun filled day at Colemans Lake.

There was fishing to be done…

and other assorted outdoor activities.

The boys climbed things, because that’s what boys do…

and road dirt bikes.

We had our first picnic on the lake…

and then did a little after-dinner target practice.

Everyone chilled out as the light began to fade…

and marveled at the peaceful tranquility of the lake, as the sun started to set.

If only we had a log cabin, we could have spent the night.  Soon, very soon….

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