2 men, 4 days and 7,620 lbs of concrete

Well, the last few days have been crazy. Ted (the best father-in-law in the world) and I drove into Alamogordo on Friday afternoon to sign the papers on the land and then scooted up the mountain to try and measure off the spots for the footers. It's a little different trying to level everything out when you have a 8 foot decline from the top of the building site to the bottom, but we joined intellects and got it done.

 

We rented a two man auger from Home Depot and only had about 12 hours until we had to drive down the mountain to return it. The auger quickly got nicknamed "The Beast"

She dug through that mountain soil ripping up small roots and rocks all the while tossing us like rag dolls. We just decided to hold on and enjoy the ride and after the first couple of holes, mastered the machine.

The mountain fought us on 3 dig spots. 2 had big roots that we have to cut out and unfortunately we didn't see it in the beginning, but a tree stump was smack dab in the middle of the third. Luckily, we made great friends with Dave Swope and he brought in the big guns to help us out.

 

Now let me tell you one thing about concrete....

it's friggin' heavy!

I purchased 127 of the 60 lb bags in order to get everything done. The problem was, each bag was handled many many times. Had to pick it up at Home Depot and put it in the truck. Had to take it off the truck and set in the staging area. Had to pick it up from the staging area and trek down the mountain to the second staging area (which it is not easy doing because gravity wants to take over). Then had to pick it up to dump it into the mixer.

I know for a fact that I've never worked harder in my life than I did on that mountain...but we got it done. And we're going to make the trip again this weekend to build the subfloor. Luckily, I've recruited another delusional soul to help out so things should be a little easier this go around.


 

 

 

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Nitrates...an expecting father's worst nightmare

I like meat

Let me rephrase that... I LOVE MEAT!!!!!!

Since we found out we were pregnant, I have experienced a change in my meat intake. Studies have found that consuming meats containing nitrates can cause carcinogens and listeria inside the body which isnt good for the baby. And my wife is a super oven protecting her little bun from getting burnt.

Hot dogs, sausage, pepperoni, deli meats, bacon...the list goes on. 99% of these products in the stores contains nitrates and while Trisha doesn't eat them, that means for the most part, they aren't purchased from the store and therefore I don't get to eat them. Trisha has also acquired an aversion to chicken and eggs. They make her nauseous so that means that there's been pretty much only one protein on the menu.

BEEF- its what's for dinner

Now I like beef probably more than the average person but variety is something Ive come to look forward to. Now I don't say all of this to point out the massive amounts of cow Ive been shoving in my mouth over the last five and a half months, I'm explaining this because it prepares you for what would normally seem to be a very odd reaction I witnessed a few days ago.

I was on the couch when I heard the garage door open and Trisha stepping inside asking if I could help with the groceries. There was a different look on her face. A look of joy. A look of freedom. A look of.....meat! You see, Trisha had found a store that has pepperoni pizzas, sausage and other delectable meaty morsels without nitrates. It was like Valentines day, Christmas and her birthday had all come at once and she had plenty of grocery bags filled to the top that proved once again, we could become the carnivores we once were. The reign of terror has ended!

On another note, after countless times of watching the unexplained sexual commercial where the girl jumps out of her convertible, slams open the ice cream truck's back door and dives into a Magnum bar, we had to try them. These puppies are expensive but during the consumption, one could hear several moans coming from us and we partook of this sinful treat. We finally understand that commercial.

 

 

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The Walk to Remember

While we normally sleep until at least 10 am on Saturdays, Trisha and I were both up bright and early this morning. The Lubbock Alzheimer's walk was today and we had over 20 in our group. This is a special event to my family because we lost our loving Granmommy to the disease 2 years ago.

What a trooper. Just 7 weeks after a total knee replacement, Pepaw was ready to walk the 1.8 miles

 

 

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Return on investment

SJ got his dear ole dad lunch today! Remind me to give that kid a high five when he gets here.

 

 

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The FORCE is strong with this one

Boy, it's been a busy month! Trisha finally conceded and agreed to let SJ's nursery have a Star Wars theme so we got the furniture ordered and we've been scouring the net for awesome deco for the room. I did have to give up something I wanted though. SJ will not be the proud owner of the most awesome Wampa rug in the world.

Doesn't this kid look happy?

 

Next we move on to a few first for the Kirkpatrick family. A few weeks ago on a little adventure trip, we stumbled upon the Lovington Fair on our way back to Lubbock. At first, it was just supposed to be a quick trip in to allow Trisha to walk around a little and grab a turkey leg for dinner. But once I found out she had never been to a rodeo, we had to stay! We got to see all of the events and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. On the way out, we picked what had to be the best funnel cake we've ever had the chance to stuff in our mouths while listening to the free concert of Uncle Cracka

And for the other first...just last weekend, Trisha surprised me with a trip to a Cowboys preseason game. We had both been to the new stadium for Tech games but it really is spectacular to see it in all it's glory with 80,000 ans wearing the colors and screaming for the Boys. I think SJ was a caught off guard with all the noise and junk food we were making him experience all at once. Luckily, earlier that day in the hotel, I got to feel him kick for the first time. It's moments like those that make all the craziness that is pregnancy worth it.

 

 

Lastly, we once again bring to the point of what this blog is truly made for. A constant reminder (although I do admit I've slacked in that department) that this is the Kirkpatrick Adventure. Trisha and I were called crazy several times when we let people know we were remodeling the house 2 months before the wedding. What better way to move into the third trimester of our firstborn than to buy up some mountain land and build a cabin! That's right, by this time next week we'll be the proud owners of our own little slice of heaven nestled in the Sacramento mountains. Ted (Trisha's dad) and I will be busy little beavers over the next 6 weeks trying to at least get its weathertight shell done by mid-October. Neither of us have ever taken on such a project but we're pretty confident with ourselves in that we can get it done.

 

I'll definitely be updating more with the progress

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