Concrete Pour & Birthday Party

This weekend was a busy one.

When Ben got home on Friday, we finished getting everything ready in the backyard so that a few guys from Aaron Concrete (where Ben works) could pour the patio on Saturday. Ben took off one of the fence panels between us and the "ranch" behind us and then tied steel while Cheryl and I sat out in the backyard and kept him company. He finally called it a night a little before 2:00 am and then got up a little before 6:00 am on Saturday morning. I woke up at around 7:30 am to the sound of rebar being cut with a saw right outside my bedroom window. Definitely not the most peaceful sound that I've ever heard, but it was nice of Ben to let me sleep in a little.

Here's a couple of pictures of all the rebar before it was covered with concrete.
Once the concrete truck got there, it was go time. We had a crew of 6 guys plus Ben and a truck driver.
We used a couple of these buggies to transport the concrete from the truck around back to the patio, and it worked really well. Much faster than using a wheel barrow.
Here are a couple of pictures that I took of the (somewhat) finished project later that day. Annie and Amos were very confused at first, but I think they're gonna love it.
Now we just need to let it cure, cover it in flagstone, and fill in around it with dirt and sod. Definitely a big project, but it will be so worth it.

G and my mom came over on Sunday afternoon to celebrate Amos' birthday. We had Railroad BBQ for lunch, and G made her homemade chocolate pudding, which is actually the filling that she makes for her chocolate pie. It's awesome! They also brought over a couple of presents for A&A -- some new dinosaurs from G and some treats and a couple of new Nylabones from my mom.
I also made their traditional birthday cake -- peanut butter carrot cake with cottage cheese icing, but instead of using a cake pan, I decided to make cupcakes this time.
Somebody's spoiled...
As soon as the party was over, Annie and Amos both crashed.
Thanks again for helping us celebrate, Mommy & G. We love you!