Happy Birthday Jacob! Today is Jake's birthday, the BIG #4. For months he and Isaac have been planning a huge party consisting of things like staying at a hotel w/a pool for 7 days and going to Six Flags....none of which are happening today....I just plan on staying home, making a cake and playing w/new toys....hopefully that will work. Right now all 3 boys are in the tub w/water balloons....

So here's a run down on our Memorial Day weekend.....

Friday afternoon Adam got off a few hours early and started on removing a ton of OLD clapboard and insulation. He only had 2 mouse skeletons fall on him in the process. Then one trip to HD.

Saturday morning--time to get started on roof removal. Not the easiest leap for Adam to take.

This was much messier and harder than I had anticipated....lots of layers of shingle on our roof! Then another trip to HD and a stop at FYE to buy Sarah a new Webkinz for her babysitting payment. Reinforcing and supporting rafters came next, and then the biggest leap yet, CUTTING OUT the rafter.....and now a huge hole in the roof!

So far we have tried hard not to work on the house on Sundays, but seeing that there was a gaping hole in our house on the 3rd floor and we have 5 kids under 11 running around, we decided we'd better get back to our project after church. The new construction came next....more work than it looks....our new motto: measure twice, cut once!!

Sun. night we threw in the towel a little early and slept out on the tramp w/the kids since they'd been so good.

BTW, the cat loved having free access to the roof all weekend...

Monday morning started w/a 0630 run to HD, then home to get the walls enclosed. We took a break at 1130 for our church Memorial Day picnic....the kids were thrilled to get out for a few hours. After the picnic we finished a few things up, then I left Adam home to finish while I took all FIVE kids to Target to birthday shop for Jacob and Wendy's for dinner. Since my closest Target is 25 minutes away I don't get there very often....so it was really fun for a few minutes....

Adam wasn't having much more fun at home though.....he's never been big on wrapping presents, and the huge roll of TVEK on the roof by himself in a wind storm got a little tricky....he said he thought about diving off head first a few times....

He eventually got it on though, and I eventually got all 5 kids from Target home w/a small amount of sanity left....

Finally everyone to bed....we slept sound last night!! I was glad Adam finished the TVEK and tar paper last night, because we awoke to rain this morning!! And a major DIY hangover!!!