A fence and a dirt pile

We decided it was time for a fence around the back yard. There were many reasons "for" a fence so we went ahead with the plan. We were lucky enough to hire our friend (and back door neighbor) Matt to do the work for us. There was just no way Jim was going to have time to do it - and by no means was I going to be able to. Thanks Matt for doing such a great job!

Here are some picture of the boys playing on the wood we had delivered for the fence. Michael had a great time watching the fork lift bring it all into the back yard from the truck one Friday AM. One day he and Ahran (in picture with red sleeves) were playing in the back and I saw Michael climb on one of the stacks of wood. Then I heard Michael tell Ahran to come up "on the stage, like on guitar hero." Here they are on top of one of the stacks, being boys.Here they are again, up on top being tall.

Eric, jumping off the stack. He would start his jump facing the house (backwards) and do a turn in the middle of the air. I love how my camera could get mid-air pictures of the kids! Michael, nervously looking down as he contemplates the jump. It is uncharacteristic of Michael to worry about physical things like this. He did finally make the jump - and did it a few times after that!

This is a look that we see quite often on Eric's face. I had to share it - for those who know the look, and for those who don't. The thought behind it is something like "I don't think we're supposed to do that?"
I also need to give an ode to the dirt pile. Behind our house and over by one house, there is an empty lot between 2 houses. It had a dirt pile on it that had become the neighborhood hang out. The boys would spend hours and hours out there. They would dig, build a fort, look for hidden treasure, "bury" hidden treasure and mark it with an X, meet the neighborhood kids and play games...etc. They were kids at the dirt pile. During the summer they spent most of their days out there. I was able to supervise them from my kitchen window, the table window, or my couch by looking out or back door and windows. It was a great thing. If you didn't know where the boys were, you first checked the dirt pile.

Well, it was leveled yesterday. I watched as the guy in the machine slowly tore it apart. I'm not totally sure why they decided to level it, but we do think it might have something to do with vandalism at the house next to it. Michael and I watched as it was taken apart and spread throughout the lot it sat on. It was the end of an era, I was sad to see it go. Jim says we just need to make a dirt pile in our backyard, but it will never be the same even if we did pile some dirt. I guess we'll have to make a new neighborhood gathering spot, with some dirt to let their imaginations go. We'll miss you, dirt pile.