Mound Septic System

Prework:  Make a driveway for those big trucks.

They had to add a culvert and rocks to make this driveway so as not to crush our regular one.  

We now have a lovely road through our grass.

Step one:  Make room.

68 - 3 = 65 trees left in my yard

Yes, it was hard to see them go.  They were birch trees, which I love.

Step two:  Shred up the lawn with the claw.

Step three:  Dump 30 inches of sand in "mound" shape

(Usually mounds are 12 inches of sand, but we got the mother of all mounds because we are in a 

4 bedroom home and have terrible soil.)

Step four:  Put tanks into sand mound.

Here you can see the white pipes coming from the tanks.  They put a fabric-type covering over the tanks (barely visible).  Dirt/grass will cover the sand until the pipes are flush with the earth.

Step five:  Dig by the house to replace pipes that go into the home.

Dude, that's my clematis!!

Out with the old.

Our old pipes were cracked and deteriorating--
which helps explain seepage and stink in the basement over the last two years.

Two trenches, as we have two pipes that come out of the house.

Step six:  Cover the sand mound with dirt.

Every time I thought they were done spreading dirt, they came with a new truck load.  

The mound is truly enormous now.

Step seven:  Install new pipes and cover with rocks and sand.

This was also done in the basement.  It looks so nice and new!

View of the dirt/sand/mess from my bedroom window above.
Oh, see the pile of sand on the upper left?  An old septic tank was under there--they crunched it up by smashing it with a digger thing.  (The technical term.)  It was crazy.  Loud.  Destructive.

Step eight:  Dig 15 x 8 foot hole for tanks by house.  

Yep, more tanks.

These ones aparently have an "odor" that is worse the first year.  Should get better in time.

One tank holds the solids (yay) and is pumped every 3 years.  Another holds liquids and pumps contents out to the mound every time it reaches 250 gallons.

Wish I had a picture before they filled in with gravel.  The cement block the tanks are in is actually about 6-8 feet high.  So the hole was very deep!  The cement block is divided into 3 sections, coordinating/connected with each tank above.

 

More digging, more mess.

Step nine:  Connect tanks by house to tanks in mound.

Cover pipes.

(Step nine and a half:  Act silly with your neighbor friend.)

See the trench (or really the dirt piles from the trench digging).

It goes around our beautiful ash tree.

Sigh.

Step ten:  Fill in the holes.  Pretend it never happened.

Step eleven:  Landscape--even out the ground, add top soil and grass seed.  This will all happen after the holiday weekend.  

You are all welcome to come use our toilets (showers, washer, sinks) anytime!

P.S.  Free sledding in the winter!

P.P.S.  Free slip 'n' sliding in the summer!

Speaking of cakes...

...were we speaking of cakes?

I auctioned off a personalized cake at our last scout/girl's camp auction.  The family used it for their daughter, who apparently has a pet rat and wanted a rat on her cake.  First time I've ever done that!

With the help of pictures online, here's what we came up with.  

A day at the beach, July 4

We spend the 4th of July at one of our favorite beaches, Kohler Andrae state park.  It was super hot that day and we couldn't bear to play on the dunes!  So we kept cool in the water and had a blast!

Getting some shade for baby...and mosquitoes too.

The girls built themselves into mermaids.

Refreshing!

Sandwich time.  A few seconds before I took this picture, they all had their sandwiches up in their right hands.  It was so cute. 

Charlotte and Harrison trying to beat the heat.

June

Charlotte, 4 months old.

Andrew and his buddies at their 5th grade celebration!

Charlotte came along to the party with the big kids.

Andrew and Abby getting some giggles from baby sister.

Charlotte tries out (and loves) the Johnny jump up.

(and her hands...watch out for that finger!)

A Father's Day moment.

Two cards with hands...by the same girl.  Eliza couldn't find the card she made at school for Daniel.  After searching and searching she decided to make a new one.  I was proud of her for holding herself together despite the loss.  She figured out how to assemble the fancy design and had her new card all ready. Father's Day morning we found the original card as her teacher had wrapped it up with the homemade gift they made in class!  Ohhhhhh!

We got Daniel a simple grill for Father's Day this year...been wanting one for a while! 

 (One that works anyway.)  We have cooked out a lot since and we love it!

I take full responsibility for the nonsense below.

After a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina, Daniel brought the kids some key chain keepsakes.

(This has become a tradition.)

Can you see Charlotte's very first key chain?

Change is in the air for Abby!  Or, change is in the hair!

One morning Abby decided she wanted to donate 10 inches of hair and that was the end of it.  By afternoon it was gone!

Darling, no?

She is so happy about the big cut (11 inches total) 

and has had fun surprising friends and family with the change.

Abby turns 9!

For years Abby has been our most enthusiastic gift receiver.  If I posted our pictures of her hilariously  enthusiastic moments of gift unwrapping I'm pretty sure she'd not be pleased with me.  So to be fair I'm posting her darling, genuine hugs!

For her 9th birthday, we let Abby have a slumber party!  Whew!  What an adventure.  

So the cake's theme was...a slumber party!

Yes, each girl is represented in the cake.  

(Including Eliza and a girl who was couldn't make it...if you're counting.)

Here's the crew at cake time!

This post is obviously lacking in content about the party itself, but that's what you get when I haven't blogged in 3 months!

This is what you get for having a big brother!

Charlotte, May 23.  3 1/2 months old.