What's Up?

Hey, guys! It's been hard to peel myself away from being outdoors now that Stephen is off for the summer. But my own deadlines are looming this week, so I figured I'd take some time to write on the blog to tell you what we've been up to lately.

// Lake George

We went on a very last-minute vacation last week to Lake George, NY. The last time we'd been up in that part of the Adirondacks was in 2009! It was just as beautiful as we remembered, though, and it was fun taking the kids around to places we enjoyed when we were basically still newlyweds.

Here's a few photos:

I've been interested to see that many of you are asking on Instagram if we're going to Cape May this year! I realize we go most every year, but this year we decided to switch it up with the ADK. We are going to Wildwood Crest this summer with my in-laws, though.

23 Weeks Pregnant

I had a doctor appointment last Friday and I'm now in my 23rd week of pregnancy. Everything is going well aside from occasional heart palpitations (I have a test set up to see what's up with those). Still running 4-5 days a week, but I've switched it up due to the heat where I'm running .75 miles and walking .25 miles for four miles total instead of running three straight. It's working out better that way.

I will be sure to do a more formal pregnancy update soon, but I'll be honest and say my two are keeping me plenty busy. It's flying by, which is a new and welcomed experience for me.

House Projects

We're in the middle of extending our backyard fence right now. I love and hate summer because we have lots of time to do work . . . but the money flow is more stagnant than usual. That said, Stephen decided to switch up how he gets paid this year, so we got a nice balloon check at the start of the summer and now feel confident we can frugally do a few projects.

Other items on the list:

• Moving Eloise's room (painting)
• Painting the nursery (because we never finished before Eloise came along)
• Adding a side yard garden

Stock Tank Pool

Our other big project was the stock tank pool. We're absolutely loving it. Again, I'll do a full update on it soon along with some stuff we've learned after installing it and using it for a month or so. In this heat wave, it's been such a blessing to have a small pool of water to soak in! And I love how it looks. I don't think we'll ever do a bigger pool. This one is totally manageable and pretty. Yes, trendy . . . but, hey, I am into trends that make sense.

Here's part I of the stock tank pool story.

What's next?

I have a homemade granola bar recipe I plan to post on either Thursday or Friday. It's vegan, gluten-free and peanut-free. I mean, I eat all those things, but I know some of you have more restricted diets and appreciate these types of recipes. So HOLD ME TO IT! I am hoping to post twice a week during the summer. Again, HOLD ME TO IT! I still love blogging, it's just hard to transition between seasons of work/coaching/etc. during the year.

Hope you're all having a nice summer and staying cool.

And happy 4th of July!

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Our Stock Tank Pool: Part I

You may remember the pool we set up last year in the backyard. It was absolutely perfect. Around 7.5 feet by 9.5 feet and just around 2 feet deep. The kids had so much fun splashing around all summer in those 870 gallons of H2O. The setup worked well, and it was relatively inexpensive. If you're interested, I would highly recommend these Bestway pools as a first step into learning how to care for a pool.

But we had a mouse issue in the fall and they got to the pool. So, we needed a solution for this year . . . and hopefully for many years to come. I've seen so many articles about stock tank pools crop up in recent years. I was always too intimidated by the process of getting a huge galvanized tub to my house, so it was on the back burner.

This year, we decided to pull the trigger.

For those of you who have been asking me questions (and there are many of you!): We picked up our 8 foot stock tank at Tractor Supply. It's 24 inches deep. Our store does not do delivery, so we asked a friend to help us get it home. It wasn't too bad a process -- aside from one roadside adjustment -- and ended up being much easier than we anticipated. When we got it home, we gave it a good scrub because the store had been displaying plants inside it.

From there, it was all about re-leveling the area we had dug out last year.

Surprisingly, it took a few hours to get the area absolutely perfect. Last year, we settled with level-ish. But one benefit of getting this type of pool is that you can leave it out all year. We're hoping to leave it in place, so taking our time was in our best interest.

When that was done, we put it where we want it to go and got to work on the landscaping. Mostly rocks that we bought at the store and pulled up from the creek area behind our house.

I love how it looks! So much prettier than the bold blue with white supports from last year.

This stock tank holds around 700 gallons of water, so it is smaller than last year's. I had to buy a new filter pump that we are going to drill/hook up tonight. That will be part II of my posting. But if you're interested in doing a similar project at your home, I highly suggest checking out the number of really helpful tutorials I found online.

Here are some of my favorites:

DIY Stock Tank Pool: Everything You Need to Know
How to Make a Stock Tank Pool
Stock Tank Swimming Pool Ideas

Just a budget breakdown. We ended up getting the tank for $349 plus tax at the store. They're usually $399, but we got it on a Memorial Day sale. The new filter we bought was $35 on Amazon. The rock was around $30 because we already had some leftover from last year. It's not the least expensive upgrade we could have done, but I am hoping it will pay off in the long run.

Why didn't we go with a larger option? Well, partially because we didn't want to eat up our yard with a pool the whole year. Or have a big hole when it's cold outside. I like that it's shallow enough that Eloise's head is well above the water. But yet it's big enough to still get in as an adult and cool down. It looks nice, though I understand the style isn't for everyone. And we are hoping that the galvanized steel is durable and lasts for many years.

If you have further questions, I'd be happy to answer them either in the comments or on Instagram!

I'm going to do another post once we get it up and running to talk about any issues we run into or any tips I have. But I won't be writing out a full tutorial. Again, I highly recommend the links I provided above. We're learning as we go.

Happy Monday!

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