A New Septic Drain Field! Who Knew It Could Be So Exciting?

The site is ready, waiting for the final tests and King County inspection. I feel a real sense of relief to have this task done after talking about it for over a year!

It doesn't seem real yet but our torn up side yard reminds me every morning that our new drain field is complete! This was one of the major items on our To-Do List for subdividing our property. We had our septic design approved last year but decided to move our drain field in order to make a better boundary between the two eventual properties. Our old drain field lay in the middle of where we wanted to subdivide the property in half. So, we had to re-apply with a new septic design to King County. This process has taken almost two years and it feels great to have this nearing completion. Now, we will be able to complete our application to the city for the actual subdivision, enabling us to sell the second piece of property to my parents.

Finley was captivated by the reality of having a huge excavator and backhoe and dump trucks in his own backyard!

Finley and Grandpa Chapman both enjoyed watching the whole process.

Finley loved watching all the heavy equipment!

Filling in the sand for the new drain field.

The extra dirt was trucked up to the upper lot where it will help in leveling out the site for Mom and Dad's house.

Wednesday morning the excavator makes short work of clearing the site. Fortunately, it was mostly grass. A few wild vine maples and salal had to be torn out too.


Besides just being excited to have the job basically done (we still have to have it approved by the county and tested, but we forsee no problems with that since we had an experienced, professional do the work and it was designed by an approved septic designer.)All the hoops we've had to jump through! The entire experience was educational and eye-opening to the red-tape and bureacracy that exists. I'm all for protecting the environment and having laws to maintain health standards, don't get me wrong. However, seeing how laws are blanketed over all circumstances, no matter how different and unique the situations may be, is infuriating and insults common sense. Don't get me started!

Personally, I was really intimidated by the whole process. I get kind of shy when I work with a bunch of manly men who drive excavators and spit tobacco. I feel ignorant and don't want to appear stupid about septic fields and how it all goes together. I don't want to be in the way and yet I want to be there to make sure I know what's going on. Fortunately, they were pretty nice people and I tried to be informed and pay attention. Dad and Mom were a huge help in coming over while the work was being done. Mom helped me with the kids so I could answer questions and go out to the worksite when needed. Dad was great with his experience and taking notes, measuring where all the pipes and risers were and staying out there to be able to pass on information from the crew to me and Todd later.

The other curious reaction I had, was a sense of unsettledness, almost an impression of violence watching our yard being torn up. I've always been sensitive to nature and living things. Since I've had children it's even more intense. I mean, it was mostly just our pathetic, mossy lawn that was torn up, for crying out loud! But I found myself thinking of the tree roots that might have been disturbed, the worms, the insects, the cat trails through the brush and across the lawn, the way the rocks lay in the dirt, undisturbed for years. There was a brush pile and old lumber that was in the way. Something I've been meaning to rent a chipper and dispose of or take to the dump. Nick, the man driving the excavator and the contact for our job, asked me if he could move it to make more room for the dumptrucks. With two impressive chomps this huge pile of stuff was tossed back up into the undergrowth. The old basketball hoop shuddered when the bucket hit it accidentally and I wondered if I should just ask Nick to take it out too. I'm sure it wouldn't have been difficult. Seeing what color the earth is under our feet, eight feet down and what it looks like, exposed to daylight just wierded me out. Almost like the feeling I had when I had to disect a fetal pig in biology class in high school. I guess it just hit me hard to see how impermanent and fragile our physical world can be. There is so much development going on around us in our community, so many new buildings, so many treed lots being cleared in an afternoon. It hits me then too, but to have it happen in my own backyard left me feeling as vulnerable and exposed as the glacial till, suddenly naked in the sunlight.

Memorial Day 2008

Last weekend was Memorial Day Weekend and we tossed around several scenarios for what we wanted to accomplish. In the end, we filled the weekend with some spontaneous fun! The weather on Saturday inspired us to go down to Tacoma to Camp 6, the old logging museum next to Fort Nisqually and the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. Our plan was to go see the old trains and logging equipment and then go to the zoo. The zoo was so crowded when we were finished with Camp 6, that we decided to scrap that idea. Finley enjoyed discovering all the huge, dangerous looking old steam donkeys, spar poles and skidders amongst the trees. One of the docents opened up the work shed and let us look at an old Shay engine. Todd and I have fond memories of this little park. One of our first dates included walking around this old equipment where Todd introduced me to his love of trains and logging history. I guess I showed enough interest that I passed the girlfriend test! That was almost 16 years old now and I can honestly say that I, too, have a fondness for old rusty things and stories of how our northwest was shaped and developed by the logging industry and the ingenuity of humans and their machines. It's a bittersweet tale with both destruction of the environment and human suffering and loss in such a dangerous profession as logging and locomotives. Fascinating nonetheless.






We got to go on a little train ride around the exhibits which was really fun. While we waited for the train ride to start up we walked over to the Fort Nisqually exhibit and checked out all the old pioneer buildings and the lookout tower. They have some new buildings in the works and some nice interactive exhibits.

After the train ride and deciding that we could skip the zoo we looked for a place to have lunch. Feeling ambitious we chose one of the nice restaurants on the Tacoma waterfront on Rustin Way. We had a lovely lunch at CI Shenanigans and the kids did great! It helped that we were seated on the outdoor patio on a warm, sunny day with a parasailing service going back and forth with a huge yellow and black striped parachute with people waving to us from up in the air!


The service was fantastic and the food was good. Afterwards, we let Finley ride his bike on the waterfront path. That was a little nerve racking as we simultaneously tried to keep him from getting too close to the water and keep him from running into joggers and other bikers. ARGGHHH! It was still fun though. Evelyn fell asleep on my back in the baby carrier. All in all it was a really fun day.

Sunday we went to church and then Todd had a reunion committee meeting in Auburn. I hung out with the kids and played outside on the back deck. Todd set up the white awning last week and we have just left it up since it makes such a great outdoor room to play in. Shady on hot days and dry when it's sprinkling. We've been grilling a lot and playing outside as much as possible.

Monday we frantically cleaned up the house and then had our friend Tim, the guitar player, come over to play music for a few hours. Todd watched the kids so I could have this time to myself. It was wonderful! After that we went over to Grandpa and Grandma Sargeant's house in Issaquah for a really nice barbecue and time with family. Cleo's two daughters were there and we enjoyed getting to know them better. Alex joined us and Finley got to sit in Alex's new motorcycle with a sidecar. He has to wait until he's five to actually have a ride in it.


Grandpa Sargeant and Auntie Erica with Evelyn on her first Memorial Day out of the womb!
Uncle Alex has cool stuff.
Grandpa and Grandma Sargeant, Finley, Erica, Alex and Todd at the house in Issaquah. Oh yes, and Trini got in the picture too! Thanks for all the good food and such a nice visit out on the back deck. The rhodies were out and Erica's begonias, impatients and columbines were beautiful.


Evelyn is down there in the sidecar as Finley enjoys sitting on Alex's newest find: refurbished Chinese police motorcycles with sidecars from the 1980's I think.

Happy Birthday to Ian!

Finley got to go to a friend's 4th birthday party two weeks ago. It was very fun. Finley's only been to a few birthday parties so it's still a big deal. The theme was "robots" and Ian's mom made this very cool robot. Ian's dad took a picture of each child with the robot when they arrived and then sent us the print. It was very cute. Ian's dad came up with all these simple but totally engaging games for the kids. He dressed up in a really fun Hawaiian shirt and a rainbow clown wig too! They played drop the clothes pins in the jar, Pin the Tail on the Donkey and "Balloon Calisthenics"; hard to explain, but fun! We got Ian a robot/space wooden puzzle, some plastic animal parts that you can put together to make all sorts of animals and wierd creatures and two rubber snakes. It was a very fun party. Finley cracked us up with his assessment of the party's success: While all the kids were sitting at the table having cake and ice cream, we were remarking on how nice it was that everyone was getting along and enjoying the day. Finley said, "This is fun, Mom. And I didn't hurt anyone!"

Last Day of Pre-school and the Blue Class

Finley's last day of pre-school for the summer was Thursday, May 22nd. All the kids brought bikes, scooters or tri-cycles and they decorated them. Then we got to have a bike parade up in the church parking lot. How fun! Finley was one of the first ones out and the last one in. And then I let him ride again after everyone left for the day. He just adores getting to ride his bike since we don't have pavement at our house, it's a treat. We used the Spider Man bike that we keep at Grandma and Grandpa Chapman's house. The bike we have for him needs the training wheels adjusted.

We ended the day with a potluck and fun gifts from Teachers Susanne and Barbara; a colorful sand bucket with shovel, a book and an inflatable beach ball. Thanks for the great year!

The pre-school plans "Tuesdays In the Park" so we can all meet up during the summer at various local parks. We look forward to those. In addition, our Blue Class families signed up to arrange play dates or activities on Thursdays throughout the summer. It will be fun to keep in touch with all our friends from "school".