Any Instagram users create their own Instagram Story yet? I’ve never used Snapchat, but from what I gather, it’s pretty similar. At first I thought the concept was dumb (why would I want my pictures to disappear?), but then my curiosity got the best of me.
Last weekend, we decided to go on a little family adventure to explore new homes in the Phase Three Construction Site. This was the perfect opportunity to test creating my first Instagram Story. What’s even cooler is the ability to save the pics you post, so technically, they never really disappear.
Hopefully you’ll enjoy our little excursion and maybe it will spark an idea for you to do with your family. My first Instagram Story pic was Going Mom and I taking a selfie before heading out.
Walking through the first house to explore.
Had to make it clear that we were not looking to buy a new home, despite all the cool upgrades some of them had. Stupid new homes….
I always find coins when walking around the area, and was excited to see this shiny circle. Not money though, boo.
Stopping for a family selfie as we walked to the next house.
We found another construction site friend, Spinny, sitting face down inside this home. Avery later gave it a hug and kiss. Yeah, she had white lips.
A piece of scrap trim? Nah, it’s a light saber from the old ages!
Score!
Not score. Avery got “the look” and we knew there was no waiting.
Back home we enjoyed the afternoon shade in our backyard. Avery had “washed” her Pink Millie Car (Millie is the name of G-Ma’s car) and needed to tip it over to get water out of the cup holders.
After tipping Pink Millie, she brought it back up to park.
Another family selfie (yeah, we take a lot) in the new hammock we installed. We all agree, our current home is the best for us!
Daddy was kicked out of the hammock. No worries, looking at these two is all I need.
Do you have Snapchat or Instagram?
Have you already or do you want to try creating a story? It’s actually pretty cool. There’s more to come from me I’m sure!
Do you have friends at a construction site near you? I’ve been walking through the new phase, Phase Three, of our neighborhood almost daily with Daddy. Along the way, we have developed many friendships. They’re all great, but this yellow dump truck is my bestie.
Last week he surprised us by springing back to life after sitting dormant for weeks. I credit my healing hugs and duct tape bandaids. We’ve seen him busy hauling heavy loads of dirt and rock a few times, but he always goes back to the same spot in the back. Poor guy, he always looks so lonely. I make sure to give Dumper, that’s his name, a big hug everyday so he know’s we love him.
I love playing construction site at home with Mommy and Daddy and have almost all of the trucks we see working hard in Phase Three. My favorite is my little yellow dump truck, his name is LIttle Dumper. I don’t get it, but Daddy always laughs when we talk about Big and Little Dumper.
He tried to suggest we call him Chuck the Dump Truck like on The Adventures of Chuck and Friends, but Dumper is what I’m sticking with. Pshhhhh, Chuck’s not even as yellow as Dumper!
Most of my other construction site friends have names from The Adventures of Chuck and Friends and Bob the Builder though. Daddy and I just called them by what type of vehicle they were at first, but as our friendships grew, I sensed even these great big machines have a soft side.
Muck, our bulldozer buddy, explained how he and the other work trucks truly feel about not having real names.
He likened it to if people just walked around calling everyone human; it’s impersonal and greatly drains morale.
These trucks work so hard, taking constant abuse, usually for the benefit of humans, asking nothing in return. The least we could do is give them names and show a little appreciation. Maybe even play with them a little. Muck loves when I do scooper squats with him.
And climbing into his cabin simply to take a picture, not start him up to push more dirt around, puts a grin on his scooper.
The trucks even told me they tense up when someone climbs on them because that usually means more work and abuse. Even when they’re not feeling or looking (don’t tell Dumper I said that) their best, they love posing for pictures.
His poor seat guts need more duct tape bandaids than Daddy is willing to give. Unless I break out my sweet daddy’s girl look, then I can get enough of the cloth adhesive to dress a mummy.
Yes, more, a little more…..a little more….keep going
Now that I’ve gotten to know most of these guys, big and small, in the Phase Three construction site, I thought I’d introduce you to the kind hearted motored machines.
To start, I’ve been getting to know Spinny the portable cement mixer a lot lately.
Ahhh, that Spinny, he’s always on a roll! Daddy told me to say that, then laughed. I don’t get it.
I don’t know how he does it as he seems to get passed around house to house when it’s time to brick. To just sit in the heat in a constant twirly whirl makes me dizzy just watching. His line of work just seems to get harder and harder. Again, Daddy made me say it.
Another relatively small friend is Benny the mini excavator. Him and his brothers and sisters are all around Phase Three digging ditches or deep holes.
Because I know how much it means to them, I’ll climb into the cab of Benny or one of his siblings just to sit and smile for a while. Don’t tell Benny, but I like his Bobcat brother the most.
We see Grabber, the big excavator, every now and then, but not as often as Benny.
I have my own Grabber at home, however, he’s the biggest in our living room construction site.
Scratch is a Skid-Steer Loader and his kind make up the majority of work vehicles around the site. You’d think they might be competitive about who works the hardest, but they’re actually quite affectionate. I even see them giving butt hugs at the end of a long day.
Dizzy, the cement mixer, is another hard worker around here. He and his family are constantly helping to pour foundation for a new home or a sidewalk around the new neighborhood.
Even on the run, he’ll say hi with the honk of his horn when I pump my arm up and down. I don’t know why I do that, Daddy just tells me to and then Dizzy honks. Such a nice truck. Mommy and Daddy just got me a Dizzy of my own, but I had to be a good kid before I was allowed to have him.
His giant teammate, Cement Pump Truck is a super hard worker, and a super grump!
Might have something to do with not having a name yet. I’ll have to get on that and hopefully it’ll cheer him up.
Pumpy? Pumpsters?
Similar to Pump Truck’s giant boom arm, Lofty the crane truck makes an appearance to help unload heavy brick and sidewall for new homes.
I don’t talk much to Lofty because she always has heavy things swinging overhead, but she’s a gentle truck deep inside.
At the start of a new home, I see Ditch Digger (another with a TBD name) and the larger Horizontal Directional Drill. They both excite me, but like Lofty, I need to spend a little more time getting to know them before we get as close as the other construction site friends.
Yep, these are my big big friends at our Phase Three construction site. Some take longer than others to really show their true truck selves, but they all have a unique personality I enjoy watching unfold day by day.
They are always happy to see me come by and wave, and I’m happy to see them too. Next time you have the opportunity, be sure to stop and give Dumper, Scratch, Dizzy, Lofty, Spinny, and friends a hug or high-five, it just might make their day.
If you asked me a week ago, I would’ve laughed at the thought, but now I’m a firm believer that healing hugs and duct tape can fix virtually anything; emphasis on virtually. Just ask Grumpy Cat…
Avery gave a tutorial on How to Heal a Dump Truck the other day which included a heavy dosing of hugs and duct tape bandaids. Her patient was a yellow dump truck we’ve seen parked in the spot for almost two weeks. The very back corner of our neighborhood’s new phase in development, aka Phase 3 Construction Site.
Almost every day, we’ll walk through the construction site to see the busy skid-steers (like Bobcats), excavators, cement mixers, ditch diggers, concrete pump trucks, and sometimes, on rare occasions, a big bulldozer!
Bulldozers are a real treat, so we take advantage by performing super scooper squats, naturally.
And, as long as the coast is clear and it’s not in use, there’s no harm in climbing up to sit in the driver’s sit for a minute. Even Daddy likes to pretend he’s controlling the big machine.
Fortunately, the giant bulldozer was in good shape, so no healing hugs or duct tape bandaids were needed. But, as I was saying before, this seemingly stalled sick yellow dump truck needed our help. We’d go out on our daily walk to give the dump truck hugs and duct tape where he needed it most.
I managed the duct tape, Avery let me know where to put it.
Together, we did our best at trying to heal the poor old yellow dump truck.
Nice placement, daddy!
As days passed and still no signs of improvement from our treatment regimen, we feared it was a lost cause. But then, just the other day, Going Mom said she was pretty sure she saw the yellow dump truck drive by our house. With determination and the need to see for ourselves, Avery and I made the trek to see if dump truck really left from his permanent parking spot.
Then, on our way to the site, yellow dump truck drove right by us! He was going back into the Phase 3 Construction Site, so we eagerly followed to track him down to confirm our healing hugs and duct tape did the trick. We found him at a dump truck dump site looking much better. Avery had to sit in her healed patient, so I asked the mostly spanish speaking driver if she could sit in side. He happily agreed to let her in.
You’ve never seen a kid so happy to sit in an old truck with something that barely passes as a seat. For full pretend driving effect, I had to shut the door. The smiles only increased.
Our little girl is quite proud of her healing hug power and duct tape placement skills. Now we’ll be on the lookout for other ailing construction trucks as we wander around the new development. If something as big as a dump truck can be fixed with hugs and duct tape, I am now convinced almost anything can be. Again, note that I said almost…
An at-home dad on a mission to keep it real when it comes to food, fun, and raising a healthy, happy family.
