Septic Tank Bliss

Odd title for a post? Not if you've lived in our house this week! As previously reported, before we could begin our addition, we were required to increase the size of our septic tank. For those who live in civilized areas of the world and enjoy the convenience of a public sewer system, a septic tank is essentially a huge concrete box where all of the waste water (and other stuff that goes down the pipes) collects. The water in the tank drains out to perforated pipes underground to soak into the ground. The other stuff sinks to the bottom and should be pumped out every few years for proper maintenance. Okay, now that everyone is educated, I'll continue my story. . .

Tuesday, Todd began digging around the old septic tank in an effort to minimize the amount of money we would be paying someone else to dig it out and dispose of it. During the process, he discovered that the pipe that drains out of the tank had rotted and was pretty much useless. Gross! This necessitated the immediate replacement of that pipe. Flashlight Girl dutifully made many trips back and forth to Durk's plumbing for the proper pipes, etc. While digging up the line a bit further to find out how much needed to be replaced, Todd accidently broke a concrete junction box. In order to replace that, Flashlight Girl drove to Linquist Cemetary and Concrete products to pick up such item. (Yup, they are the only place in Weber Co. that make such things, right along side the concrete yaults for graves. ) Although things had been fixed up by the end of the night, the hole wasn't recovered, and Todd was worried about waste water following the path of least resistance and filling up the hole. Translation: water rationing. Chilean style showers (if you missioned in a 3rd world country you know what I mean here), no laundry, using the bathroom at the church (gratefully Todd has keys and we live close), minimal dishwashing. If we ever wanted to know what it would be like if the water lines were busted after an earthquake, this experience has been about as close as we could get.

On Thursday, the old septic tank was pumped, pulled out and a gaping hole left in it's place. No kidding, at least 8 feet deep by 13 feet long by 6 feet wide. To make a long story short, we stayed in a hotel Thursday night. (Loved that long shower!) This morning, the new, 1500 gallon tank was delivered, set in place, filled up with water, pronounced "acceptable" by the health department, and life is good!

I thought that I could never be happy about doing laundry, but baby, I was downright excited! I've washed two loads of dishes, 5 loads of laundry (the rest will have to be done tomorrow), and flushed the toilet just for the fun of it. I love indoor plumbing!!!

A hearty "Thank you!" shout out to our neighbor Conn for fulfilling many of Flashlight Girl's outside duties. I'm not the greatest shoveler, mucking out girl, and generally hate standing in a hole and directing Project Man when he's using a backhoe. Conn--bless you!

Other noteworthy news:
Amber had her choir concert this week and sang in a trio "The ABC's of Love". She did a great job. She is one of those rare people who doesn't get nervous to perform in front of an audience.
Jacob participated in his 4th grade rendevous at Fort Buenaventura and LOVED it. He also placed 2nd at the Weber School District's Math and Science Olympiad for 4th grade Tile Trials.
Dallin's 1st grade program this week was so cute! They sang songs from the 50's. I love 1st graders! They sang their hearts out!