05/31/2026
🌲🏗️ Sunday at Buttonwood – Week 19 🏗️🌲
Good afternoon from Buttonwood.
I'm a little later than usual getting this week's update out, but wow... what a difference a week of sunshine makes!
After what feels like months of battling mud, rain, and more mud, we finally had a stretch of great weather. Even better, the forecast looks promising for the coming week too. Our contractors should finally be able to move some serious dirt.
🏊 The Outdoor Pool Is Starting to Look Like a Pool!
This was a big week for the expansion.
The outdoor pool received its shotcrete, and it looks awesome.
For those who attended Dirt Talk yesterday, I even let everyone climb down into the pool so they could get a feel for its size and what it will look like when filled with water. One of the pictures attached shows the group standing inside the shell.
It's one thing to look at plans on paper. It's another thing entirely to stand inside the pool and realize just how large it really is.
This coming week:
• More pool piping will be installed
• The gutter system will be added
• Additional work will continue on the outdoor pool
The indoor pool will be mostly on hold until the building gets erected around it.
🏗️ The Building Is Finally Ready to Go Up
Another major milestone this week was the completion of the building foundations and all 22 interior pillar pads (I think that's what they're called... if not, please don't tell the contractors 😄).
Next week:
• Building walls should begin getting poured
• The first shipment of structural steel is scheduled to arrive
• Steel installation should begin shortly after the walls are complete
For months we've been looking at things below ground. Soon we'll finally start seeing something rise above it.
👢 Mud Still Wins Occasionally
Even with the nice weather, the construction site wasn't completely dried out early in the week.
One picture shows what happened when I stepped onto what appeared to be a nice solid pile of stone.
It wasn't.
My foot went straight through into the mud.
At this point, I should probably stop being surprised.
🚧 More Infrastructure
Of course, no Sunday update would be complete without mentioning stormwater.
Yes... there is still more stormwater piping going in.
In addition to that, utilities should begin extending toward the first group of campsites that will eventually be built.
Every week gets us one step closer.
🎣 Behind the Scenes
While construction continues, life goes on in the existing campground.
This week:
• We stocked the fishing pond with 30 pounds of minnows
• Our bass and bluegills are thrilled
• We retired some older golf carts and brought in new ones
The new carts look better, run longer, and should serve our guests and staff well for years to come.
📅 The Great Rebooking Puzzle of 2026
This week we also discovered a problem I didn't know existed until it smacked me in the face.
Did you know that in 5 out of every 6 years, there are exactly 20 days between Memorial Day and Father's Day?
Well...
Every sixth year there are 27 days between those holidays, which creates an extra weekend.
And 2026 happens to be one of those years.
Unfortunately, when guests rebooked for this year, some guests from one weekend rebooked two separate weekends. Now that the calendar shifts back, we suddenly have multiple groups trying to rebook for the same weekend and, in some cases, the same sites.
Being busy with repeat guests definitely has its challenges.
I suppose it's still a good problem to have.
😅 My People-Pleaser Problem
If you know me, you probably already know this.
I'm a total people pleaser.
I genuinely want every guest to get exactly what they want.
Except lower rates. I'd love those too, but unfortunately the electric company, insurance company, fuel suppliers, and payroll department never seem interested in lowering theirs. 😄
But when it comes to site requests, weekend preferences, holiday shifts, and helping people have a great camping experience, I truly want to make everyone happy.
So when holiday calendars shift, weekends move around, and I can't make everything line up perfectly... it drives me crazy.
Our office team and I will do our best to accommodate everyone and find solutions where we can.
As always, we'll keep working through it one reservation at a time.
This week felt like a turning point.
The pool is taking shape.
The building is preparing to rise out of the ground.
The weather finally cooperated.
And for the first time in a while, it feels like we have some momentum.
Thank you for following along on this journey.
Thank you for your patience.
And thank you for the grace you've shown us as we continue building something special.
Until next Sunday...
We'll keep bringing the smiles, getting stuff done, and keeping it real.
That's Sunday at Buttonwood – Week 19.
