This Spring (1)

This Spring I’m ..

Hearing a lot go hooting and hollering from under our deck

Enjoying the live music from the center of my kitchen

Hoping these little tree toads find their way home again

Including S'mores fixings on our grocery list

Providing lots of water play for this little fish of mine

Reading The Boxcar Children books to Matthew

Splashing alongside Sammy at the kiddie pool

Savoring the time because it sure goes by fast

Eating meals outdoors with fresh picked flowers

The Yard Project (Completed)

Ice Storm 2008

Our front lawn is under there somewhere!

The perfect yard for a three-year-old boy

Early attempts at grass planting

The A team

First thing is to get rid of the tree stumps

Got rid of the old crumbling walkway

Planting a bush from the backyard in the front

The day the dirt was delivered

Goodbye crab grass!

New walkway - from Grandma & Tutu's home to ours

The front yard is complete!

No need for the fence in the back

It came apart in so many pieces!

An improvement but we are not finished

New Shed

New fence

Digging up the back

Taking down the old deck

Building a new deck

Ice Storm #2

New New shed

New Sandbox & Garden area

New Deck & Patio

Backyard Complete

4 Years

2 fall ice storms

1 Papa

50,000 hot dogs

Some good-old fashion elbow grease

25,000 trips to Home Depot

1 Grill intervention

0 trips to the hospital

The yard project is now complete. The one area I lacked in photo journaling is the week we got a new driveway I was a little preoccupied with something else that week. Or should I say someone:

I don't know much about this yard project except that I like my swing!

To think that the whole thing started with a vague statement, “Mike and I are bored so we’re coming up next weekend to work on your yard,” from Papa. 

PMC Kids Bike Ride

Matthew rode is his first PMC Kids Bike ride this weekend. 

 He was nervous to ride his bike at first but once he got lined up with all the other kids and saw that a police car was escorting the riders he peddled fast to keep up. Once he got the hang of it there was no stopping him. There were also games and swag bags for the kids plus a family cookout. 

When it was time to leave Matthew did not want to stop riding. “You can ride your bike at home,” we told him. “But I want to ride my bike with lots of people watching,” was his response. 

Thank you to all of our family and friends who sponsored his ride!

We're Going on a Frog Hunt

This week toads and frogs are popping up all over in our yard. Having honed his frog handling skills over the years Matthew is comfortable picking them up and temporarily housing them (usually in an empty planter).

Last weekend we painted rocks and he painted none other than a frog on the first one he painted.

It helps to have the frog hunting expert Grammy on his side to search for frogs. Pink manicured nails aside, she not only captured him a toad but then dug and cut up worms to feed it in case it got hungry. The things we do for those we love!

Ten Months!

Sammy has turned ten-months-old. I am almost positive that I will be announcing her first independent steps soon. She is cruising all over furniture and can walk if you hold one or both of her hands for her. 

When prompted she will say Hi, Dada, Mama, and Maa (Matt) but her communication style tends to be more in the way of growls and clicking her tongue. It is a treat to see! She is still as friendly and playful as ever.