Our New Garden

Noah is very proud of his new garden.  Matt built the raised bed garden box and we decided that the east side of our house looks like a good area for a garden.  Noah is growing tomatoes, cucumbers and cilantro this year.  The cucumbers will be made into dill pickles, and Noah promises to share some of his tomatoes with the rest of us.  

Isaac enjoyed helping with the whole process, and he also had fun looking at a ladybug

Hello ladybug!

Backyard Camping

We decided to celebrate our new flat, grassy backyard by going camping...in the backyard!

The boys were so excited about the idea, and Noah worked very hard to assemble all the "treasures" he would need to survive in the wilderness

When I heard of the camping plan, I was all on-board.  I thought it would be fun to eat a picnic dinner in the backyard, roast some marshmallows, snuggle in the tent, and then all come inside when it got dark.  Don't get me wrong, I love camping.  It's just that we have a 2-person tent and a 4-person family.

Noah insisted that he was going to sleep the whole night outside.  And he insisted that part of the plan is that we're supposed to sleep together as a family.  I played along and had fun, but I was still sure that we would be inside before 10pm.

We roasted marshmallows and made s'mores.  (Aunt Cindi, this picture is for you - Isaac is watching the fire and saying "Fire! Fire! Fire!)

Mmm...s'mores

The boys watch Daddy get all the sleeping bags ready.

He managed to figure out how to fit 4 sleeping bags and pillows into a 2-person tent.

And did we actually all spend the night in the tent?  Yes we did!  Matt and Noah fell instantly asleep, and Isaac and I fell asleep at least an hour later.  Sleeping with the boys was like sleeping with a litter of puppies.  They spent the night rolling all over the tent!  Matt and I were both sore and tired in the morning, but it wasn't anything some advil and extra coffee couldn't cure.

We have plans to camp in our backyard again this summer, but we'll buy a larger tent first!

Playset of Love

The boys now have their very own playset in the backyard.  It is still amazing to me that the pool is gone and we can play in our own backyard.  

I call it the "Playset of Love" because Daddy worked so very very hard to build it for the boys:

Noah helped pound in one of the first screws

Isaac helped pound too

Then the boys decided it was time for a snack break.  

The playset starts to take shape

the ladder provides endless fun

The floor of the playset is ready and the boys test it out

the bridge is constructed

The boys eat pizza and watch Daddy work

Whee!  The slide is ready!  Isaac tests it out

Noah tests it out

The bridge is looking good

The swing bar goes up

The boys test out the swings

Noah tests out the monkey bar

Daddy tests out the monkey bar

There it is - our playset of love.  It was quite the construction project and quite an achievement for Matt!

The boys love it - what's not to love about having a playground in your own backyard?

Legos

It has become Lego World at our house since Noah's birthday!  

Noah has been having a great time with his rocket and mission control set.  This picture was taken on the day we finished building it.  Since then, it has been taken apart and he has been rebuilding it so that it can carry cargo to the International Space Station.  He's also been testing different rocket designs and having fun watching them "explode legos" if the design doesn't work.

All these Legos have been hard on Isaac, though.  Look at his face in this picture!  Noah told Isaac, "You can watch me play but you can't touch anything."  Isaac is watching so intently and so badly wanting to touch the legos.  

I usually emphasize that the boys need to share their toys, but these legos were birthday presents and are clearly for older kids.  So, now Noah plays with his birthday legos during Isaac's nap time and then they get put away in a secret place.  

The regular legos come out when the both boys are awake, and Isaac has been enjoying having little lego cars and trucks of his own that he can play with and destroy at will.  

The birthday legos have given me a glimpse into how hard it can sometimes be to be the little brother.

Mixed-Up

Time for a photo puzzle!

If you look very closely at this picture of two very happy boys, you might find something that's mixed-up. ;-)

Mommy's Boys

I am so blessed.

Preschool Wave

Noah has a certain way of waving to me that has developed over the last year.  I call it his "preschool wave."  It cracks me up.  When he would see me at preschool in the beginning of the school year, he would give me a huge smile and a big wave.  Now when he sees me, he looks and smiles but then goes back to what he was doing, and waves to me while he's being busy.  It's the preschool wave - he's very busy and waves to me while he's working:

Here's the preschool wave in action while Noah looks for sticks in the backyard

I'll wave, but I'm too busy to look!

I love you, Noah!