The Woods Project

Next outdoor project on the list was Memorial Day. Clearing out the woods behind our house which leads down to a creek. It was overgrown when we moved here, and it has just gotten worse! So it was not something we could take on ourselves. We had Brian and Nick come be the masterminds since Brian works with trees all the time. They did an awesome job! Jonathan worked alongside them the whole project, and it took the 3 of them a solid 8-9 hours of work. And it was soooo hot! We had a lot of poison ivy back there so we'll have to stay on that, but it's so wonderful! That wknd we also stained the swingset my dad built and stained the deck. A big wknd of work! Glad it's over :)

Before... I've tried to capture these by using the same TREE as a marker.. you'll have to enlarge the picture to see which one.

Before... during work

Still working...

After! (I stained the swingset!)

Love this pic of H. He always has his lips like that when he's serious.

Mr. Happy -go-lucky

It was VERY hot that day... the boys cooled off with the neighbors!

H was so excited to finally get his long pants/shirt on so he could help daddy. There is a lot of poison ivy we had to cut out... we'll be surprised if no one gets it!

The guys doing the project also helped us hang our rope swing. Devon made it for the boys a few Christmases ago, but we've been waiting for a 'tree' available to hang it on!

Kids LOVE it! Of course, we had to set a few ground rules...

Apparently it's not just for kids... :)

7 Months Pregnant

Man, I'm horrible at remembering to take pictures. So... I had to get Henry to take these. I've written myself post-it notes a million times over the wknd to remind me to ask Jonathan to take a picture. But, I keep forgetting. And then I wake up Monday morning, and the post-it is still there. I was upstairs the other day and there lay the camera and I said, "Henry, you have to take a picture of me. Just stand on that bench and try to get my belly in the shot." Not too bad after some cropping... Of course, I had to put the one in there of Wyatt. He kept trying to get in EVERY pic Henry took. He's such a nut. Anyways, 29 weeks now. Still 11 weeks to go. And for those of you who are interested, I've already gained more weight than I did for my entire pregnancy with Myles! This baby girl is gonna take her mama down!! :) It's nuts... Pregnancy is such a strange thing and can play out in each woman differently with every baby. I can see the homestretch though... May is practically over, June/July, and then August doesn't count b/c even though this baby is due Aug 11, I'm going to have her in July. I'm going to have her in July. I'm going to have her in July. There. See, it's working already!

Swimming

Payton and Wyatt are finally in the same class!!! :) They were SO excited!

Having a 1 yr old...

... is sometimes like having a puppy! After the popcorn kernels, he was put behind bars :)

A little piece of my Mother's Day...

Weekend projects

I think b/c warm weather started early, it feels like summer projects are already well on their way. We took on two this wknd.

1. A new swingset
2. Extending our drainage for our sump pump

Thankfully, neither of these are projects we attempted completely on our own.... or we would have been working well into the summer! :) My Dad came to be the mastermind of the swingset... which looks very simple, but as with all projects, gets more complicated. And we had a gentleman from our church who does landscaping come do the drainage. It made for two great days of being outdoors! 

A few thoughts about my Dad (even though it's Mother's Day, not Father's Day!)... 1. He gave up much needed time at home to do his own outdoor work to come help us. 2. He had to come without my mom. 3. He has a very easygoing and pleasant personality. 4. He is very easy to host... he is never in a rush, never hurried, never skipping a meal to keep working... and he loves to unwind in the evening. 5. The kids love having him around b/c he plays jokes with them and always has a tool in his hand. 6. He made friends with Myles very quickly which says a lot since Myles has been hesitant with unfamiliar people lately.  7. He is almost 75... but he works like a spunky 50-yr old! 8. Him and my mom are two of the most hard-working people I know. They are willing to help us on any project and always have great ideas... and I swear, they know how to do anything... well, almost anything... I did learn this wknd that my dad had to work very hard at math to make a 60-degree cut on a miter saw. For those of you who know miter saws, it's not as simple as you think :) I love having my Mom here too, but when she is here, I usually spend time with her and not my Dad. When Dad is here on his own for a project, we spend a lot of time visiting together and I help him on the projects. He may not know it, but that is always a highlight for me. Sanding wood while he's measuring and cutting, helping him hold pieces while he's using the saw, etc. I learn a lot plus it just feels good to be together. A special time for an adult daughter... :)

Unfortunately, Henry was sick the entire time my dad was here... so sad b/c he was the one who was REALLY looking forward to helping Grandpa. But he got it bad and was laid up for 3 full days. He camped out in our bedroom where I quarantined him much to his dismay.

*the sick boy*

All in all, we had a wonderful time with my Dad, Brian worked very hard on the drainage and finished in one day, and it was just a great time of being outdoors and working together. We are SO very thankful for family and friends who pour out their time for us and show us love through service. Paid or unpaid, their cheerful hearts and attitudes are a blessing to us! 

Playdate got a little crazy...

 ... we sent those beautiful girls home nice and muddy!

Maybe I SHOULD consider child locks on the cabinets....

Pirates of the Philharmonic

 The Dayton Philharmonic has a 'family series' they put on at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton. I think they do a performance a month that is tailored for families. It's been on our radar for about 2 years, but we have been waiting for the kids to get at ages where they could sit and enjoy a performance. We finally feel like they are there - 6 and 4. We have some good friends at church who have season passes and they let us use their tickets for this performance so we could see how we liked it. We were so thankful for their generosity... it gave us a chance to try it out before we spent a lot of money.


It was GREAT! An hour before the performance, kids can come early for activities that relate to that day's performance. Thus, the pirate gear :) They were able to get their faces painted, make pirate hats, and they had an 'instrument petting zoo' where kids could actually try instruments. That was so cool b/c our kids have not been up close and personal with any instrument other than a guitar and piano. Wyatt has been adamant ever since that he wants to play the violin... the lady actually told us he was a natural. (Of course, she probably tells everyone that!) :)


 Overall, it was a REALLY wonderful time with the boys. We plan to add this to our semi-annual list of family days out. They already have the next performance picked out that they'd like to attend!

*A little special drink afterwards*

Difficult decisions

Do you ever face challenges like this?