Yum Yum!

This was the wrapping of the thank you gift from Matthew's kindergarten teacher. Inside was a mini loaf of orange date bread and it was very good!! I just thought it was so sweet to receive a lovely little homemade gift and a baked goodie inside....love that kind of stuff!

What's a little added drama to the evening???

So it's now just after 9p.m. and I really need to go to bed if I plan on getting any sleep before our 6 a.m. flight to Bismarck. The day has been busy and stressful....lots of packing, panicking, and planning!! Plus it was the last day of school (I will have to post on that when I get back) and I wanted to be there with Matthew to see his "slide" into 1st grade! (his teacher had a mini kindergarten graduation and they slid down the slide when their name was announced to become a 1st grader, very cute!!) So I really didn't need any unexpected surprises as we were trying to get the boys to bed extra early since we will be getting up extra early. However, during bath, Matthew discovered that the loose tooth he had been wiggling had disappeared!! It had flown out of his mouth and into the tub (thank god they weren't taking a shower!) so Andy had to get them out and search for the teeny tiny tooth! All the while, I'm scrambling to remember were I put the "tooth fairy pillow" that I bought at a preschool auction that my friend Meegan made. Plus I'm sure the tooth fairy is busy getting her cash ready for Matthew's tooth as well!!

And now Matthew is so excited that I'm sure sleep isn't going to come very quickly for him....of all nights!!! Oh well, off to Bismarck, North Dakota tomorrow!!

Summer Dreams

These were taken at the end of May when the weather got quite warm for several days in a row. I can't believe Friday is the last day of school....where did the year go? Summer actually fills me with dread as I worry about how Matthew is going to survive it with less structure than the school year provides. By the end of last summer I was ready to tear my hair out because he was making me nutty! He just needs lots and lots of structure...although his doctor also said he needs to have some of that unstructured time so that he can figure out on his own what to do with himself. It all sounds like a big headache to me, but I suspect it's because we have been so busy lately and the trip to North Dakota is coming up on Saturday. I've got plenty of packing to think about and things to get ready but the one nice thing is my in-laws drove their motor home (can you imagine the $$ in gas that they are spending??) so I sent all of our toiletries and some toys for the kids with them. Oh, and one of the carseats too. So hopefully this will mean a lot less gear to be hauling around airports! I really can't wait for this trip to be done though....It would be worth lugging our children through airport security if we had an exciting/fun destination (read Hawaii or Washington D.C. would have been cheaper air tickets too!) but North Dakota isn't particularly my idea of exciting. Oh well, the kids will have a good time with all the cousins and it won't be that bad....it's just feeling like a lot of effort right now so in the meantime I will dream that it's July or something and all is good!

there were more pictures with Mason in the sprinkler but his outdoor attire as of late is rather birthday suitish in nature!!

Yard Work

This is why I had children....... ;)

V is for Victory

So this last weekend I finally got around to planting my garden. I had been meaning to get around to it for some time but life kind of gets in the way. I took Matthew with me on a trip to Portland Nursery which is were I usually buy starts for the garden and I let him do some of the choosing this time around. He was mostly concerned with planting a pumpkin and he also really wanted to plant a watermelon. I honestly was against the watermelon (I have never had good luck with them and apparently our weather just doesn't get hot enough for long enough) but I caved and let him have it. I did get to make a few of my own choices, zucchini, bush beans, and a small variety of lettuce, which I have actually never grown on my own. So we will see what happens. Shortly before we had gone to purchase all my starts I had been next door and Grandpa Andy had commented on how it seems we should be planting more Victory Gardens/vegetables instead of so many flowers as was done in years past in times of war. Apparently those thoughts were still on my mind when I was shopping since I did go a little overboard and still need to get a few more containers to finish planting all the extras that I bought! I think though that the Victory Garden idea is rather quaint and lovely, although in today's day it is also about sustainability. I do very much enjoy the fact that Matthew and I can provide us with some of our veg with just a little bit of extra work. I guess it's just nice to be able to not have to buy some of the basics for the dinner table! Not that I'm going to have a full blown farm here anytime soon. I am also a girl in need of some convenience (mostly for my sanity!) but I very much admire those that can live sustainably off the land like this gal ,whose blog(s) I read. I certainly don't have that much energy but I do like/enjoy doing my little bit of a garden! Now if I could only finish all the weeding that needs to be done....I also look forward to someday being able to get my children to do some of the weeding. Even if it means I have to pay them!

The Dentist, Part 3

Mason decided it was his turn to "play" dentist..... somehow Andy doesn't seem as comfortable with a 3 year old cleaning his teeth!