It's official - Summer is here!

How do I know summer is here? Because today was such a great day! In the morning Jay and I each went for runs, switching off with Ethan at the park. Then we got ready to go and headed to.... the swimming pool! We love swimming and I plan to spend 80% of my summer hanging out at the pool. And afterward we all came back home and took some well deserved naps (even Jay and I) and then packed the kids back up and headed to a fun festival with fireworks. Talk about a perfect day....

Strawberry Picking

So we made it out strawberry picking again this year. I'm not going to lie though, it did not go well! First of all Ethan woke up that morning not feeling great and had a fever, so I said okay, we won't go. But he insisted. So I gave him some Motrin and off we went. So about the time we ride the hay ride out to the strawberries, he is really tired and not feeling well. He is crying, Avery is exhausted and hot and crying and at this place you get dropped off from a tractor in the fields and you have to wait for a tractor to come pick you up. It was a mess. Well, Avery fell asleep in the stroller and Ethan fell asleep on a blanket on the ground and I rushed to pick some strawberries! So you will note a lack of pictures of the actual strawberry picking! My friend Becky went with me and her kids were little angels, sitting quietly and helping to pick. I just felt so bad that Ethan was so miserable! We'll have to go again one of these days!

End of Preschool!

Just the boys....

We had our end of preschool party last week and the kids had a great time. We are really going to miss preschool. It has been such a great experience for Ethan. I can't believe how much he has learned! When we started, Ethan didn't know any of his letters, now he is starting to read some basic words! Talk about amazing progress. He has had so much fun and doing this coop preschool was the perfect introduction to preschool for him. He is growing up too fast!

And here's what he looked like after all the fun!

Swings - Avery's new favorite past time!

Avery loves to swing at the park. She gets this huge smile and does her cute little laugh. It is so much fun!

Easter Outfits - A bit Late

I had been meaning to take some pictures of the kids in their Easter clothes since it rained on Easter Sunday, but kept putting it off. But finally did it and got a couple of cute ones. Aren't they cute!

Landscaping - A work in progress for someone with a brown thumb

It may not look like much, but this was so overgrown, it took alot of work to get to this point! It is still a work in progress and I need to get some planting done, but it is a huge improvement from this:

Project of the Week

So with the new house I am easily overwhelmed by all the little projects I want to get done. So I have instituted a "Project of the Week". So far it has been going well! Here are my first 3 projects - it has only been 2 weeks, but I was so energized I actually fit in a 3rd!

Project #1: Since the front door is the first thing you see, I thought I should start there. Previously, the door was pretty beat up and a green color I didn't particularly love. So here it is after a cleaning, sanding and painting.

Project #2: Building a sandbox. You may have noticed a previous post that the previous owners must have had a little sandbox in the backyard, but it was just a pile of sand in the middle of the grass. And I wasn't happy with the location. So with the genius advice of a very helpful Home Depot employee (who looked at me like I must be lost as I roamed the lumber aisles with 2 small children), I got the idea to use this raised garden bed kit to make a sandbox - genius! And if you have a larger space, you can buy multiple kits and make fun shapes or a larger box. But this one worked perfect for us and is basically snap together construction and made from this plastic stuff, meaning no splinters for the little ones. So, as I learned from reading up, site preparation is crucial. Here is Ethan and I preparing the site and then staking the sandbox into the ground. We have yet to complete filling it up with sand and need to patch the backyard where the old sandpile was, but it is an excellent start to this project being checked off of my list! I'll post a final pic when it is all done. We are also planning as this or next week's project to put in some kind of stone patio instead of the gravel that is there now. So more to come.

Project #3: Repaint the bannister. The old oak bannister doesn't match now that we changed the floors to the dark hardwood (originally it was all carpet). So after being inspired by a ward member's house, I decided to tackle this project. So I had to the sand the whole thing down and then clean it up and paint. I am really happy with it though, and the sweat and exhaustion of staying up till 2 AM because I can only work after the kids are asleep, was all worth it in the end. Now I just need to do the handrails going up and down stairs.....

Backyard Wildlife

Ethan, Avery and I were out for a walk and we found a caterpillar and decided to keep in our bug house and watch the transformation to a butterfly (or a moth, whichever the case may be).

We were playing in the backyard when I noticed a little brown lump. When I saw it move and a head stick up, I realized it was a turtle - imagine Ethan's excitement. Our friend JP was over and he and Ethan held it for a little and then decided to "take him back to him mommy in the fowest (misspelled purposely)". So here they are releasing the little guy back to freedom. I always knew Ethan would take after me. My family knows my propensity for releasing animals into the wild (aka the grateful chicken I released from a hunting trap, now happily roaming the hills of the 400 and thanking me daily for his little life).

Playing in our backyard!

So my favorite thing about being a homeowner - the backyard! We are loving it. Even though it is not that big, it is so awesome for us! We play back there all the time. Here are some pictures of last weekend playing in the sprinkler.

Pictures of Avery!

I'll be crawling any day now!
Look mom! I can sit up now!
Okay maybe I need some more practice!
Avery has the cutest little personality coming through! She will definitely let you know what she thinks. She just started to get her first tooth this weekend! It was a rough few days, but I think we are over the worst. Nothing makes my day happier though than seeing her adorable little smile looking up at me in the morning. I haven't gotten a picture of it yet, but she has the funniest open mouth smile. When she is really happy, she just looks at you with her mouth as open as she can get it with the adoring look in her eyes. I love it!

So happy together......

These two are just the cutest little ones in the world. We have just been having so much fun together lately. It is so fun to watch them grow, yet I just want them to stop growing! Ethan is such a sweet big brother and I just love watching them interact - although sometimes poor Avery gets a little too much love....

Meant to be....?

2 Days Old
7 Months old

So we had lunch the other day with my good friend Katrina, who you may recall had her little guy, Grant on the same day, same hospital, same doctor as Avery - it is meant to be. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but poor Grant had to wait a little bit to be born because our doctor was busy with Avery's emergency crazy delivery. But I guess he should get used to it -if they wind up together some day, he'll probably be waiting on her a bunch! Patience is a virtue and luckily my husband has lots of it! So anyways, I have decided Avery and Grant are written in the stars. But it doesn't look like they have a complaint so far - you will notice in the picture they are gazing into each other's eyes, holding hands. And this bottom picture with the three little ones is when we had a play group at our house and this is Will (my friend Becky's little boy), Grant and Avery. My favorite part about it is that Grant is pushing Will, like "This is my girl - back off!" They are cute!