last week in pictures

{Henry and William in the bath. Barely enough room for them, yet they find a way to swim under water with goggles.}

{Remember that crazy robin? The one that sits on the line outside the office window and flies into the glass?}

{It's back. You can see it flying into the window with a flourish here. Crazy bird.}

{William stood here and watched, captivated, on Monday morning while I took a shower and got ready.}

{On Tuesday Dolly came to visit. Farmer Grandpa came over to ask for a ride to his tractor and we were busted harboring a dog. He drove in the other direction and she ran after the truck for at least a mile. I thought it was super sad.}

{Dolly is a terrific digger. She can dig a deep hole in like a minute flat. We are all so amazed by this and are plotting ways to bring her to the beach with us to dig some fabulous holes in the sand.}

{On Wednesday, Dolly ran with me on my afternoon run. Every last one of the four miles. This sounds a little silly, but I felt safe and less lonely with her running next to me.}

{On Thursday we went to the museum after school.}

{I love the little stage they have there. Henry played the role of the band-conducting brave knight while William ran the ticket booth.}

 

{On Wednesday we saw a dead opossum. It was just laying there, clearly dead, but still very much in tact. It's teeth were bared and it's long, rough tail curled around it's body. I saw it there during my run Wednesday. We wanted to show the boys the animal that was living under our house for all of those weeks last Fall. So creepy. William was very intrigued and a little bit sad about it. After we tucked him in to bed that night, he came back out to tell Patrick he hoped the opossum was with his mommy and daddy.}

{And finally, you'll be happy to know the festive house in our old neighborhood is all decked out for Easter.}

Gabe is six!

My sweet and very darling nephew Gabe turned six on March 26. Sara created a clever and an absolutely darling {but very boy friendly} lego party to celebrate. I will let her share the details - but I'll give you just a tiny sneak peek.

{It was adorable!}

We had so much fun celebrating Gabe's birthday; Henry and William loved spending time with their cousins, building with legos, playing outside and sipping fun fizzy drinks through red/white striped straws {darling!}.

On Sunday, before we headed home {and after Dan and I went on our long morning run together}, we met up for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings.

{William and Caleb. They were so cute and silly, playing this game where William would tap Caleb's head with a rolled up kid's menu and then they would both crack up.}

{Forgive these pictures, they're from my phone and are less than superb.}

Happy 6th Birthday Gabe!
We love you!

max for the minimum

I also got to spend some time with Holly and Rachel during spring break. The slogan for TJ Maxx also applies to our time together.We didn't have even 24 hours together, but we definitely made the most of it.

It wouldn't be a visit with these two if we didn't swing by tj maxx, so of course we made a stop.

{Holly; she bought this dress, it's super pretty and colorful and fit her perfectly. With the wedding season coming - Rachel's first and then her own - it will be useful to have another pretty dress for a shower or rehearsal.}

{Rachel; she is blessed to be tall and thin, but she wasn't feeling so blessed this day. Every dress she tried on ended up being short. Even the "maxi" dress, looked like a mini. I passed this one over the dressing room door for her to try and it ended up being shorter than all the rest. We were all cracking up; I ended up buying this dress. I figured it will be perfect for the beach or even now layered with leggings and boots.}

We had a sleepover at Rachel's beautiful and cozy house. Wine, starbucks, real popcorn {popped on the stove top by Rachel, impressive!}, good conversation

and lots of wedding talk made for a perfect girl's night.

seedlings

{Our garden is growing.}

Henry and William planted seeds a few weeks ago with Patrick's help. It never ceases to amaze me that things grow from seeds. I get it; I know that's how it works. But still, when it happens, it feels like a small miracle. And when vegetables and fruit {Lord willing} begin to grow later in the summer, it will feel even more special.

The plants are special, they really are. But these markers, those really get me.

That sweet little five-year-old hand writing, marking off little seedlings and plants that he's pushed into that soil with the same fingers.

They mark not only which plant is which, but also who he is now.

A five year old boy who happily works alongside his dad planting seeds and tilling the garden. A boy who will grow right along with these plants.

A five year old boy who will be six when we harvest these pumpkins. And his three year old brother who will be four when we carve faces in them.

So here it is, our little growing garden. Herbs and vegetables and fruit.

The promise of summer and warm tomato slices on hamburgers off the grill; hopefully a perfected homemade pico de gallo with garden tomatoes, onions and cilantro {a new addition for 2011}.

spring break

I picked Henry up from school on Monday - his first day back to school after a nice, ten day break - and he had this balloon practically attached to his face {a little favor from a classmate's birthday that day}. He would blow it up and let it deflate, blow it up and let it deflate; cracking up each time at the noise and the flying spit. Which let me tell you is no treat in an enclosed minivan on a 30 minute drive.
I asked him if any of his friends went anywhere fun or exciting during break. He said yes, Lola went to Disneyworld {or Land, whichever}. And then he piped up,
"and me too. I went to Rockfart."
Just as serious as serious can be. He told his class he spring-breaked in Rockfart, everybody.

visitors on the farm

We love it when friends come to visit us on the farm. Last week was spring break. Erica and Ben came to the farm and spent a couple of nights with us.

I loved the mornings with them; the boys waking up together, sitting on the couch, drenched in the morning sun.

Ben is always such a good sleeper. This defies Henry's understanding, as he is the earliest of early risers. He asked nonstop in the mornings when Ben would wake up; he just couldn't wait to play with his little buddy.



Ben loves trains. We set up the tracks and William loved playing with them, too. Usually train tracks don't last long around here; they get bulldozed or knocked down so the boys can drive tractors or racecars on the table instead. I liked having the tracks set up and watching the boys play.


While William napped Wednesday afternoon, Henry read Ben this book. Ben was so sweet to listen through all of Henry's sounding out and decoding of words. The main character's name happens to be Ben; sweet little Ben thought that was so silly.

Wednesday was warm and super sunny. The boys played outside at the farm for a bit, and then we went to the little park in Farmer City. All three boys ran around the empty baseball diamond and in and out of the dugouts, then we spent most of the rest of the time on this tall slide {the same one Patrick slid down as a little boy!}.

I loved every minute of their visit. Erica and I always wish we lived closer so we could have coffee together in the mornings while the boys run around and play in their pj's; last week was just a little taste of that dream.

cattle farm

{There is an alternate route home to the farm house. If you take it, you'll drive past this little cattle farm. It's only a few minutes from our house. Patrick went to high school with the boys whose family owns it. One night last week we stopped there with the boys to show them the cows. Ever since they have been begging to go back; so we took them  yesterday evening.}

{The thing about cows that really surprised me is that they're social and very curious. They watched us very closely while we were there. They were a bit skiddish though and didn't like us to get too close too fast. Sweet things. Makes me a little bit sad to eat another hamburger.}

{There are also cats at this farm. Wild and free farm cats. Henry has really taken a liking to the mama cat. He begs us to take her home and says she will sleep in his room and not shed a single hair. He's a lot like me as a child. I used to love cats and beg to bring them all home.}

{William also likes the cats. But I'm afraid that he has scared this sweet kitten away.}

waffles and nutella

Henry is on Spring break this week. It's nice having the break from the routine. His break started Friday. We spent that morning in pj's. The boys helped me in the kitchen. We whipped up some waffles and William and I slathered them with nutella {yum}. I have a fear of crepes that I need to conquer. I love to eat them but feel too intimidated to make them. Sara makes the most delicious crepes and makes it sound so easy. But they make me nervous! So I need to add learning to make those to my to-do list.

all things b

b is for:
Bangs. Lately I am loving a more full bang.

Heidi and Reese are rocking them. And J Lo looks great, too.

Did anyone watch "The Bachelor"? At the reunion "Girl's Tell All" (so dramatic) show, cute Ashley H {from Maine!} came back with a whole new 'do. I love it and think it's so darling; the darker hair color and thicker bangs.

And while I'm at it, b is for:
Brunette. And I'm wishing I could really pull it off. I tried in December. But after Henry cried and Patrick kept asking me if it was red {which is beautiful, but wasn't my intention} and I just couldn't see myself when I looked in the mirror, I caved and went back and added a few blonde highlights. {And the girl who made it dark told me she knew I'd be back. Ugh.}
b is for:
Beautiful day. We just had one. We spent hours outside today and I loved every minute.

b is also for:
Buds on trees! Hooray for that sign of Spring!
b is for:
Brooms. Or just broom, singular, for the one that Farmer Grandpa used to chase Dolly out of Farmer Grandma's flower patch this afternoon {after she followed us there post hot dog feeding}. Guys, you've got to see him chase that dog. I literally had tears and was bent over in half, laughing so hard.
b is for:
Books. William still loves curling up with a pile of books. This morning we read this recent favorite from the library lots of times. {Amazing Animal Alphabet, Brian Wildsmith}


Tonight, before bed he read it to me. For I, he calls that animal a "Starbucks". Every time. Ha! Might someone have a coffee addiction? I'm not going to point any fingers :)

I also love that I'm reading this book - a hands down favorite from my childhood - to my children now. {The Best Nest, P.D. Eastman}
lastly, b is for:
Big deal. Henry read me an entire book tonight for the first time! He has been working hard on learning a bunch of sight words and has been gaining more and more confidence. He beamed as he turned the pages of 'Jen the Hen', reading me the entire story. I am so proud of my big boy. Part of me feels nostalgic, like it's one step closer to manhood {ok, boyhood} and a step away from little boy preschool-hood.

today

I splurged and bought myself these tulips.

And I went to the library with this boy and read books.

I'd like to tell you that we read them together, but the truth is he kicked me off that comfy bench and told me to sit on the floor. He wanted space to sprawl and space for his books.

I did grab my coffee and oblige.