Matt's New Toy, er, I mean Tool

If you know Matt, you know that he's long wanted a lawn tractor.  We have a good sized lot and it takes the better part of 2 hours to mow it all.  Up until this year, I kind of felt like it was the only exercise we got, so we may as well stick with the push mower.  Admittedly, when I mow, I mainly do the large flat sections closest to the house - it's about an hour's work, and just the right amount of push for me!

This year, I was semi-retired for a few weeks early in the mowing season, so I took on the first cut of the season on some of the area in the "back 40" as well as the easy areas I usually do.  Well, it took well over 2 hours and a toll on my body.  It was then I decided it was time to make the move to a ride on mower!  That, and some work moves netted a little extra cash in addition to my semi retired state.

It's hard to say if who was more excited, the kids or Matt... this photo would lead you to believe it was the kids...

 On the other hand, Matt was pretty happy also...

But maybe, it was Mom who was happiest after all!  Hard to say...

Sandbox!

Yup. That's sand for our new sandbox on that there cart in Foto Friday.  It was cool and all... but now we want a bigger one!  Well, we started out with plans for a bigger one, but for a couple of bucks off of Craigs List, and the couple of bags of sand you see here, we got started.  I've long been against getting a sandbox (halloooo... we have a lot of critters in our yard, why give them a giant litter box??) but Roddie has some sensory challenges and I thought it might be good for him.  Plus, he needs somewhere to use his trucks!

The kids were excited, and had fun.  But half the sand (ok, maybe not HALF) is already on the ground around it and it's just not big enough for trucks! So, we may be in the market for a load of sand sometime soon...

They did their share of the work, both at the 'Po and at home in the yard

Working together as a team

Happiness?

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 30

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 29

Norah News: Dance Photos

Norah had her second dance recital a month or so ago.  We were fortunate to have not one, but both sets of her grandparents here for the big show!  Naturally she enjoyed being the center of attention, and we enjoyed having both our families here at the same time. 

This wraps up Norah's first year of dance lessons, and to say it's been a great success is an understatement!  She really enjoyed her weekly classes and especially enjoyed both recitals (and their fancy costumes!!)  In addition to frequently dancing from place to place and dancing with her little brother, she's also become much more co-ordinated and strong!  She may have simply grown into her limbs, but dance certainly hasn't hurt!  Apparently each spring they have "picture day" before the recital... it was fun as the girls enjoyed the special trip to Miss Becky's studio in anticipation of the big day!

Swim Report

Both kids are doing great in the water - I am so impressed with how quickly they are progressing!

Norah has long been comfortable in the water, but she's really gaining in confidence this summer.  She can easily handle swimming with a noodle or a flutter board on her own and is starting to try to dog paddle over to me. She's taking swimming lessons through daycare again this year, but resists any suggestions from her dear old Mom.. sometimes I am blown away by how much she is like me, not always in a good way either (Ask my Dad sometime about my foray into mini-volleyball..)

Roddie is also doing great - on several fronts.  On the swimming side, he is very comfortable in the water, and does not hesitate to walk in up to his chest, or play in and out of the water at the shore.  He's also doing great with blowing bubbles and can almost handle the noodle and flutter board on his own also - though he's way over is head and I am not comfortable with him doing this on his own yet.  He also loves to be held around the waist or belly and "swim" around - back and forth between Matt and I.  The only problem is he likes to lunge from one to the other, seemingly unaware that he can't actually swim!

The other beach news for Roddie is that is he orders of magnitude better about sand on his hands and feet than he was at the beginning of the summer.  Where he used to insist on using a shovel or other implement, he will now dig around with his hands.  He doesn't seem to mind the sand on his feet after the first few minutes any more either.  He does like his hands clean when he's done playing, but who can really blame him for that!

We are so glad we live by the lake and our kids get to go swimming a few times a week, despite the fact that we have to work Monday thru Friday.  It's not the carefree weeks I spent on the beach as a kid, but not too many people get to do that - even back then!

This is Livin'!

We've been having a really good summer... we're really enjoying doing stuff with the kids and it feels like we're getting better at being able to set aside our various stressors and really be present with them when we're together.  The results include smiles all around, better behavior from the kids (ok, well, us also!) and everyone ready to face Monday morning when it inevitably rolls around.

A few weeks ago, we looked at the calendar and tried to scope out some camping weekends, and already it was starting to feel too busy.  In addition, the reality is that camping for only a weekend with a 2 and a 4 year old is a lot of work!!  We ended up not scheduling anything more, but committing among ourselves to some good day trips - better bang for the buck at this point!

This week, we've been making the most of the weather - Thursday we headed to the lake after work for dinner and a swim.  Incredibly, we just about had the entire beach to ourselves!  The transition from Beach straight to Bed didn't go entirely smoothly, as you might expect, but it was a great night.  Friday we had our favorite kind of night on the deck - a very pregnant Megan came over along with her boyfriend Wayne and some random stuff our of her fridge - we added whatever we had and had a very relaxing evening, the kids running around in their bathing suits.  Saturday and Sunday the kids both slept until 7:00 (!)  Saturday we left right away to go out for breakfast and to explore a new beach - after an awesome day topped off with some ice cream we were content to head home.  Today we had to catch up with some chores and church but we had a good time kicking around the yard and topped off with one of the best swims of the summer.

Life is good, or, as we like to say with the kids, "This is Livin'"

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 28

Foto Finish Friday: 2012 Week 27