Progress on the Yard

We finally have sod in the backyard! After 9 months with stinky mud in the back, the grass is beautiful! Here's a few photos of the progression.

Here you can see our garden. We're growing tomatoes, onions, carrots, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, sugar-snap peas, marigolds, morning glories, green pepper, strawberries and some annuals. Nothing seems to be thriving so far, but we've not had much sun this spring so I'll be patient.

The darker dirt is a four-way mulch mixture for under the sod. The regular dirt that came with the home is a gross, clay-like, stinky mess. Not great for growing anything!

Progress!

You can tell we're pretty excited! Of course, we still have the bark and the fence to complete eventually, but those aren't needed for awhile.

Little House Series Completed!

Weston and I officially completed all 9 "Little House" books yesterday! This morning he asked to read some "little house" and was so bummed when I reminded him there weren't any more to read! He tried to talk me into starting the series all over again, but I think we'll take a little break and read some other things ;)
I enjoyed the first three books of the series more than the others, but all nine were very good. I feel like I learned so much about life for pioneers in the 1800's. How much we take for granted in our "instant" society! They certainly didn't take survival for granted like we do here in the U.S. If they didn't work, they didn't eat!

Happy 8th Anniversary!

Today was our 8th anniversary! Mike surprised me by having these beautiful roses sent to the door. They had a little "I love you" balloon attached, but I think they look prettier all natural, don't you?
We'll celebrate our anniversary with a weekend away later this month, so tonight we watched our wedding video with the kids and spent time as a family.
In some ways our wedding day seems so long ago and in other ways it seems like just yesterday. Of course neither of us look like it was just yesterday! ;) It's strange to think we've already been married 8 years, are the parents of 4 children, homeowners, etc. I'm sure we will always feel younger than we really are. The years are just going to keep going faster and faster. Older women at the grocery store are always telling me to appreciate my kids now as they grow up so fast. Another 8 years will go by and Weston will be 13 years old!
As we watched the wedding video Mike and I were saying we are so glad we've matured since June 10, 2000. Of course this is said with complete awareness that we have a looooong way to go still (2 steps forward, one step back). I'm so glad that God promised us in His Word that he continues a good work in us until He returns! (Phil 1:6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.) I know part of the way God will continue to grow and mature us will be through trials, but I take comfort in knowing He will be with us during the good times and the bad. I had a quick thought today that I could have been alone with 3 (almost 4) children if God had decided to take Mike home the day he was hit by the truck. I'm so thankful He didn't, but I know God would have met my needs and given me peace! I'll still pray that Mike and I will be able to celebrate many more anniversaries together!

First Soccer Season Complete!

Saturday was Weston's last soccer game of the season. We had a great experience for Weston's first sport although it was a bit more of a commitment than we anticipated. Mike was the assistant coach and loved being out on the field with the kids. The kids were troopers through it all, even playing games in the pouring rain and not complaining (notice I didn't say that I didn't complain. After getting rain down my collar we invested in one of those massive sporting events umbrellas :)
We were blessed to have a wonderful coach, Tim Hardt, who obviously has a gifting in coaching children. Unfortunately I don't think we'll have him again as a coach as his daughter was not quite as thrilled about soccer as he was ;)

Weston even scored quite a few goals throughout the season.

You can see the kids are holding their soccer trophies very proudly. We had a little team party after the last game with a trophy ceremony and finger foods. On the way home Weston started crying that he wouldn't be with the same team ever again. He didn't understand why it wouldn't all be the same next year.

They look so tough! I'm sure the other teams were pretty nervous, especially to play the one on the end!

Trip to Bend!

Here's a few photos of a trip to Bend I took with the kids this past weekend. Mike has been so busy with work and yard work that we decided I'd take the kids for a few nights to visit my parents. We had a wonderful time riding bikes, chasing lizards, exploring the 2.5 acres, making s'mores, flying the kite, swimming at my aunt's country club, and relaxing! The only bummer was Mike not being there with us!

All three kids loved to ride their bikes around a loop in the driveway. Elsie couldn't peddle on her own, of course, but she loved for us to push her around and around on the tricycle. She has to do everything Weston and Grace are doing!

Elsie and Grace had a little tea-party in the bathtub. Cheers!

Healthy Smoothies

I thought I'd share a newly discovered healthy lunch the kids and I have been eating daily. On a friend's blog I read that she makes smoothies which include greens such as spinach, kale or chard. I was sure it would taste gross but thought I'd give it a whirl. I happened to have one of those huge bags of spinach from Costco!

Here's my "recipe":

pack blender 1/3 full of raw spinach (about 1 and 1/2 C packed?)
1 ripe banana
about 1 C Nancy's honey yogurt
dash of vanilla extract
1/2 tomato
juice, milk, coconut milk or soymilk for liquid
about 2 tsp. coconut oil (don't put it next to the frozen stuff or it hardens)
about 2 T frozen 100% juice concentrate (I just keep the can in the freezer and take spoonfuls out and it lasts me probably 10 batches of smoothies)
frozen kiwi, strawberries, blackberries, etc. (I happen to have frozen kiwi left over from last summer and I buy the large bag of frozen berries and frozen strawberries (I have to soften these a bit in the microwave) from Costco. I've also used frozen peaches that I cut up and froze last summer).
I tried putting hard-boiled eggs into a smoothie once. The kids thought it tasted great, but I think I could taste it.
My mother-in-law has also put frozen peas into a smoothie and thought that tasted good.
You can also grind up some flaxseed and add that.

If my blender is filled to the top it makes enough for a large smoothie for me and 3 kid-sized smoothies.

The kids love these smoothies! Sometimes I give them a spoon full of peanut butter after the smoothie for a little bit of extra protein.

My Silly Girl

The other day Grace skinned her knee on our front patio. Ever since she has talked daily of how much it hurts and how she needs medicine (we are talking a little tiny scrape here that's already scabbed over :) I finally got tired of hearing about it and applied some "medicine" for her. I took a bit of coconut oil on a napkin and gently rubbed it in to the scrape. She was so happy and right away said how it didn't hurt anymore. The coconut oil also rubbed off the remaining goo left from the bandaid which was a bonus. We'll see whether she asks for more medicine tonight. I'm guessing she will :)

We're Seeing Green!

We finally have some grass in the front yard! So what if it's an entire 8 months after we had intended to get it in :) We will certainly appreciate our grass a lot more now than if we'd never had to do without it!
All the guys who were here for the birthday party (see previous post) worked on laying the sod on Saturday. Laying the sod didn't actually take that long, it was all the prep work on the dirt the past month or so that took most of the time. The dirt was so lumpy and rocky that Dave and Mike had quite the time getting it "perfectly" smooth for a nice lawn.
Now, about the backyard....hmmm, I think I'll not dwell on that yet. It's a little overwhelming.

It looks like Weston is doing pretty well at supervising my dad and Mike! They had to dig out one of the sprinkler pipes that disappeared suddenly. The sprinkler heads will be added later.

Here Weston looks like he's working :)

Here he's supervising again. This time Papa John. ;)

Weston is 5!

Hard to believe our oldest is 5 years old! The time has gone so fast since having kids!
We celebrated Weston's birthday with both sets of grandparents and Mike's brother, Tim, who came down from Seattle just for the day. We celebrated with a sports theme and my mom graciously made Weston's soccer ball cake. It turned out great!
Mike's parents contributed a cool dump truck pinata which Weston loved. He took some turns hitting on it, then Grace took some turns. After Grace's turn Weston grabbed the blindfold and the bat and starting whacking on it so quickly that he almost got Grace in the head. She hadn't had time to move out of the way yet!
Some of his birthday "loot" included a microscope, slip 'n slide, bicycle, toy chain saw, real soccer goal, sunglasses, markers, GI Joes, etc. He made quite the haul!
Weston kept saying over and over how this was his best birthday ever ;) Apparently this was his favorite out of the 1 or 2 birthdays he can actually remember ;)

Don't look too closely at Weston's face! We forgot to wipe off the lasagna dinner before taking photos!

He received some fun outdoor toys (now if we could ever get the backyard grass in so they can use them) :)

Grace has wanted some swimming goggles ever since she used some at a couple of swimming lessons my mom took her to.

Don't Buy Stuff You Can't Afford!

This is a funny video I saw on a friend's blog. Very true although I think it's anti-American!