From shorts to umbrellas

This past weekend we dusted off the shorts from last summer and today we are back to needing our umbrellas. Though the weather this Saturday was a bit too hot for my liking, we were still outside most of the day, working in the yard. I did my best to follow the shade wherever it went, but still came out with a sunburn on my shoulders.

Jason was able to get lot's done. He cut up the wood from a cedar tree that we lost two winters ago, and cut down a tree in the front walk that had died. We both leveled out some more of the yard back by our pear trees, and I did some weeding.

Yesterday the weather was in the 70's, but overcast. I was able to get back out in the yard, and actually spent three hours, all in one spot. Here are some pictures from before and after of the flower bed that I spent quite a bit of time on. It sure feels good to finish something and know that you did a thorough job. The before picture was actually taken last May, but it still looked the same this year. I could only find a picture with kiddos in it, sorry. (Can't believe how much more of a little boy, Levin is becoming)






I hope the rain goes away soon, before I loose my motivation to be out in the yard. Though the rain has given me a chance to give the inside of my house a little love, I would still rather be in my yard.

One Spoiled Mama

Have you ever heard the phrase, "Mother's Day Weekend" and "Father's Day Half hour"? Well, my Mother's Day definitely spread over more than one day this year. Allow me to share.

It all began Saturday morning when Jason, allowed me to sleep in (till 7:30), while he and Levin made thin pancakes. What a treat, both to be able to sleep in and to not have to make breakfast. Once we had finished breakfast we headed off to Macy's, where they were having a huge sale. I have wanted new pillows for awhile, and so that is where we headed. I got two new pillows, and my are they nice. But, Jason did not stop there with the gifts, nope. He also helped me pick out another 2qt. sauce pan, since the one that I have seems to always be in use, multiple times a day. I also got a medium size, coated fry pan. It's always hard to know which dish to serve cold, when I am making breakfast, so now that will not be an issue. Thanks, honey!

After we got home it was time to get the house ready for all of Jason's family to come over for a Mother's Day lunch. Everyone was able to make it, which is always more fun. We enjoyed a great meal, and time of visiting together. The rest of Saturday was spent getting ready for various activities of the day to come.

My mother's day gift from Philip, was to spend much of Saturday night and Sunday morning, awake, listening to him cry. I tried everything I could think of to do, but at 1:00am, who can really think, nor wants to. I am still not 100% sure what his deal was, but he was fine by the morning. Maybe he was jealous about the new pillows?

Mother's Day itself, was pretty nice and relaxing. We went to church and then to my parents to spend the day with them and my dads family. Although my grandma was not able to come, at the last minute, we still had a great time. It was a nice small group, which is always more restful. And, of course we ate too much, but that's what family gatherings are all about?

Well, since I am still trying to recover from the lack of sleep I got the other night, I think I will go try out my new pillows for a bit. Hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!

Three moms, ten kids, and one zoo!

Today, we went to the zoo with some friends, and had a great time. There were ten children spread amongst three moms. The weather was perfect, and the animals were all out to show their tricks. We spent a good bit of our time at the beluga whales, as it seemed to really be a hit with all the kids. A fun day was had by all. You are never too old for the zoo.

Levin and S watching the whales.

Getting comfortable.

Not sure what Levin was trying to do, but it was a better shot of the rest of the clan.

"Careful my fumb" and other news

This past week Levin managed to shut his thumb in the car door as he was getting out. Instantly the thumb was swollen, but overall he handled it quite well. I think he made off with just a bruised thumb, but every time we try to dress him or wipe his hands he exclaims, "careful my fumb, please".

The rest of our week was busy, but uneventful. Wednesday we took my parents to the airport instead of going to buff mamas, so no sore muscles to complain about for now. Afterwards we were able to enjoy some time at Kjerstes.

Friday, Kjertse invited me to tag along with her for a hair cut. It always feels so good to get a hair cut. Shortly after getting home from the haircut, Jason had to leave for his night away with the other deacons from church. As soon as Jason was gone, I began to feel like I needed to get out of the house.

Just as I was pondering what we might do, my sister-in-law called. She and the kids were on there way over to see my brother-in-law, who was working in our shop out back. The kids played really well outside, while we sat out and visited. We ended up going to dinner together, which was fun.

Today we had Sharletta and the kids along with Kjerste and Kaiya over for some playtime/mommy social time. And now, the boys are both asleep. I had planned to keep Levin up, but he laid down on the floor by the living room couch and next thing I knew he was asleep. Here are a few pictures from our week.

Cousins.

Levin catching a snooze on a rainy Saturday afternoon.

Tulips on a wintery day.

Nearly two weeks ago we went up North to visit with Jason's Grandma and Grandpa who live in Stanwood. They had some bookshelves for us, which we are now using for storage in our basement. Jason's grandma also suprised me by giving me her special "red dishes", as we call them. They are a special set Made in England and each dish has a different castle found in England. I have loved them ever since I fist saw them, all of maybe three years ago. Not sure how I, being just the in-law, managed to get these. I guess I will need to have a dinner party here sometime, so I can share them with others.

So, along with paying a visit to the grandparents we also were able to stop by the Seattle Premium Outlets and then up to see the Tulips in Mount Vernon. I think we saw every weather condition throughout the day and it seemed to change every five minutes. All in all it was a great day spent with family.

Spring Fair

A week ago Friday, the boys and I had a chance to visit the Spring Fair, with Kjerste and Kaiya. It was not very spring like, and should rather have been called the winter fair. I think we all had a great time, despite the cold and wet weather. It did actually snow while we were there, but most everything we wanted to see was indoors.

We were able to see a good number of the animals, and even got to see a sheep getting a hair cut. This was no small sheep, like I had envisioned it to be. We saw part of the Noise Guy, which was ok, and then closed the day with a brief stop at the pig races. While we were trying to find our way to the pig races, we were stopped by a news crew sticking microphones in our faces and bombarding us with questions about our time at the fair. Couldn't they tell that we were moms on a mission? We did end up making it on the news for a whopping 20 seconds or so. At least I have heard. Neither Kjerste nor I have seen it, but rumor has it that we were there. It was good for us moms to get out and do something different, and the kids enjoyed being along for the ride.

Playing Catch Up!

Well, I am finally back into blogging world after being without a computer for nearly a week. I might add that it was a long week, but very good one for me. Loosing your connection to the outside world is harder than I thought, but I better move on to share what we have been up to lately lest I make myself look any more pathetic. I will try to remember everything, so here goes.

Let's see, in baby news, Philip is now doing an army crawl. I know, you can all weep along with me. He is still behind what Levin was doing at this age, but Levin was always way ahead on everything.

We recently put the boys together in the same room, which has been going really well. We have been getting up a little earlier, but I think that could also be in part because we put Philip to bed earlier now. It seems that the boys have not yet figured out that if one of them is going to sleep in then the other one should too. Not sure we have had a day yet where they both slept in on the same day. Hopefully they are working on that. A Saturday would be a good day to practice, but that would just be a suggestion from the mama of the house.

This will have to conclude this post before I start running things together and boring you all. I will be back later to share on our trip to the Spring Fair, and our adventures of going to see the Tulips.