Sprinkler Fun

 May arrived, and North Carolina decided it was time to get hot.  Last week, we were wearing sweaters and jackets.  This week, we're melting in tank tops.  Such is the weather around these parts.  One advantage, though, is water play!  My boys LOVE to play in the water.  Ryan's always been a little hesitant (and a total wimp if any gets in his eyes!) but if it involves water, Kaeden is automatically all in... and if Kaeden's in, Ryan's in.  So, it was a no brainer to pull out the sprinkler yesterday afternoon and let the boys go nuts.  Reason #48 why I love living on 15 acres:  I can put on my bathing suit and run through the sprinkler with my boys without feeling self-conscious or getting funny looks from the cars driving by.   And Kaeden thought it was hilarious.

I took 98 pictures, so while it may seem like I'm sharing too many, trust me that it was hard to whittle them down to just these.  Anyway, I think they speak for themselves... :)

 

 

 

 

 

A morning at home

The boys have been sick, so we've been spending a lot of time at home lately.  In contrast to my last post, I wanted to show what a lovely time I've been having with my boys lately!  

This morning was just beautiful... warm, sunny, breezy.  We spent almost all morning outside and had such a great time that I decided to document it as much as possible :)  I love days when I decide to just carry my camera around because I always end up with some of my favorite pictures. 

We started with a stroller walk so Mommy could get some exercise.  Always nice!  And then we decided to eat snack outside on the front porch.  

Brotherly shenanigans.  And yes, they should be sitting down.  *Sigh*

Kaeden, eating his snack and watching his brother.  So many faces!

 

 We spent some time just playing around the house.  Kaeden loves climbing up on the back deck every chance he gets. 

And Ryan enjoyed a moment's rest in our new hammock:

 

 And then we were off, for what I like to call a "Creation walk".

Kaeden clearly has no trouble setting off on his own:

 We have tons of these really cool butterflies along our driveway, but it was hard to get close enough to get a good picture. 

I admit that this was staged, but it's still cute, right?

Ryan saying, "Hey Kaeden, come back and hold my hand!" and Kaeden saying, "See ya later, bro!"

 At the top of our driveway (before you get to the street) there is a path that runs parallel to the road.  It's actually where our septic line runs, but that's a whole other story.  Anyway, it's become our favorite place to go exploring.  It feels woodsy enough that the boys feel like they're exploring, and we're always finding new & fun things along our way.  But, it's cleared enough that I can let Kaeden walk on his own, we're not getting smacked in the face with branches and spider webs, and I'm not quite so paranoid about them getting into poison ivy or some such thing.  

Here are the boys, setting off down the path (you can see the road to the right)

Ryan, checking out the creek:

This is our tadpole spot.  We check on them pretty much every day.

 Our extra blessing today was these wildflowers that we found growing by the creek.  Aren't they beautiful? 

The boys each got to pick one. 

Ryan (typical firstborn) carefully preserved his and carried it home to put in a vase.  

Kaeden (typical toddler/second-born) very sweetly checked his out (these were actually not at all posed and I LOVE them!)...

 

...and then sat down and systematically tore it apart.

 While I must admit that I sometimes miss being close to a lot of great parks and other go-to activities, being able to just walk out our door and explore God's creation whenever we want to really can't be beat.  It's probably my favorite part of living here so far, and I'm so thankful that my boys will get to grow up experiencing this :-)  

Grateful today for beautiful weather and special memories with my sweet boys!

Some days...

Some days:

- it takes you 30 minutes to eat your breakfast and by the time you're done, your cereal is soggy and your milk is luke-warm.

- your almost 4-year-old accidentally dumps a large cup of water on your lap while he's taking his bath after you just told him twice to settle down with the cup.

- your toddler wakes up 30 minutes into his nap screaming and throws up his entire lunch

- God gives you an article like this at the exact right moment in your not-so-great day

Is it the weekend yet? 

And, we're in.

No, we didn't get lost on our way to the new house. We've just been SO busy. But, we are in! The last month has been absolutely crazy, but at least we are past the most intense parts now. And we are very thankful to finally be in this home that we have been working so hard to make real for the past year and a half. Praise!

I have a lot to catch up on, so bear with me...

The house was officially finished on March 15, so even though we weren't actually moving in for another week, we decided to have a little celebration out here that afternoon.

The media/exercise room was a big hit for all of the boys (Mason included, of course!)



Auntie very sweetly got us balloons to celebrate :)

and we had celebratory pudding pie on the back deck!
We opened our first box (toys, of course!)...

...and it didn't take long for the great room to looks like this:

We also got to see the bathrooms totally complete, clean, and uncovered for the first time:

Mason had been busy filling up the attic with as many boxes as we could, so here is a look at the attic at its fullest point:

March 22nd was moving day. We had been busily moving boxes and things all week, but the movers came that day to take all of our furniture, and we brought the remaining essential items over. It was the first night we slept in the house.

Thanks to my amazing mom (and sister-in-law), who let us use her van all week as well as watching the kids most of the days so that we could focus on the move, everything went very smoothly. We worked really hard, but it was satisfying work. I had a few emotional meltdowns about leaving the old house (it was, after all, where we moved in after we got married and where I brought both of my babies home from the hospital... I have a lot of memories wrapped up in that special home), but I was able to push through, and since arriving at the new house, I really haven't looked back all that much. I am so thankful for the 7 1/2 years we spent there, but I'm also looking forward to many, many more wonderful memories here at the new house :)

Once the movers got all of the furniture in place, Mason & I finally took a break to eat some lunch. It wasn't our first meal at this house, but it sure was nice to be able to eat at a table!


This is what the house looked like when we moved in :

And this is what the inside of the house soon looked like - boxes & toy chaos!

I actually became quite fond of our "box pile" - at its finest, it was much, much bigger than this, but I forgot to take a picture then.


Here are the boys checking out their furnished rooms for the first time:

One of the best things about those early days (aside from having lots of family around to help!) was having lots of "projects" for Mason & the boys to do - there were plenty of things to put together, and little boys like tools.

Our new furniture for Ryan's room (as well as some others) arrived a couple of days after move-in, so we had fun setting up his new room all over again. Here's what it looks like now (more or less):

... and some of our other new & exciting furniture:

That first week or so was a stressful, busy time for sure, but I have so many great memories that I want to write some of them down so that I don't forget them. Here goes:

- driving down our driveway on moving day and seeing a deer in our front yard

- baby turtles!

- sitting out on the front porch with Mason after the boys went to bed, checking our email (we didn't have wi-fi at first) and looking at the stars.

- waking up to the sun rising over the creek and seeing the silhouettes of the trees through our bedroom windows

- watching the kids dance and play in the rain

- the red buds:

- our first dinner party to celebrate Bunny & Mason's birthdays; eating out on the front porch!

I have to say that we do already feel completely at home here, and despite all of the work and stress and small irritations, we are thrilled to be here and enjoying the house very much.

And we even have grass :)