A Friendly Competition

Girl 1: White goes first.
Girl 2: No, I insist, you go first.
Girl 1: No, really you should go
Girl 2: No, I insist, you go first.

A Few Moves Manage to Take Place

Girl 2: Oh, I can't do that, you'll kill me.
Girl 1: It's okay, I won't I promise.
Girl 2: Really?
Girl 1: Really, it's okay.
Girl 2: Oh, thank you.

A Few Moves later.

All is over, the girls are done and skip off to try on new clothes. No one loses.

Petite Sweet

Coming Alive

We've never watched spring unfold here.

But we are pleasantly surprised by the color.

Even the trees with two differently colored blooms and all of the azaleas ready to pop and brimming with bumblebees.

Early mornings are starting to be pleasant.

 

Even when they are somewhat foggy.

Spring Cleaning

During Spring Break.

They weren't so amused.

We Tend To Think

This this,

 

Is better than that.

Softer too after we replaced the nearly useless pad underneath.

 

Six steps up, evidence that this runner was a series of carpets, sewn together.  Geez.

Soccer Mom

Even this mom, who can't tell out from in on the shin guards,

 

wondered a bit at the height of these kids on the other team.

Nicholas wove in and out of them like they were trees.

 

Ben sat out with me this time around.

And Bigger

As usual

 

I went to Mobile.

He went to Korea.

 

Grandparents arrived.

And dealt with the late winter/early spring round of -itis and days out of school beautifully.

 

Ben: Man, your mom doesn't joke around, when I was sick, I had to stay in my room and rest!

 

Well Ben, you were sick.

 

 

I do not like this game

Daylight Savings Time

 

Means I get to get the kids on the bus in the dark.

Head out for a jog.

And see this brimming on the horizon as I return.

 

Not a bad way to start the morning.

Safety First

 

 

Anything using tools, for any of them.

Glad to see that Patric is making them wear eye protection for the nailing project.



Sure

 

In my bathtub.

 

(Oh, like I really cared about my pink bathtub.)

 

 

On my couch.

 

(Well, I kind of let him do this while I was working one day and I really need to get new upholstery for that thing.)

 

 

Because in his defense, this guy will be way too big in about two days to be asked to stay in there..

Before the Blower

 

We had manual labor

 

With a distracting dog.

 

 

And it turns out that Elaine is a pretty good foreman.

I found them here one Sunday morning before we had to leave for church at 8 am.

Living in the Woods

 

Makes for some pretty great leaf piles to burn.  But not before playing.

 

 

And then Nicholas talks you into launching yourself into one and laying back to enjoy the day.

 

 

While he sneaks off to find the leaf blower and bury you.

 

Conversations With Elaine

 

"Mom, I want three sets of twins."

 

"Well, good luck to you.  That'll take some work."

 

"Yeah, we need two more."

 

"Wait?  What?!  Did you just say that I should have another set of twins?"

 

"Yeah, I need two little brothers, so I can boss them around."