Some cute helpers

I had to post some more pictures of all the cute helpers.
Addy was a real hit with all of the girls.

My Beautiful Yard

The finished product.*

Jack loves his sand box.


*Well, we still need to put in some plants and install the back privacy fence but that is nothing compared to what we (and our great friends) already accomplished.

The Yard Our Friends Built

Some of you are aware of the jungle behind our garage.
(see above picture if you are new to this part of our yard.)

Since we bought our house, we've wanted to do something with this part of the yard but always found it a little overwhelming. Ryan and I got motivated this year because Jack needs a better place to play than the dirt pile next to the air conditioner that we affectionately call the Ghetto Sandbox.

The other night, Ryan took a weed wacker to the tall weeds and Jack helped put them in the trash. Jack was so proud of himself and his good helping. It was worth the extra work of hefting him up to the garbage can to support his enthusiasm.

Recognizing the magnitude of the task ahead of us, we sent out an S.O.S. and look who showed up this morning to help.

Some WONDERFUL friends came with shovels, pick axes, rakes, a tiller and strong backs. I can not even begin to describe the great friends we have here in Rochester. They worked so hard digging, racking, hauling a really big pile of rocks*, transplanting plants, taking pictures, caring for kids, running errands. All 12 children were helpers too in taking care of each other, helping to clean up debris, and being patient. Our friends could have done so many other things with their time today but they came to help us. We are so GRATEFUL for their help and we know that we would still be working on this for weeks, no months, to come without their help.

But we had some fun too. I call this next collage of pictures: Fun with Pick Axes.

We had planned to leave this stump in the middle of the garden space because we thought that it was too much work but our friends were determined to remove it.
Unfortunately, I do not have a picture of everyone else taking their turn picking at the stump. It took everyone's collective effort to get it done.


This is what our yard looks like tonight after 4 hours of HARD LABOR.

Just waiting for the mulch to arrive early next week and we are done.




*My sweet neighbor knows the history of the rock pile. Apparently a previous owner planned to make a fire pit from rocks that they collected from their family farm. Well, they collected the rocks but did not make the fire pit. Mystery solved.

Fourth of July: Event two and three

Event Two:
Swimming at the Pulley's House with a BBQ. I have no pictures because I was chasing the two kids on my own. So see HERE for some pictures. Ryan was able to make it for about an hour before he was called back into the hospital. Yummy food and great friends always makes an evening at the Pulley's so much fun.


Event Three: You will not see any pictures of us at the fireworks because with Ryan missing in action, I decided to take the kids home to bed. It was a wise decision. I was sad to miss our friend Annabel's performance of The Star Spangled Banner on her flute. It was the highlight for me last year.

Fourth of July: Event One

We packed up Jack's "bike" and took it to church for the kiddie parade. He was in awe of the older kids ridding fast around the gym. This picture was taken before a HUGE meltdown. He was having major trike envy and it turned out he really wanted streamers on his bike like the other kids too. So . . .

Darren decorated Addy with streamers while I helped Jack with his. We didn't want Addy to have streamer envy either. (notice the cute festive clothes courtesy of Grandma Shirlene. Don't they look adorable?)

Jack was so excited to get started that he moved off the sidewalk to get in front of the other kids. However, the rough parking lot was no match for his wimpy bike.

Jack discovered that running and pushing the bike was much faster.
He chased after the older kids as fast as his little legs would carry him.

What he really wanted to ride was Brother Kie's scooter. It took all of his self-control to not climb on and ride off into the sunset. (It helped that his little friend pictured was really good at policing kids away from the scooter. )

Hopefully Ryan will join us at the Pulley's for swimming and fireworks.
Keep your finger's crossed.

Stats for the Grandmas

Adeline had her 4 month check-up on Wednesday.

Height: 26 inches (off the charts)
Weight: 15 lbs 8 ounces (81st percentile)

She survived her 3 shots and oral vaccine and is back to sleeping 10 hours at night.
She is smiling, cooing and tracking our every move.

My favorite thing is when someone looks at her and a beautiful smile creeps across her face. Her whole face lights up and makes my heart happy.

And as much as I fought the thumb, it really is wonderful that she can calm and soothe herself.

Weekend Visitors

Our friend W1 and his family hopped on by for a brief visit last weekend.

Jack and W1 had a lot of fun playing with trucks and lawn mowers and more trucks.

I love this picture of W1 because it shows the results of good, hard play in the backyard.

L1 and Adeline just sat around and snoozed. 2 days and 2 pounds apart at birth but L1 is swiftly catching up to Addy.