May 2016

I'm really enjoying this new way of getting the photos to all of you!! There are things I miss about the old site, but the fact that I can pretty quickly keep things up to date this way is worth a lot! Look at this! Having posted this one, I'm current! (At least for a few days until we hit the end of June.)

A cute shot of Gloria with our friends' baby boy. Evania and this guy's big brother were born two days apart. These two are six weeks apart. (She's older.)

We're experimenting. And that's about it. ;)

Reuben, with his camera smile, standing near the tower he built. Notice anything about how he's got the blocks lined up?

Girls our working in the garden.

Owen loves his cat, and Noble reciprocates.

One project for this summer is a rain garden. The new construction next door ends up dumping a LOT of water onto our property (which then runs down our yard and back under their driveway onto their property, but the new grading means instead of a little, we get a LOT.) We are putting in a rain garden here to catch some of the run off from our addition, and everything that the project next door sends our way to slow it down during the big rains and hopefully not wash away the edge of our yard. But it's all gravel and clay, compacted by the big trucks we had coming in for our addition a few years ago, so it's hard going.

There's my two big girls dressed up to match their dollies. Leah's outfit is one my mom made for me, and Rinnah's was my grandma's.

Krassi is trying out a stander in hopes of getting one to keep. It's fun to have him up and around what we're doing instead of just on the floor. Standing is MUCH better for his circulation than sitting is. I've got lots of kitchen helpers. Reuben still loves putting onions into a hot pot, and Evania's mixing up biscuits.

Ha ha! Caught him just post-camera-smile.

And a cute 'Vania one.

Because Krassi was in the stander, his sitting chair was available for Gloria!

Rinnah also likes to help me in the kitchen. A small end table makes a great work surface for my shorter cooks.

We wanted to try for a fun group shot with the whole crew of seven. It ended up being not quite so much fun.

Oh, they were bad. We were even in the shade, but apparently too dappled for any of them to keep their eyes open.

Another summer project - in anticipation of our growing family, we're finishing the room under our kitchen for a bedroom for Owen and Krassi, which involves putting in an egress window. Both because it's on the front of our house, and for the sake of the room, we want it to be a nice generous, good-looking one, so we're going to use left-over limestone and have a mini-version of the retaining walls at the addition. But first, we have to take down the overgrown arbor vitae.

Gardens and girls.

Happy girls.

Driving and working (picking up branches)

And now, time to start digging.

These are my favorite kinds of flowers to find in the garden.

A family shot to send with our dossier.

For a week or two, the shed is beautiful when the peonies in front of it are in bloom.

Darling baby is so good at holding toys.

And guess what I found Krassi doing - holding his own hands! This is a big deal!