Planting the seeds

how to plant snap peas

clear the weeds

turn the soil

dig the row

admire the 5" long worm that's going to airate

the soil for us

plant the seeds

get more seeds from Nana

cover the seeds and pat down soil

water and wait for the plants to break through

the soil (more photos to follow)

A friend comes to visit

finally, neither emma or wyatt were sick. we were so happy when wyatt was

able to come over for a playdate.

we took the door off of the secret room...the door opens into the room and, whenever there were more than two kids inside, someone ended up getting hurt.

eventually, i plan on making a curtain. but, for now, the kids

loving being able to run in and out

the battle begins

they lined up the good guys on one side of the living room

floor and the bad guys on the other side.

the good guys, of course, won!

the good guys are heading over to the bad side for the battle

the rejected animals
only the dinosaurs were allowed in the battle

playing together

so glad they are friends!

This and That

Here are a few pics from the past week

mom found a hula-hoop small enough for emma

both kids had fun playing with it

she hasn't quite mastered the process of moving the hips

at the same time as the hoop, but she'll get there someday

Sunday morning hug

emma's first summer skirt

crashing the WWII planes at Uncle Max's
on the flight simulator

planting flower seeds for the flower beds

One project done...one more added to my pile

one project done...have to post a closeup as it's a gift for someone

picked up these flannel prints this morning
to make something for a brand new baby boy in our field

What will a rock seed grow into?

It's a beautiful day today, and Emma was feeling a bit better. So, she and I decided to take an exploration walk around the neighborhood before her nap.

Our neighborhood has a lot of common areas (but no playground, unfortunately!). One of the grassy areas has a huge crater in the middle of it, and it's full of sand. Someone made a circle of stones. Emma sat in it for a while and played with the sand. Here she is trying to draw a circle around herself without turning around.

Em found this rock and decided to see if would grow.

She, very carefully, planted it in the sand.

The next time we go by the sand pit, she's hoping to see something

growing from her rock seed.

Found: Signs of Spring!

The large grassy area right by our house has small hills on each side of it.

Emmalee was running down the other side of the hill

and then running up and over to say "Boo!"

:: :: :: :: ::

We are looking forward to our warmer longer evenings.

Last night, Bob and Ryan played catch in the field while

Emma and I practiced hitting the tennis ball.

The first of many such nights....

Directions for the rainbow...

...can be found here

A rainbow for a sunny day

Even though we are enjoying a beautiful sunshine-filled day,

we saw a rainbow today.

a little of this...a little of that

i love the reminder that, even when the sky looks like this, the sun is

still up there waiting to peak through

emma on sunday morning

ryan on sunday morning

i love this view...and i don't see it a whole lot

the two of them playing together

love that smile

the kids got a box in the mail yesterday with

late birthday and christmas gifts.

i also owe the sender and her kids birthday and christmas gifts.

since all of the kids' birthdays are around the holidays,

we've decided to delay their gifts like this each year

something to look forward to a few months after their birthdays

emmy got a cute new hairband

she was very excited to try it on

she also got a set of pink legos

can you see the excitement on ryan's face?

this is what it was...a magnifying pariscope that can see

around corners...he loved it!
he also got an airplane lego set

thanks, Jenny and family!

here are the cards from our March card night

the theme was kids' cards

everyone does a fantastic job of designing their cards!

*****

Aaahhhh...sweet anticipation

i've got a bundle of new fabrics calling my name

Happy birthday to my dear friend, Jenny.

Photo taken August 2008 at the farm

What a lovely day it's been.

After dropping Ryan off at school, Em and I headed to the YMCA. We just recently joined, so we decided to see what they had to offer for the two of us. While I walked my two miles on the treadmill, Emma got to play in the gym with 15-20 kids her age. Afterwards, we put on our swimsuits and splashed around for a bit. I love to watch Emma when she's with children she doesn't know. She thought that one little girl needed help getting out of the pool, so she offered her hand. Three children were sitting in a circle in the pool. Emma plopped down next to them and put her arms around two of them. One little girl looked lonely, so Emma went and played with her. It turns out that this little girl had asked the other girls to play with her, but they had refused and "given her mean looks." We discovered that this little girl is at the pool every Tuesday morning, so we've decided to make Tuesdays our "Y" day.

*****

We drove through a rain storm on the way home. When we pulled up to the house, Emma was so happy to see that Dad was here. He watched her while I ran to Costco. When I left, the sky was black, hail was coming down and it was thundering. Twenty minutes later, the sky was blue and the sun was shining. I love spring in Idaho...the weather changes so quickly. Luckily, compared to Portland, we have much more sun than rain. We are so looking forward to less rain this year! It will be refreshing for no moss to grow on our cars this year...not kidding...moss grew on our cars in Portland.

*****

I hope that all of you have a fabulous day. I'm off to tackle the disaster that is Emma's bedroom. And then the moutain of laundry that has taken up residence in our room.

Hope you're able to see a little sun today.