Growing up with Little Guy and Emmy

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Seventeen things...

...I've enjoyed over the past twenty-four hours

1. A freshly prepared field

ready for the seed

(that's the convention grounds across the field)

2. warm sun filtering in through the trees

3. opportunity for the kids to do some work
~~~
i hear that it builds character and
instills a work ethic

4. this old tree which, sadly, must soon come down
~~~
there used to be a huge sandbox underneath it
we woudl climb the back side of the tree, climb out on one of the
overhanging branches and swing out on a rope like Tarzan

5. cutting back old growth to make room for the new
~~~
this is lavender
it was a pleasure to work in it
because it smelled so good!
i'm going to get some lavendar for our yard

6. generations working together

that's ryan out there with dad, shoveling manure

yep...we're trying to take the city out of the boy!

7. getting to drive the tractor for 20 miles (it was actually more like three miles, but they were going 5 miles an hour...just seemed like 20 miles to Ryan!)

8. fresh tracks

9. smiling faces that glow with both the sunshine and with happiness

10. before...

...and after

~~~

just wait...in two months time, this burm will be

beautiful! more photos then...

11. evidence that spring has already sprung

12. scary thoughts...Emma behind the wheel!

13. brother and sister

together on the farm

14. working together

~~~

ryan was pruning the branches off

of the tree while emma cleaned them up

15. thousands of snow geese passing

by overhead on their way to the snake river

(click on the photo to make it bigger...hope you can see them)

16. digging for treasures in the newly turned-over ground

so glad they still see this as fun...picking up junk before planting

17. the row of pine trees with

a little of the olden days there at the end

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

Friday, March 13, 2009

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.