Burning Weeds

Before my family came out to visit, we decided to burn all of the old, dried out, dead weeds around our driveway. It was a lot of fun!  First Scott and I had to rake up all of them and pile them up on the driveway.

 
Lily showed some interest herself

The fire started out very small and then quickly grew .

 

 

It kept getting bigger and bigger.  The fire was nice and warm so Daniel and I hung around.



So all of the weeds burned! And our yard looks much better.

Family Pictures

  Before Ashlynn went back to her birthmom's for the summer, we had some family pictures taken. It also corresponded with Daniel's one month pictures so we just got pictures taken of everyone. They were taken by Lori Johnson in Shelley, Idaho. She does amazing work. You can check out her Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/Shelley-ID/Lori-Johnson-Photography/113491162015306?ref=ts&ajaxpipe=1&__a=28

 

Here are a few of my personal favorites.

Preschool Graduation!

Tonight, Ashlynn graduated preschool! To commemorate this special occasion, her school put on a ceremony for all the grads. The event was held in their art room and all the parents got to sit on the kids chairs.
   It had been a while since I'd sat in one of those. The program started with introducing each child, then they showed off what they had learned by counting, singing, and dancing.

 Then the children were all ushered back out of the room to come in one by one to Pomp and Circumstance.  Once that was done, it was time for the kids to romp on the playground and the adults to enjoy cookies and fruit.  We were told more than once that Ashlynn is more than ready to start Kindergarten in the fall.  We are so proud of her!

Trying to get Daniel to smile...

Daniel is so close to smiling! Today, I just know he smiled at me, but alas, once the camera came out, no more smiling. He was still super cute it in. So enjoy!

Swing Set Finale

  Scott continued to work very hard on the swing set.  We worked together to measure all of the wood, then Scott cut and stained it all. When it was time to move the frame out of the garage, we discovered what a weakling I am.  Granted, I was only 3 weeks postpartum so I had an excuse, it still proved to be a rather large challenge to get it from the garage, up the hill and into place in the back of the backyard.  After I stepped on it, then tripped, then dropped it on my foot all the while yanking Scott around, he decided to get the lawn mower out to help. I must admit, it was successful, albeit slightly comical. It was a little too wide for the base to fit through the fence, so Scott put it end over end to get it into place. A little help  from me got it situated and then the rest of the frame put on.

  Scott was dedicated.  He was out there in 50 mph winds, snow, and just plan cold weather trying to get it finished.  I came out with Daniel in the Moby Wrap for a while.  He was nice and warm, but I was pretty cold.  Anyway, just a couple of days later, and a swing set was born!


  Ashlynn has been having such a blast with it. Well, actually we all have :)

Even Daniel has gotten in on the swing set action. After all, he has been a part of making the swing set, too.

I am very proud of Scott. I have swung very high on the swings (without Daniel, of course) and it has held me .  I was however unceremoniously dumped off of the slide.  That had nothing to do with his construction abilities, though. I'm assuming the physics the design is based on is a small child's weight, not an adults.  Oh well. Live and learn.  Now we have an amazing swing set and playhouse for the kiddos to enjoy for many years to come.

The Green Rattlesnakes

   This spring Ashlynn has been playing soccer with the AYSO.  She is on a team of 4 and 5 year old boys and girls and plays once a week.  Soccer is something Ashlynn has really started to enjoy.  We even got her and "I Heart Soccer" t-shirt that she always wants to wear.
    Her first soccer practice was the evening we got home from the hospital with Daniel.  She was quite disappointed when I did not go out and watch.  She did, however, take pride in all of the pictures that her Daddy took.  Now that both Daniel and I have recovered a bit, we have now made it to two games.  Ashlynn was having so much fun playing she did not notice Daniel and I left the field for a while so he could eat!  That was our week to provide treats for after the game, and we did make it back in time to watch her help pass out the goodies.  This last game Daniel wasn't too found of me cheering her team on - something about Momma yelling upset him.  Lol! But we are all there as a family to support her and she just loves it.
  With his years of soccer experience, the coach has even had Scott helping referee the games or coach a little. Scott is now working Friday night, but he comes in his uniform and goes to work as soon as the game is over.  All her teammates got a kick out of having a 'policeman' there to cheer them on.
    Here is a compilation of pictures from her games and practices. It is amazing how well all the 4 and 5 year olds listen to the coaches.  On Friday nights there are about 80 running around.  Organized chaos.
Before the games, all of the teams warm up together
At this age they all just follow the ball up and down the field. So cute!

When they are not practicing, they stand on the white line with their foot on the ball.

Daniel was getting heavy so we all took a break.


The ball goes out of bounds quite a bit, but Ashlynn is quite good at throw ins.

Swing Set

   We decided the time was right to put a swing set up in our backyard for the kids. Not wanting to spend a fortune, but wanting a swing set that will last and be able to be used in multiple ways, Scott researched and discovered that Lowe's sells swing set kits. One can buy the kit, purchase the wood to be measured and cut, then assemble per the instructions. Sounds simple, right?
Off to Lowe's we went with the trailer in tow. Daniel was quite the good little boy and slept peacefully in the Moby wrap. Ashlynn was very excited and eager to help in any way she could.
   The box has a nifty list of the required wood printed right on the side, so after grabbing the kit, we headed off to the lumbar department. The lumber employee did not know what he was getting into when he agreed to help. Not being totally familiar with lumbar, we decided that since the swing set was going to be outside, we needed treated wood. So with the help of the Lowe's employee, Scott loaded up everything we needed. At the checkout counter, the very nice lady saw all of the lumbar, the slide, the kit, and the two children, and informed us that if we were to build a swing set with the treated wood, our children would get very sick and die of cancer very young. Well, not quite that bluntly, but after she pointed out the HAZMAT sign that went with the wood, it was quite obvious. So, back to the lumbar department!
  After unloading the cancer-causing wood, loading up the regular lumbar, it was then time to find a way to seal the wood. The lumbar employee advised us that with the amount of lumbar we had purchased we would need at least 5 gallons of stainer. So we traipsed all the way back to the painting department. I almost had a heart attack when I saw how much 5 gallons of stainer cost. The helpful employee in the paint department made my day however, by telling us that we only needed 1 gallon and that would work for multiple coats. :)
   We then returned to the counter and purchased the non-toxic wood, thanking the check out lady profusely for her help. Of course, when we got home, Ashlynn wanted to build the swing set then and there. We did get to work on it, putting the main playhouse frame together. Daniel was happy for a while just watching us from the little swing, all bundled up with the heater. He was quite cute all bundled.
While he was in the swing I was able to help measure the wood.
That didn't last too long, however as it was quite boring for a 2 1/2 week old. So I held him in one arm and the instructions in the other.

We persevered through mishaps and trial and error process. It is still a work in progress, so watch for updates!

Tummy Time

Yesterday I put Daniel on the jungle mat for some tummy time.  He did so much better this time, actually using his arms to push his head up a little bit.  After a little bit when he'd had enough, I rolled him over to see if he would interact with any of the hanging toys yet. Well, he did! (Click to watch the video)

Skunk Attack

Last week Casey went outside to do her nightly business, when the house started smelling a little bit skunky. Living in the country, that isn't too unusual. However, when Scott brought Casey inside, she smelled very odd, like chemicals or gasoline. He walked her into the bedroom to see what I thought the smell was. I believe I said something like "That's not just skunk, that's up close and personal skunk. GET HER OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!"



Thankfully, Scott had her by the collar so our carpet and furniture were safe. However, the house itself smelled. Really smelled.

Casey was put outside for the night. Unfortunately, we had a thunderstorm that night and Casey believes thunder and lightening are the worst thing (next to skunks) on the planet. I awoke to her trying to dig her way into the house through the back door. Of course, having an infant in the house means I'm sleeping very little anyway, so I was not happy to hear her desperate attempts at entering the house when I had only been asleep for thirty minutes. I spent a few minutes wrestling Casey to keep her OUT of the house, grabbed her and part her inside her kennel. All of this was taking place in a thunderstorm with 25 mph winds.

Now, we hadn't used the kennel since we moved her out to our house last fall, so it had become a place to put stuff. After shoving the 55lbs dog into the kennel, I assumed I would easily be able to close the kennel and that would be it. Alas, the 80lbs bag of concrete, a box of assorted goods, and something else that was not identifiable all needed to be moved to allow the kennel to resume its normal shape. I'm doing this all the while keeping the door pushed to so Casey cannot escape. I so did not want to start the process over.

Alas, after what seemed like, forever, Casey was in her kennel, covered up, and then I was able to go back to bed. Did I sleep? No. Casey doesn't like her kennel and proceeded to bark for and hour or so. When she realized she was not being allowed out of her kennel and quieted, Daniel awoke deciding it was time to eat. . .