Easter Eggs

You know those times when you do something that is completely against what you would normally consider common sense? You see a situation, you know that situation is not a very good one, and yet, you continue as if you really hadn't noticed? Well, Easter Sunday we let the kids color eggs in their Sunday clothes. Yes. I know.

We had a short period of time in which to color eggs, and if the kids hadn't already dressed for church we would have been late. I ignored all the red flashing lights that were going off in my head. Really, I was just asking for trouble. Begging.

I didn't even supervise. Cameron was in charge. When I realized what we were about to do I told him I knew it was our only option, but I just couldn't watch. Thankfully I still needed to get ready for church so I had an excuse to be out of the room.

 He lined the tables with butcher paper and had them each wear aprons or bibs. They were all super careful and not a single drop of food coloring ended up on their clothing. Be amazed. I was.

The eggs, of course, turned out beautifully.

Kingston did not color eggs this year. He ate pancakes.

Backyard Awesomeness

We've been putting a lot of emphasis on our backyard recently.  Cameron and I want the backyard to be somewhere we can all hang out and enjoy. This is especially important while the weather is beautiful. Thankfully the weather is beautiful a good portion of the year here in Austin.

One of the steps in creating a backyard we love is to have some fun things for the kids to do while outside. We already have a treehouse (though we fight with the spiders on who are the rightful owners and/or occupants). We had a sandbox. We had a tetherball pole. All of these were great. All of these needed an overhaul.

We emptied the sandbox and sprayed it with the hose to get rid of bugs and spider eggs. We then washed the covers. Once relocating a bit closer to the sunshine, we refilled with 16 bags of sand (50lbs each!). Once it was all set to go, we bought a few new toys to play with in the box.

The tetherball pole just needed a new ball. That was pretty easy and inexpensive. Done. I even got it in River's favorite color!

We were debating on what else to get for youthful backyard enjoyment when I stumbled across the coolest thing at Costco. It is a Dual Pendulum Seesaw. The kids absolutely love it. It is super sturdy and a lot of fun. The weight limit is all the way up at 200lbs per side. Yes. Cameron and I have enjoyed this piece of backyard awesomeness ourselves. I highly recommend it.

We decided we really needed something for the kids to climb on outside. They're not allowed to climb inside, and our trees really aren't very safely climbable. We were thrilled when we found this climbing dome. Yes. Another Costco buy gone very very right. It holds up to 1000lbs. It did take a lot of work to set up, but it's been totally worth it.

In order for Cam and I to be able to enjoy the yard along with the kids, we bought our first patio set. We'd been really wanting one, and this one jumped out at us and we had to take it home. Now the kids ask to eat every meal outside.

Our grill died last year, and we delayed getting a new one. We knew there was no way we would make it another summer without one. I really like the one we decided on.  I can't believe we went so long without one.

Our backyard really is one of my very favorite places. The mosquitos haven't been horrible (yet!), and the weather is still really really nice. The kids play outside pretty much every single day. We've invited a lot of friends over to play. It's been tons of fun. These really were some of the best investments we could have made right now.

Backyard Water Fun

Nothing says backyard water fun like the Slip N Slide! Oh what a blast those things are! I remember my mother wouldn't let us use it as frequently as we would like because she said it killed the grass underneath if used too often. Well, we loved it anyhow. And yes, it does kill the grass.

 You may remember a post from last year featuring our slip n slide that lasted exactly one day before bursting. This year we got smart. We bought one from Costco. That way, if it lasts one day, we take it back. Have I mentioned how much I love Costco and their fantabulous return policy?

This year's Slip N Slide is really neat! Back in the day a slip in slide might have had a hook up for the hose so water sprayed along one side of it. That was about as fancy as they got (at least the ones we purchased at our house). Well, 20+ years later there are some pretty snazzy options. The version we invested in this year is called the Hydroplane Triple Deluxe. It's a three lane super slide with a pool at the end.

It also came with three "super boogies" for the kids. They are inflatable tummy boards to use to slide with. They make it so you don't slam your body onto the slide when you play. Or at least that's the theory. My kids must play extra rough. There were definitely a few wipe outs.

The kids set it up to play twice in just the first few days of owning it. It's been great. I love that they can run around crazy in the sun and enjoy the Springtime warm weather.

Hopefully this lasts for the whole summer. I love that there's a cool option that doesn't make me have to trek out to the neighborhood pool. Big score for backyard fun!

Long Awaited Garden

March 2011

There was a post from two years ago that some of you may remember. I was sitting inside one of my two garden boxes. I had just purchased them from Costco, and was all pumped and ready to start my first garden in our new house. It was going to be fantastic!

Well, I'm embarrassed to admit that the garden never got planted. We were in search of a certain type of soil, and had a hard time finding it. Also, it was going to cost us over $100, so we figured we should be darn sure it would be worth the time and effort. As things worked out, that was the spring of the drought here in Texas. It was a good thing I didn't have a garden because I would not have been allowed the extra water to keep it alive. It was also an extremely hot summer. Fate was smiling down upon my neglectful self.

Well, this Spring is IT. We decided to plant us a garden that will be a sight to behold! I have the whole family on board. Cameron and the kids went to Home Depot and picked up vermiculite and peat moss. We had our own compost from the composter in our back yard, but it had been sitting for so long we had to buy an extra 4 cubic feet of it from Home Depot to have enough. Cam, River, and myself got the two 4' by 4' garden beds all set up and loaded with our soil mixture last Saturday. We were on quite a roll. If we'd had more daylight we would have planted everything then as well. Having to wait a couple of days sure built up the excitement though! This was actually going to happen!

For family home evening on Monday we all went together to buy seeds. We bought a ton of things that didn't have to be started indoors (we were way too late in the game for that to happen). It was such fun! My favorite moment was when Britta asked if we could buy red pepper seeds. That coming from the girl that gives me a hard time about eating anything that even resembles a pepper. I figure it was because there was a cute baby pictured on the package. I think she thought we would be growing cute babies. Not in MY garden!

We started late enough that we only planted about half of our seeds that evening, so this afternoon we all went out and finished what we started. The kids are thrilled. I knew they would be. Last month they planted corn seeds and a sunflower seed in our rock bed under the trees. We told them they wouldn't grow. They were SO diligent though! They watered those things practically daily! Wouldn't you know it, they actually did sprout. Now, I know they won't continue to grow. There's no nutrients in that dirt, and there is nearly no sunlight in the spot they picked. I am pretty amazed they got those seeds to sprout though! I'm glad we now have an actual garden for the kids to tend to. They're going to do a great job, I just know it.

I also had an herb growing kit my mother gave me a while ago. It came with everything I need to start growing some of my favorite herbs! I was thrilled to FINALLY get them all planted and ready to start growing! I have high hopes for these little babies!

The kids and Cameron brought home a blueberry bush to plant in the back yard, too. I've been wanting some berry bushes, so I'm pretty excited. It's tiny now, but in a few years it will rock my berry loving world. I just know it.

Gardening is amazing. I am so glad we're going to have this learning experience together as a family. I don't know very much about it at this point. I'm excited to change that. I'm definitely going to be teaching my kids as we go along. With the amount of enthusiasm they have though, I'm sure they will be teaching me a thing or two as well!

Baby's Balloon

It's amazing how babies can make balloons look like so. much. fun!

Kingston is 10 1/2 month old, and gets cuter every single second of every single day. 

Love him so.

Serving Others is Serving Us All

There are a lot of opportunities to serve in the community. It seems like every time we turn around someone is asking for donations to a certain cause, or help collecting something for the needy. There is always something that we can do to help those around us, if we are only willing to stop and make it a priority.

In order to enrich our Saturday, my family decided to do just that. For our church service project we met with other members of our ward in the morning. We put on bright orange vests that said, "Mormon Helping Hands" and trekked out to a nearby area to pick up trash. Yes, I knew what the service project was ahead of time. Yes, we still went.

Cam and I decided it is a really important thing to show the kids the importance of service. I love how, in most cases, all it takes is to give my kids a chance to help serve, and the lesson on why we serve others practically teaches itself. I have good kids with big hearts. They love helping whenever they can.

I admit to having been a bit nervous at first. The weather was cold (it was about 40* F when we began at 9am). We brought coats. There was a cold breeze, too. It was not comfortable. I was afraid there might be some complaining. Not only were we dragging the kids out in the cold first thing in the morning, but they were to pick up other people's trash, too. Not exactly an ideal Saturday. However, I was just blown away by the fact that I heard not a word of complaint from any of them. Kingston even fell asleep on my back in the baby carrier. They were all excited to help, and did their very best. They were a very good example to me.

At one point we got a bit turned around in the brush and it took us a bit of wandering to find where we were supposed to be. I'm ashamed to say, that while my kids were upbeat and optimistic, their cranky mother did manage to let out an exasperated exclamation or two. Maybe I could learn something from them in the patience and endurance department. Good thing they rarely listen to me anyhow.

Once we were all finished with the service project, Cam took the whole family over to Rudy's for a celebration lunch of Texas BBQ! It was a great reward for everyone's hard work.

The kids were beyond thrilled. I'm pretty sure we could get the kids to do practically anything if we promised them good BBQ when they finished.

I'm pretty sure the same thing holds true for me, too.