The One About the Play Area

     One thing we have talked about doing since before we ever started building our home is making a giant play area in the backyard for the boys.  We knew we wanted lots of dirt and room for them to build roads, tunnels, etc..  We wanted an area where they could leave all their dump trucks, backhoes, and other equipment.  So yesterday while the boys and I were at the circus, Ernie went and got a load of railroad ties to prepare for his Sunday project.  First, here are two pics from the circus:

 
The one picture I took of Asher didn't turn out well.  He wouldn't even touch the cotton candy.  Also, his sword was broken before we even left the circus.  They enjoyed themselves though. 
    On Sunday morning, Ernie started on his project.  Here is the before shot:

The boys decided to take advantage of their last chance to play on the giant dirt pile before Ernie tore into it. 

Gavin decided they were going to play Jack and Jill in this picture.  He assigned Asher the role of Jill, and he was supposed to tumble down after him.  As you can see, Asher had other ideas (Jill shooting Jack with the gun!) 

     About halfway through Gavin walks over to Ernie and said, "You know, you would be a lot closer to being done if you and Mommy hadn't had that fight before you started."  Smart little boy!  Ernie and I had a "discussion" about where exactly we were going to put the play area before we began the process.  I need to remember that little ears are always listening.  :)

Here is the After picture:

     We made the area really large in case we want to add another playground set or a trampoline or something.  We also left a mini-dirt pile in there for them.  They loved hauling all their equipment out there.   I am hoping this will keep them entertained throughout the summer, so I can sit on the back porch and read. 

The One About the Beginning of Summer

Warning:  Random Thoughts Post

Tomorrow is my last day of work.  Summer officially begins.  It already feels like summer, because for the last week we have been outside constantly.   The boys come in when the sun sets, covered in dirt.  I have already been more relaxed about bedtime.   I even have a tan started.  Gavin is really dark already, and not just from dirt. 

The builders still haven't been back to finish up the little things.  I am really missing a bathtub.  The boys need a good soak so badly.  I am anxious for the next few weeks, hoping things get done and our house becomes a little less work-in-progress.  I haven't deep cleaned yet, because I know they are coming back to mess it up again.  I am putting off washing windows until we have a yard.  That sand just blows right in, so why bother?

Asher has started pedaling his tricycle.  I have been working with him for awhile, but he just wasn't interested in even trying.  He finally took off this last week. 

Baby is doing well.  I had an OB appointment last week.  Baby kicked the doctor several times when he was trying to hear the heartbeat.  He is active pretty much all day, particularly from 9-11 at night.  He is definitely a lot lower than the other boys were, which the doctor said was normal.  I guess the more babies a woman has, the more room she has in her lower uterus.  Lovely thought.  I can't stop thinking about my Grandma and her 12 babies.  I wonder how she could even walk while pregnant with the last few. 

Gavin starts T-ball practice next week.  Ernie is coaching again.  I enlisted Uncle Nate to help out.  I am anxious to spend some time at the ballpark.  It always feels like summer when you are sitting on those ballpark bleachers. 

I told Gavin the other day that Daddy and I are celebrating our 8th wedding anniversary in a few weeks.  He asked me if that was a long time.  This question was followed by, "Is it older than the dinosaurs?" 

This post is similar to how my mind is lately, very random.  I start a project, get interrupted, and never quite get back to it.  I am feeling so much more relaxed about our life though.  I know that the boys sleeping all night again helps.  Everything is more stressful when you aren't getting sleep at night.  With the weather being nice, I am outside more than I am inside, which means that there is a lot of stuff that isn't done or unpacked yet.  That's okay.  Surprisingly, I really don't care.  I am looking forward to a fun summer with my two boys.  I know things will get crazy in the fall again with a child in school and a new baby, so I am making sure I enjoy a lazy summer.

The One About My Little Farmers

One of the main reasons I wanted to move to the country was so that the boys grew up right smack in the middle of the farming lifestyle.  We always lived away from it, and so my brothers weren't there every day when they were little, learning from my Dad.  Surprisingly, they both came back to learn as adults.  When my Dad left in the morning, he was gone all day and we didn't see him until late at night.  I hated that.  He couldn't pop in for lunch or to pick one of us up for an hour.  I wanted my boys to grow up learning about it, riding in the tractors often, going along with their Daddy to check pivots, etc..  It is so much easier to do all this when you live near the fields.  Tonight, we were playing outside and Uncle Travis pulled right up to the house with the planter and picked up the boys.  (Very nice break for Mommy, I might add).  :) 

Both boys think they want to be farmers when they grow up.  They are already growing their own mini-beanfield in our back yard.  We don't have grass yet, so Gavin found some soybeans in Papa's building and brought them up.  The boys planted them and have been watering them.  Here are my little farmers with their first beanfield.

They are going to be so crushed when the guys come to poor the cement patio right over their beanfield.  :(

The One About the Move

   Hello from the new house.  We finally got our internet hooked up today.  I am so thankful that I have internet on my phone or I would have gone crazy.  I am way too attached to the internet. 
    We made our big move on April 28th, which means we have now been in our house over a week.  The carpenters left on the 27th, which was hard for me.  There are still so many little things to do, and it is driving me crazy that things are unfinished.  The guys had to go frame up the new Assisted Living home in Tilden, and tell me they will be back soon to finish up.  In the meantime, I keep adding to the list of things I notice that still need done/fixed:  tile work, porch railings, leaky faucets, hot water issues, 2nd coats of paint and touch-ups, etc...  The tile is on back order until next week, so I hope the guys come back at that point.  I am dying to have my master bathtub tiled and finished.
    I am loving it out here regardless of all that is left to do.  I love being out of town.  I love having the building just down the hill.  The boys play outside constantly.  When they see Papa, Daddy, or Uncle Nate or Trav down there, they take off in a dead sprint.  I love that they are around the guys and the farming lifestyle now.  They will learn so much just by being around it.  I am in love with my back covered porch, even if it is unfinished and with no patio or yard.  It is so calm, and I just love the view.  We had some people over last Friday, and just sat and chatted out there as the boys played.  Love it! 
    Here are some pictures from the house. 

 Still missing the front porch pillars and railing, but you can see Ernie's asphalt circular driveway that was so important to him.  I didn't feel it was necessary when he did it, but now love it.  Gavin has probably made 100 laps on his bike so far. 

Laundry room, by the door to the garage..needs a 2nd coat of paint.  

My beautiful kitchen!  2 more bar stools are coming to match, as well as the tile backsplash.

 View of dining room/living room.  No furniture yet, but a sectional and chairs are coming in the next month.

 Master bedroom.  How did I live without a king-size bed before? 

 Entryway--the wood parts of the door still need painted white.  In the evening the light streams through and makes rainbows on the walls.  It's so pretty.

Office....one of my favorite parts of the house. So functional!  I have file drawers, bookshelves, and tons of storage for the farm paperwork.

 The boys' bedroom.  I have wall decorations, but I can't bring myself to put any holes in the walls yet.  After looking at this picture, it seems really boring in there.

A view of the enormous family room downstairs

 Part of the family room downstairs--Ernie's home theatre area with stone fireplace

This is my home gym area.  I am going to bring the treadmill out from my parents' house and put it next to the elliptical.  No excuses to not lose the baby weight.  Those pounds are coming off!!  :)

   There honestly isn't much I would change.  I am in love with my house!  Now I have 6 days of work left, and then the entire summer to settle in with my little munchkins.

    I haven't posted for a month, and there are so many funny things that the boys have said.  I wish I would have written them all down.  Asher found "pet" toads as soon as we moved in.  He even went so far as to put one of them on his shoulder and walk around.  Of course, he then decided it was more fun to torture and kill his pets.  At one point, Gavin told me they put a toad in a plastic container and buried it.  Poor little toad.  I haven't seen a toad for a few days now.  I think one of them got away and told his buddies to stay far away from our house. 
   The boys have handled the move very well.  They are sleeping so much better.  I was concerned they would be scared of the basement and not go down there alone, but it doesn't bother them a bit.  They go down there often and play.  Of course, I usually am down there within 5 minutes because I hear them fighting.  They are definitely going through a fighting stage.  I'll give you one guess as to which one of them starts the fights.  Here is my little troublemaker!