He's his Father's son

Thanks Uncle Dan!

A couple of weeks ago your uncle Dan left a message on our home answering maching (Yes, I understand I'll probably have to explain what this was...). He offered help with any gardening/yard/landscaping work ("I need a project").
Mama's not one to let that one pass by. So he came over one afternoon to do a walk thru of the yard. Your dad is the main gardener and has a good eye for plants. So does your uncle Dan. Your dad showed him some pictures of trees we admired on one of our walks in Chicago and Dan identified the tree (Eastern Redbud).

Not one week later he showed up with 3 of them! He found them on clearance at Lowe's and stopped by to put them in the ground. Wow!



For the first time this year the kids spend a good 5 minutes in the yard NOT touching the dirt. They have a warm up period of shyness. Brief. Temporary. Zoe's giving the gardener and the dirt some space.
See?



Of course then they meandered to another area of the yard. They like to pick these flowers. Zoe was pulling petals a la "he loves me, he loves me not..." (good practice for an upcoming flowergirl ;)




But as soon as that hose came out, Uncle Dan had two new helpers. Oh good. Water and dirt make mud.



It's funny how it was so cute the first time around. Now there isn't a time that goes by that one (usually both) aren't digging in the dirt.



And mama must remember that YES it is fun (and only take them out if they're going in the pool, thru the sprinkler or straight into the bath).

Monty Hall stopped by and asked us if we wanted what was behind curtain #1

I'm not sure when this plan came about (maybe the week the siding went on sale and your Dad hatched a plan to re-style our facade?), but we are mid-way thru a major project. In house, so to speak. Your dad has taken it on to re-side our house and enlisted the help of a couple of friends. Holy cow, such friends who'll help tackle this one. Thanks Kitty and Mike M!

The day your Dad and Kitty started taking down the existing siding it started to rain. And rained all day. Bad. For some reason we had purchased a huge (and I mean huge) tarp some time back - it covers the whole back side of the house and more.

The next three days have been good...Tonight we have 3 walls protected from any rain that may come our way. Hopefully tomorrow all 4 will be covered! (so far, the coast is clear). Mike and Mike worked hard this weekend and got a lot done, including some niceties...like outside power in the front of the house. Woo hoo.

Meanwhile I was gallivanting around town with the kids... I find I don't do well cooped up in the house.