Memorial Day Fun

As promised, Monday was a family fun day.  We settled on a bike ride along the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes.  There are a ton of places you can pick up the trail, and we went up to the mountains (Enaville) to catch the trail.  We rented a tag along bike for Sam.  We have a trailer for Logan.  When we arrived at the trail head, we unpacked the bikes (which we shoved into the back of the van; we probably need a bike rack :))  Tyler went to attach the tag a long and it the screw heads were stripped.  On to plan B, we put Logan and Sam into the trailer and off we went.  The trail was amazing.  It is nicely maintained, there were people, but it was not crowded, and there were plenty of places to stop, rest, and enjoy the view.  We rode for 6 miles before we turned around.  We stopped once each direction and got out to play.  The highlight for the boys was that the chipmunks would eat their granola bars.  Logan even fed one a "fruit by the foot".  My favorite was the Logan kept asking me, "Can I talk to them?"  I would tell him that yes he could talk to them.  Then he complained, "Mom, they aren't talking to me!"  Too many Disney movies!  I was pretty surpised that I could ride for 12 miles.  It has been a few years since I have been on a bike, and I was still pretty sore from the yard work.  Jack did great too!  Tyler could have gone a lot farther even hauling the two little boys along.

On our way home, we stopped to buy a few more things for the garden and some groceries for a BBQ.  Tyler made a yummy dinner and we ate our first salad from the lettuce that we grew in the garden.  We also used some chives from our garden for our potatoes.  YUMMY! 

While I cleaned up, Tyler and the boys planted more of the garden.  At some point, Logan was getting in the way, so I brought Sam and Logan in to give them a bath.  I am not sure that I will ever get my bathroom clean again after three days of muddy baths.

Here are some pictures of our ride.

Yard WORK

Tyler and I have been pretty happy with our front yard.  I love all of my flowers and work to keep it looking nice.  We have hated our backyard for a long time.  It is a cool backyard in that there are trees all around, so it feels like you are camping, but that brings challenges of pine needles, dark spots where grass wont grow.  The yard is also sloped in strange places, so it has been hard to decide what to do with it.  It is still a work in progress, but progress has been made.
Last year, Tyler built a raised garden box and we loved having the fresh veggies. He decided that we needed more room, so he built a second, bigger box. We have limited sunshine areas, so there was only one option for where we placed it. Tyler had been watching the yard for weeks to determine the best area for sun.

Friday, Tyler had a big pile of dirt delivered.  Logan and I got to "supervise" as the dump truck dumped it into our backyard.  For a three year old, that is pretty much the best day ever. (Sam had a PJ day at school, so he is indeed playing in the dirt in his PJs and cowboy boots.)

On Friday night, I developed a scheme.  Tyler was going to be fishing all day Saturday.  Wouldn't it be fun, to have all of his dirt moved to his garden when he came home?  I couldn't sleep, I got so excited.  My plans grew into a mini backyard makeover.  First thing in the morning, I talked to Sam and Jack.  The thing is that my kids don't know how to work hard, they don't know how to finish a job, and they don't have a lot of opportunity to do service.  I know this is my fault, and it really bothers me.  When I have tried to provide these opportunities, it ends up with 1 - 4 crying Wiricks.  I used my best excited voice and attitude to describe how happy Dad would be if we did this for him.  I also told them they could earn money for the extra work, and that if we got everything done on Saturday, we could spend all day together on Monday having fun.  They signed on, hesitantly, but agreed to the job at hand.  I think digging in dirt sold it.  We had a few tears and some stop and go activity, but they really worked hard. 

Once we filled Tyler's garden, I landscaped a corner of the yard.  It was a corner where grass didn't grow well, it is sloped, and it always looks messy.  We used the left over dirt to make a nice little raised garden area.  We also have a cool bird house that Tyler's dad built us a few years ago.  I have always wanted to build a stand for it.  I drew up some plans and purchased the materials.  Jack and Sam helped me execute the plan.  Jack was hilarious as always.  He said, "Mom, I didn't know that you would know how to do something like this."  (Honestly, I wasn't so sure myself) We made a cute sign for the front and bought bird seed to attract some birds.

On the deck, I replaced some over sized patio chairs that crowded the deck, replaced the old faded umbrella, and cleaned up the clutter.  I added flower boxes around the edge and planted bright colored flowers.  We are having our deck re-finished in the next few weeks, so it will look a lot better.  I also mowed the lawn, so that Tyler didn't have to do it.

At about 7 p.m., Tyler told me he was on his way home.  We waited and waited.  Sam sat on the stairs with the garage open.  He was almost in tears, because it was taking too long.  He told me that he said a prayer, but it hadn't worked yet.  Jack and I built a fire in the fire pit to get it ready for smores.  Tyler finally got home around 8:30 or so.  It was dark, which was a bit of a bummer.  Sam got him right in the house with a big grin and brought him to the deck.  He immediately noticed the new landscaped corner, but had no idea about the garden.  We showed him, and he was flabbergasted.  It was perfect.  It was so much fun.  After the kids were in bed, he went right to Walmart to buy some seeds and plants.

For fun, here are some pictures of our front yard too.

p.s.  I have never hurt like this before.  My back hurts, my arms hurt, my hands hurt, my legs hurt.  I even have blisters.  It was so worth it!

The end of an era!

Logan is FINALLY potty trained.  We had a bumpy start.  We picked out little toys to put in a treasure box.  We lovingly called them "poop prizes".  I filled a jar with hershy kisses for when he peed in the potty. 

He was all in, but then refused to participate.  I ate the first jar of hershy kisses, and then we went to Utah over spring break.  He had a few successes at grandma's house, so we tried again.  It took a few days, but he figured it all out.  One night he came in wearing little striped pirate underpants that his Aunt Angela bought him.  I told him that he should change into a pull up, so that he didn't have an accident in his bed.  He got very serious and in his cute little baby to boy voice, he said, "Mom, I not a little baby anymore.  I have to wears unnerwears!"  And that was it.  No more diapers!  He loves his "unnerwears" or "unnies".  He changes them several times a day, so that he can enjoy all of the characters.  The thing I am having a really hard time dealing with is that he REALLY enjoys peeing outside.  This is not something that the other boys did.  He doesn't have any problems dropping his pants in public.  He can pee and wave at passing cars at the same time. 

Once he was really potty trained, we went to build a bear and bought a costume for his bear.  His bear was a baby, because the brothers bought it for him when he was born.  Now that he is a big boy, his bear also became a big boy.  He got to buy him unnerwears and he chose the Woody (Toy Story) costume.  It is pretty cute.

No more diapers!  Such a sweet thought!

Easter

I didnt get a chance to post about Easter this year.  It was another hectic holiday like usual around here.  The boys had a blast painting eggs and finding candy.  I had a blast dressing them up on Sunday.  Here is a shot of their outfits.  They would not cooperate for a picture, but they are still pretty dang cute!

Double Digits!

Jack W has entered the tween years.  It is so unbelievable that he has been in my life for 10 years.  If has gone by so quickly, and he has brought so much joy to our family.  I was thinking a lot about it and realized that the day he was born was one of the most monumental days of my life.  We had tried so hard for so long and he was a miracle, an answer to lots and lots of prayers, and a cure for a broken heart.  Being his mother is an amazing thing.  Enough with the mushy stuff...

Jack demands enjoys pomp and circumstance, so he reminds me a lot when his birthday is approaching.  He wakes up and runs to the kitchen table to see if I decorated it.  This year, I bought Avengers themed decorations and some sugar cereal.  I also bought a lunchable (so gross, but they love them) to take to school for lunch.  He was thrilled.  He also brought M&M cookies to his class, but he made me buy extras, so that he could pass them out to friends that were not in his class.

For dinner he wanted to go to Texas Roadhouse.  He likes the food, but his real reason for choosing TR was that they don't just sing to you.  They make you sit on a saddle and scream and yell and sing.  This is the kind of pomp Jack enjoys very much.

When we came home, he got to open his gifts: Legos, money, Thor club, Harry Potter books, Lego instruction book, and a Nerf tornado squirt gun.  He was thrilled with everything.

After presents we had chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and cookie dough ice cream.  We are still planning a party for his friends. 

Sam was thrilled to celebrate Jack's birthday and kept saying, "Mom, can you beleive that Jack is 10?"  He sounded like a little old man.  He was very interested in telling me what to buy him.  Logan kept telling me that it turned into his birthday now.  He also sang happy birthday to me the whole day long.  Pretty funny boys.