A glimpse in to our life

Ben and I are enjoying the cooler temps, it was only 100 degrees, ha ha! We can feel it, fall is right around the corner. Ben loves painting with water on the patio and splashing around getting wet with his buckets, the hose, anything! I put some gems on some of the pots I painted and think they look so perty, I want to bead them all!

Mama and Papa came for dinner

Ben's GREAT (in many ways) Grandparents came for dinner and were amazed by how much energy Ben has. Comments about him "never stopping" and "running everywhere" were made. In just a few short months he went from not walking to not stopping. Ben was very entertaining, he walked around for awhile with the kitchen towel on his head just to be a goofball, he already knows that when guests come you should entertain!

Lucy thinks she's still racing

Our sweet, gentle girl sometimes barks in her sleep (only in her sleep, she never barks when she's actually awake) and if you're lucky enough to be in the same room with her or slowly creep in on her when she is making those cute little yippy barks then you'll also see her legs moving like she is racing, on her side. She must be dreaming about the days of chasing after the fake bunnies and winning! (She won 10 races!) So, here's our girl, she loves the fall as much as I do and looks so cute in this little hat I like to have both she and Ben wear:-)

3rd Anniversary

We all had a good time celebrating our 3 year wedding Anniversary, although it sure reminds me that having Benjamin is one of the most wonderful blessings in our life but we need to get a sitter if we want to have a peaceful, calm or romantic night.

It's all a game

So our little man is becoming more and more independent. He hears me say "No, no" after trying to get in to things he shouldn't be getting in to and now Parrots me and says "No, no" if I ask him to do/not do something. I have to admit, it's kind of cute. This afternoon I had to grab something in the garage and of course, guess who followed me in? Yep, Ben. We tried coaxing him back in to the house, without picking him up (that can lead to an arched back and shrill scream-from both of us...ha, ha) and I started counting "One,.." he replied "Two". It's all a game to him, I'm just trying to learn how to play it so that we both win.

My first bloom on the Hibiscus I planted

More progress on the yard and more fun playing outside!

Shiloh's 2nd Birthday party and an unsuccessful attempt at a family photo

My two babies

More outdoor fun!

So, we were VERY lucky, today was so auspicious, we went to Home Depot and immediately upon asking someone if she carried rubber mulching she said "Yes, there's an opened bag over there on that plank, we'll have to see what the price is"
I got excited when, after a few minutes, they said, you can have all opened bags for $16 bucks. 8 bags! It made my day! We bought a couple other plants and then we came home. I Spread them out and realized, I have so much work to do! I am really looking forward to all of it!

Outdoor fun!

Never have I wanted to spend time outside more than I do now. Benjamin and I enjoyed last winter and our walks and days in the park (many times with Linz and Aaron) so much that this Summer is becoming horrendously long. Not only has it been too unbearably hot but I obviously have never stayed home with an active toddler (I have cabin fever). I've spent hours online looking in to what kind of landscaping I am planning on doing because our grass is dead from the heat and lack of water. I need something very maintenance free because although I am grateful every single day for my loving and wonderful husband, yardwork is not his passion but he can disassemble, reassemble, build (you get the picture) Computers with the best of 'em .

Auntie Grace came over for a visit this morning (which was so fun, by the way) and I was sharing some of my ideas with her, it got me aching to get started. So today was the first day of our "Project". It was a blast to get soaking wet while we cleaned the patio, hosed off the table and chairs, got some pots ready for planting and started a little walkway. We made mud puddles and splashed around in them and loved playing in the hose!

I kept thinking how blessed I am, spending days getting dirty with Ben is really some of the most fun I have ever had in my life, thus far. His laughter and smile, curiosity and enthusiasm are contagious! It's the little things that really make my heart swell. He went down for his nap without a peep, all tuckered out from our outdoor fun. I have a feeling we are both going to enjoy gardening, playing and spending time making our backyard a lovely place to be.

Why do we buy expensive toys?

Benjamin's new favorite things to play with are the measuring cup and my paint brush. I can only attribute this interest to my cooking and painting and wanting to be part of it, it entertains him for HOURS! He has so much fun pretending and using his imagination, it cracks us up! What a guy! We get such a kick out of him!