Trees and Leaves

Photo Credit: Nora
We had a pretty windy storm last night and the kids couldn't wait until this morning when they could go out and checkout the branch that fell out of the pecan tree. Otto was quick to start on the clean-up and Nora's art assignment this week was to make art with nature so she set to work making bird's nests out of all the stuff that fell out of the trees. She even got the boys in on it so there are some pretty fancy nests for the taking out in the grass. I guess now we just wait to see if there are any buyers?!

Clean for Now

I am very ready to get rid of this ottoman but it's still so darn useful. Except it is constantly stained and marked by all the drinks and whatever else the kids wipe and spill all over it. Today I tackled cleaning it and couldn't help but take a picture as I sat back to admire my work - mostly because I know it's going to be back to gross looking again by this time tomorrow. Oh well, between cleaning the ottoman and washing some blinds today we're making progress on some "get on it already" projects.

Checked Up!

This morning was a bit of a run around! I had an uneventful Dr's appointment this morning and then swung home and got Otto to take him to his 3 year old check up. Turns out, he's big for his age and young to be riding a two wheeler. Who knew, hahaha! The pediatrician walked in the room and turned the corner looking for Otto because he kind of thought Lincoln was the one up on the counter. I think Otto's favorite part of the appointment was a tie between getting to take off his mask and getting a sucker at the end. No vaccines today so it was a pretty easy visit! After that it was home to get school finished up and plug along with another day!

Butterfly in the Sky!

Just a nice picture of a monarch butterfly on the bush that needs to be cut back. A moment of nature if you will. Too bad we didn't get this picture before Nora's monarch butterfly project was due in school.

Morning Showers

Yesterday in an effort to get the kids playing in the new sprinkler we didn't glue all the connections. Despite the relatively shotty construction Nora was up and at 'em really early this morning and had everyone in their suits and back out in the water before school even thought about starting. Really the sun was barely peeking through the trees. It was a pleasant start to the day though which is a welcome change from the whininess that has been typical lately. There was plenty of time for whining the rest of the day - so don't feel like I was missing out on anything. Anyway, it's been keeping the kids busy so far and Nora's idea to put the mats down below made it extra fun. Here's hoping it contributes to tired kiddos at bedtime tonight!

Birthday Boy!

Well, Mr. Otto turned 3 today! He woke up so excited about all the balloons (even though a good chunk of them fell down overnight!) We had french toast cups for breakfast, he got to go to Lowe's with Kyle and we put together a kid wash type sprinkler for them to play with this afternoon. This evening we had some dinner and then Otto got to dig into his "patio cake". He was very specific in wanting the shape of his DeWalt "patio" but the colors of his toy Huskavarna one. All and all I think our baby for now had an excellent birthday weekend and I'm thankful that his new brother or sister held off to give him the day to himself! Now it's onward to his third year where I'm sure he'll keep growing and learning and breaking things and fixing things. Life with him is always an adventure and I have a hunch it's going to stay that way - which is fine as long as the the giggles, smiles and hugs stick around too!

We're on a Boat!

We busted out into the world again today for a little birthday weekend fun on Little Lake Harris. It was windy and choppy and I was, as usual, the fun police that said we should leave the tubes behind because I didn't want to flip kids off by accident. The kids and Kyle had a blast going fast and getting wet while I was a little less than entertained by the pounding in the bow. BUT, then the wind died down just a bit and we drifted for a while and let the kids jump in off the bow so they could swim some. That part was a lot of fun! Although the fishing them out as the boat was moving away from them kept things a little interesting. After what felt like long enough tempting alligator related fate we had them get out and have a snack. There was some rain onshore so we decided to head in just before the wind picked back up again. One of the dockhands asked the kids if they saw any gators and told them about the 6 footer that had been hanging out over in the nearby marina - NO THANK YOU! Anyway...it wound up being a good day out on the boat and fun to explore a lake that I'd be cool with doing some tubing on when it's not quite so choppy, or I could be more helpful. We don't have anymore boats reserved for a bit so we'll have to see when the next time we get out is. Tomorrow is a big day for our big little guy!!