A Long Road....

 So long.... that this is how I have felt much of the process.....

 It has taken MANY weekends.......

 ....but at least it involved lots of family "fun"!

 The boys have really learned how to use tools.  In fact, Steven Edward took some of his own birthday money to buy his very own hammer and tape measure.  Of course, Daddy didn't want to get the kid version.... so my child is using a 16 oz. hammer. 

This is the response I will get to putting the hammer mockery on the post, I'm sure...

 There were some rainy days.....

but eventually.....

...mama's garage was no longer smelly, and she was no longer at risk of finding perching chicks on her van.

There is still the painting to finish, the run to do.... and I'm sure countless other small jobs.  But the chickens are in!  Bye bye play house, hello to an open garage door again!  Now on to other projects I'm sure!  What is the summer for anyway?!  Checking things off!

My Girl is One!!!

 It is quite hard to believe my little girl is one!  It has gone so fast in some ways and SO slow in others.  It seems like an eternity ago that I was bound to the couch fearfully awaiting the day of her arrival.  But alas it has!  I resisted having a "party" for her as she is so young and doesn't really have any concept of such things.  But eventually I caved and we met some friends at the park for a picnic lunch.  There were no cupcakes as she had never had sweets yet and we wanted to wait for Daddy to be a part of that as well.

 They brought balloons.....

 and some pink gifts......

 some baby doll accessories.....

 And then we headed to our house for dinner with family and God parents. 

 She was not interested in even trying her cake.  All that work for nothing!  Precious princess and the pea, too picky to try something new.

 But she did enjoy her new gifts!

It was so much commotion we didn't even give her our gifts or Grandparents gifts until the next day!  Oh to be a social butterfly, one, and the center of attention.  She had a great day.

Girls Weekend

 My mom and sister came to visit this weekend for a belated birthday present to us all.  We spent all day together on Saturday "adventuring" (as Steven Edward would say).  We started the morning with a Asheville Zipline Canopy Tours and then went on a few different hikes in Pisgah National Forest.... driving past some sights at Dupont as well.  What a day we had!  AND my amazing husband kept the kids all day!

Notice my mother "Tebowing" on the bridge.  Go mom!  We had a great time in the trees!

 

The water was pretty cold, so we opted to only get our ankles wet!  But the views were great and by the end of the day.... we were pretty tired!  What a great day of adventure.

Spring Time

Here are a few shots to show you what we've been up to....

This beautiful Saturday we will spend in the garden and working on finishing the coop!

Turning Five

What could be better than swords, guns, boots, a personalized picture book where you and your brother are the star knights, and birthday cake....







....a surprise party for a 5 year old! My Big Boy turned 5 last Tuesday. When asked what type of party he wanted, he informed me that he wanted a surprise party. Sigh. How to explain this to him. Well.... we did our best.

On his actual birthday we had a family dinner and family presents. Then on Thursday we arranged for his Daddy to take him to the book store to pick out a book. He returned to 5 of his friends and his brother hiding behind a couch with blowers. It was perfect and priceless. He loved it. It was pretty easy for Mom and Dad, and he was the center of attention. What else could a little boy want.





I can't believe I have a 5 year old. Let's don't even talk about Kindergarten...and don't hold your breath because my little girl is almost one!