Having a Whale of a Time!

At first they weren't sure if they were supposed to get wet...

Trying to sit in the freezing water. Every time Jonathan sat in the water he would suck in his breath quickly like he almost couldn't breathe it was so cold!

The slide made it much better!

So. Cold.

But I like it!

Andrew wasn't too sure of the sprinkler spout at first.

There may have been some pushing.

Checking out the spout

So much fun! They've asked to do this every day.

It was crazy hot this weekend. So, we blew up the pool and at first the boys weren't too sure about it. It didn't help that we didn't fill the pool until 4 and the water didn't have a chance to warm up. But the freezing water didn't stop them! Andrew did ask a couple of times if it was OK to get his clothes wet. We assured him that he was wearing swim clothes that were meant for water. Then we added the slide and all was right in the world!

Sun, Sand and Water

What more could you ask for?

sand + water = 2 hours of fun

and 5 new outfits

I found the boys filling the sink in the bathroom to a dangerous level today. The reason I was given was because they wanted to "float things in water." I quickly decided this was an outside activity!

We attempted to empty the one side of the sand table of sand and filled it with water. I'm pretty sure most of the sand has been put back on the water side by now. Oh, well! They played for two hours in the water, with a short break for dry clothes and lunch. Last summer we weren't able to put water in the table because Jonathan was constantly trying to drink it. And the extra laundry is total hours of fun!

Cheesy Hat Boys

Two hats are better than one...

Jonathan's new fake cheesy smile

The other night, the boys found some hats that don't really fit them anymore, but they insisted on wearing anyway. And then they wanted me to take their picture. I never say no to that request! The funny thing about these hats is that when they actually fit their heads, they refused to wear them. Now if I could just find some hats that they wanted to wear and that fit...

Last Day of Preschool

Class photo taken in September 2009

Walking in before the program

It's a little hard to tell in these pictures, but Andrew is not singing or looking too thrilled.

(He's the one in the middle in green stripes.)

Looking right at me thinking, "Please stop taking my picture and SAVE me!"

I love his glare in this picture and the glowing eyes make him look a little evil.
(Sorry for the poor quality. My camera had trouble with the lighting.)

Receiving his preschool certificate from Miss Staci.

I only captured half his class. Maddie, Zeke, Saylor and Andrew

After the program and happy!

Buddies: Zeke, Andrew and Eli

Saylor, Eli and Andrew
(There were others in his class, but we started taking pictures too late!)

Miss Staci, Saylor and Andrew

This was taken Wednesday after school with some church friends:
Andrew, Tristin, Carter and Collin

Today was Andrew's last day of preschool and he was none too thrilled. Partly because he understood that it was THE last day and he wouldn't see his friends or Miss Staci anymore. And mostly because the last day involved a music program. Andrew, who typically is not shy, has extreme stage fright and DOES NOT like being on stage. I guess his future in drama may be on hold!

The past two weeks have been a little stressful for him because they have been practicing every day for this program. Bribes and encouragement from his teacher did not help. He refused to sing or do any motions. He wouldn't sing the songs for me at home. I tried to get him to teach them to me, but it wasn't happening. So, we were happy that he was able to stand on stage and not have a total meltdown. He did have some sort of itchy-eye problem that required a lot of rubbing of the eyes during the program, but no crying or screaming!

We are sad that his first year of preschool is over already, but so happy that he had such a great year with a great teacher and made lots of new friends.

Happy Mother's Day!

Jonathan giving Luke a hug

more hugging

and still more hugging - note how Grandpa is oblivious to the love

mommy and Andrew
Jonathan didn't want to take a photo

So we convinced him to take one with Luke and Andrew

they were a little silly

And then there was the attempt to take a sweet Mother's Day picture with my boys

Maybe we'll try again another day...

After church yesterday we went to Hutch and had lunch with mom and dad. The Eigstis joined us later and we tried to take a few pictures in honor of Mother's Day. Easier said than done!

Keith took the boys shopping for my present Saturday night while I was having dinner with some friends. The boys were in bed by the time I got home, but I did question Keith as to how easy it would be for me to find out what my present was. He was convinced that they had forgotten. The next morning after Andrew told me "Happy Muvver's Day," he informed me that they had bought me a pink rose bush. I laughed! Keith did not. And it was just what I wanted! Now if the weather would just warm up a little so we could plant it!

After spending a little time with Grandma and Grandpa and trying to take some photos, we came home and I took a great nap! What a great Mother's Day!

Trip to the farm

We visited Great Grandpa, who was very alert and responsive and managed to get a family photo!

Andrew showing Great Grandpa his little tractor.

Jonathan wearing an old Hesston College sweatshirt and trying on Grandpa's hat.

The boys did not care that it was barely 60 degrees and were just happy to play in the sand!

On Friday, we took a quick trip to Hutch. It had been a while since we had been able to visit Grandpa and see the farm. Unfortunately, I didn't check the weather before we left and dressed the boys as if it was going to be a warm May day. I was wrong and we almost froze. Fortunately, mom had some jackets and sweatshirts for the boys so they could play in the sandbox!

Gardening like mad

Tomatoes, Lettuce, basil, carrots (hopefully), cucumbers, a strawberry plant, and sugar snap peas

This doesn't really show all the work that I've been doing. I'll post more pictures in a month or so and hopefully it was be full of pretty flowers!

I planted these daisies last year and they are super happy this spring!

Basically every Saturday in April, we have spent working in the yard. Keith built me a garden box. This is our first attempt at this, so we'll see if it works. I didn't really know what to plant besides tomatoes, so it's sort of a science experiment. Depending on how this goes, we might plant all new veggies next year. I planted all starter plants, except for the carrots. They came in a cute little seed packet and a day or so after I planted them, we had torrential rain. I worried that the little seeds washed away, but yesterday I saw a few little green sprouts, so I'm hopeful that a couple will come up! Any ideas of what else to plant in a garden box? I'd love input!

I've also been working in our front flower bed. My dianthus and phlox are trying to take over, so I might have to do some transplanting soon. I went a little crazy at the flat sale and planted all new flowers this year. So, I'm anxious to see what takes off! And I'm sure around July I'll be sick of this flower garden and all the work of dead heading and weeding, but for now it has been fun to get back in the dirt!