Being the Oldest

 ...means sometimes you get to do things even though you're supposed to be asleep.

Garden Spoils

The kids have been just as enthusiastic as Jason about discovering what veggies are popping out of the garden lately.  I vetoed Jason's request to enlarge our actual garden, but he has managed to find two additional patches of dirt in the yard- as well as the neighbor's unused garden plot- to plant fruits, veggies, and flowers to his heart's content.  He has even planted some corn.  The man has thousands of stalks of corn- including sweet corn and popcorn with his name on it- at the farm, but he still needed to plant some here at home.  I'd say he's found his life's calling for sure.

Adam's ideal dinner- fruit salad, sugar snap peas, and a full head of broccoli just for him!

I'm most excited about the hearty basil plants that are popping up here and there, and will be trying my hand at fresh pesto soon.  And I just heard that the local blueberry farms are ready to be picked, so I guess I need to find some more room in the freezer!  We have been talking about buying a chest freezer lately, just so we can have enough room for all of the strawberries and blueberries we'll need to get us through the winter.  But then Jason starts talking about buying half a cow, and all conversations cease.  Giant slabs of beef and this pregnant lady don't go together so well.

It Makes Me Happy When...

my kids chant for more "cooked carrots! cooked carrots!"

Adam counts.  It ususally goes like this- "1...2...3...4...5...14...15...14...15...30!"

Leah puts stuff in her carseat's "coupler".  (cupholder)

Adam asks to wear his "swim soup".

Leah says she likes my "tummy yaki chicken".

Leah and Adam play nicely together- 

even if Adam ends up looking like this!

Potholes

We went on a family adventure this weekend to a nearby river (stream?) that has a few waterfalls and potholes that have been carved out by the water.  It was a fantastic trip into nature- Leah had a blast climbing over rocks, exploring "caves", and looking at snakes, spiders, and tadpoles.

Adam, on the other hand, was perfectly content to sit and throw rocks into the water- a manly pasttime who's draw apparently doesn't diminish with age.

I was there, too.  My left hand is resting on the spot that the baby sister always pokes out her little heels.  Sometimes I have to push them back into place, for fear of them popping right out of my belly.

We came home dirty, happy, and with only one tick-looking bug firmly attached to Adam's back.  It was another great family adventure.

Rain

An early morning rainstorm turned our backyard into a lake yesterday, and the kids had a great time wading through the water.  After a morning of house-rattling thunder and two power outages, they were delighted to play outside.  Adam was concerned about the safety of the owl that had driven him in from the campout over the weekend, and Leah said, "A lake in our backyard!  Just what I've always wanted!"  Just another reminder that kids don't need toys to be happy!

Camping Out

Our first annual Father's Day campout.  Essential elements-

1. Rain

2. Smores

3. Fireflies

4. Tent time

No one actually spent the night outside. Adam was terrified of the owl he decided was in a nearby tree ("Owl.  Tree?  Sleep crib!") and Leah worried that a fox might claw it's way through the tent.  But overall, the night was still a fantastic success, and according to Jason, a new Father's Day tradition.

Nesting

It's really too soon to be called nesting- it's more list-making and fretting at this point.   How much longer do I have to pick out the perfect name?  Buy the perfect diaper bag? Contact my list of stand-bys in case we head to the hospital in the middle of the night?  Thankfully, the answer is that there is still plenty of time.  The clothes are out but not washed, the to-do list long enough to keep us all busy for the rest of the summer, and the name search a constant topic of conversation in our house.  Even Leah and Adam love to add their two cents about the perfect name for the baby sister.

They also love trying on her stuff.  Don't mind the nakedness- they look like that most evenings because we spend most afternoons doing this- 

staying cool by playing in the water.  The kids love making mud pies, mud lakes, running through the water and taking long drinks from the hose.  It makes for a lot of wet laundry at the end of the day, but we all love it.