Welcome home, 2nd Grader.

Bennett and I were talking last night, and we can not believe how fast this year went!  Which, according to Bennett, means that is was a whole lotta fun, because that makes time FLY!!!!  Bennett had such a great year, thanks to his dedicated teachers and super cool friends. 

He worked very hard, and I was impressed by his study habits.  Doing homework was never (ok, rarely) a struggle, and over the last 172 days, he learned how to read INDEPENDENTLY!!!  It is actually pretty incredible to witness the process of becoming a reader.  Being a teacher, you'd think I know all about it, but my students are not learning to read, they are reading to learn.  It was fascinating.

So, bring on summertime!!!  Bennett's plans include; baseball, golf, guitar, and minecraft camp - in addition to traveling to various lakes, and swimming in the pool.

Sunday Funday!

Bennett has officially entered the social scene.  That kid has more birthday parties to attend, than I thought humanly possible.  Literally, he came home with an invitation every day last week.  He said, "Mom, I'm so popular!!!" to which I replied, "You must be a really good friend." 

Anyway, with the boy being scheduled, that left the rest of us to hang out for the day, and Saturday's project was getting rid of all the dead bushes in our front yard.  Oddly, they all died this frigid winter...   So we headed to the depot for replacement plants.

 H fell asleep promptly at `12:30, and as she rested, Andy began prepping his master plan for the bush removal.  He kept yelling at me to "STAND BACK!!!!" because, apparently, the tow straps could kill me.  Then, he told me to go make some lunch. 

 I'm a really good lunch maker.

 Here's my favorite combo - the before and after.   Those ginormous balls of dead roots were hEaVy!!  It took all our strength to heave them into the back of the truck, but it was definitely worth it.  Now, for some more flowers and pots.

Memoryial Day

The kids and I went home for Memorial Day weekend.  Home to the farmstead, then home to Rose Lake.  It's hard to describe, and I'm not sure I'm even ready to write about it, but I said my goodbye to the farm, and made sure to have my kids got to do all the fun things I remember doing growing up.

We ran around and practiced Parkour, We climbed the old thrashing machine, and visited the ponies.

 We rode the 3-wheeler, with one kid on the back and no helmets, and we rolled down the "big ditch" hill.  Harper explained to us that is what you do when you get fired, "stop, drop and roll".

We played basketball, and Dad won.

 We visited The Great Ones, in their respective Homes.

 And, we packed up....

 And I told the boy some stories, about running to the burning barrel, and climbing the rock garden, and how important the land is to family.

 

Then we drove home to Rose Lake.  This place is so awesome, and will be even better when the furniture arrives!

#sweetestboyinamerica

Bennett went on a bike ride and ended up at a garage sale. He spent his $3 on a CD holder for his teacher, a stuffed monkey for his sister, and a 50 states and capitals puzzles for his mama.❤

It was one of those nights when I sat and looked at this little family we created, and thought about how incredibly lucky I am.

This long, horrible winter, the Statsick and Prose families decided that when - IF - summer ever arrived we would need a pool.  There were several discussions about brand, and many reviews read, but a purchase was made.  The conditions were the pool would be in Rick's yard, and he would be the Poolboy.  I would be the Lifeguard.  It's a pretty sweet deal, if you ask me.

The pool arrived, and on the first nice Sunday that Andy had off, it was erected.  The instructional video (that Rick watched, not Andy, of course) stated that it would take two people three hours to complete the pool.  It took Andy about 90 minutes!

 Super great neighbors is one of the many perks of living in suburbia.  Dennis/Crystal and Scott/Laura pulled their garden hoses over and helped us fill the 14,000 gallon tanker.  What we thought would be a 12-14 hour job turned into 5 hours. 

 After all the hard work, it was time for drinks on the deck!  Seriously, this pool is enormous, but I'm pretty sure the grins on the kids' faces were even bigger.  They are so excited!! And, I think the adults are, too.

 But, sweet little Lo, I think you may need to stick to the little kid pool for this summer.
 

Easter Best

 The bunny arrived early this morning, and Bennett was certain that his would be in some sort of water vessel.  The elephant memory reminded him that every year his basket had been near water - in the tub, in the laundry sink, in the washing machine...  But, he was wrong!!  Bennett found his basket behind the curtains in our bedroom and Harper found her's under the hanging clothes in the laundry room!

 After we discovered all the treats, the kids got dressed in their Easter best.  Harper is always much more excited about this, and she begged me to take her picture - and again! - and how about like this? - and one with Bennett?

 We traveled to the river, to feast with Papa and Grandma and The Matt Prose Family.  It turned out to be a pretty beautiful day, and we were able to play outside, and find more candy!

 When we got home that afternoon, the little peeps just wanted to stay outside - and, who can say I blame them?  We biked and painted our flower twirlywhirl, and created with chalk...

 
 "Hey, Daddy.  Let's make Mommy's eyeball, ok?  OKAY, DADDY?"