Our Little Corner of Paradise

Here is the latest progression of our sod. We seem to be addicted and keep adding more and more - it's so nice to have the instant green gratification. Also, you'll notice our little hammock near the playstructure (thanks, Mom and Dad), where mom or dad can sit and read or relax while the boys play. More often than not, though, we spend the time in our little garden, which you can see on the left side of the picture. It's just a little salad garden of peas, lettuce, carrots, and tomatoes (with a few sunflowers and watermelon plants for fun), but it sure is neat to see the boys learning how plants grow. The other day, Taylor came rushing into the house moments after going outside. He excitedly shouted, "Hey, Mom. Everything is GROWING so much! It's almost gonna be spring in just a few more years!!!"

In addition to enjoying the plants, we've thoroughly enjoyed the return of the bugs. The boys dig up worms and carry "rolley-poleys" around. A few weeks ago, we bought a container full of ladybugs from Home Depot (as a natural aphid control) and had a lot of fun playing with them and releasing them a few at a time. Aric, when he finds a particularly gross bug, will shout out, "Hey, I found a lucky bug!" (he can't say "yucky"). Now that's become his nickname - Aric is our lucky bug! :-)

SPRING

We had an unusual Easter this year. Jeremy ended up getting stuck upriver because of a malfunctioning dam lock, so we celebrated Easter a day late. On Easter Sunday, the boys, my mother-in-law, and I went to church and enjoyed breakfast and the morning services. Then we hung out and had a restful day at home. On Monday, Jeremy got home early and went straight to bed (he was on the midnight-6a.m. shift, so he was exhausted). Grandma Janet and I took the boys out of the house so Jeremy could sleep. We went to the beautiful tulip festival fields.

After naptime, we finally gave the kids their Easter baskets and did an egg hunt, and that evening, we had our special Easter dinner. We usually do an ethnic meal, but this year, we had a simple meal of pork loin and specially prepared vegetables. It was easy and lovely. It was good to celebrate together, and it was a special blessing to have Jeremy's mom in town. While she was here, Jeremy was off on comp time so we got to spend lots of time together. One day we took the kids mini-golfing. Taylor is getting pretty good, but Aric is still pretty funny to watch.

Later in the week, Daddy said goodbye to us and we took a very long drive. We went to Coeur d'Alene, ID, and played with some good friends of ours. Then I stayed in Idaho and the boys went with Grandma Janet to Montana. They went to Grammy and Grumpy's house and stayed there all by themselves for four days. Then I came to MT for two days, then we all went back to Idaho and spent an evening there. Finally, we traveled back to Oregon after a week away. Needless to say, we're all a bit tired of being in the minivan at the moment. :-) We had a great trip, though. Here are a few photos, taken with Taylor's camera, of the highlights.

Of course, the calves needed to be photographed. While Taylor snapped pictures and kept his distance, Aric happily let the calves suck his fingers.

We got to see Great-Gramma and Great-Papa

We also got to spend time with Great-Grandma Jen

Taylor and Aric got to learn how to shoot a bow and arrow with lots of assistance from Grumpy. Grumpy said they had to hit the target at least once before they were allowed to shoot the arrows up in the air (apparently their favorite part). Gotta watch those Grandparents - they sure do know how to spoil boys!