Piano Man

In the kitchen with Kylie

Kylie helped her dad in the kitchen mincing bacon for a special he was running that night.  She was so thrilled to chop bacon after watching it done so many times on cooking shows over the years.  I get a kick out of those little things that thrill.  She did an excellent job at it as well!

mincing

Bath Time

Shea helped to give Wynn his bath and wash his hair...

bathtime rain

Flutterbys

Shea was gifted butterfly larvae (caterpillars) for a birthday gift. (Thank you Gramma Jamma and Boppa!)  We all had a great time watching the caterpillars grow larger right before our eyes and then suddenly there is a chrysalis!  From there we waited and before long, tada! butterflies.  We even got to watch one fight its way out of its chrysalis (we missed that sight last time)!  Amazing!  We released them after two days with our friends helping along the way.  The butterflies scooted out on their way before I got a picture, but what fun we had!

watching butterflies hatch

welcome!!

Goodbye!!

Kylie spent several weeks reading through the many series surrounding Laura Ingalls Wilder, her mother, grandmother and he own children.  She loved them all, especially The Martha Years.  Kylie has decided to create a performance based upon The Martha Years.  She has made many notes, enlisted the helps of friends and family and has started on the script.  Below are some photos from her notebook:

casting lists

Act I, Scene I; Wynn did a little "editing" for Ky.  Whoops!

costumes (Ky's favorite part!)

Pretty neat, Kiddo!

Hand Washing with Love

Dolls don't see much play at our house.  Kylie is an animal gal; a lover of stuffed animals as well as real ones.  She always has been.  Add in two more boys and there you go!  The other day, however, the latest American Girl Doll catalog came and out came the dolls and all their special accessories.  Shea was up for the action.  At his request we set up a clothes washing station.  He washed, rinsed and dried his doll's clothes.  What a great daddy-in-the-making!

I took this shot of Lucas, Shea's doll, given to him by Kylie several years back, and Brian's "dolly".  Okay, it's a Godfather bobble head, but Brian loves it and I like to tell Wynn it is his daddy's "dolly".  (I am sure all this will catch up to me one day too!  lol)

In the garden with Shea

When Brian built our garden beds, Shea asked if he could have his own garden space.  The result was Brian building him a 2x2 raised bed for his very own.  Shea planted a cherry tomato, cucumber, watermelon, parsley and okra (the last at his daddy's request!).  So far, so good!  The parsley was visited by a neighborhood bunny, so we had the fun of watching it re-grow from a mere stem.  The watermelon is trailing off behind the garden over the bushes.  Tomatoes are growing larger by the day and, as a family, we enjoyed his first cucumber at our dinner this evening.  Farmer Shea!

more hats?

Another popular style worn in our house...the shorts hat.  Especially enjoyable when the shorts belong to your brother!

B&Ws

Gramma Jamma requested updated picutres of her grandchildren.  Here are a few extras from our photo shoot.

I had to include this one of Shea in his hat.  Kylie knit this hat for him (and a matching hat for Wynn) this past Christmas.  It can be 90 degrees outside and Shea will wear his hat.  Any time, any day, any place.  Shea and his hat are one. 

Funny "Hat"

There must be something about pull-ups that makes kids like them as "hats".  I remember Kylie wearing one around for fun years ago (somewhere there are the pictures to prove it too!).  She wore hers perched on the top of her head, whilst Shea prefers the helmet-style.

The Birthday

A great day was had by our birthday boy!  Breakfast at The Property, home for swimming with Daddy, cake (as specified:  a layer cake with butterscotch and chocolate frostings), terrific presents, ending with playtime outside with his new toys (he finally got the remote control car he's been anting for two years!).  Happy Birthday Shea!

Birthday Boy

Happy Number Six Shea!  You are a delight!

Fourth of July Super Hero

Shea's Alphabet

So Sweet

Back to the Garden

Wynn and Shea worked long and hard with Brian loading dirt from the driveway into wheelbarrows and filling the raised beds in the backyard.  I have the lovely picture of Brian and Shea side-by-side pushing their full wheelbarrows along the side of the house while talking to each other, but it is only in my mind!  I did manage to get outside to snap these shots of Wynn.  He would go by himself to the driveway, use the small shovel we have (a gardener's spade from Wal-Mart which is so sturdy and sized perfectly for the kids), fill the wheelbarrow and push it himself to the backyard to dump it.  He repeated this over and over, happily working the days away!

Painting

Wynn did some free-style painting of his own...

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July! 

Kylie and Shea decided to paint their own flags to celebrate!

Brian put a lot of work and love into building our new garden beds.  They are growing slowly and we are watering more with the heat.  The kids are so thrilled to watch everything blossom and turn into something edible! 

our first watermelon

tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and herbs

garden from the edge of our yard flanked with potted fig and persimmon trees

Wynn is so interested in everything and is always asking me what each plant is.