Jameson + Mosquitos

I have discovered that Jameson + mosquitos = not good. They don't mix too well. Thank goodness for essential oils to help calm and sooth the irritation :)

#2

William wiggled out his second baby tooth this morning!! Eating is so much easier now :)

A little more fence

I have been slowly working on the fence since Billy has been gone. I had to go and collect a few more boards to finish all the way across the back side. There is a trailer in our old hood that has a fence that is starting to fall down, so I took a 12 board section that was already on the ground. Of course these boards are all nailed into the 2X4's instead of screwed! So I just had to be a little more careful with the hammer so I didn't break them all as I got them loose.

I also ordered and hung up a hammock for relaxing under the trees! It has already been a wonderful spot to hang out :) Just in time for summer.

Yard work

Today the boys helped me clean up the yard and move things around. We went through the pile of wood that had been in a heap since our move last year. We stacked it nicely inside our new backyard fence where Billy will one day build a roof over it :)

Once the wood pile was gone, I hacked away all the weeds and raked up the bark and dead grass. I started a new burn pile out in the field between us and the neighbors. Then I pushed our newest "toy" over to the cleared ground under the tree. (Thank you Paulson family for all your hand me downs!)
I also moved the cupboards and Rubbermaid shed from the side of the house. I raked the ground and put the picnic table and bench there instead. The boys said it looks WAY better :) I think so too.

The one thing I didn't end up doing was washing the car! I suppose I am helping conserve water during our drought, but it's really time to wash that white paint. Maybe tomorrow.

A few pictures

Our friend Alma took some pictures at little Lucas's 1st birthday party last weekend. Just a couple nice shots :)

 Jameson will kiss on command right now..... I LOVE it!

The Trailerhood :) We miss our old neighbors.

Birthday Weekend!!

We had a wonderful weekend celebrating Jameson's 2nd birthday and Zachary's 4th! On Saturday we had a combined pirate birthday party at the beach. It was nice, but it got really windy which made it a little harder to enjoy ourselves. The kids all got pirate names, temporary tattoos and a loot bag which was buried in the sand in a treasure chest. We had a fun little treasure hunt, complete with clues and a map in order to find that X marks the spot on the beach. Of course there are no pictures of this event. Billy was manning and guarding the little BBQ on the ground and I was running around doing everything else, as well as trying to make sure nothing was blowing off the tables.
Ian, Stephanie and baby Emmett (AKA- Emmett emerald eye) joined our celebration which was so awesome of them to come down!
The boys all had a great time. Jameson and Zachary both didn't make it all the way through the party and fell asleep on the beach. Too much excitement I guess. We had to carry both of the birthday boys to the car :)

 Jameson's birthday cupcake. He was mesmerized by the fire. Happy 2nd Birthday Jameson!

 Pirate party shirt! Jameson is soooooo into pirates right now.

 William, digging a hole in the sand shelf at the beach. He said he was like John Henry, building the tunnels for the railroad!

Enjoying the sand before the party started.

 

Ian and Emmett watching the ripping of gift wrap!

 

 Being silly with the birthday hats for Zachary's birthday

 3 Happy boys!

Happy Birthday Zachary! Can't believe you are 4.

The back yard fence

We are on our way to fencing in our back yard :) We are using the fence boards from our old fence, I like the rustic weathered look and I feel great about recycling!
We are about half way there, I think. Maybe by the end of fire season I will have it up. A few boards a day, shouldn't be to difficult. Billy has done all the cutting so far and I have put in all the screws. We are a good team :) I've been watching the way he measures and cuts so that I can continue to work on it while he is gone.

Maybe one of these days we will have some chickens back there and a family dog :)