Because apparently a shed needs its own post

So last weekend we got a shed. We had been thinking about purchasing one for a while, especially because when we eventually finish the basement, we'll need a place to put the items we've been storing there. #firstworldproblem

The preparation before the shed arrived was considerable, and I felt very thankful on more than one occasion for Michael's strength and energy.

 The spot where we needed the shed to be was on a grade, so Michael (again, so thankful for his ability to think and plan these things!) prepared the pad before the gravel was delivered.

Btw, for those wondering why our fence is missing two panels, a tree on the property behind us fell on our fence. Twice. Fortunately, the owner's insurance compensated us, which was a blessing. We do have to replace our trampoline enclosure net, but it's all good.

 It was quite a sight watching a massive dump truck drive around the house and dump five tons of gravel (which was too much, unfortunately, but we used the extra to level the trampoline).

 What boy doesn't love a big mountain of gravel to climb? Robbie was a great helper, shoveling the rocks for Michael. Henry was great at getting messy.

 Henry was very interested in watching Michael sawing. I kept asking Michael, "Are you sure it has to be exactly level? Can't it be level-ish?" But kudos to Michael for his attention to detail and patience (especially when he had to redo part of the gravel pad) because the shed delivery guy said, "You did a SUPER job on the pad. A super job." That made it all worth it.

 It's not every day you see a mini house pulling up your driveway on a trailer. This trailer was incredible. It had a remote-controlled extra set of wheels underneath the trailer wheels which could move horizontally, making it possible to swing the trailer around the side of the house and wheel the trailer into place in the backyard.

 What was even more amazing is that it was all done by one Mennonite kid who looked to be about 19 but was very confident and comfortable with unloading a massive shed all by himself. Michael helped in his bare feet, of course.

 I texted our neighbors to invite them to come join the party. It was pretty mesmerizing.


Success! We were all super excited to go inside and check it out. I am excited to plant flowers in the window boxes. We were hoping it could also be a sort of play house on one side, but we realized that with splinters, tools, etc. it will mostly be just a storage area for the lawnmower, backyard toys, etc.

 A celebratory wheelbarrow ride was definitely in order. I know Michael was wishing he could relax in a hot tub after all that work. Maybe someday.

Robbie's preschool program

Robbie participated in his preschool program a couple of weeks ago.

 He tends to be pretty shy when it comes to performing or speaking in front of people, but he did great singing with his class. It was fun watching him perform the actions to their songs and sit patiently until it was their turn.

It was very entertaining to see the other classes as well, particularly noticing the improvement in ability as each older class performed. It's a great preschool community and Robbie has really enjoyed it.

After the program--proud of himself and so were we!

Gettysburg and Chocolate World

A couple of weekends ago we drove up to see Michael's grandparents in East Berlin, PA and made a little getaway of it with the kids since it was a teacher workday on the Friday. Although the trip had its ups (seeing family and beautiful scenery) and downs (kids quarreling in the car; Clara throwing up a ton in the hotel pool after accidentally swallowing water and causing the pool to be closed), I am glad Michael had us take the trip, and it is quite sweet in retrospect.

Our first stop was Gettysburg. I had never been to the museum and was deeply touched and saddened by the number of lives lost and the difficult time that was in our country. I should have anticipated the gunshots and pictures during the introductory movie, but fortunately the kids didn't seem too traumatized by it.

Checking out the uniforms. Henry was in rare form in the museum and kept running off and climbing stairs he wasn't supposed to. I'm glad it was a weekday and not very busy.

 We stopped by to see President Lincoln on our way out.

 Abe is a tolerant guy.

 A very tolerant guy.

We drove around to see some of the battlefields. The huge rocks there are incredible, and despite an incredibly blustery day, it is really a beautiful place. Sad but beautiful.

 The view from the top of Little Round Top, which Michael remembers from his childhood.

 A spy atop one of the many memorials there.

In Gettysburg proper, Michael and Robbie ran up to the house to snap a pic in front of the door of the only civilian killed in the Civil War. The bullet hole is still there in the door. 

After Gettysburg, we drove to Aunt Chris' house, who treated us to snacks and nice conversation with her and the grandparents.

Clara has a sweet friendship with her second cousin, Brianna. They both enjoy TV watching!

Michael's grandparents are doing well (his grandfather will be 92 this year), and it was special being in the car with them as we drove them back from Aunt Chris' house. It's not every day that kids can be in the car with their great-grandparents.

After we said our goodbyes, we ate at Chick-fil-A and then headed to our hotel. The kids did a good job sleeping through the night (yay!), but I sure missed my bed. We drove to Chocolate World and spent only about an hour or so there, but not without buying a little candy for the road home. I got a King Size Reese's peanut butter cup to share with Michael that had Reese's Pieces inside (whhatttt???!). It was pretty awesome.

They had this pretty hilarious/impressive screen where Reese would talk (seriously) to people walking by. He had quite a long conversation with us and would tease Clara and try to talk to her. I don't know how the technology worked, but it was fun and made her day. (Clara saw me typing this and said, "I want Reese again. I need him!")

 I had to take a picture with Twizzler.

The boys were thrilled to take this picture if you can't tell.

It was a memorable trip.

A walk in the woods

We have been enjoying some interesting weather of late--unseasonably warm and spring-like (the trees are already starting to bloom) mixed with cold and windy. We have only had half an inch of snow the whole season though--crazy--although I am not sad, I confess.

A week or so ago we took a walk/hike through Paul State Forest, which is a small forest near where we live (in Dayton, VA)--a forest surrounded by farmland. It was very serene and enjoyable, and the kids had a great time. It was nice not feeling rushed and not having to make it to a summit by a certain period of time--we just walked on the trails for a bit and then had a snack and let the kids play around.

"Where's Henry?" is a game that Michael plays with Henry on his shoulders--Henry likes to peek around to look at him.

Robbie likes making this face--ferocious.

We stopped for a snack (bran muffins) after a bit. Clara had fun with her walking stick and had a good attitude on the hike.

We heard and then saw a woodpecker, and Michael was trying to help Robbie spot it.

The kids had fun playing on this gate after the hike--two little monkeys climbing around. Henry tries to do everything Robbie does.

 We sure love these kids--their shenanigans are exhausting but hilarious in retrospect.

I sure love this man so much.

Michael's ortho conference/snowboarding trip

Michael flew out to Vail, Colorado with Brent Ramsey (an oral surgeon in town and member of the Church) for a week-long orthodontic/oral surgery course. The course conveniently only held class in the morning (or was it evening?), enabling interested attendees to ski/snowboard for the majority of the day. He had an absolute blast, having just taken a few snowboarding lessons at Massanutten here. Vail, obviously, helped him take his skills to the next level.

 He even tried escargot.

Reading with Dad

In honor of my dad's birthday this week, I wanted to share a few favorite memories from my childhood. When I was young, my dad started reading with me at night by my bed. It began with him reading to me, and then as I learned to read more I would take the book and read a bit and we'd switch off. I loved the sound of his voice reading, and I really cherished that special time with him at night. I also appreciate the sacrifice my mom made to let him read with me.

I was trying to think of all the books we read together over the years. Here are some of the books I recall:
A Little Princess
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Black Beauty
A Secret Garden
Roller Skates (? maybe I read that on my own?)
Children of the New Forest

We even read together when I was in high school. I believe A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was the last book we read together. Many of the books that we read together are ones that I requested of my parents, and they now sit on my shelves, ready to be read again.

I think about the time a parent invests in their child without any guarantee that the child is aware of or even appreciates the sacrifice that the parent is making. There are so many things I do as a parent that I am pretty sure my children will not remember, and I know there are thousands of things my Mom and Dad did for me and my siblings that I either cannot remember or don't even know about in the first place.

 Be that as it may, the Lord knows, and I feel so thankful for the small, daily, inconsequential things that my parents did. Some of those things include my dad calling me (and my sister, of course) his "princess," and treating me like one, as well as other endearing habits like his memorable whistle when he arrived home after work and telling me "Duerme con los angeles" each night after he tucked me in bed, "snug as a bug in a rug."

Thank you for these, among many other, beautiful memories, Dad. Happy happy birthday!

Random pics

Thought I'd dump out some other glimpses into our lives these days.

My sister-in-law Emily made me this hat and scarf. They are gorgeous and the color is so lovely. 

 Robbie came out yesterday with them on and apparently thought they were pretty sweet as well.

 When Michael was in Colorado all last week at a CE course, I tried to make the best of things with the kids at home. One afternoon we went to the library and Clara and Henry enjoyed petting a therapy dog visiting there. Afterwards, I took them to Benny's Pizza, which has absolutely enormous slices. All four of us shared two slices.

Here was our "fun list" of things to do in his absence--a few items to do another time. The balloon rocket races were a great example of one of those Pinterest ideas that sounds super amazing but that turns out to be mostly a mom-project where the kids watch and lose interest after one minute. Live and learn.

 We've had some pretty crazy weather here--flurries one day, 60s and 70s a day or two later, etc. But it's been very nice to not be cooped up inside too much.

 A happy selfie from Clara stealing my phone.

 A Magnatile creation Robbie and I made. We got these for Christmas and they are totally awesome. Btw, do you see how Robbie is squinting his left eye? For about six months he has these weird eye episodes most days of the week where he can't see out of one eye (it changes, but it's usually his left) for about 10 to 15 minutes, and then it goes away. We got some dry eye drops, which seem to help, but it's pretty weird.

 A selfie by Spiderman fireman Superman.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to DC and my friend, Karisa, and I attended a temple session while the menfolk watched the kids. It was really fun!

 

 Then when we got back, Karisa and John included us in their "gender reveal" party to find out whether they were having a boy or a girl. The balloons were filled by a friend with pink or blue paint, and even though they didn't explode well, we were all thrilled to find out she's having a girl after having three boys! It was pretty hilarious watching everyone trying to pop the balloons.

 We had a lot of wind one day and a dead tree on the property behind our house fell on our fence. Fortunately, the guy paid for it through his insurance, but he was not happy. Michael had told him about the dead tree back in the fall, but he never went and removed it.

 We had a fun FHE one evening about the armor of God--it was hilarious trying to keep those muffin pans on.

 Krispy Kreme opened here, and it is RIDICULOUS how busy that place is. Of course, if it were ice cream, I'd be more understanding, since doughnuts aren't my favorite thing. We brought two friends along, Jordan and Sierra Flowers.