Weeks 25 & 26: Currently June

Our activities of late, in no particular order * Charlotte climbing dangerously on everything imaginable, resulting in the removal of multiple pieces of furniture from the living room * the boys had their first eye exams and Gabe is getting glasses * doing art and playing games, including minecraft on the tablets * Zach taking yoga classes * Father's day breakfast in bed * pretty much neglecting our plants since it's been raining, and then noticing that we actually have a few snap peas * going to the pool almost every day for Zach's swim lessons and family swim a couple times

A couple quick videos

It's been nuts around here, and I'll have lots of photos to share next week. I just need a break to actually look at them! 

Week 24: Around here

Here are the photo highlights:

Finally got the basement cleaned up and rearranged for more playing space.

Finished sorting legos with Zach.

And the big excitement was getting the tablets. The boys are loving all the games.

The boys' old light fixture. The bulbs were a pain to change and they didn't last very long. Time for a new one.

So the new one is too bright for my taste (and it's still kind of dark in the corners) but they like it. It's LED with no bulbs to change and will supposedly last a long time.

The plants are still growing...

...and starting to bloom.

Week 23: Out of school

Gabe was happy to hang out with Charlotte and play Trouble with me this week, and Zachary's last day was Thursday. On Friday he jumped on learning to crochet (he's not bad!) and attended a birthday party at a pool with a lazy river. We will definitely be taking the family there at least once this summer. We are busy weeding out the summer clothes and shoes that don't fit and shopping for new ones. The plants are about the same only taller. We've made some play dates with friends. The summer's off to a fast start, and I'm completely exhausted already.

Week 22: Rushing toward summer

We spent a pretty quiet holiday weekend at home, playing with the kids and trying to get stuff done around the house. Besides the weekly catch-up on dishes and laundry, my focus right now is getting the basement straightened up so the boys can spend more time down there this summer.

On Memorial Day we introduced Charlotte to the backyard. The kids haven't spent much time outside lately because it seems like it's been either rainy or too hot (and we're trying to manage Zach's allergy symptoms). But she enjoyed running around, and even rolling, in the grass and chasing after the ball and bubbles.

We celebrated Gabe's last day of school with cupcakes. He's just so big now :) It's going to be exciting to watch him get on the bus with Zach this fall.

We have ups and downs with the boys weekend room-cleaning routine. Sometimes they are more motivated and sometimes not, though I feel like I can't get mad at Zach for wanting to sit and read much of the day. Lately it's been taking pretty much the whole weekend for them to finish. But it is good practice, and they are proud when it's clean. Gabe was happy about lining up his "guys" on his bed, and Zach and I are eager to finish sorting his legos by color.

Also, they talked me into letting them spend their allowance on a Star Wars crochet kit. I will be shocked if anything comes of our practice, but I promised I would teach them a little and see what happens.

Our wildflower seeds have resulted in pots full of greenery and just now a few little white flowers. Definitely suspenseful. The veggie plants are growing well, and we're worried maybe a little too well. I already pulled out a good portion of the tomato plants about a week ago when they were just starting to take off. The peas are clinging to the strings and seem to be in a race with the tomatoes. We are all very curious to see actual vegetables growing.