I'm finally getting the photos on here I've been wanting to show you all. Again, computer problems. I got a nap today so I have the energy to do it tonight and using it. The first few photos are in backwards order, but the last ones about the yard are from today. It was a wonderful day at our house! We worked/played in the yard and the kids ate dinner (Christopher actually sat at the table with us too and not the counter!) with no complaints, which is a first in I have no idea how long. I think God knew I needed that! (Sorry for all the times I complained about what you fixed, Mom!!!) So, on to photos...


Here are two tops I "made" for Sophie. Yes, they are iron-ons, but aren't they cute? I found them at A.C. Moore and just had to get them. Found the tops at Target and I fell in love! Christopher wants a blue "pancake" as he calls them, but I got him a little stick boy with a fishing pole. It was a disaster and melted all over the place, so I'll be returning it. I had to show these b/c everyone has been showing these really cute things that they have sewn. Well, I don't sew. I never learned and probably never will. Not that I have anything against it, but my mom does and she has way more time to do it than I do. (No offense mom!) She LOVES doing it, is very fast and has an incredible spot to do it. I have absolutely no place in our home to put a sewing machine. Yeah, I know some of you don't either, but you just pull it out when you need it. I'd never do that. It'd stay in the closet.

Sophie trying to close the dishwasher. She loves to close things and put stuff away. She apparently knows when we are finished with stuff. We don't. I took this b/c she had found her hat and put it on by herself. She did this everytime she would find it around the house and I thought it was really cute! She gets everyone's shoes and finds her hat when we go outside. She also loves to put on sunscreen and bug spray saying, "uh! uh! uh!" (she says this all the time b/c it's easier than learning to talk) until we are finished.

Notice Sophie's bracelet? Take a closer look. Can you tell what it is? I might as well tell you, nobody will get it. It the track from Christopher's excavator. Yup! You might be a redneck if... Jeff, add that one to your list.

The kids enjoying a homemade popsicle after their naps one afternoon. They were super excited about this b/c I don't usually give them sweets unless it's a holiday or they went potty. (No, I'm not a mean "no candy" mom, just don't care to deal with the crying b/c they want more or the sugar rush they get from it.) Don't feel too bad, it's water and the syrup my husband bought to make them with. It's sugar free, but I think they taste like bad flavored water. We'll use fruit juice next time.

Christopher stopping to dig for a minute. Notice how he stuck his popsicle in the ground with it sticking up so it won't get dirty. He's not dumb! Sophie's trying to figure out why he'd put it down in the first place.

The kids watching our neighbor cut his yard. (I'd say grass, but let's be honest, everyone here on base just has weeds. Unless you spend lots of money and work really hard, which not many are up for that fight. He actually has more grass than we do though.) Notice the kids are under the trampolene? Yup. They thought this would be a good spot to watch from.

Sophie making her funny face to show me that she's done with something she just consumed. She first started doing this with a Capri Sun and I guess now it's being done with popsicles. Do you see how dirty she is? This is why I took their shirts off. We not only have sand for a backyard, but it's that dirty sand that is super fine and like dust, but you have to scrub it off with soap, water and a rag. Reason #1 why I don't like living in FL - the kids need 2 baths a day.

Don't you love Sophie's dress? I got it at Wal-Mart for $5 and think it's worth every little penny. She sooooo didn't want me taking her photo. I literally chased her around the house and this was the face I finally got on "film." I adore her!

Ok, here's the project that I wanted to get done today. Pretty scary huh? I left the rusty grill canister there for added effect. See how gross the yard is? (Remember we live on base, not in a sketchy neighborhood. It just looks like it with the chain fence.) We could plant grass seed, which we plan to do, but our yard floods so bad that it won't do a whole lot of good. How do we always end up living in a home where the backyard floods? The patio drops off pretty far and Sophie tripped the other day almost hitting her forehead on the edge. I'd been planning on adding some "trim" and plants to extend this and try to make the yard look nicer, but wasn't motivated until I heard about her fall. So, I went to Self Help (place for those families who live on base and can purchase things for their home for "free" - with a quarterly allowance) They actually had some plants in stock, so I went back today and snagged some of those. Unfortunately I don't have a good photo of the final project (b/c there is so much stuff all over that it really does look like a trailor park!) so I'm going to wait and post it later. We also realized that it slopes to the right and will try to fix it. I'm going to leave you with this: