Happy Anniversary

Five years. How does time go by so quickly?

Lessons Leaned Along the Way

1. Chip wood, especially pine trees and anything wet/rotting, the same year you harvest it.  Do not hang on to it from one year to the next.

2. Chipping wood that is rotten on a warm sunny day creates a heck-of-a-lot of dust, dirt, mess that coats EVERYTHING within a 1/2 mile radius. It only adds to your list of "to-do's" ... like re-washing all windows and screens and power washing the sides of the house.

3. Much easier to separate day lily bulbs when they are dry. 

4. A reward of driving tractor can be great motivation to get teenagers to weed and pick up sticks.

5. Somewhere there is poison ivy on this property. 

6. One week with a backhoe is not enough time. Now I understand why people buy them... there is always more to be done that would be easier with a big piece of machinery under ya!

7.  Our builder made some really poor choices. I am silently cursing him now.

8.  Yes, Virginia, you can blow out a tire on a lawn cart with a bicycle pump.

9. If you plan to edge your landscaping, do not wait 6 years between edgings. 

10. Shop around for soft-scaping. Prices vary greatly from one nursery to the next.

11. Sometimes, no matter how much you envision it, you still end up with an "Oh Sh*t!" moment.

New Project

Tomorrow we start a landscaping project here at the house. We have rented a wood chipper and backhoe for the week and expect delivery of 15 yards of mulch along with 22 yards of dirt. If we don't knock the foundation out from under the house, we plan to (carefully) remove the landscaping around the house, dig out some of the hard packed clay that is refusing to allow the plants to grow, replace it with soil/sand mixture and put most of the plants right back where they were. Some plants, such as yews which is really deer caviar, will be completely removed and replaced with deer resistant plants. 

While this is NOT the ideal time to be taking on this project (most of the plants are in their prime growing season), it is the time we have available to do it. So OnWard We Go! I'll post before, during, and after pictures but I don't think we'll see the real results of this work until three years down the road after the plants have had a chance to re-establish themselves.

More Mobile Everyday

Yesterday Isaiah stood up on his own while we were outside. No leaning or pulling on anything ... not even the ground! Just went from a squatting position to upright in a blink of an eye. I expect that one day very soon he is just going to stand up and walk across the room towards me.

This evening he did take a step. It was small ... more of a hesitation then shuffling of his left foot forward .. but he did it!

He also got two more teeth in the past week, for a total of 4 sharpies right in front. At least they are opposing so he'll be all set for gnawing on corn on the cob before too long. haha

Steve refuses to dress the baby in 'big boy' clothes, preferring the look of onesies and little pants. I dressed Isaiah in shorts and a polo shirt one afternoon and was accused of robbing him of his baby-hood. I agree that the time is too fleeting and wish we could just slow things down a teensy bit. But Isaiah will have nothing of it. OnWard He Goes!!!

Sleeping in the Dark can be Scary

The 'big  boys' made their first attempt at sleeping in the treehouse last night. We set up sleeping pads and bags surrounded by mosquito netting. At around 9:30 they headed out armed with pillows, books, and flashlights. The glow from the flashlights made the treehouse look welcoming in the darkness. Eventually the lights were extinguished and we hoped that the boys would sleep well.

Less than 90 minutes later, I saw the lights come back on as one boy made his way down the ladder ... followed by the other. Oh well. They gave it a shot and I'm sure the next time out they will last longer.

yummmm

First time with frozen treat (sorbet). He loooooved it!

We are lucky to live within biking distance of two fabulous ice cream huts.

the I man

in case you need an update on the little buggar...

from Declan...

On Monday we had a tour of the Capitol Building. It was cool. Our guide, Andrew, was very informative. The big dome in the middle weighed like 9 million pounds. African American slaves built it a long time ago:

We went to a room called the "Crypt" where George Washington was supposed to be buried. George wasn't in the coffin because his family didn't want him to be buried there. The pillars were made of brick covered in plaster and they supported the rotunda above it. Here is a picture of it.

from Angus...

We went to the Spy Museum in DC. It was a BLAST! They had everything in cloak, dagger, and shadow from the 1880's to modern times. I learned how to pick a lock, plant a bug, photograph documents, and use disguises. Before we went through the museum, we participated in this interactive part where we (a group of around 15) had to find this nuclear bomb in a bad guy's basement office. I really had a great time.

DC Trip

DC was a terrific hit with the boys. Turns out you can ride in a car for that long with an 8-month old! Who knew!

We tried to cram wayyyyy too many things into our short stay and the boys are already working on the itinerary for our next trip. We did a TON of walking while we were there ~ so much that the boys say that next time we are going on vacation they are going to start 'training' for it 2 months in advance.   

Saw these things....

Memorials/Monuments: Vietnam, Korean, Lincoln, WWII, US Navy, Washington

Museums: Natural History, American History, Air & Space, International Spy, American Art (National Portrait Gallery), Holocaust (also on list for trip #2)

Other:  Zoo, Arlington Cemetery, tour of Capitol, picnic lunch at outdoor sculpture park

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Also had time to spend with Gemma and Greg and a too-short visit with great Aunt Bet up in Maryland before heading home.