Falling trees

Our life is still dominated by house updates. Week 2 progress...

• We filled our dumpster completely (mostly from the kitchen demo, wall demo and flooring), and the dumpster was picked up. We finally have our full driveway back!
• The eletrician and HVAC/gas guys were out and worked on the hanging wires in our kitchen/dining wall. It's all clear now and feels open an airy!
• The beginnings of outlets are going into the kitchen walls.
• We put window screens on all of our windows (after 1 night of a mosquito attack, I was a swollen mess and Jack obliged to putting screens up, finally!)
• We met our neighbors - nice people and the best part is that we found a 12 yr old babysitter!

The most exciting (but not productive) update is that a tree branch (but large enough to be its own tree) fell in our backyard and fell inches from our house.

 I wasn't around when it happened, but Jack said that it sounded like a huge car crash in front or our house. So now, how do you decide how proactive you need to be? Enjoy the wooded backyard or make it into an open field with no trees!? We'll probably have to find a happy medium.

It's great to be a kid, because they were thrilled to see the tree branch on the ground. It was their new jungle gym for an hour.

 Don't worry. It's not all about the house. The boys are still enjoying time with friends. We went to the playground with Leela, and the kids were adorable walking to/from the park.

Colin & Leela have the most adorable conversations.  I spent the whole morning just listening to them. Some of my favorites:

Colin: (Stepped on a bug)
Leela: That's not nice. This earth is for bugs. This is their home.
Colin: I think this planet is for people.
Leela: Bugs live here. And this planet is for bugs.
Colin: I think that people live here so it's for people.
Both: Jamie/Mom, is this planet for people or bugs?

Leela/Colin talking about something...
Colin: You know, I am right sometimes too.
Leela: But I can't even talk because you keep talking louder than me when I'm talking.

Colin stepped on Leela's slide:
Leela: Colin, that was not nice. You're frustrating me.
Colin: Well, you weren't even there. So now you're frustrating me.

They sound like 50 year old friends talking over tea and cookies. They would be bickering one moment, then wanting to play with each other the next. Love them. Oh, and Justin - he stayed out of their way.

More friend time at a swimming birthday party. Colin had the best time - and he's quite the swimmer. I hadn't noticed how much he has really learned this summer.

 

Dinner outing. The boys played outside in the wonderful weather for a bit.

 And we took a family picture. We needed one for the boys' school, and I couldn't find a recent pic of us..at all. You can see my right eye here - still a bit swollen from the mosquito attack.

 Oh, and in case you thought you were cool. You aren't as cool as Justin.... =)

 He kind of beats to his own drum. (They were out collecting acorns.)

 Jack took this picture of the boys sleeping one night...

On Sunday, we spent the majority of the day at Grandmas - doing laundry and cooking a week's worth of food. As usual, thanks for hosting us and sending us home with even more home baked goodness. No pictures because we were cooking and folding laundry for 4 hours! No lie.

Happy Monday!