Spring Activities and Events

We had a busy spring! Finn joined a TBall league for the first time. He was rather nervous at the idea of trying something new, but was happy to have his buddy, Ace with him on the team. Colin and I were pleased that his buddy's Dad was the coach. This made Finn's first attempt at any sport much easier! He mostly had fun, but at times found the game (not easy to understand for the very first time) a little boring...but the dirt, bugs and airplanes that he could spot in the sky seemed to make up for the boring parts! The best part of this entire experience is that he only remembers the fun parts and has committed to the soccer league in the fall! Maybe he will ask for something other than Lego for his next birthday (fingers crossed!)

Practice time. Trying to figure out what is going on!

Anxiously waiting for his turn to bat!

Finn with his friend Ace

Lilly has been taking tap dance and ballet for several months. Her recital was in early June and I think she found the entire experience fun and exciting. All winter long, she would tell me the best part of her week was going to dance class, and then when she finally got her costumes it was evident that her expectations were clearly surpassed. When it came to the day of her recital, she had a few nerves (who wouldn't...the performance was at a fairly large theatre completely sold out!) but once she realized that her hair and make up would be done to fully transform her into a ballerina, her fears quickly melted away. We have her signed up for dance again next year, as she informed me after her recital, that she wanted to dance until she was in her 90's. To balance this activity, she will also be playing soccer in the fall.

Lilly in her ballet costume striking poses

Lilly with her friend Ansley

This was her tap costume. 

I think her face says it all...Best Day Ever!!!

Below are videos of the dances that Lilly performed. These videos were taken in the dance studio on the day Lilly picked up her costumes. I only got the dances from the back.  I didn't take any video on the day of the performance...the day was hectic enough!

Ballet- Lilly third from the far end in the back row.

Tap- Lilly the closest one to the back

Colin loves to garden and he spends much of his free time outside in the yard. We didn't plant a vegetable garden this year, but the kids did bring home a few seeds they planted at school, so Colin found a place to grow some pumpkins, tomatoes and cucumbers among our herb garden.

Lilly inspecting her pumpkins

Pictures of our yard

This post is for you Mom. These are pictures of our yard taken about one month ago. You can see the tall trees that surround the side and back yard.

This is the front of the house:

The roses bloom all summer long. 

We just planted these pots. 

Our deck. All the other pictures are the view from the deck. 

These white flowers are fragrant gardenias. They have finished blooming, but the air was filled with sweetness for a few weeks.

Colin plans to plant a vegetable garden by the distant trees next year. 

Colin has big plans for this space. This is directly across from the deck. The hydrangeas were damaged a little by frost, but they have begun to bloom. We get cardinals, woodpeckers, blue birds, yellow finches, mockingbirds, robins, rabbits and squirrels in the yard. We have also had deer wander through a few times. So far I have not seen any snakes...but I know they are out there...

This is the play fort. We have started to put the mulch in, but are not finished with that project. The kids like to play out there, especially in the sand. The building behind it is our neighbors garage. We will be planting a privacy tree hedge in the fall. But our neighbor may want to build a fence before then!

This is a recent picture of the deck. We have had lots of rain and heat. Look how the pots have grown!

After Easter, Finn and Lilly planted a few tomato and cucumber seeds. We didn't expect them to do much, but they are HUGE! They will probably produce while we are in Canada, but it has been fun to watch them grow!