Amazing berries

These are our find of the week! They were so large that we had to take photos before devouring them. I apologize in advance for inevitable salivary gland overproduction caused from viewing these photos. What could be better than huge fresh strawberries at the beginning of summer?

Cargo Bike

I just love biking... good for the body, good for the air. When we lived in Provo I biked everywhere around town instead of driving. I just buckled Brendan into the infant seat and off we'd go to the library or the grocery store or the local bakery. Now I'm not so close to such venues. Although if I did live closer to a grocery store, I would surely consider this purchase:

This beauty sports a bench inside with two seatbelts! Best family bike I've seen yet! Food for thought for you urbanites with growing families. :)

Big B Turns 7

Brendan is thrilled to finally be 7. We celebrated his birthweek with Bakugan (favorite toy of 2009), custom food requests (macaroni & cheese with a giant chocolate chip cookie for dessert), and a homemade volcano eruption. Thanks to grandmas and grandpas for thoughtful gifts; and to Shannon and Mitch for the Bakugan battle pack... it was a hit!

You can see how surprised he was to receive the battle pack from Mitch and Shan:

The larger than life cookie:

It took us a week to construct this volcano out of salt dough and stippled paint. We used good ol' baking soda with colored vinegar for the eruption (we even put little plastic dinosaurs and fake greenery in for fun):



With buddy Taylor:

Happy Birthday to a special boy! We love you.

Caleb

What a wonderful baby boy I have. He is mild-tempered, cuddly, happy, and he sleeps well. He's also growing exponentially - he's only five months old and already wearing clothes that Brendan wore while potty training! Audrey is such a help in taking care of Caleb. She is always the first one to his side when he wimpers and her mothering instincts are quite apparent when she relates with him.

May Play Days

Here are a few fun shots of some of our favorite play time activities:

Audrey at the piano:

Madeline with her must-haves (sippy and blanket):

Brendan with Legos and Bakugan:

Dad playing hide and seek in one of his creative and dangerous hiding spots - you can't tell from the picture but there's a 15 foot drop to tile floor beneath him. This has become one of his famous hiding places (he had to cover his hand with a towel so the kids couldn't see it wrapped around the ledge holding on for dear life):

Hideout

The kids found an unexpected new play space - the linen closet! They cleared the shelves and moved right in, making comfortable beds for themselves. My mother was kind enough to reorganize the closet after the fun, although something tells me the linens will surely be pulled down again soon... how could these fun hiding spots be resisted?

Renovation

An unfortunate leak in the upstairs bathroom caused the need for a complete bathroom overhaul. Linoeum and subflooring were ripped out, new subflooring and tile installed. Overall, 'twas an educational process indeed as we learned every detail about the workings of a toilet!

Amid the mess:

A brand new flooring base for the toilet:

Finished product... with a sigh of relief: