Gardening

So, we're growing a garden again this year (last year was our first attempt). We have two 4 foot by 8 foot raised garden boxes on the side of the house (see the picture with the boys). In the first box, half is filled with potatoes and half of the box is strawberries. The strawberries are left overs from last year (they survived the winter and total neglect from us). We've already enjoyed a dozen or so delicious red strawberries and the potato plants are just beginning to flower.

The second 4 x 8 garden box is filled with corn. I swore we wouldn't do corn this year (after we did it completely wrong last year and ended up with a few ugly, but delicious ears of corn), but Daniel insisted that we grow corn again. So, I decided to do it right - lots and lots of rows of corn. There are more than 100 corn stalks in that 4 x 8 box. There's also some random squash or cucumber plants growing in that box (we'll know what it is when it starts growing fruit). We didn't plant the squash/cucumbers, it decided to grow on it's own. Apparently some seeds made it into the ground from our crop last year.

Along the back of the house there are 4 raised planter boxes that are about 18 inches by 6 feet. Two of the four are filled with flowers, while the other two have squash, watermellon, and tomatoes. Oh, and Daniel is growing two giant pumpkin plants in buckets.

All this in addition to our plumb, peach, pear, and citrus trees . . . add some animals and we'd have a farm . . . .

Graduating Class of 2009

One of my students, Jordan, mailed me a high school graduation announcement this week. Wow! I feel really old. I am also proud and excited for my students. Although it's been a lifetime it seems since I taught them 4th and 5th grade, I still feel a connection to them. I am thrilled at their success. I can hardly wait to hear about all they do and become. I'm sure one day I'll be saying, "I taught famous 'so and so'. Can you believe it?" Then I can go buy their book or movie or just hear about what great families they have. Congratulations class of 2009! Keep me posted. You are all loved!

Digging Holes to China

Having just had a big birthday party, you'd think the boys would be playing with new toys...but nothing can compete with the dirt box, a bunch of old trucks, and shovels. Daniel and Liam have 2 or 3 different holes they're working on. I actually made them surrender one because they were digging around a pipe that was supposed to be buried. I am constantly sending the boys back outside to rid themselves of the dust cloud. It is something like "Pig Pen" the Charlie Brown character. Dusting the house is hopeless (they'll be my excuse for the next few years). Maybe they'll find a buried treasure. Actually, they do unearth "treasures" all the time...snails, slugs, worms, dinosaur eggs (rocks). I finally designated a tree on the side of the house as a treasure tree. They can unload all of their finds there so they won't get lost and mom won't throw them out (and they won't make them a home inside the house). I hope it works. It's hard to grab handfulls of leaves, sticks, rocks etc. and sneak them out to the trash without getting caught by two very observant sons.

If it didn't get so hot, I think the boys would prefer to spend 90% of their time outside. They love riding bikes, playing on the swingset, playing in sprinklers (or any water they can find-drains, and puddles included), and watering the plants.

New Skin

Daniel told me on his birthday that he needed new skin. I asked him why and he said that his old skin was too small and he needed 5-year-old skin now. Makes sense. It is funny how we assume that a birthday, just a day on a calendar, should change everything. After his friends left from his birthday party Daniel told me that his next birthday would be a GI Joe party. I still hadn't gotten things picked up from the last one, so I will ignore requests for the next 10 or 11 months! I guess I'll just take it as a compliment that he must have loved his Star Wars birthday. Daniel, I love you.

Happy Birthday Daniel

Daniel turned 5 on May 20 and today was his Star Wars birthday party with some of his friends. About 15 Padawan Learners arrived to the young Jedi training center. They began with light saber dueling (made from pool noodles--no bionic hands were necessary). . . .

They then used the force to traverse an obstacle course which required them to climb, slide, hop from platform to platform, cross a "lava" pit, cross a "lake" without getting wet, and demonstrate balance.

Once they'd proven themselves worthy of becoming Jedi their first mission was to free Han Solo from the carbonite (or was that ice?) freezing. It was a hot sunny day, perfect for racing back and forth from the water to the frozen Han until he finally came free.

After freeing their friend, they stumbled upon (literally) the Dark Side's secret weapon, the Death Star (drawn in chalk by Nathan). Not to worry, they bombed (waterballooned) it until there was no hint of what had once been such a vile fortress. That was followed by target practice as the young Jedi ran around with water guns, shooting the droid and bad guy pictures that were strategically placed around the yard.

The young Jedi's then watched a Star Wars Clone Wars movie and ate galactic pizza and Yoda soda. And I forgot the fruit salad in the fridge (so it wasn't very nutritious - but I don't think they missed it - more for us tonight for dinner).

Finally, the young Jedi confronted the evil Lord Vader (Daniel wacked him in half with four swings - honestly, I expected everyone to get a turn - we got it on video and you can see the kids running for the candy - Liam was ready to pounce before everyone else). The young Jedi ate their candy and took turns swinging thier light sabers at Lord Vader's helmet. The party ended with cake. Daniel had specifically requested Anakin with R2D2 in his Star Wars space ship. (I had to get Nathan's expertise to know exactly what that looked like, but in the end I think it turned out pretty well.)

All in all, it was a lot of fun. The games didn't really go as planned, but I learned that five year olds have a different concept of what makes a game fun. They don't need rules to follow, they just want to throw things, shoot water guns, run around, swing their foam light sabers, and eat pizza . . . . oh . . . and candy.

Daniel had a lot of fun picking out a toy space ship for each of his friends. If anyone didn't get one or accidentally left it here, let us know. Daniel was very concerned that all of his friends get a space ship to take home.

Thanks to everyone who came and the moms who were able to stick around and help. Thanks to Aunt Melanie for coming way out of her way to witness the mayhem and take tons of wonderful pictures.

Truly Happy Mother's Day

On Mother's Day, Nathan continued the tradition of spoiling me with yummy breakfast prepared by him with some help from our boys (while I slept in). We shared the morning with one of the world's greatest moms. (I love you, Mom!) It was great having my mom and dad here for the weekend, although it wasn't nearly long enough. Nathan and Grandpa spent part of the morning setting up a new table and chairs for the kitchen. A great Mother's Day gift!

I feel so blessed to have such great examples of what a mom should be. I hope I can learn from the best and teach my boys as well as my mom did. I am also blessed to have a wonderful mom-in-law. I am so lucky to feel comfortable calling her "Mom" too. She had 4 boys and so she welcomed me into the family 10+ years ago, grateful for a daughter. I think she also laughs as she remembers her 4 little boys when I share crazy stories about our boys.

Mother's Day is a great day to appreciate those who call me mom. I love all my boys. They are so sweet and forgiving of me. Daniel called me a genius last week. Liam walks over to me a few times a day and says, "I love you, Mom!" Sometimes on days that I'm not cleaned up he tells me I'm beautiful. Caleb snuggles into my arms and clings on like a little spider-monkey. They all make "Mom" a special word. It is true we all have our days, this mom included. But their love makes it all worthwhile. I can't imagine life without them.

For the Birds

Each time Grandpa Bohman comes to town our boys get excited to do a project with him. Grandma and Grandpa bought Daniel and Liam their own tool belts; complete with rainbow suspenders, goggles, and hard hats (with real, little tools)! Last time Grandpa was here they built and painted wood boats that they floated in the pond at the park. This time Daniel had a request for Grandpa. He loves the bird houses he's seen at our neighbor's home, so he asked Grandpa to help him build one of his very own (actually he wanted to build a surfboard too, but maybe we'd better get some swimming lessons first). They all had a good time building and painting them.

We hung them in the plum tree in the back yard. The boys can't wait for the birds to move in. They were worried a few evenings ago that we would scare the birds if we went outside! Actually, that is quite a change for my boys. Usually when we go to Costco they try to scare away all of the birds hanging out by the food court. I get quite a few questioning looks as I wheel in my cart of 3 boys--all growling, and roaring in their most ferocious voices, hanging out of the cart towards the closest bird. I'm sure people question their sanity (or perhaps mine for bringing them out in public). At the park, their sport is chasing all of the sitting or sleeping ducks off of the dirt and sending them, wings flapping, in a dust cloud, back to the pond.

Ghirdelli...Not Rice-a-Roni

After spending the day at Dunes Beach we decided to have some fun in San Fran. We watched a few street performers and our favorite, the bushman, made Nathan part of his act! (He hides behind a bush clipping and jumps out to scare unsuspecting pedestrians--Nathan.) Since our boys are train fanatics Grandpa and Grandma got us trolley tickets too. The line was an hour or so wait, and with three little ones (we like to blame it on them) we decided we needed sustenance. So, the real San Francisco treat is not actually rice-a-roni, but as any of you who've visited the bay know, it's Ghirdelli chocolate. To be fair, nothing can compete with chocolate. Grandma and I hiked up to Ghirdelli Square with Daniel and Caleb. We enjoyed the free samples and even bought a big bag back to the trolley line to share with Liam, Grandpa, and Nathan. Caleb ODed, as did Liam, which was evidenced by their sticky brown smiles!

Just before we reached the front of the line, Caleb soaked through his pants and I had to change him standing up as the line moved to board the trolley. Of course, all of the extra clothes and jackets were in the van, so Caleb was pantless for the ride. He didn't act cold, although it was getting chilly outside. A few trolley riders did see his bare legs and gave me withering glances to show their disapproval. On the opposite end of the trolley line Grandma bought him a new pair of shorts so we wouldn't get reported before we made it back to our van. (With all of the strangeness in San Fran, you'd think no one would've noticed one pantless baby.) The trolley ride was fun. Daniel gave it a mixed review because he loves trains but is very afraid of heights (the trolley ride includes San Fran's famous steep hills). He didn't say much on the ride, but he did talk about it after. Grandma bought Liam a warm jacket when we stopped to eat clam chowder and sour dough. He absolutely loves it. In fact he asks to wear it even when it is 90 degrees outside! What a fun trip.

Day at the Beach

We decided to show Grandma and Grandpa Bohman a good time by spending pre-Mother's Day at the beach. We found Dunes Beach, just south of Halfmoon Bay. There weren't many people there (probably because it was windy and cold as soon as we got out of the car - but that didn't stop us).




The beach is exactly what it's name implies, lots of sand. They say kids that eat dirt may have an iron deficiency, so I wonder how I should interpret Caleb's mouthful after mouthful of sand. But Caleb's mouth wasn't the only thing full of sand. My friend Sara told me the trick to getting sand off is baby powder, so we tried it (not recommended for mouths). It worked great for everything from changing diapers to cleaning hands so we could snack. For the first time ever, we didn't bring home half the beach with us in the car! We made camp by a freshwater creek that ran through the sand to the ocean. It warmed up really quickly and we ended up spending way too much time in the sun. As a result, we are all bathing ourselves in aloe gel today.

-- HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY --

Here's some flowers with a bottle of aloe, fresh from the refrigerator. It might sound funny, but I'm serious, Aloe is a miracle cure for sunburns. And if you think ahead to keep it in the fridge, you can't imagine how refreshing cold aloe feels to fire engine-red skin. It's like ice cold water to a parched throat.

The boys had a blast racing their boats in the creek, saving their boats when a wave capsized them, burying Daddy in the sand, digging holes, and building sand castles with Grandpa. Here's a couple pictures from our day at the beach. Next time, we'll remember to use sunscreen even if it's cool and windy and we'll remember to bring a kite.