Exciting Times...

We've been BUSY around here lately!

Here's some of what we've been up to...

Two days ago we inherited 2 large rabbits (and their extremely BLUE rabbit-home!).  The kids have been LOVING it & have checked on them "to make sure they're okay" like 20 times a day!  One of those things you do only to make memories for your children...

We also planted a new cherry tree, which Laron is pretty excited about!  Right after Laron planted it, Skyler looked at the picture of the cherries on the tag & asked me, "Mom, why are we planting an olive tree?"  Apparently the cherries looked a little like olives in the picture! :)

 Skyler also finally got a working bike, so he's been feeling pretty proud of himself riding around like all his friends.  He also just learned to tie his shoes this last week (he figured it out a lot easier than I thought he would!), which seems so crazy!  I've also been worried about him spending too much time with friends lately & not enough at home with our family, so we just got him a watch with an alarm on it so we can set his watch for what time he needs to come home from friend's houses.  It's working well so far & maybe the rabbits will make him start to think that HOME is a funner place to be anyway.

Bailey has figured out how to wake up Kimberly from her naps & is pretty proud of some of the things she can accomplish these days... She's just lately learned how to give us "five", wave to herself in the mirror, shake her head "yes", & dance to music.  So fun to watch her grow & progress!

Laron really wanted to try starting some plants INDOORS this year (like tomatoes, squash, cucumbers & watermelon), which has been fun, but quite a learning process!  I'm not really loving my front room feeling like a greenhouse, but I've been surprised how thrilling it is to see their day by day growth & not have to go outside in the dirt & elements to see it.

MOST excitingly, we've decided to use our tax money this year to put siding on the house, change the trim from brown to white, get new windows in the back (the front ones have already been changed), & get a new white front door.  The only way we can afford to do it is to have Laron do all the work, so hopefully it'll be worth the effort & look good in the end.  Here's our pile of siding we just bought & the old rain gutters taken off...

A robin also recently decided that our front porch light was a great place to build it's bird's nest.  I wasn't too thrilled with that at first, but Laron pointed out what a fun process it will be for the kids to watch...  A neighbor-boy also pointed out that maybe when we turn on our porch light at night, it will help to keep the eggs warm!  What smart thinking!  I wonder if the bird thought of that...

This warm weather has been fun for us all to get out of the house a little more, but it's worn everyone out a little more too!  In the last 2 days, every one of the kids have fallen asleep in some weird, random place... We play pretty hard around here!

 Kimberly at the kitchen table

 Skyler on the living room floor

 Bailey in her high-chair

All-in-all, fun times!  I'm so glad though that my kids have got siblings to play with, laugh with & love.  What a blessing it is to constantly be surrounded by family!