The Twins

We had the twins out at our house a couple of weeks ago.  

It was fun.  Wild and crazy fun.

Enjoying some suckers.  I love this picture because they are so messy and dirty, but enjoying themselves.

"Don't take my picture.  That's enough."  I later found Sadie's sucker stuck to the handrail.  

 

Bath time!

I have some other great photos of them, but they're naked and I can't publish them on the internet.

Then we went to their house and had some fun in the sprinkler.

A cheese grin with a mouth full of hot dog.

And I killed a tarantula.  It doesn't look that big, but it was actually the biggest spider I've ever seen.  And I've seen some big wolf spiders, both out in the country and out at the beach.  Huge.  Just the body was probably 2.5 inches long and 2 inches wide.  

Might I just add that I'm the one that lives in the country.  My sister lives in the city (relatively) and she's the one that gets tarantulas and black widows and brown recluses.  Maybe the snakes out here eat them.  I'll have to save the snake vs spider debate for another fictional post, but I'll leave you with this:  at least my dog lets me know when there's a snake around.  That's a good girl, Chewy.

The Games

Silas' t-ball games have started and it's been so much fun to watch those munchkins try their best, but having no clue what to really do with the ball once they've managed to scoop it off the ground.  Dog-piles have been minimal on our team, but a riot to watch on some of the other teams.

"Mommy, I'm trying to get ready to bat.  What do you want?"  

For all the times I tell him to focus and pay attention, I keep trying to distract him by taking his picture.

Eli playing around the field.

Silas is up to bat.

And he's off to first (they usually know which way is first base).

Our friend Anna Paige keeps Eli company while they watch their brothers play.

Christian bought Silas' helmet and went for the red instead of the black, knowing it wouldn't match his uniform.  He said that at least we would be able to tell which one he was.  We chose #9 because that was Christian's number when he was a kid.

Trying to field the ground balls.

Playing catch is completely different in t-ball.  He basically just runs after any balls thrown home and gives them to the coach.  No umpires needed in t-ball.

Saying 'good game' to the other team.

The after-game pep talk from the coaches.  

Irises in the Garden

I love irises.  They surprise me with their color every year.  

This one was yellow and white last year, but this year it was this pretty peach/pink color.  

Okay, this isn't an iris but my mom bought me this beautiful fuchsia and I love the colors of it.  And it reminds me of my mother-in-law.  Her favorite color is the pink in this flower, whereas my favorite color is the purple.  They go well together.

  

The irises behind my house tripled in blooms this year.

I love their two-tone purple.

And I really love the uniqueness of this blue/purple.

This one is my favorite, though.  

It had never bloomed before this year.  It was a delight to see this very delicate pink/purple in the garden.

This is my garden next to the house.  I'm in this garden almost everyday.  My friend said it reminded her of 'The Secret Garden.'  Probably because it is kind of hidden amongst the wildness of the woods around my house.  And I still love my blue fence.

My broccoli and sugar snap peas.  This was actually a couple of weeks ago.  The peas are all the way up the trellis now, blooming away and the broccoli now have heads on them.  They also have caterpillars on them, but I've been trying to squash those.

T-ball Practice

Silas started T-ball this spring.  It's funny how you expect your child to learn all these things about the sport and teamwork, but you don't realize how much you will learn yourself.  We've both been learning the ropes this year.

He had a few weeks of practice before any games started.  The kids learned how to throw (and so did Mommy), they learned how to stand while trying to hit the ball (and so did Mommy), and they learned where to throw the ball once they caught it (I already knew this one).

This is Silas (in the striped shirt with black trousers) learning to throw the ball.  Make an 'L'!  He has two great coaches that are patient and kind, but who really have taught them a lot about baseball.

Eli has had fun playing in the grass behind the field and meeting new kids to play with.  Give him some dirt or a pile of hay and Eli's good to go.

We got Silas' uniform (NOT a costume!) and we put it on and took some pictures.

He told me had to look serious in these photos, because ball players were serious.  No clowning around here - for the moment at least!

At the Creek

We went in mass down to the creek the other day with cousins, uncles, and aunties.

This will be Eli's first spring/summer that he will be able to really get in and enjoy the creek, throwing rocks and splashing around.

Abi, Malachi and Silas enjoying the cool water on this abnormally warm day.

Thinking of Uncle Raph while he wears the Looe Life Guard shirt.

My nephew swimming in the hole.

Watching the kids frolic. 

Eli had to get in, as well.  Lynden and I took turns holding onto him and letting him kick his legs in the deeper water.