Little Terrorist

Anyone who has ever been around a 1 & 1/2  year old knows that children at this age are incredibly curious, and they very much desire to be big helpers.  (Note Thane's blue face below as he attempts to singlehandedly help blow up a plastic pool).
 
Surprisingly enough, we've discovered that one year old's also possess little to no impulse control, and they get into trouble often (especially with unsuspecting older sisters around who are about to get soaked):

While Thane may pretend to cover his head in a show of innocence, we know better.
Take a recent 24 hour period in our little terrorist's, er, sweet little boy's life.  Last Sunday, while Jordan was touching up the exterior paint of our home, Thane decided to "help" and ended up dumping an entire pan of paint all over himself and his best Sunday clothes.  This little act was followed by not one, but two, episodes of his happily spreading the contents of his diaper all over himself and his room in a fit of artistic (albeit gross) abandon.  He further ruined another set of clothes when the pan of gasoline hidden under his Daddy's truck proved too much of a temptation for our little mechanic.  If that wasn't enough, this little monkey (or should I say raging gorilla?) took advantage of my temporary preoccupation with his sister to take in the view from the top of the 20 ft. ladder he found casually resting against the front of our house.  To end this mischievous spree, Thane spent the five minutes he was locked in the living room (while I foolishly felt it safe to finish cooking dinner) to "rearrange" the wiring of our rather complicated sound system.

All I'm gonna say is that it's a darn good thing that he's cute...

 

Anyone want a one year old?  Please?!?!?!?

Gardens of Weedin'

Summer is finally here.  I know that it's been hot elsewhere in the Country, but definitely not here.  We've had one cold, wet spring/early summer.  The weather only heated up a few weeks ago, and everyone's garden has had a slow start.  While many of our cold crops have done OK, our warmer crops (tomatoes, peppers, etc.) are struggling.  Fortunately, the strawberries have thrived on these damp conditions, and we are going to have a bumper crop this year.  Below is a photo of Annabel with our first batch of delicious berries. 
 
My iris bed has also grown this year.  We only have this one flower bed thus far, and I'm really pleased that we got some blossoms.  I know, I know - you can't go wrong with effortless irises, but I still feel like their blooming is an accomplishment!
 
With all of the lousy weather and our preoccupation with other obligations, family festivities and animal issues, we kind of let our vegetable garden go a bit.  OK, I admit it - a LOT!  Our neglect resulted in some heavy duty weed growth, as seen in the photo below (note the very tall weeds to the right of the potatoes):

 

It took many days of back-breaking, tedious work (by both us and my Dad), but we eventually reclaimed our dominance in the garden.  It went from a Garden of Weedin', to a Garden of Eden.  Or, as Jordan's Mom says, a Garden of Eatin'.

Summer Showers

For those of you who are close to our family, you probably know that we are anxiously anticipating the arrival of my sister, Kim's, twin boys.  These little guys are miracles, and it's been hard to wait for them to make their appearance in early August.  Kim is doing great, and she's actually starting to "show" (for awhile there, you would never guess that she was pregnant, let alone with twins).

A few weeks ago, we hosted a tea party-themed baby shower for her at a neighbor's house.  Family, friends and neighbors came, and Kim got lots of adorable things (in pairs, of course).

Hurry up little guys - we can't wait to meet you!