the melon patch

the kids and i spent most of the day today at my parents' house (even though they weren't there...) it was just a good day to let them play in their sprawling country yard and get a change of atmosphere from our own backyard. after putting sawyer down for a nap, i had a chance to sit and read on their shaded porch. miriam and levi were not in view, and it had been unusually quiet for some time, so i decided to venture out of my comfy spot and check on them. next to my parents' yard is some otherwise unused farmland that they currently rent out to friends of theirs who grow and sell produce. i had seen these folks recently arrive to tend to their crops and figured the kids had gone over to see what they were up to. this is what i found when i got over there: first they got a tour of the place, and then they were put to work helping to gather up the ripe cantaloupes. we all got to taste test them as well.

and as you can see here, they even got paid! :)

coming along

three years ago we bought this little fixer-upper in zeeland. since then, i like to think we have made many improvements as time, energy, money, and creativity allow. last summer, as part of a much-needed face lift, we added window boxes to the front of our house. my flower choices for them last year, however, were a major flop. this year i took some advice from the kind woman at engelsman greenhouse and they are thriving and beautiful!

so while my flowers keep me happy & busy, our swingset does so for the kids! the fort and the slide were up last year, but the monkey bars and swings have finally been added. matt has done a great job putting it together, considering it is a hodge-podge of hand-me-downs... not to mention that much of the wood (and matt's brother) survived a roll-over accident on its way to our house!

we also plan to still try to tackle our random back room yet this summer. the walls are stripped down to studs and insulation, and this weekend matt plans to remove old windows and start framing in some new areas. we are hoping that the finished project will provide us with extra play space for the kids, a new laundry area, and a good-sized closet/pantry.

chicago botanic garden

we returned home yesterday from several days visiting matt's family in chicago. our last time together before the arrival of a new cousin! while we were there, matt and i got away for an early anniversary date and spent a good part of friday at the Chicago Botanic Garden. we had a simply wonderful day in an absolutely gorgeous place. if you are going to be in the area and have not been there, i would highly recommend it. i would also highly recommend including a dinner at the Garden Grille, served out on the verandah overlooking the water, as part of your visit. i took the picture of this bird from our table while we were eating.

cousin play days

we've been seeing quite a lot of one of my sisters and her two girls the last few days. saturday we spent a good part of the day at their house since matt was out of town, and then today they were here at our house to play for an hour or so. these photos are from saturday, when my sister's neighbor was taking the kids for golf cart rides through the yard. the picture of sawyer pretty much speaks for itself as he gazes longingly at the basketball hoop towering above him. nothing personal, but at this stage of his life, this is of much more interest to him than his cousins. :)