Clara Margaret

Instead of writing this date on the calendar I will document on the blog. My older sister was visiting us a few weeks ago and we kept Clara up too late. She was apparently exhausted because she slept until close to 11 in the afternoon. She did look so sweet and content.

Sweet corn

Craig's parents planted a field of sweet corn on the farm and let the kids pick some. They not only enjoyed picking it but also playing in it. I thought it would be nice to fill the freezer with some. I ended up freezing 35 cups of corn.

Duck herder

Ollie is qualified for a new job! He was entertained by the ducks at the restaurant in my hometown.

Hills of Athens

The boys are enjoying the new terrain in our yard. Landon wished there was snow already covering the ground but their scooters will do for now as a means of transportation down the hill.

Clara Margaret

Clara is trying to keep up with the boys. She is still easy going and laid back, constantly smiling, and always looking for someone to wave at.

Park

We discovered a new park in town a little less popular and the boys had fun for a while but got bored easily interacting with each other and not a new face. Before they got bored with each other they followed each other down the slide. Landon discovered a short chin up bar and was doing flips off.

Lunch date

We had a lunch date with some of our dear friends from high school. Geoffrey has sheep, 3 (about to be 4) donkeys, a llama and dogs. We love going over to see the animals. Sitting on tractors never gets old, especially tractors that they have never rode on. They also got a golf cart ride. Clara was even climbing the fence.
Funny how we only go to Geoffrey's house maybe two/three times a year but Landon knows exactly where Geoffrey keeps the toys!
It was great to see friends and let our kids play together.

The wall

We were having water leak into the basement when it rained. We, Craig, Craig's dad and my dad, dug up old tile footers to drain water away from the house and replaced it with new. Tree roots had grown into the tile making it impossible for water to flow away. Then we built a retaining wall to get rid of overgrown bushes and help with water flow. So far we have had no water in the basement. The former owners were quoted a price of $7000 to fix the problem with a French drain and a sump pump (that would not have prevented water from coming in the house) do we fixed it for good (knock on wood) for about $2000. We never could have fixed it without the help of our parents though! Thank you for all your help and hard work!

Clara Margaret

Clara learned to crawl the day before we moved. She didn't use the traditional method but rather dragged her one leg and walked with the other. She's just starting the traditional method 3 weeks later. She has also started to walk holding hands, conquered the stairs, all 14 of them, and will sometimes walk pushing the scooter.
She's growing to fast.

Nature

...in our own backyard. We have a few resident deer that come through our yard for grass and crab apples. One of the deer has twins with their spots still. They are adorable, but they do eat all of the plants and flowers. Pests! The kids know that when Cole, our dog, starts growling their is either a bunny or a deer in the backyard!

Birthdays

Now that we are closer to family we get to attend the cousins birthday parties! We got to help cousin Trevor celebrate the big fourth birthday at a children's museum in their town. But before the party the kids got to ride on a carousel about 15 times. It was a fun time and the cousins had a blast together.

New game

The former owners of our house left their pool table in the basement. The kids have been discovering new ways to play the game. It will be a fun game to play after the basement gets fixed!

New cousin

Right after moving we got to meet the newest addition to my younger sisters family. Ollie was in love with Baby Anna!

New way of blogging

My new iPhone is good for another thing, blogging on the go. I've stopped taking pictures with my digital camera and using my phone. Or at least for now.
This was the first picture with the new phone.

Good dog

Clara crawled across the yard to snatch Cole's ball. He was very sweet and never tried to take it from her. He only licked it while she held it.

True Life

Life happens. It happened yesterday.
Life isn't always roses and puppies. I had a bad day.
Did I bang my head against a wall?
No. So I guess it was a success.
The kids went to bed by 9 last night. Asleep by 9. A first since we moved. Craig and I watched a movie.
On to brighter and better things. Here are some pictures to update since moving.

Clara's last nap in her first bedroom

All packed up, only a few things didn't make it on the truck

Lunch on the road

Unpacked boxes were a huge hit with the kids

The new house needs some curb appeal

One of the many overgrown shrubs that had to go.
This one was taken out before the truck was unpacked.

We uncovered a second parking spot in the driveway

Ollie was totally into discovering new boundaries at the new house. Lots of possibilities for getting into trouble.

Second set of overgrown shrubs that had to go. One because they were hideous. Two because a retaining wall needed to be built to help with water issues in the basement.

And of course the little boys couldn't let the big boys have all the fun. Landon and Ollie scraped up floor tiles in the basement.