Raspberry Raised Beds Project

I have this terrible habit(s) of buying plants before I have a place to plant them AND underestimating a task/project.

We've always wanted to plant raspberries, and now that we have some property, we're actually doing it! One reason for moving has been to have more projects and things we can do as a family. In our previous house, we didn't like the access to the backyard and we never went back there.

So...enter the raspberry raised bed project!

We picked up the plants from a lady down the street, thanks to Craigslist. We thought we'd have all the beds and soil prepared, but we only had one box put together with no soil!

We finally got the boxes done, the soil inside and the canes planted! Hooray! Happy raspberry picking this summer (the canes are mature and should fruit this summer)!

Dan the Man

I had a revelation about Dan last night. We were discussing him doing more "hands-on" things. After our discussion, I got thinking about what he likes...

-all sorts of music, including synthesizer-heavy tunes
-he has a running storyline in his head all the time
-loves to read
-loves to play board games
-read comics
-play and read about and study video games (especially Sonic the Hedgehog)

I've been thinking that Dan has a lot of potential to be a "writer"...not that he needs to BE writing right now, but he has stories in him, I think someday he'll want to get those out for the sake of creative expression and maybe...because that is what is in him TO DO.

He wants to be an inventor. I'm not sure if he wants to actually create things or if he likes the idea of blowing things up!

I was talking with my husband about the possibility of Daniel liking all these things because they involve a STORY. As we talked, it occurred that it could really be true...songs are mini-stories, he engages fully with his imaginary game (a story), reading of course is a story, board games are like little stories. And another aspect about him is that he flourishes with routine and does well when he knows "what happens next". To some degree, stories always follow this structure. There's a beginning, middle and end and many stories simply are predictable. That's part of his core makeup and always has been...he needs to know what's next. Not to say he doesn't enjoy suspense, but there's something about the nature of a story, that is has a limiting factor that is indeed-predictable. When he reads, he can see where the end is, when he engages his mental story/game, he has control over where he is and what's coming, music-the same-he knows when it ends and of course board games are no different as he can expect an end (in general). He can also see the process, which is more my bent. I think all this gives him a sense of stability and comfort. When he was in public school, his teachers more than once expressed how Dan would be the one to remind them of the routine or the schedule or "don't forget, you were going to do this thing at 1:38pm".

I find all this interesting as it is a new thought about him and stories. I love getting to know him more and more!

Five Days in Seattle Game

We've been enjoying our new game, 10 Days in Europe. My husband was commenting to Sarah, that it might be fun to make a game, 10 Days in Seattle and instead of boats and planes for the transportation cards, there could be "biking" cards since Seattle is a big biking city.

Sarah got inspired!

She decided to make her own 10 Days in Seattle game, yes, out of cardboard! I helped her find a map on Google images which set the whole thing in motion. It totally works!! Her map only has 30 destinations (neighborhoods) so she decided to do 5 Days in Seattle instead. It totally works! She put it in a box and everything!

She cut out cards and she taped the neighborhoods and transportation pieces together. You can bike or walk to adjacent neighborhoods or take a boat on Puget Sound, Elliott Bay and Lake Washington along with driving I-5 to get around. I LOVE IT and I love her creativity!

Thursday Weed Bouquet

I love watching my daughter outside...she is so curious and always finds fun things to do. Overnight the dandelions bloomed and there's a flower farm right outside the front and back door! So cheery!

Walking the...CAT

Yes, Sarah is walking the CAT! Poor kitty!

She was careful to not choke the kitty, but we all decided that since Shadow wasn't having fun, Sarah could stop doing this...but we have a photo for the scrapbook!

Sarah's Weed Bouquet

We are finally getting settled. Most of the boxes are unpacked and I'm trying to move us back toward our routine we had before we decided to move.

In the last house, we let the yard get away from us. It never really looked as nice and tidy as it did when we moved in, so we are aware we need to add weeding to our chore list to keep the new house looking really cared for!

Today we went out to the "pool pasture" and weeded under the fencing. Sarah decided that her weeds would make a lovely bouquet. I agree.

Kitty Update

Now that we've moved, the cats are starting to get back to their normal selves. They had been living with us only six weeks when we decided to move. Then the stress of packing and moving and unpacking took their toll. The cats are finally settling in to a new home now that we've been here over a month.

And they've GROWN! We've had them about four months now and we've nicknamed Oreo, "Mister Beefcake" and Shadow gets called "Stealth Kitty" a lot. They both get called "Bad Kitty" occasionally, too! What a delight they are to our lives!

Making Pancakes

Pancakes are just high maintenance no matter how you do them because the timing has to be right for everyone to eat hot pancakes together. Since the kids LOVE them, I decided they should learn to make them. Once Sarah put on her apron, she immediately decided she needed a chef's hat. So she whipped one up! I love the depths of her creativity!