THE TRAVELING GARDNERS

A few months ago we began decorating Isabella's nursery. It started with some pink paint. The boys were so excited that we would be painting a room. They decided to sneak in the room the day after Dan painted, and do a little "touch up".  They painted the inside of the closet. They painted the carpet. They "touched up" a few walls. And they painted themselves. I walked in and said put your hands up! And immediately took off Zachary's outfit that was soaked in pink paint. Then I said, "Don't move. I am getting my phone to take a picture!" We couldn't be too mad. Dan had left out the roller brush and paint holder with some leftover paint inside. And they were just trying to help right? The bad news is some of this pink paint will not come out of the carpet! Any suggestions?

BENJAMIN AKA: Thor Ben is growing up so fast. We just signed him up for kindergarten last week. He had a kindergarten assessment test. He did great on his placement tests. The only thing that the teacher asked that he work on is writing his name better. He went home with full speed determination and practiced writing his name everywhere. I gave him the sidewalk chalk and he wrote Ben all over our sidewalk. He also wrote Ben over and over again on many sheets of paper. He is now able to write out Ben perfect. We are so proud of him. Next on the list is to find a Superman backpack. That is the backpack and lunch pail Ben has requested for kindergarten. He starts kindergarten August 22nd! His new recent athletic achievement is that he has learned to throw a wicked curve ball with a baseball. Dan has been practicing this weekend with him in the backyard. He has an amazing throw. He is still counting down the days to when he turns 6. That is the age when he can play...

These are the adorable rain jackets that Grandma Liz sent the boys back in March. They love to wear them out  while running errands. Someone will ask if they are a real Fireman. It totally makes their day. With the cold weather and rain we have been getting, these jackets have been perfect!

We wanted to get the boys a little something special for the backyard. Summer is almost here. Isabella will soon be arriving. And the play set with a swing and slide that we had, broke in our last move.   So, it worked out perfect when we found this sandbox with a sunshade at Costco! Dan setting up the sandbox. We let Ben pick the placement of where the sandbox would go. He had a great idea with putting it by our garage wall that has extra shade.   This sandbox has a UV protected shade, side plastic bins, side compartments to hold toys with covers, and also a netted cover to keep away neighborhood kitty's!                                        Boys and sand equals hours of playtime. They soon discovered that their monster trucks and super hero toys were perfect for ...

With a combination of moving, re-decorating, excitement of preparing Isabella's nursery, and out with the old and in with the new mentality......we changed the theme of the boys room. For years the main decor of Ben's room has been sports. I attempted to get a jungle theme going with Zachary. But with moving, he never had his own room. So sports took over as the main decor and bedding for the boys room. It worked out because Dan and I combined, have enough sports paraphernalia to fill a small sports museum. We ended up using signed sports photos and other items to decorate their room. Well, in this recent move Dan and I felt it was time for a change.  The boys decided together that they wanted a Superhero room. Ben's favorite character is Captain America. This started with a free comic book put out by the military a few years back. Captain America was the main character. Also, this past Halloween he dressed up as Captain America. Superman comes in a close...