May 31

Today was supposed to be library day, but instead it was Botanical Garden day because some friends from MOPS were all meeting there. But first, swim team practice.
And before that, family reading time.
I feel like I share pictures like this at least once a week, but it never fails to warm my heart to get up out of bed in the morning and find this.

I mean, really. How sweet are they?

Swim practice was uneventful - Daisy refused to do anything except kickboard. That girl is stubborn like her mama! We left the pool and headed straight to the Garden.
Except Wednesdays are the day that it is free for every county resident, so the place was packed

I have no idea why my children's faces look like this. I blame it on their father, even though he wasn't there. Only he could breed children with such goofy faces.

We only stayed at the Garden for about an hour before we  needed to go home for naps, but it was still a lot of fun!

May 30

IT'S TREE DAY!!!!!

Our tree lost its giant branch on May 6th. We spent the next week getting bids from five different companies, and finally signed a contract on May 12. The company initially told us they would be out within two weeks, and then a major storm hit and we got delayed. Finally, we got a call last night that they were coming in the morning. The workers were here by 6:45, and had chainsaws blazing by 7:00 am. It was a beautiful thing to watch!

Before the workers officially got started, the kids stood on the deck and said goodbye to the tree.
I'm sad to see it go, but when I look at how that one limb destroyed their swing set, I know it was the right choice.


As soon as the workers turned on their chainsaws, I made the kids come inside.

They brought a bobcat, a bucket truck, a flatbed truck, a chipper and trailer, and 4 workers. Eli was quite impressed with the machinery.

I popped popcorn and they enjoyed their front row seats.

Hi, Lily!

It was such a big deal that Chris delayed leaving for work so he could watch, and we skipped the very first swim team practice of the season. (Don't worry; there was an evening practice we could attend.)

Lily's tutu cracks me up!
(Doesn't the deck look nice? Chris and I have been working to power wash and sand it, and we intended to stain it yesterday until some stupid pop-up thunderstorms ruined everything. Boo.)

By 8:30, the workers had the fallen limb and the swing set removed. The sandbox gets to stay. Even with the limb gone, the devastation is pretty apparent. The neighbor's hedge is mangled, our yard is destroyed, and the garden fence is a mess.

They took a break, then brought in the bucket truck. 
Chris missed all of this fun. 

However, my mom came over to enjoy it with us!

Lily showed Grandma how she can write her name.

See? She's adding an extra letter or two in it, but it's pretty good for a three year old!

Eli enjoyed Grandma snuggles. 

And the workers worked on! By 3:30, all that remained of the tree was a pile of sawdust in the yard. Our yard is completely destroyed, and much sunnier than it was before. I'm going to miss that tree!

But then it was time for swim team practice! Daisy jumped in and tried to swim a lap of the pool, but had to cling to the wall a few times and felt nervous after that. She then insisted on kickboards and kickboards only - no more swimming.

She is a very good kickboarder, though!

Caleb was fearless and dominated.

Happy kickboarder!

Cold swimmer.

Caleb says that swimming is just his thing.

Meanwhile, the little ones splashed.

Lily made a new friend, and practiced her kicking. She will be ready when kickboard team starts next week!


Gosh, isn't he cute?
It was a pretty eventful day!

May 29

Happy Memorial Day! We had a fun day, and ended it with bubbles and driveway baseball. The sunlight was so luscious that I had to take too many pictures.

Hi, Lily!

Caleb asked me to take a picture of his shadow on the garage door.

This is Eli's silly face.

Handsome boy! Doesn't he look really big all of a sudden?

Chris filled the spill-proof bubble bucket for Eli.

Caleb was showing me how he can throw the ball up on the roof and then catch it when it rolls back down.

Bubble!

Eli didn't have much luck with his bubbles.


That glove was almost as big as Eli!


Chris and Caleb played catch.

Then Lily wanted a turn. She was thrilled to find this pink glove!


Is this what they mean when they say you "throw like a girl"?

She was delighted with everything about playing catch with Daddy.


Caught it!

I love the delight and surprise on her face!

Eli is such a serious baseball player that he needs a batting helmet.

I apologize for all of the clutter in this picture - tomorrow is trash day, so we have our trash cans out. Chris was using the blue one as a backstop. The neighbors have their yard waste bags out, and their tree is marked with an X and 98 because the county will be removing it soon. But look at the yellow ball by the orange X! Caleb was knocking those balls out of the park! I'm so disappointed that he chose not to play baseball this season, because he's a great hitter.

More catch with Daddy!

Caught it!

Hooray!