enjoyment

these pictures are from last weekend.
definitely not today - it was cold today!

one of my favorite things about grabbing the camera and clicking away,
is capturing moments like this.

being a kid is great!
and i hope our two get every possible ounce of enjoyment out of their childhood days.

t-ball

since i posted about ben's swimming class,
i thought i should share a few more pictures from his t-ball clinic.
his last "practice" was last tuesday.
not only was it HOT it was also WINDY.
and you know - we do live in "western" kansas,
so i think we all felt like we were covered with a nice layer of dirt and sand when we left the fields.
 
i think ben enjoyed looking for rocks and inspecting the dirt as much as any of it!

he is also wearing his "cowboy hat" - guess we'd better find him a real one!

pretty sure jake is trying to get ben's attention in this one.

 and this is how ben spent the last 10 minutes of practice...

he was done.

a little dirt

this is our summer garden.

a little lot smaller than we would like,
but there are many reasons why we've decided to put our time and effort into some other projects.
of course i'm sure it will be the perfect year for a garden,
but we're keeping it simple.
ben enjoys looking after his two tomatoes.

we really only planned to get one,
but they were buy one, get one the day we went plant shopping.
better odds.  :)

and a smaller garden does not mean less dirt!
i can't believe how much dirt can cling to a three year old,
but it makes me feel good to know he is exploring and playing like a kid should.
no nature deficit disorder here!

inspiration

 

this is what inspired this.

absolutely stunning.

and it all happens in less than a week.

until next year...

intoxicating

our backyard has a massive border of lilacs.
they look the best they ever have -
probably because of a super heavy pruning jake did the fall before last.
the fragrance is amazing -
i could stand outside all evening.

around here

we've been...

eating snacks outside

skipping shoes

picking flowers

drawing with sidewalk chalk

taking naps

spring cleaning

trying to stay cool

reading, reading, reading

evening walks

happy weekend!

close to the country

as i've mentioned we live in a small town -
not as small as the one i was raised in (around 1200), but still small by most standards.
even though we don't live in the country like we hope to one day,
we are lucky enough to be just a few minutes from country roads, open fields and kansas skies.

last sunday we headed out to the country and visited a friend who also happens to raise goats.
it was a little cooler and windier than we were anticipating,
but still fun - especially for ben.

there were baby goats everywhere!

ben thought they were great and spent quite a bit of time trying to catch them,
but he seemed to be a little better at herding.

there were other animals too.
here is my favorite picture of the day...

but i think these might be ben's favorites...

i know it's not for everyone, but we are happy we live close to the country.
and maybe even closer to it down the road...