yard progress and more

The grass is greener! All of our hard work (mostly Steve's) has paid off, and though things are pretty patchy in spots the lawn is loooooking goooood. The kids are spending so much time outside and if we manage to get them in after dinner with enough time to wrestle them into the shower or bath, they go to bed clean; if not, they go to bed with dirty feet and messy hair and big smiles on their faces from hours of outdoor play. We bought them scooters last week (kijiji), and it's amazing how quickly both kids have figured it out. We sometimes scoot to and/or from school, but this usually means Alana will ride halfway there and then it's up to me to carry her the rest of the way there and back.

our lil' slugger last week

We signed Hendrik up for Little Sluggers, and last week's first meeting was great. The kids - about 40 of them - were divided into little groups and rotated through stations; our guy was switch hitting off of the T, tossing and catching (and watching airplanes), running bases and more, and seems to like it. I had an all day volleyball tourney today (reverse 6s, we lost in the 1/4 finals), so Steve was at the field with both kids for picture day - stay tuned for a look at Hendrik's first baseball card (CUTE)!

I'm keeping busy with a condensed course for school (over in the next three weeks I think), and any and all free time is dominated by the kids - but that'll change next week. I start coaching Monday and Wednseday nights, and with just a month left of school we'll be hitting summer mode before we know it. Thanks to a day full of play, the kids were ready for bed by 7:15, and both were quiet upstairs by 7:30; this means what? That they'll be up early. We'll watch hockey and then go to bed EARLY. Actually. I was up late all week gripped by the amazing story and real-life characters in All the light we cannot see, and now that I've finished it I can go to bed at a reasonable hour (before 1:30). I hope. Signing off!

thanks for the photo hendrik!

swimming lessons for three