Outdoor Expo Day

 All right! Finally, we made it to the Outdoor Expo at Turkey Swamp Park!
Every year I want to go to this thing... and we either have something else going on that weekend, or it is too tough to bring a kid during naptime... but this year, the weather was AWESOME, so we went for it!
From noon until one, we fished at the lake for the fishing derby and ate lunch while enjoying the day.

 Trenton ended up hooking this fish and successfully reeling it in. It measured 9 and 7/8th inches and was good enough to earn him third place in the derby! So he has a new fishing pole!

 We kayaked, paddle boated, played, and observed... one highlight was the holding of the (4-H) bunnies.
Look at the face on Oliver... makes me wanna get him one. Or just get him one to hold often ;)

 Rock climbing walls are always challenging.

 The naturalists showed us this Walking Stick bug & the snake, below.

 We got to walk around inside some RVs and watched as folks tried out bows & arrows. Archery practice was for ages 8 and up... soon, buddies!

All of us were exhausted when we got home... a great way to spend a late-spring day!

Box Garden

 I had the idea to create a box garden with the boys (you can see the creation of it here). Yes, we get lots of food from the local CSA... but the idea of planting veggies, watering them, and watching them grow sounded so exciting! Although I was going to put it in the backyard, there was not enough sun. So we settled on this random spot in the front yard, where grass won't grow anyway, and where the garden hose can reach easily.
Above, Trenton and Oliver plant organic carrot seeds around T's bean plant (that he grew from a seed at school). Below, a first watering.

 Then it was off to the Monmouth County Master Gardener's Plant Sale! I was psyched for this-- local plants for our garden! We didn't go looking for anything in particular... I made suggestions based on what I knew the boys liked to eat, and we made our purchases based on that.

 Below, T checks out the tomato plants. We ended up buying some cherry tomato plants and some plum ones.

 Above, handling some lamb's ear.
We bought red peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and zucchini. We also got two boysenberry bunches. I planted those in the backyard near the fence, so that they could grow without interruption. Jim still has plans to purchase some local bamboo and fill in the area in front of the house where we had a tree taken down recently. A friend has offered to give us some of her strawberry plants when she prunes them, and we're looking forward to that!

Mothers Weekend

 

Hello little guys! Hanging out by the pool? Eatin' prunes and orange slices? You must have a pretty good life ;)

 Grandma and Grampack are back from their vacation in the Florida Keys. Thanks for the sweet souvenirs and stories about your awesome trip! Oh yes, and the fish!  Above, T enjoys a s'mores... Below, Oliver poses holding hands with Grampack.

 (Insert absent picture of Grandma Lacina here.... )

 So! On to project #2!
I got the idea to make a box garden with the kids from this video here. I thought it sounded simple enough, and that it could fit in the one spot in the backyard, by the fence, that I had created for it. However, there just isn't enough sunlight there... so we are going to put it in the front yard.
Thankfully, my dad brought his circular saw. We needed it ;) Above, Ollie drills the screws into the wood.
Below, here's a pic of our work in progress. Like the hand print stencils? The plan is to put it back on the grass just behind where it is on the driveway below. And then fill it with organic dirt and peat moss. And then plant food. Like herbs, Trenton's bean plant that he grew at school, the carrot seeds he bought with Jim, and maybe WATERMELONS. Because that sounds DELICIOUS.

 ***

 Today, we took a trip to our local farm to get some more fantastic, fresh, organic, and reasonably-priced eggs. The boys helped farmer Elaine feed the horses, they pet the half-dozen dogs, held baby chicks that had just hatched, and generally got all kinds of dirty and stinky. After that, I took them over to the park (so that they could run the manure off of their shoes). We were not there but 10 minutes when I realize that Oliver's eye is puffing up SO BAD it looks like there is a golf-ball under the bottom lid. Now, he has always had eye issues, with gunk that I've had to clean out, and allergies that cause him to rub it. But this was BIG. So we drove off to the clinic (he was none too happy about having to leave the park) and somehow got seen right away (because when you are three and having a reaction like that, they want to make sure you don't end up in the ER)... but all he needed were eyedrops and some Benadryl. I took these pictures awhile after I got home. But you can still see the swelling under his right eye.

Goofball.
I wonder if he touched something and then rubbed it into his eye? At the farm, or at the park? Who knows. He seems fine...

Yankees!!!

 Well HELLO!

Here we are at the NEW Yankee Stadium!

Our wonderful friends Ritchie and Casey had extra tickets for the game & asked us if we wanted to go the day before the game! Luckily, Jim had nothing planned for that night, and there was no Tee Ball game... so we all went!

 Cotton candy, cheese steaks, pizza, warm pretzel... all good food. And an $11 beer ;)

 The Yankees played the Orioles. A pretty uneventful game. Final score 5-0, Orioles.

 We spent a lot of time gushing over the BIG screens to our right. Amazing quality/picture on the smaller one... and amazing size on the bigger one. Although we were all the way in right field, we did not have a distorted image at all. We just couldn't see many balls that came over first base ;) But we spent most of our time keeping the kids occupied, as they didn't really watch the action much.

 They did cheer for some outs!

April in Point, With Ollie

 Just Mommy and Ollie on the rides in Point. I had asked him about it earlier on Sunday, seeing as Jim and T went to a Blueclaws game, and this would be a great opportunity for the two of us to enjoy some outside time.
He woke up from his nap excited about the rides.
I gave him a ticket for one free ride on the train. He held it the whole way there, in the car, and carried it on our walk up to the boardwalk. He read all the letters for all of the words on it and repeated it several times. "One Free Ride, Mom. One Free Ride on the C.P. Huffington Train".

 Those of you who visit here often will note the resemblance of these pictures to this post. Adorable cuteness when the hand is on my knee. Uncontrollable smiles when riding on Nemo. Orange or green ;)

 And the boat ride with the tongue out! I have to find the picture I have of that one... with T doing the same... and then with ME doing the same as a kid... We are intense boat riders in this family ;)

 He really wanted to go on the elephants. With only one seat left, he was fine sharing with this little girl. She is certainly giving the stink-eye, no? She did not want the elephant to go up AT ALL. Which is exactly what Ollie wanted. So they went in a circle a few times...holding hands... and having fun.

Can't beat 70 degree weather at the shore. Or the memories that go along with it.
Here's to many more family days in Point Pleasant this summer!

Inside, Outside, Upside-Down

 This is the post where I will gush about how AWESOME  a reader my son Trenton is ;)
I'm most proud of his fluency-- he reads with expression, good prosody, and doesn't sound like-a-choppy-little-kid-who-sounds-out-each-word. He reads what he is interested in (above, that's a Johnny Boo graphic novel). He reads for enjoyment. He comprehends. When he gets to a tricky word that he doesn't know, he sounds it out, uses context clues, looks at pictures... usually makes a guess and keeps going... but if I'm there to remind him and guide him, he almost always can get it.
He's reading at a second-grade level, you guys.
His standardized test scores are almost off the charts.
I'm so proud of him.

 Look closely at this guy. See the red cheek? That's what happens when you walk in front of a batter... plastic bat. But still awful looking & hot to the touch. He let me put ice on it for ten minutes, so I'm sure it is better than what it could have looked like. Poor baby.

 And check this out!
I've always wanted a tree swing for the boys. The tree in our old backyard was too short. This one is juuuust right.
I did some finagling... cut up an old baby swing and removed the ropes... to get this to secure to the branch. Both boys are still getting the hang of it. But love it!

Ollie spends most of his time like this ----------------^
Balance!