A Day at the Farm

We joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) at the beginning of the growing season which means every week we pick up our share of produce that was just harvested at the farm and once a month we get to go to an open farm day and take a ton of leftover produce home with us, pick as many flowers and herbs as we want, play on their playsets and eat delicious snacks!  It was super crowded--I'm pretty sure everyone came right when they opened to attempt to beat the heat. 

David had a great time--there was a digging for potatoes treasure hunt and a giant tire sandbox so what's not to like :)

David asked to hold some of our produce in one of Chris' bags--he didn't last long carrying the extra load.....

It was really hot so we didn't last as long as we would have liked--once we had gathered all of our goodies and the children were a nice shade of pink (from the heat not a sunburn--what kind of a mom do you think I am!) we headed back to the house to cool off and get some lunch.  David made it two minutes from the house before he started crying and then....got sick.  all. over. himself.  and the carseat.  It was super gross--Chris sprang right into action and took the whole carseat out--with David still strapped in--and hosed the whole thing down.  David was fine as soon as he was cleaned off.  We are pretty sure he just got motion sick, poor thing.  I have a picture that I won't share due to the gross factor of him after the incident (not because I'm evil--he asked me to take one, he was even giving me the most feeble and sad "cheeses" you've ever heard.....

Our Score:  one bunch of flowers, cilantro, basil (I should have taken fives times as much according to Chris), a couple sprigs of rosemary, one head of lettuce, three green bell peppers, three tomatoes, some garlic, five cucumbers, five zucchinis, two yellow squash, five onions, and one box of potatoes courtesy of David's treasure hunt!  Not too shabby for free! 

Of course I was most excited about the flowers........We love being a part of the CSA.  We are eating a lot more produce now--since we have so much!  Everything is so fresh and delicious; and since it came from just down the road instead of south america it's still packed with all it's nutrients!  Plus we feel super hip :)

The Many Faces of David

These are just a sampling of what you get when you ask David to smile for the camera.....


                                                        
   
     

                      
         
                      

Fun with Ice

Since it's been so hot here, we've been relegated to only going outside first thing in the morning or after dinner....this is mostly a mommy rule, I'm pretty sure the boys would love to be outside at high noon in the sweltering heat every day if I let them. 

I found some little dinosaurs at the craft store last month and I thought they would be perfect for a little ice play.  Is it cruel to freeze new toys in ice and force your toddler to figure out a way to get them out himself?  I guess you can decide :)  Hey, we gave him some tools to help him on his way!

In hindsight, some plastic wrap prior to freezing would have been a good idea.....

First some close inspection.......

Then the hammer.............

After some ice chunks to the face...... the spray bottle of hot water.......

Most of the dinosaurs are free......

Resorting to smashing ice remnants on the ground to free the straglers..........

Now that's a half hour well spent :)


On an unrelated note--check out our backyard!  Chris and our good friend Eric (along with Eric's truck and pitchfork) went out to our local drop off for yard debree and picked up two truckloads of free mulch.  It's not the best mulch ever but you can't beat free!  I don't have any before pictures but just imagine a big mud pit in the back where the mulch is now (the area once shaded by our once beatiful, now dead and gone tree)--and a playset covered in mud and spiders--I don't know if mulch deters spiders but I'm going to just pretend it does regardless.....Anyway I think the mulch really makes the yard look more, shall we say...intentionally put together....and maybe a little bit fancy :) 

Brotherly Love

David took a break from playing this morning to decorate Henry......



I'm sure one day Henry will appreciate the fact that he has a big brother and be able to overlook things like this......

Sparklers and Fireflies

In Carlisle we did fireworks on the 2nd of July instead of the 4th.  We had some friends over for a cookout and watched the fireworks from the yard--I guess that's the one perk to living so close to the fairgrounds.  We had three babies sleeping inside and we let David stay up this year for all of the fun and he (not surprisingly!) loved it :)

David's favorite part was running around the yard and then dunking the sparklers in a bucket of water.  He did really well with them even if he is a little young....Chris did have to sit quietly nodding his head at work on Tuesday agreeing with his coworkers when they were all wondering who in their right mind would give a two year old fireworks--he didn't have the courage to tell them that we are those parents :)  

We took a break to catch fireflies...David loved watching the bugs but he couldn't understand why they just wouldn't stay in his jar when he told them to, even if he didn't feel like putting the lid on...........

Saturday Chores with Dad

I woke up the other morning to find this going on outside....

Hopefully the key to getting the boys to do their chores is to start early....of course when the chore entails one on one time with daddy, a bucket of soapy water and a hose it doesn't take too much convincing.........

Summer Fun in the Yard

We've been spending most of our time outside this summer.  Mostly playing in the sandbox and in buckets full of water--the boys really seem to love the simple things in life :)

 In an effort to cut down on perpetual shoe replacements I've taught David that shoes don't belong in the sandbox.....

I'm sure you can imagine the arm twisting it took to convince him that being barefoot outside is more fun.........

This is pretty much David's favorite pastime right now........bucket splashing.............and learning about water displacement of course....you need to take advantage of those teachable moments :)