Retreat weekend

Logan was on retreat for the weekend. His team sent me flowers, which was so thoughtful!

Kim and I went on an adventure to collect wood so we can make a hopping path in our backyards, and a I’m making table/chairs for the mud area. 

We worked on our last few pieces of art. Time to start wrapping up and getting all the art labeled for the show. 

Elias’ 5th Birthday

Elias turned five! Legos are a great way to start your birthday, unless you’re missing the last piece and it brings you to tears. 

Elias: {crying at the table}

Me: what’s going on Elias?

Elias: I can’t find the last piece to my fire truck and I’ve looked in my bin and Augustine has looked in my bin and it’s not in there and it’s lost forever and my birthday is ruined! 

Me: Even though you can’t find your last piece and that makes you feel sad, you’re ok and your birthday is not ruined. 

Elias: it’s not?!

Me: nope. You’ll still turn five. And I’ll go check your bin for the last piece. 

Elias: you won’t find it. Augustine and I already looked. 

Me: Hold my beer. I bet I can find it. 

(I totally found it.)

Thanks Aunt Beth!

Elias decided to have a robot birthday. 







Thanks to Deb’s amazing creativity, Elias got a Panda small world from us. 



Grandma Susan and Elias made the cake...cute and delicious!

G&G and Grandma Kathleen fulfilled a dream of Elias’ by getting him the lawn service truck he’s been wanting. He will be very busy this summer caring for our lawn. He can’t wait for the rain to stop so he can load up his equipment and get to work!

Happy Birthday Elias! We love you!

40th

I was a little worried that covid would make for another disappointing birthday, but I was wrong. My birthday was a lovely day! So many thoughtful gifts and visitors!

It was a perfect sunny, chilly day. Just the way I prefer the weather. The Stevens brought me the best gift...a GIANT coffee and they stayed to porch sit for a while! It was the best. 

The Suddarth’s sent a hilarious video. 

Elias: Are Grant and Regina adults or kids?

Logan: They’re adults. Why?

Elias: That’s good because it looked like they were drinking alcohol and kids shouldn’t do that yet

Voni dropped of a GIANT treat from my favorite bakery, which spurred one of those Lewis ideas that are always surprising. 

Lewis: let me see that dessert!

Me: {very skeptical of his motives} Why?

Lewis: I want to see what kind of dessert it is. 

Me: it’s a cinnamon roll. 

Lewis: no, I want to see how many days it is. 

Me: okaaaaay....

Lewis: woah. That’s huge. That’s a three day dessert, mom. 

Me: you now rank desserts based on how many days they will last?

Lewis: yeah. My longest dessert is four days. 

Me: I love that Lewis. 

Levi had never seen balloons so he was making happy sounds all day long. 

This is where gorgeous flowers end up because Logan and I have terrible allergies. I can still see them through the door and window though. 

Logan told me he was ordering dinner for he and I, and that he would cook for the boys. What he didn’t tell me was that Beth was bringing the dinner!!! It was a great sursprise!

The boys were over the moon to have Beth back after barely seeing her for the past year due to covid. 

She gave me a mug that makes us both giggle.

Star Mud Baker

It’s spring. That means my mud room is always covered in mud and boots and gloves. That also means the boys are spending a lot of time in the backyard.

Lewis came into the house the other day beaming because his chocolate had worked! He said he worked really hard to get the consistency of the mud just right, and then let it dry for a few days. 

He had made perfect “chocolate” shavings. 

He filled the water up to the line he’s pointing to. 


He said he was going to make a cake next. The cake was done tonight. It had to dry quite a few days. He added the frosting this evening, and then the chocolate shavings on top. 

I asked him if I he could teach me to make a piece of pie, so he gave me a cooking lesson. It’s currently drying for a few days. He even taught me how to protect it from rain. Wouldn’t it be fun to have a mud bake sale?

The Zoo!

Between covid and winter, we’ve missed walking the zoo. It felt so good to be back!

Levi hadn’t been to the zoo since he was a little baby, so he was fascinated. 

Of course, the monkey (go on) was his favorite. We can hear them at our house in the mornings. 

Lewis stuffed his pockets with paper from the recycling bin before we left because Leo the Lion is his favorite, and he couldn’t wait to show Levi. 





We had never seen the eagle so close up. This was a close second to the monkey for Levi. 

What Levi Has Been Up To

Levi discovered binoculars and was fascinated for a day. 

He showed Miss Holly his discovery during speech therapy. 



He got a letter from Grandpa Mike and it was VERY important work. He spent a lot of time looking at it. 

Then he asked for a pen. 



He eats the same breakfast every morning. Coco krispies in almond milk and a power waffle. 

He’s getting better at pouring beans from one cup to the other with minimal mess. 

Elias was painting with watercolor and so Levi was sure that he wanted to paint as well. 

This is the cuteness he offered when I said, “smile!”.

Colors

I’ve never been around a preschooler who not only figures out the many-step process of watercolor paints but also creates the perfect balance of water and paint resulting in bold, vibrant colors. 

Elias is very into color patterns as well. He created an order to putting the beads on each branch. 
He was the first one to notice that his painting looks like a tropical fish.