The Victory Garden

Another 100mph weekend... Saturday started with Isaac's swim lesson: He's improving more and more very week, and is remembering the routines: There's a bit where a bucket with holes is pushed underwater and it makes bubbles... Isaac was hollering out "BUBBLES" BEFORE it was time for the bubble bucket! He also just loves to float on his back - he seems so tranquil and doesn't mind the water in his ears one bit.

When we got home, it wound up being one of those "around the neighborhood" days - Bella was playing and playing, Isaac was tagging along, and we were getting caught up with all of the neighbors. It was good to be out on lawn chairs in people's yards. The BIG news is that I finally got a tour of our old house on the block, and they're going crazy great guns on an internal remodel - the basement has been extensively redone - they moved the furnace and water heater, and fixed the beams, and behold, it's actually a fully usable space now! So it will be a great place to see movies and hang out in my opinion. Good for them! In the evening, Uncle Ant came by to watch Ocean's 13 and enjoy some single malts, which was a great end to the day.

Today we worked on our Victory Garden: The brick walkway was one thing we got done - we also had the b-ball court taken out. Friday night, we lugged the old basketball hoop (on a heavy 10-foot pole) to the curb, took a picture, and put it on craigslist for free. By 10am Saturday it was GONE! So that remnant gone, we essentially had 2 4x16 planter boxes and a field of mud strewn with grass seed.

Today, we turned that space into something more: Pamela found some vintage metal chairs and created a sitting area (with some of the remaining bricks from the front). 16 bags of cocoa shell mulch, and the mud pit is now a garden, with just a bit still remaining to await the growing of the grass. There was a lot of hauling in the day... and Bella out of nowhere asked me if I could walk on my hands, so I had to prove to her I could (3 steps), and show my front handspring as well (yeah, I'm a little sore on that). There's still work to do on the garden (we'll probably build a fence of some kind), but it's really starting to feel like something intentional back there... I'm still trying to figure out if I like it more than the rocky uneven asphalt pad.... ;)

In the late afternoon, it was a party for Bella's preschool class: A moonwalk was rented, food was brought. Bella and 16 of her classmates (and their siblings) spent over 3 hours running around having a great time. Isaac was in the middle of it all. He developed something of a flirtation with one of Bella's classmates. Everytime this girl came around, he would freeze, point, and shriek. That is class. Not every girl, just this one. Smooth.

We dragged home by 7:45 and did triage bedtime, and everyone was asleep by 8:30, including Pamela. I'm just documenting things, and will probably be down by 10. But it was a great weekend of being outside, getting fresh air, having the kids run around, and generally it felt like spring was REALLY HERE. It was wonderful.