The Ground Work

It doesn't look like much, but this was a lot of work for one girl with a shovel! Especially when you have the added stress of keeping track of three little ones eager to grab tools they shouldn't. =)

Where I left it for about 3 weeks...

I was so proud just to get this far that I took a couple of weeks off. Technically, Tony did help me at this stage by hauling the barrels out there from our side yard, and picking up some soil for me from Lowes. He also killed a couple of big black widows that were hiding under the barrels. I can say that I did all of the brick laying, which I am happy about now, but half way through I was thinking "what in the world are you doing???"

Finally Finished!

Isn't it cute? I just love gardening once I can get to the actual planting part. We have some tomatoes, peppers, squash, watermelon, herbs and strawberries!

The Finished Product

Bunkbeds!

Another thing that has been making me a little crazy lately is the bunkbed! The kids absolutely love it, no one has been seriously injured yet, I'm just a much too nervous mama to have bunkbeds. =)

Ouch!

This did not involve any gardening tools.

Big Girl Bed!

We finally made the transition to a big girl bed for Baylee! She loves it and it was a breeze. I've learned my lesson... it is better to wait! Or maybe girls are just much easier. That is entirely possible. Anyway, she has been sleeping in her new bed and doing great. We also finally transitioned them both out of pull-ups. I've just got a house full of big kids! =( (we are still working on the binkie)

Aubrey wants to be a big kid too and crawls into Jaden's bed every chance he gets...

Three to a room!

So much fun!

This is how it looked for a few days until we got the bed frame for their bunkbed. Aubrey loved it!

The Day Suzanne Left =(

As you can see, Aubrey was not happy. I really think he understood that she was leaving for good. This was taken as we were driving away from the airport. Luckily, she missed her plane and we got to spend one more day with her. Aubrey didn't believe me the second day and didn't cry. =) He does miss her though and continues to talk about her. It is so sad. Jaden still thinks he's going to Tokyo to visit her and "the husband" as he calls Bernard. We'll see about that!

Playing Catch-up!

I'm going to try to go in order. So much has happened in the past few weeks! Suzanne is back in Tokyo now with Bernard. We miss her very much! It was so much fun to have her in our home and learn about her culture. We are happy for Bernard though, as I'm sure he missed her like crazy.

This picture is from the second to last night she stayed with us. She made a special dinner and showed my how she made this yummy chicken in fresh tomato sauce. Here she is with Kattina who was her classmate and also speaks French.

She even made Tony's favorite... fried plantains. =)

Suzy and Kattina

The Result: Delicious!

Chase and me

One night I took the kids and Suzanne to my parent's house to visit Chase. Suzanne got to see where my family lives and meet Steven Ashley and Chase. The kids got to meet their cousin finally! They've been hearing about him for months. I think they thought he was imaginary for a while. =)

The kids meeting their cousin Chase

Suzy and Chase

LA

Staci and Liz at the Cheesecake Factory

We tried to do a few fun things with Suzanne before she went back home to Japan. One day, we went to LA for some shopping and sight seeing. Staci knew exactly where to go because she had lived there before. I was very thankful for this because I make it a point not to go there unless I have to! =) Everyone knows how terrible I am at getting lost, especially when I don't know where I'm going. We had a fun day, went shopping at the grove, saw the stars and had lunch at the Cheesecake Factory which was wonderful.

Suzy and me at the Cheesecake Factory

Suzy in LA by Bill Cosby's Star

Baby Chase

I am seriously behind on my blogging! First of all, my mom hijacked my camera and I have been using hers, which until yesterday I didn't have a cord for. Also, we've been out of town and super busy. I have big plans to catch up, but until then... a precious picture of baby Chase. =)