my family

Today is so cold. I couldn’t believe that my car’s thermostat read 59 degrees at 10am while we were driving to pick peaches at this mom’s house. Thankfully Gabrielle brought out jackets for the boys to wear. Zed seemed fine in his one piece thing, but Ezra was shivering while on the ladder. Yes, he climbed their ladder and had a blast picking the yucky (looking) peaches. He would hand them to me saying “eeeeeewwww, this one has worms”. They don’t, really. Just sap, juice and dirt on the skins. I can’t wait to have our own fruit trees… sans worms. We have a little, bent apple tree with wormy apples. It seems all apples have worms around here. I should look into organic worm eradication methods. Anyone have success with their apple trees?
Zach and I have been watching Jamie Durrie’s The Outdoor Room lately and have come to the conclusion that when we win the lottery we need to redesign our bland backyard. Really, it is such a part of our interior that it is difficult to ignore. Oh, and does it need help! Zach even looked up Jamie’s site to see if we could get his show to come out here. I have a past client who produced Victory Garden on PBS. Even if she could convince him, we could never afford it. It’s fun to dream… (as if we don’t have enough neighbors who could design our outdoor space. Ha!)
I always think of fall as a time to plant. I remember the first year we moved here I waited patiently for the fall to buy my plants. By the time I got there, the nursery hardly had anything left and everything was half off. I liked the discount aspect, but there was nothing for me to get. I need to get my butt in gear and head to the nursery to see what I can find, before it’s all gone. Maybe some yucca for out the back window. That space is so difficult having a range from full shade to full sun from spring to fall. Wish me luck, I’ll need it.

The boys got haircuts this summer. People are still surprised to see Ezra’s lack of hair.

Pretty shocking, eh?
I thought this looked so nice that I had to work on Zed’s hair too. Although I’m not sure, I miss the super soft locks. Thank goodness he’s still a super sweet boy… if only a little meddlesome (that’s an understatement).

You might wonder where all this haircutting came from. The image below should help you understand. This character has taken over my boy’s life. We made an airbender staff and the arrows complete the look. Guess what he’s going to be for Halloween.

Here’s Zed playing his part in the wrestling match. Just a kick and nudge here and there. He looks pretty calm about the whole thing, don’t you think?

Ain’t summer grand? This summer has been awesome. Swimming, playing, and the ubiquitous lemonade stand. Ezra has recently been brainwashed by Disney into thinking he wants Buzz and Woody dolls. I told him he’d have to earn the money. This stand was pushed by both kids, but Ezra was the driving force behind it.

India made a great sales woman. She needed some help with the pouring, mainly since our jug has a top that won’t stay open. We should really upgrade.

Zed is very proud of his drinking skills and shows them off as often as he can.

All Ezra needed was a giant lemon costume.

But of course he had to drink 3 or 4 glasses himself.

I can’t believe how big my littlest one is getting. He is still a tiny, but soon he’ll be tearing it up. He already tears up the house. We have been trying to keep the place picked up and the older kids have been helping to pick up the toys. We find it doesn’t really make much of a difference. The baby’ll just pull everything out again. The toys stay away maybe for the rest of the evening. So we pick up every other day (or every other, other day).

That little smile of his is so sweet… I know there is trouble brewing behind the cover of sweetness.