Robes for the kids was quite the hit.
Practicing some Samuri moves- thats what these robes make you do. I can't help it.
plus green tea, Sake and Japanese Salt. 
These kids sure do love their grandma. She is always up for playing, and will read books for hours to Asher.
Plus she sets up the whole house for them. Asher has never been in a place with more toys, so of course he is occupied. And an occupied toddler= a relaxed mama.
Having 1 child really makes you sad that everyone lives so far apart from their families these days. You want them to soak up everything about their family and really get to know them and allow your parents some time to help rais them- they did after all raise you. Having two kids has you missing your parents for much more selfish reasons- sanity. I so wish I had family closer to help me with the boys every so often because sometimes I just need a break.
and the toppling over.
Loud music making.
A separate pool for the babes. My parents have so much stuff for kids. It is what we have avoided, and what Asher loves so much... he is never bored at this place. And River really took to his private pool
Kaylin eventually started licking the dished up scoop. And Asher started scooping out of his cone.
And curling up on Grandpa when cuddling with each other didn't work.
Nine more months until we see them again and hopefully the reunion will be as sweet as it just was.
As we become more seasoned gardeners, we have re-incorporated flowers back into the plan. Our first over ambitious garden had lots of flowers and it was nice, but like I said that garden was really over ambitious- it was a market garden for a caterer, he gave us some land and it was a lot of work, especially when we moved from that gorgeous place to this one before the harvest rolled in. Back to my point, now that we feel pretty confident in our ability to grow what we need, it has been awesome to grow things that are just pretty.
And nothing melts a mama's heart more than her little babe strolling up the steps with a boquet in hand. Full of the vibrant summer colors, ready for a jar of water.
We also put in a bunch of marigolds and have been spreading the seeds as we dead head the plants, so lots more plants have popped up in the borders. It's pretty awesome. And our sunflowers are kicking ass and providing a beauty screen so the uptight neighbors don't have to see our 8ft tall tomatoe poles. They complained about are garden as they didn't think it was pretty... they are convinced that only flower gardens are pretty... that makes me think they are pretty dumb and ignorant. Regardless the sunflowers are serving a nice purpose and the variety is growing great. Better yet, the goldfinches love our flowers. I love that bird. They are such an icon for Central Illinois and the prairie for me. The gold perfectly camouflages on the flowers of compass plants and prairie dock while they eat it's seeds. Such perfection.
We have got a bit of a monkey on our hands. Asher climbed up the bookshelf and onto the dresser popped open the pistachio container and left Ben quite a pile of shells in his sock drawer. Who could get mad about that? Oh and he had the greatest giggle when I caught him. He did respectfully move the picture frames out of the way as well as the lamp, which he seemed quite proud of.
We can't have on in town, so we get the next best things. We typically buy a whole animal or split one for our freezer to enjoy all year long and this year I went to a fiber festival in Indiana a picked up a whole fleece for a year worth of stuffing.
I have been weary about the polyester stuffing for awhile, it just didn't feel right, but I hadn't had much time to look into alternatives nor the money for them when I finally did. In April we took a fun field trip and I found a whole fleece for $15, so we washed it, dried it in the sun and are slowly teasing it apart. Filling our basket with the lovely feel of wool. I am so happy that my stuffed toys no longer squeak from poly. Things just feel so much nicer.
Asher likes to pretend he is the lamb.
For one of the best sandwiches of the year. The tomatoes are coming in of the vine, and this is what we have been waiting for. Sliced on homemade bread, with the bacon we cured- from the local organic piggy bellies, layered with mayo with made from our backyard hen's eggs, topped with lettuce from north urbana (no one grows it like jon). We endulge why we can.
While we dream of bigger gardens in our future tha we could possibly grow food for others, we are definitely enjoying the benefits of a small garden... less to weed, water and less varieties means no cross pollination and the ability to test our seed saving skills.
Asher got his farm fix. He rode the tractors and saw all the animals. Plus he got to hold a 3 day old piglet. While we have always been very open with him where his food comes from, and what animals we are eating when (he requests pig meat and knows bacon is from the belly) I think he is putting more of the pieces together.
He was also thrilled to watch the sheep dog work.
The kids spent plenty of time in the kitchen, in their own boxes, River's out of necessity he sometimes still tips over after a long extended time and Asher because he wants to be like his little bro.
Learning about centrifugal forces at the Iowa Children's Museum (a great place for imaginative play)
and got to catch up with some really great people. We returned home exhausted and had to immediately get to work, and then had to meet the bride to exchange some catering dish mix ups and now we are home and planning for the biggest events of the summer, my brother's return from Tokyo and Ben's mom's 60th b-day. I hope this is all fun, but I can't wait to be home on the other side of it. traveling is stressful.
