Playing in the Rain

On Friday, we had a rainy morning and it was so much fun.  After breakfast, Patrick and Payden wanted to play on the Patio and it was just lightly sprinkling but they loved it!

After we ate lunch, Patrick wanted to come outside with me to take the diapers to the trash and then we stayed outside while they played outside.  Both had so much fun in the rain and finding puddles to play in.

Here are some memories we made!

First a video:

Then some pictures:

Patrick transfering water from bucket to bucket. These are our neighbors that she puts to collect rain water from the gutter.  The entire time he's doing this he's getting wetter and wetter. 

Like this:

And This: 

He has realized now too to run over and look at the pictures that I take.  It's super cute!  

And here's another:

Pyaden, as you can hear from the video and is making a ton of noise but running back and forth between me and our neighbor's front porch. 

 Really big close-up

Both of them had SO much fun playing in the rain!  I had to remind myself of that very fact when I had to change both of their clothes yet again when we came inside.  I find I change their clothes a lot in the summertime.  It's fun though, my boys LOVE water!

How does your Garden Grow?

I have always wanted a garden and I guess I figured I had to wait until we had a house. Well we don't have one yet but this year I am enjoying my little plot of earth.

My mother in law has gardened in containers for awhile and had some extra planters this year and asked if I wanted them. I was thinking I would get like a few.  It turns out I got six!  I was excited.  All the pots had potting soil in it from last year and they were good sized too! So with my two boys as helpers we turned the soil over and got them ready for planting.   My mother in law took us on a trip where we got some flowers, a tomato plant and also a few seeds that I thought would be fun to grow. We have a huge driveway that we share and there is PLENTY of sunshine.  They have done wonderfully!

I transplanted the tomato plant and flowers about mid April around my birthday.

These two pictures were taking on May 21st.  You can see the tomato thriving and also the flowers looking good but not growing too much.

 A closer look at the Tomato Plant

And now from June 17th - Red tomatoes!  It seemed like awhile but there are a ton of tomatoes growing now and they are getting red from the order of when they started growing!

And now from today!  Here are three more turning red.  I guess I need to use them in some recipes for Salsa and other things.  I'm really don't like them fresh so I'll have to think of something! 

And my lettuce as of today... not sure how long you wait before the first picking though..

And my beautiful flowers have just blossomed in the early heat of June!  

(Plus, in the middle of these beautiful plants, I found tonight I have a volunteer tomato plant!  I didn't know you could have a volunteer tomato plant in a container garden. 

There is something refreshing and energy giving to have a garden to watch things grow and thrive and grow so beautifully.  Patrick loves to help me water them individually in the morning and invariably will pick a few flowers to come show me.

Catching up: In Pictures

Here's a little of what we've been up to:   In Pictures! 

Taking walks!   Obviously this was awhile ago.. since they have sweaters.

Playing outside:  Payden

Playing Outside:  Patrick

Swimming in the $7 pool that has been worth every SINGLE cent!  It got over 90 degrees a couple weeks ago and we put the pool up in the morning and it was as warm as bath water by 4 in the afternoon.  They had a ball splashing and playing for over an hour! Best toy ever!! 

Trip to Walmart to buy flowers, pool and sand box stuff - We stopped in Lawn and Garden for a swing with Grandma!  They must have swung for over 10 min - almost put Payden to sleep too!! 

When seeing a little Turtle Sandbox with cover was $42, we opted for a plastic tub with play sand. 

Trying on a green thumb:  Christian's mom brought me planters and so far I have flowers, and some vegetables.  That's a big tomato in the middle.  My first ever tomato plant! 

Daylight Savings Mix ups

Daylight savings was a rude wake-up (literally) at our house. Before the one hour change, Patrick was already waking up at six. We were dreading it and now a week after we know the horrors. The Saturday of the change, we took the boys to see Christian's Mom and take Maddie to the vet. The boys had a blast playing at the mall play place and Carousel. I really wish we had a mall here.

After we ate lunch, we started driving home and the boys fell asleep for 30 minutes. We thought we'd just transfer them to their beds. When we got home though they were AWAKE and wouldn't not go to sleep. So that night we put them to bed about 7:30 (6:30 new time) because of the 30 min nap. They woke up at 4:45 (new time) the next morning. Both were coughing pretty cranky but wide awake. We decided against church in order to see if we could somehow sneak 2 naps in. In the end they took a nap in the morning and missed the one in the afternoon.

The next week just got WORSE. We had 4:30, 5:15, 5:30, and 6:00 wake-ups. Today was 5:45 which was okay. Because of the early wake-ups, naps also have been all messed up because they are so tired. I feel like they don't get good naps and then go to bed early to start the wole cycle again! Wish I could get them to go back asleep after but to no avail. I have decided they don't get out of their cribs till 6 but it's so hard when it's mostly Patrick waking early and then he wakes his brother with his jabbering. At least they're still in their cribs; I do have that.

Hopefully this next week, we'll somehow adjust and keep at six o'clock wake ups... I could be happy with that! It's definitely a learning experience.

Catch up with the Benedicts - Halloween

We dressed the boys as cowboys for Halloween this year. They had their red plaid shirts and jeans and their cowboy hats. Plus they had their bandana. Christian's mom asked if I wanted her to buy play holsters/guns but I told her no. I didn't want play guns until they understood what they were for and how to treat them. My luck they would just put the end of it in their mouths. Plus at almost two, I thought they were too young. Christian agreed though he thought they looked more like farmers than cowboys. I'll let you judge for yourself.

Here's the only picture I have, when I have more from Lindsay, I'll post them here.


We took them to the Ward Trunk or Treat the Saturday before and I think it was a little overwhelming. To save their little legs, we put them in the stroller and Payden was done in very little time. When I ran out of candy to pass out to other kids, I joined Christian and we took the boys around.

The boys still didn't understand the whole "asking for candy thing" which was okay by me. In the end Patrick has realized that candy tasted pretty good. So far he likes Starbursts, Reeses Pieces, and licorice. Now and then he'll find a wrapper lying around and bring it to me to ask for some.

I'll See you In the Morning

For the past couple weeks, this has been a very favorite book of Payden's. The Title is, "I'll See you in the Morning," by Mike Jolley and Mique Moriuchi.

It reads:

I'll see you in the Morning. For now it's time to sleep.
I will stay and watch a while Till you are counting sheep

Don't be afraid of Darkness Don't be afraid my sweet.
The Night is just a blanket that helps the earth to sleep.

Creatures great and Creatures small will all be sleeping soon.
Under the same blanket...

...Under the same Moon.

So Close your eyes and go to sleep by the light of the Moon above
I'll see you in the morning in the light of the sun my love.

Dream your dream of moon beams. Let the night become your friend
The twinkling starts will keep you safe till morning comes again.

I"ll be here if you need me. I'm only steps away.
So close your eyes and go to sleep

and dream of a brand new day.

Good Night... Sleep Tight... ... I"ll see you in the morning!

After cleaning up lunch today, I rounded the corner of the kitchen to the living room and this is what I saw. Payden sitting in Daddy's recliner and reading page by page in his favorite book.


I have to admit there were days last week, I hid this book and only brought it out at bedtime since some days I had read it more than 10 times. It has such a sweet message and has the power to help me remember the importance of my purpose in raising these two wonderful boys!

This week: In Pictures

Monday - I made some delicious cinnamon rolls. They were SO good!
Find the recipe here.


Tuesday - Patrick for some reason LOVED to sit on the grass. This picture shows him looking up on our neighbor's patio to see their dog. It was cute that he just sat since he is always on the go these days! I'd like to label it "The Thinker."


Also on Tuesday...Payden got his first safety pin! For the life of him, his pants WOULD not stay up. The length was perfect though! I guess it's because of his no waist or bum!


Wednesday - Patrick has started to become obsessed with climbing IN everything. While I was cooking dinner, he emptied my canned food drawer only to climb in!

They are both into the climbing thing now. We've found (and removed) them from climbing table chairs, all couches, end tables and our bed! I'm just waiting for the kitchen table!

Thursday- we took a walk to Hyvee like we do almost daily to get some awesome sales. On the way back we saw this construction worker. Patrick started freaking out and pointing at it. Apparently I went by it too fast! I backed up and got as close as I could so he could watch and point and watch the guy work! He loved it!


Friday - Again with the climbing... Patrick climbing in Maddie's dog crate. Funny too that Payden will stand outside it and hold it shut so Patrick can't open it. Too Funny!


Also Friday - Payden finally discovered the outside! Usually he's content to stay and play inside but today Patrick ran off and found a mini hill to go UP and DOWN and did it for about 15 minutes. I ran over to get him.. he was pretty far away from the back door. I see Payden coming out walking on the grass which is SO good for him. He still has trouble with uneven surfaces so this was big! Walking back he grabbed for my hand.

He has a blast playing with a beach ball in the sun!

I'm going to get you!

I got you!

Ooh, I found a pillow!