"If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will -- to your surprise -- miss them profoundly."

--Thomas S. Monson, 2009







Saturday, August 9, 2014

Bike Rides and Springtime

 
 
We have loved having this bike to ride with Olivia this year.  It is so handy. Everytime we pass people while riding this bike, we get so many compliments and good comments on it. It has made family bike rides fun and easy.  This lighthouse is one of our favorite places to ride:
 

 
A ladybug Olivia found one day on a bike ride
 
 
I love when we all ride together and the girls are in a row like little ducklings following their Momma.  It is sweet.
 
 
 
 
Summerside has these amazing large lilac bushes growing in a couple of our favorite spots to ride past.  The smell is heavenly when we go past.  I wanted to stop for a photo one day:


When we bought this house it was winter and there was snow on the ground.  When it melted we discovered that the backyard was not yet completed!  We never had a chance to finish it last spring after we moved in.  We got a letter from the city this spring saying that it had to be completed by the end of June (as that made it 5 years old) or we could face fines.  So we got the rough grade and inspection completed and then we laid the sod ourselves.  Our micro backyard made it easy for us to do in an afternoon.  Our cute helpers made it easier too ;)



Thanks for the help girls! 

Those sod rolls were kind of heavy!  It took at least 2 of the girls to carry one.
 
And the finished results!  Ben has since added a green slide to the play structure that comes down onto the edge of the patio.  It's a tiny yard, but we find it very useful, and the girls find a way to still have fun in it. The grass makes a world of difference.  It is much more pleasant to be out there and the biggest bonus of all.... NO MUD.
 
This year I planted some $9 Strawberry plants I got at Wal Mart.  They have given such a HUGE bounty of fruit!

I am sure going to miss having Olivia around with me during the day when she starts kindergarten.  One of her favorite things to do is ride to the "Fountain Park." It is a little park in Summerside with a gate that we can open with our lake card.  We usually pack a picnic and eat it while sitting on the rocks and putting our feet into the cool lake water.

We have been trying more and more to get to the Temple. It is easier now that Isabelle can babysit!  It is a great date night.

Beautiful sunset