Through the eyes of children

I had surgery on my back yesterday. Dont worry---nothing major. This morning when I showed Charlie and Anders the incision Charlie's first words were: "OOH! ITS BEAUUUUTIFUL!". Anders thought it was "PWETTY NICE".

Living Large in Small Places

So 2 nights ago in a spur of the moment we ripped out our living room carpets as fast as we could. They have been torturing me for 3 years. I could only IMAGINE the filth and grime living in them...and now we don't have to imagine. Here is a clear picture of the ugly truth:















I asked Myron, where will the dogs to go to the bathroom now? Where will we dump our coffee in the mornings?


We got multiple dust-pans full of sand from underneath the carpets and foam (with which we topped off our sandbox). I told you there was a sand problem in our house!

















We pretty much did all of this with no plan, idea or money which made the rest fairly simple. Just move all the furniture back in. So those artsy squiggles allover the floor are actually glue residue. And those huge cracks and potholes are actually huge cracks and potholes. Hey--at least we know its clean---and in the end, thats all that matters.

Probably not interesting but really the best thing that has happened in months!

2 weeks ago Myron had to reseed our grass (you have to do this every year in AZ) so all the play equipment had to be moved onto the rocks. The only thing the kids could play in was the sandbox. As we were sitting in the sand box and noticing how nice the yard looks without heaps of giant sun damaged plastic everywhere killing the grass all day long---->














I envisioned a playground somewhere ***that we could not see*** full of sand and came up with an idea. On one side of our house there was a large area full of rocks that we never used for ANYTHING. I called Myron up and told him we were building the kids a playground. So Myron, my Dad and Anders cleared the rocks out the next morning.















Blew a tire in the process
















Filled the area up with sand we found on craigslist--Myron loaded his trailer (with a 1500 lb capacity) with 5000 lbs of sand and shoveled it over the fence by himself! We moved all the play stuff onto the sand and it has been the best home improvement (although I cant say this looks like an improvement) we have ever done.















The Kids are thrilled. Click on the image below to watch short video of neverending joy and laughter:

From Playground

Here are the best parts:
1) The kids play in it from around 7:00am til 7:00pm and never get bored.
2) We basically did the entire thing for free. The only thing we paid for was the swingset which we got for almost nothing on craigslist. The rest was literally in people's garbage...yes, the playhouse and the climber too! Even the sand was free! (Have I ever mentioned what all you can find in your neighbor's garbages here in Scottsdale? That's a whole other blog entry!)
3) You cannot see the ugly play structures from almost anywhere in the yard which means.......
4) We have a normal looking yard again!


















There is always a downside:
1) Sand, sand, everywhere sand. Outside and inside, everywhere sand. I have come up with a 3-step series of mats to rid our feet of sand before coming in however I think the kids/dogs jump right over them. We now have to tell guests not to take their shoes off when they come inside or their socks will get dirty. Worth it.

















I know I just made a very big detailed deal out of something that many people already have, only even way nicer than this...but hey--I'm excited :)

7:30 am Bad Day for Early Birds

Vancouver Vac"eh"tion

I got away on a mini-vacation by myself this past weekend. I went to Vancouver and visited friends and family and enjoyed the cool weather. It was still over 100 Degrees in AZ while I was gone! Didn't miss that. I posted most of my pictures on facebook and am feeling a little lazy to post them all on here again. Am I missing something or is there like an easier way to upload a bunch of pics to blogger? I always have to do one at a time instead of bulk and I really hate that.

Here are 2 things I feel strongly about in Canada.

1) I LOVE LOVE LOVE DRIVING DOWN EAST HASTINGS














2) I HATE USING QUARTERS FOR SHOPPING CARTS

Sweaty Socks

Today when we were getting ready for preschool I was changing Charlie's shoes and said "lets get some clean socks, these ones are all sweaty". She got really upset and said "I LIKE wearing sweaty socks....Like DADDY"

At the chick-fil-a playroom there were some big boys running pretty fast and cutting it pretty close to Anders. Charlie noticed and walked over and stood in front of Anders and said to one of the big boys "HEY, Watch out for my SISTER ok!". The boy looked slightly confused and kept on his way. Im so proud of Charlie for sticking up for her sister Anders.

I can't wait until Anders starts talking more. He's talking quite a bit but still has a long way to go. So it was surprising when we got in the car the other day and he said "Im BOILING!".

Like Mother, Like Whose Daughter IS THIS?

This morning we went shopping before preschool and as we were driving to the mall Charlie threw a fit screaming "I DON'T WANT TO GO A STORE!!! I WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!!!!"

Here she is on her first day (taken last week).