A wild ride!

On Tuesday, we made our annual trip to Knoebels (a free admission amusement park). We went for the first time last summer and had such a great time that it was at the top of the "Must Do" list for this summer. We'd initially planned on going at the beginning of July but had to reschedule because Zachary got sick. Of course, the weather report called for showers on and off on our "make up" day but we were rebels and decided to go anyway.

That said, it rained on and off most of the time we were at the park...and although we're all as sweet as sugar, none of us melted! Despite the wet weather, we had a fabulous time. Here are the pictures to prove it!

Although the bumper cars were a huge favorite last year and the first ride that both boys wanted to go on this year, Zachary changed his mind not long after the ride began. Here he is begging Daddy to be done.

Jacob was definitely having a better time...despite the fact that his car went backward most of the time!

This car ride was much more Zack's speed. That's his yellow hat barely visible above the dash.

A very healthy lunch. Cotton candy for one and funnel cake for the other.

You have to love it!

Proof that all four of us went on the Flume. Mommy's inability to judge distance led her to believe the drops weren't that steep. She and Zack both agreed that they won't be going on that one again. Jacob and Daddy, on the other hand, loved it!

Sharing with Daddy.

Daddy may have had a few nibbles here and there but for the most part Zachary ate it all by himself! We don't know whether to be proud or appalled!

The big kid checking out the map so he can plan the next ride.

The tea cups were more Mommy's style. Daddy bowed out...they made him too dizzy last year. Zack just wanted ice cream!

The next snack. Zack continues to work on his sugar high. Jacob chose a hot dog...something with some substance. He did wash it down with a birch beer.

Another tamer ride Zack enjoyed.

Jacob helped Zack hook the belt.

This helicopter ride was the first in a series of flying rides the boys went on at least once (but usually twice). It was great to find something they could enjoy together.

Of course the one with the guns that made noise were the absolute favorite. The best part was the dialog going on between the two of them throughout the ride!

Jacob once again showing his daredevil side.

Andy and Jacob are up there just behind the mast.

...and another flying ride.

Mommy and Jacob rode the Whipper while Zack was on the fire truck ride. We had so much fun that Jacob decided that Daddy and Zack should join him on it as the final ride of the day.

Before being "whipped"...

and after.

The final treat was a fried waffle...a new, very messy, favorite.

Even the big kid had a hard time being neat!

One of these days I'll remember my camera!

Every time we go to visit Jonathan and Mary Katherine in Maryland I plan on bringing my camera. As you may be able to tell from the lack of photos accompanying this post, once again I forgot! One of the biggest motivators is the fact that the only really good picture of the two of them with either of my children is from their visit to California. I believe Jacob is about six months in that one...and in August he'll be six! Needless to say, it's time to update the collage!

That said, we all had a wonderful time on Saturday. Mary Katherine looks fabulous...and very ready to have that baby boy! It's hard to believe she's due at the beginning of August. I was HUGE when I was as pregnant as she is and she just has this perfect little belly. Very impressive!

We did drag them around a little bit, going out to lunch and stopping at Borders to stock the boys up for vacation. (If the big bookstores weren't 45 minutes from our house we would have skipped this one but you have to take advantage of being in an actual city!) And we just had to visit the L.L. Bean store, a first for us. Well worth the extra errand though. We finally found a lightweight rain coat for Jacob...and got a cool shark belt on sale just because. (Don't worry, Zack got a new fleece out of the deal. It was a bargain we couldn't pass up.) Mary Katherine loved the fact that Jacob was in awe of the parking garage and the mall. Gotta love living in the sticks!

The highlight of the day for Jacob was the chance to play Uncle Jon Jon's Playstation 2. He had Star Wars Legos, the video game that both of my boys want with a passion. Zachary gave playing a shot but eventually we enticed him downstairs to watch superhero cartoons on the big TV...On Demand no less. (If we hadn't, they'd still be stuck in the same spot on the game. Poor guy, he tried!) It's the little things that everyone else considers must haves that my kids are enthralled by when we travel. Being on a budget has it's advantages!

Daddy's helpers

Our most recent household improvement project involves changing the landscaping in our backyard. As you may or may not know, we have an oddly shaped backyard with an unknown property line. (Actually, the men were here today to do the first part of our survey so it pretty soon the mystery will be solved!) The previous owners had chosen to put a koi pond, a patio (that needed to be redone), and an island of bushes and ground cover on the little bit of land that is back there. Before we bought the house, we requested the koi pond be removed, both for safety reasons and for the space. However, we have very little grass back there, a patio we never use because we have a great screened in back porch, and the funky island. Not much of a yard to our backyard.

Last year, Andy and I sat on our wonderful porch and talked about what we could do with the space if we just...and an idea was born. We decided to take out the back patio, removed the island of foliage, and reseed the yard so that they boys had somewhere to play. It's a pretty labor intensive undertaking and being relatively poor, we're doing most of the work ourselves. (Although, I must say thanks to my dad who helped when he was here!)

One of the biggest parts of the project is redoing the patio and, with two kids, it's taking some time. However, as of Sunday we have the majority of the bricks up, have decided how large a patio and path area we really need, and Andy has begun to space things out in preparation for installation. The boys were a big help this past weekend, donning their "work" (or garden) gloves and moving bricks for Daddy. The amount of work they did was pretty impressive, as was the fact that they entertained themselves quite a bit so that I could help Daddy out too.

A side note: The muscle shirts were a "treat" from a recent Walmart trip. Although it goes against Mommy's nature to buy tank tops for the boys, they loved the idea of these muscle shirts and now ask to wear them...often!

Oh, the Lord is good to me...

For the second year in a row, our family spent the Fourth of July camping with a group from our church. What a blessing! The weather was perfect and the company couldn't have been better. The boys slept amazingly well considering the accomidations and our days were a nice balance of activities and relaxation. Add to that a big breakfast (cooked by someone else!) each morning and it was heaven on earth!

Here are just a few (okay,a ton of) pictures highlighting our trip.

Cooking dinner the first night.

Helping Daddy put up the tent.

And here's how it really happened!

The boys loved the playground.

Before we left, we made Fourth of July t-shirts with fireworks on them. I just had to get shots of everyone wearing them! (Shockingly, I actually made it into a photograph.)

Our family is now the proud owner of two very similar campsite markers. Zachary painted one himself...and then made Andy erase it and directed me on how to decorate it. Jacob did about half of his on his own and then asked me to help him finish it. Thanks for the fun activity Pastor Steve!

One of the best parts of the trip is the water slide. It's located at the campground and is definitely worth the short hike. Our church lucked into an hour to use it all by ourselves on Saturday and it was a blast!

The expert explaining the fine points to his little brother.

Jacob had no fear at all this year. He'd go down once and run up the hill to get back in the line...and he did this for an hour straight!

Zachary's one and only trip down.

Daddy had as much fun as Jacob did! (He has the bruises to prove it.)

Even I went down several times. This is Jacob, Andy, and me going down the slide together. Zachary could not be convinced to join us!

Let it grow, let it grow, let it grow...

Growing up we had garden fresh vegetables all summer long. My dad's garden is larger than our living room...as a matter of fact, I think it's larger than his living room too! When I went away to college and then "grew up" and moved out on my own, I missed those veggies more than I would have imagined. When you are spoiled by the good stuff, it's hard to eat produce from the grocery store!

The yearning for the good stuff has made me want to grow vegetables ever since we moved into our own house. However, every year there was some reason it didn't happen. This year the stars all aligned and for Mothers' Day my "boys" made me a raised bed garden. (Okay, it was just the really big one but the other two "helped.") Finally, Mommy has a place to grow vegetables.

The boys have loved gardening. They have been involved in all aspects of the project, from choosing what we would grow, to planting plants and seeds, to watering and weeding. (This has to be done very, very carefully since they aren't quite sure what is a weed!) We all delighted when the plants began flowering and the lettuce started popping up. Everyone cheered when the first cucumber was sighted, followed by the round, green grape tomatoes. And finally, just last week we enjoyed our first homegrown veggies when we used our own lettuce to make salads for dinner. As Zachary would say, "This is delicious!"

Our gardening adventures have included planting herbs in pots.

A must have at our house...Jacob's favorite, the cucumber.

My dad's garden always included cherry tomatoes (ours are the grape variety)...a favorite snack!

Although we didn't separate the lettuce quite like we were told, it isn't doing too badly! Next year we'll make time for the hands on tutorial.