Still Worthy

These are a bunch of random photos taken over the last month or two. For whatever reason, they didn't make it into their own blog post, but I think they're still worthy.

First, some new tulips I planted last fall. I just love tulips, and back when we moved into this house, a whole 8 years ago, my sister Sandy and I planted like 140 tulip bulbs. Now those tulips are small and more scarce than they originally were, so last fall I planted some new bulbs in two big bunches on either side of my hydrangea bush. I think they're very pretty.

For Teacher Appreciation Week (which was a few weeks ago), Zach and I decided to make cookies for his teachers. So Drew and Zach both helped me make some sugar cookies, and it was really fun that everybody could participate. Here I am rolling the dough into balls, then Drew would roll them in sugar, and Zach would flatten them with forks. It was fun, and a good project to do together because I wasn't being too anal about what they looked like (I like things I bake to look pretty), and the boys couldn't really screw them up.

One Sunday morning, Mike, Jake, and I were upstairs on our bed and we saw Zach and Drew run out of their rooms and down the stairs in their swim trunks. Playing in swim trunks is nothing new for those two, so we weren't surprised, but we were mildly curious as to what they were up to. A bit later we went downstairs and saw them outside, attempting to fill up the pool. It was about 60 degrees outside, but they didn't care.

One day I returned from kickboxing class to find this scene. I thought it was pretty sweet.

A random cute picture of Jake and Mike. I love that huge smile on Jake's face.

I think here Jake probably was blowing a raspberry at me. He loves to do that, and it's so cute when he does it. I can't help but smile.

One day before school last week, we were all just playing on the floor, and then Jake put this ring in his mouth, and Zach, Drew, and I all got a good laugh over it.

Drew's not really the arts-and-crafts sort of guy, but one day last week I talked him into finger-painting. He hadn't done finger-painting in a long time, so it was almost like a new experience for him, and he liked it. He didn't even get mad when I put a little paint on his nose. Then he decided to add a little paint on his own.

Last Saturday we had plans with our friends BJ, Carey, and Charlie to get together for pizza at our house. At the last minute, Carey and I decided we needed a mom's night out, as the dads had had quite a late night out the night before. So Carey and I met at a restaurant for some delicious food and drinks, and Mike and BJ got to hang with the 4 little boys. Zach just loves playing the big brother role (especially when the kid isn't really his little brother), so he really enjoyed having Charlie here. Drew is still figuring out how to share and co-exist with younger kids who might want to play with his stuff (including his big brother), but I think a good time was definitely had by all. I love this picture of the 4 boys- Charlie looks like he fits right in!