Could this weather get any better?

Or any hotter?  (Dear God, I hope not)!  What a beautiful weekend to be outside (in the shade, with a cold beer...and possibly in a kiddie pool).

 

On Thursday, I listed our old AC unit that had been sitting in the garage, on Craigslist.  It was sold and picked up by Friday afternoon (timing is everything)! 

 

We took a trip to the Home Depot to pick out some flowers to replace some of the overgrown plants and weeds Marcia and George dug up for us last week.  It was one of those "new home owner" tasks that I was eager to participate in, and I had longed to stroll the aisles and help select which flowers would look best in our yard.  And this time, I was fortunate enough to have someone to fund and execute my project :)

 

Side note - every time I am at the Home Depot I am overwhelmed with how many projects I want to do RIGHTNOW.  Hanging baskets, and water fountains, a sand box, an herb/vegetable garden, a pot with an assortment of succulents, and planter boxes (to name a few).  I am a work in progress when it comes to practicing patience, and need to develop the ability to work slowly on projects over time.  I hope to try to implement something new and fun for the house each summer rather than go broke trying to do it all now.

 

 

On Friday, Marcia and George got to work!!  Here is the before.  I will post an after later!

 

I worked from home on Friday, and by 4pm I was ready to call it a day and crack a beer. Here we are, declaring the work week officially over, and celebrating Happy Hour on our deck.

 

 

Ben was a little hesitant about this little pool we got him.  I had thought it would be nice to have something small and splashy to have on the deck, but as it turns out, he was really only interested in the big pool.  I think he was also a little afraid to be stepping into this fishes mouth....which is understandable.

 

Popsicles on the deck!

 

On Saturday, I taught back to back hot yoga classes in the morning.  Holy humidity.  Meanwhile, Greg and his parents made a trip to Costco.  That afternoon, Greg and I went downtown to see This Is The End (hilarious and ridiculous) and then had dinner and drinks at Re:Public.  (Great recommendation, Rachel)!

 

On Sunday, we started our day early with breakfast at the Maltby Cafe! 

 

When we returned home, we ALL got to work.  It's amazing how much easier it is to accomplish things with 4 sets of hands and someone always available to keep track of Ben.  While Greg and his dad trimmed the bushes and trees in the back yard, Marcia and I put together a new set of shelves we got for the garage.  I am in love with my newly organized garage!

 

We also picked up a few new tools, some weed killer, 4 bags of mulch for the front yard, 2 new chairs for the deck, cleaned off the outside tables, moved Ben's slide to the back yard, and watered all of the newly planted flowers.  Phew! 

 

That afternoon, I hung at home with Ben while the rest of them went up to the Casino!  I would say that they very much earned an evening of fun after a day couple weeks of hard work watching Ben and tending to some of the things we needed to tackle around the house and yard.

 

Last night, I taught Ben a new word.  "GO"!  We were running around the house, and I would stop abruptly and yell "STOP", and then yell "GO!!" and start running again.  He thought it was the funniest thing ever, and after 2 minutes of this, started yelling "GO", too!  It became quite a tiring and sweaty game, but I loved watching him put it all together.

 

I am realizing more and more that Ben is very motivated to use words that end up giving him some sort of reaction.  He seems less interested in simply repeating words we say, and will often give me a super annoyed look when I point to a book and name all of the things I see.  But he does seem to enjoy saying "cracker" a lot (because he usually will get one when he says it), or "Bye Bye" because it usually involves putting on shoes and going outside, and now "GO" because it elicits a big reaction.  I'm going to purposely try to teach him some more action words and see what happens :)

 

Diaper only weather!

 

Ben absolutely loves playing with his water table.  And did he inherit his dad's "concentration face", or WHAT?