Helping

{{Edited to Reduce Photo Content 6.10.2011}}

Stomper and I are at my Mom's house working at the daycare so she and Dad can have an outing to Sam's club (ahh the romance of being married for forever). Dad asked me to take some photo's of their gardens in case they ever sell their house, they'll have nice photo's of everything in bloom.


I think he just wants to show off all of Mom's hard work at maintaining the beautiful gardens. Not everything is in bloom yet, but it is still pretty.

This is actually the back yard. You can see all the daycare toys and stuff. My Dad made that sandbox and the picnic tables. I am hoping someday he will make some outside climbing things for Stomper. You can't see it in these photo's but he also made a swing-set, one of those big,wooden, expensive ones with swings, hand over hand rings, slide, and climbing structure for like 30% of the cost of a pre-fabricated one.

I have playground envy.

This is the front. The Stone steps in the foreground are the "company" stairs, the one people use who don't know us too well, or the slew of friends that my brother sometimes has over. These stairs carry right into the stairs that go to the second floor and where all the "cool people" hang out in my brothers room.

The stairs in the background are the "everyday" steps. So, now you know that when you visit a house in Maine to use the "non-formal" looking stairs to be welcomed in and treated like family.

This is the only kid  at daycare today. Which is nice since I'm no longer used to taking care of multiple children. Some days my Mom has as many as 3 toddler/preschoolers and they all don't get along. She amazes me with her ability to simultaneously comfort someone who has fallen down and break up a fight between two 2 year old boys! Of course Stomper played in the sandbox and tasted it. He was eating it by the fistful when I took him out. He protested, I guess he likes girt in his teeth? Silly baby.

(The Rhododendron --bottom right-- is in the backyard. My Dad uprooted it five years ago with a backhoe,plopped it in a hole, shoved some dirt around it, and hoped for the best. This year it is full of flowers. I guess it has forgiven my Dad for uprooting it.)