Us Being Us

This weekend was one big mess of fun. We didn't do anything in particular; we were just us. The weather was cooler again, but it was warm enough to be outside. We took advantage of the time to clean out the front flower beds for spring. As I was weeding, I heard a lot of banging in the garage, and I decided I needed to investigate. I'm so glad I did! Daddy was teaching the kids how to drive nails straight:

(Ignore Daddy's mask; he had been sanding.) The kids did really well! Daddy set them up with rows of nails, and they pounded their little hearts out:

Look at all those flush black dots:

Issa only hit her thumb once.

The evenings were chilly, perfect for one last fireplace (as Evan calls them). Even Viv got a little extra spoiled by Daddy:

She is his baby. (I did wash the blanket.)

Issa also decided to teach us some of her works from school. A while ago, she was rushing through math to get to the life skills and art works. She and I made a deal that we could make any work she had at school here at home, and that solved the rushing. Shockingly, math is way more fun when you take your time! She started by teaching us the rock washing work:

It requires a tub, pitcher, soap, scrub brush, rag, and soap--all things we had. Silly Daddy suggested some short cuts. It was heresy. There is a very specific process to the rock washing work. She and Evan washed about a million rocks, running in and out to the garden to bring them in. We have the cleanest rocks in the neighborhood.

They then moved on to the salt sculpture work. I remember doing these for hours as a kid! Issa was shocked I knew how to do this. Rub the chalk in the salt, pour it through a funnel into a bottle, voila!They each had their own sculptures, and Evan decided to ham it up instead of showing me his:

(By the way, that is one of the headbands created Friday!)

This picture has nothing to do with the kids. I wanted to show off my new porch chairs:

We still had the green ones Aunt Carol and Uncle Todd gave us as a wedding gift on the porch! I loved them, and I had been trying to find new ones exactly like them. No luck. After ten years of Southern heat, they were a safety hazard. I do like these new chairs, though, and they are great for watching the kids play in the front or enjoying a beverage in the spring air.

Sunday, the kids played train. Now...we have three different train sets. No go. The stairs became the train:

Every animal in the house became a passenger, and Evan took great delight in screaming, "All Aboard!"

All in all, it was a great weekend. I love when we have time to play and just be us. We accomplished some tasks, but we also had time to enjoy being together. I love watching my kids be creative--even when it involves a bit of a mess. Remind me I said that the next time I'm scraping feathers off tables.