Having A Yard

 One of the things I most looked forward to with moving back to America, was having our own yard.  In Moscow if the kids wanted to play outside I had to pack everyone up and we would go to the playground.  Towards the end I could send Leah alone on the promise we would soon follow.  It wasn't even that I feared my kids would run away or something - they're not really the type and are fairly obedient about stuff like that.  But there were almost always other kids there and I didnt want to worry about fighting with other kids, etc.  Or a nanny feeling like she has to babysit my kid.  And I noticed that the kids whose mom's didn't come out with them, were always the worst behaved.  I would feel free to boss around kids who were misbehaving and didn't have a parent outside, but I didn't want my kids to be those kids.
Levin wasn't fully on board with the trampoline idea at first.  And I confess if his nephews hadn't helped him build it, I might have hated it before we got it put together too.  BUT I love it!  And the kids play on it quite regularly.  It is right out our living room door and if Autumn could open the door herself I think she'd be the number one user.
When I was a kid I loved putting a sprinkler under the trampoline.  One summer day Leah said it was too hot to go jump outside and she was right.  So we put the sprinkler underneath.  This is a picture of one of the times we did it.  Autumn didn't like it at first which is why she's not pictured here, but towards the end of summer she was fine with it.  I'm a little sad that the heater is running right now and we can't do this today.  I love summer.

 One of the few memories Leah had from our house in Maryland was the swimming pool and slide.  It is probably from pictures as much as a real memory, but she really looked forward to it.  I think one time there was a bug and once there was a pokey weed nearby so the kids didn't do this quite as often as I'd have liked, but maybe that was because it took my help to get a clean swimming pool of water.  In this picture your can see the play house Levin bought and put together for the kids.  What you can't see is it has the vinyl tiles that I bought for the bathroom and didn't use as flooring.  I've also put in curtains.  But once again there was a bug in it once so now Leah won't go in it much.  But they have had a fun time in it.  I need to go hose it out and maybe then she'll play in it more.

You can see Autumn had a wardrobe malfunction.  This swimming suit she's wearing is a combo of a too small one (top) and too big one (bottom.)  I bought the too big one (it has a top, but she would only wear pink top) at a used clothing store and the elastic must be worn out.  It just doesn't stay up!

 The sun was so bright the kids had a hard time looking at me for a picture.  Bless them for trying.

 This swing we had in the front yard when we lived here before.  Autumn loves it and calls it her swing.  Since the other kids are too big and Lance is too little, it is her swing.

 Picking blackberry bushes.  When we bought the house it had a crummy old broken swimming pool.  We had it covered up and this is the back yard where the kids play when not on the swings or trampoline.  It still has the fence around it so I love it for that, the kids can't escape so easily.  Leah can open and close the gate which is actually perfect because I can have her make sure Autumn is locked in.  But the kids don't stray too far anyway so usually it's open.  Here the kids are on the other side of the fence picking blackberries.

 Here they are in the "rock box."  We have pea gravel instead of sand.  It may not be as fun for building castles, but it doesn't stick to kids clothes like sand so I like that better.

 The kids finally got to complete their second dinosaur bone dig.  They got them for Christmas, but after the first mess I had in my dining room in Moscow I hid this one away until we could do it outside.  It was messy and I was glad I had made them wait.

 We had a few rooms painted in the house and I didn't want us to be in the guys way or for the kids to touch the wet paint. So we had a picnic for lunch that day.  I remember trying to get this picture and feeling so disgusted because it is always a fight to get all the kids to look at the camera.  They'll say cheese, but look in a far off way, or they won't even try, and their cheese doesn't look like a smile at all either, but just showing their teeth.  AAAAH!  I ruined the fun trying to get the picture.  I need to remember, sometimes it's not worth the fight for a picture.  But then when I blog, I am happy we have the memory.  Maybe I should just accept a crummy picture which is what I usually get anyway - notice, Oliver's not looking and the girls are obviously saying cheese, not smiling.

 Riding scooters.  Since Leah's scooter is pink Autumn naturally loves it.  This is one day after we dropped Leah off at school.

 This swing, Levin is so proud of.  It hangs from the tree and the kids love it.  I am reminded I need to go push them in it more often.  If only Lance could take care of himself. :)  They love to go "crazy" on it and twist.  We can get all 3 kids on there, but it is probably better with 2.

 The trampoline, but the sun is a little crazy.  Oliver is out there in his pajamas.  I'm not saying I like when they get their pajamas all dirty outside, but it serves my purpose of a place the kids can just go play and be free.  Leah once escaped onto the playground in her pajamas in Russia, but oterhwise this never would have happened there.  I love it.  It is the thing I will miss most I believe when we move, - having a lovely yard.  Or my miles of driving I do here, free and easy with no traffic!