Mud-luscious

The title? All Paul's idea. From a poem entitled "Just Spring" by E. E. Cummings. I had no idea what to entitle this post since it's just my ramblings.

Anyways, Benjamin was looking especially handsome on Sunday (thanks Mom for the cute Easter outfit!) and right after church all he wanted to do was play outside. So we got a couple of pictures of the spring that is just beginning to emerge in our yard. We have had tons and tons of rain these past few weeks, and it still hasn't showed any signs of letting up. The ground is very soggy, but there are spots of green that are popping up here and there, bringing hope that the lawn (or lack thereof) will not look this pathetic forever. The daffodils that we planted last fall are also in full bloom now, making a cheery walk up to our front door. I love the bright green leaves that are just poking out of the dark, wet branches! I love Spring! So does Benjamin. It has been getting harder and harder to drag him inside or to the car because he gets enamored with the dirt, the puddles, the warm air, the squirrels and robins hopping over to the neighbors' yards, and the tiny interesting things that appear at his feet with every step. Paul's magic lies dormant (or germinating, as he has corrected me) in the box of dirt that will soon be our garden. He has carefully built, mixed, planned, and planted, with hopes of soon seeing a sprout of green, or perhaps even a weed to pull.

Easter Egg Hunt

Our friends, the Browns invited us over for a little Easter egg hunt in their backyard. It was a little cold, but that didn't deter these eager toddlers. They all snuck a peek, so they were anxious to get out the door and start hunting. Megan, Saida and Benjamin are all buddies from nursery.
Benjamin quickly figured out that all of the eggs had candy inside, and after that he had to open and inspect each and one before running back to put it in his basket.

Saida and Benjamin started helping each other find eggs towards the end.

Will and Benjamin

The Evans family, who we know from Wymount, Union Square (and Paul knows Kristin from his home ward) stopped by last Friday night. They live about 3 hours away now, so it was a fun little reunion. Benjamin and Will are about 8 months apart, but they fast became buddies upon meeting again. I tried to download a video of them, but I had no luck. It was cute though. Benjamin was following Will as he would dart from one end of the room to the other. They were giggling and having such a good time, it was hard to finally split them apart.

First Kiss and Other Bits

Benjamin got his first kiss yesterday, and he's not even two yet. It was pretty funny. I was at my good friend Stefanie's house yesterday morning. She has a little girl, Saida, who is just two months older than Benjamin, and a four-week old, Harmon, who is so chunky and cute! Saida and Benjamin are good buddies from nursery, so they have a good time when we get together. As we were leaving, I told Benjamin to go give her a hug. It was really sweet as they exchanged little hugs and kisses on the cheeks. We had to break them up when a couple landed on each other's lips though. The whole way home, I heard Benjamin from the back seat saying, "Kiss! Kiss!" Oh, man! He is going to be a heart breaker.

This last Saturday, we got all the materials we needed to start our first "Square Foot Garden." We got enough to make two 4'x4' boxes and have all the seeds ready to go. We've just been inundated with rain for the past couple of days, that we haven't gotten them put together just yet. I'm just really excited to plant a bunch of strawberry plants! One can never have too many garden-fresh strawberries on hand is what I say. We'll also plant herbs, corn, tomatoes, lettuce, beans, peas, peppers and broccoli. I can hardly wait!

So about a week and a half ago, our neighbor, Cathy called. She had seen the PBS Mormon documentary and wanted to know more about our church. I set up a dinner with her and the Sister Missionaries in our ward, and ever since, she has been absolutely inspiring to us! I have never met anyone so faithful in my life. She has been searching for the right church for years, and knew this was the right thing for her. She is getting baptized the end of April. We just feel privileged to know her!

And the last bit of news that is not so great is that our kitchen pipes that gave us so much grief a few months ago, are up to more trouble. We started noticing a growing brown spot on the carpet in the basement, and worried it might be a leak in the foundation. Luckily (I guess?) that was not the case. Instead, the entire stack of pipes from the floorboards to the roof need to be replaced, as they have rusted through. And it's going to be over $1000. You gotta love being a home owner! :)

Where's Benjamin?

Benjamin cracks us up with this game. He hides under his blanket and waits for us to consider all the possible places Benjamin might be hiding. The best part is, he answers our questions with a "No!" and shakes his head.

I think he's trying to say "picture"at the end, because he's obsessed with looking at pictures of himself on the camera and wanted to see the one I had just taken. Naturally, the only reason I could get this video of him was because he was unaware I was taking it.

So this reveals that I'm kind of a moron when taking videos. I didn't hold it the right way.

"They shall be ashamed ... that are makers of idols"

Paul here. A lot has happened since Sarah last posted about American Idol that has caused me to go from casual, mildly entertained observer to borderline crazed fanatic. I confess, when I realize it's only Monday and Idol isn't on for another 24 hours I get silently impatient. I displace my frustrations by making fun of Sarah for being bummed about it. So what has brought me to this loathesome and laughable infatuation?

First of all, allowing the contestants to play instruments has dramatically enhanced the fun factor. I was stunned when David Cook came out with his south paw Les Paul and totally rocked Lionel Richie's "Hello." Lionel Richie's Hello? The one with the blind sculptor? Never saw that coming.

There was also Brooke White singing, again with the guitar, "You're so Vain, " and following up the next week with one of my favorite Pat Benatar songs of all time ever, "Love is a Battlefield". She's my new favorite LDS contestant in the competition; sorry David A.

Well there you have it. I hope my new found affinity for American Idol does not cast me in with the "makers of idols" that Isaiah is talking about (Isaiah 45:16). But he was right about one thing; I am ashamed to be so drawn in. But not ashamed enough to keep my confession off the web, for all 4 of you to see.

A Perfect Day for the Zoo

On Saturday, we had gorgeous sunny spring weather, so we decided to head over to the St. Louis Zoo. I checked online first to make sure they had normal operating hours, only to discover that frogs and princesses woud be admitted free (to the Children's petting zoo section--the rest of the zoo is always free) during Leap-Day weekend. So after muttering to myself about how unfair this all was (after all, what little girl doesn't have a princess costume?! But boys don't usually have amphibian disguises readily on hand), I set to work and made a paper hat for Benjamin and dug through his summer clothes to find something green. I was grateful after all to be able to go for free.
Benjamin enjoyed most of the zoo from the stroller. When he did get out, he would pause for a couple of seconds, then wave his hand "Bye!" and reach back for the stroller. For some reason, he wasn't having it.

It still holds true that Benjamin's favorite animal is the Meerkat. He loves looking through the glass and having them run right by him. The delay on the camera just missed it though.

We only stayed for about an hour. We were about to head over to the elephants, but decided to ask our rather unimpressed little boy if he'd rather go home or see the elephants, to which he immediately replied, "Home." Oh, well. At least we didn't have to pay!