Oscar Stew

Cue the Rocky theme song! In May we took on our most ambitious garden project ever. More tiny plots? Please! We’re full-blown farmers now! Even though it rained a ton in May there were just enough sunny days to construct our massive shrine to agriculture.

Now before we get too proud of ourselves, let’s examine our slippery slope of self-abuse. Ryan’s doing his best to look manly next to the haul he brought home in his minivan…er…truck! He had to take all the seats out except the driver’s seat to bring this load home. Thank goodness he was able to deliver everything we needed in one trip…yeah, not so much…

We started by tearing out the crusty grub-infested grass. Then came the hard part: digging into that horrible rock-hard Colorado clay. Even if you get it wet, it’s still like trying to chip concrete with a Slurpee straw. And then there was the buried treasures…a rusty paint can lid…the gravel pit…but no electric cables or gas lines, whew!

These clod-busters might look like loafers, but they were great helpers from start to finish.

Uh-oh, Eleanor just busted a clod in her pants…Aarrrgh not another poop joke!!!

With half the backyard sprinklers out of commission the kids were more than happy to keep the turf wet…They had a little help…

mmm…Ice cold mountain water with a hint of garden hose…dee-lish.

Alright, Day 2! More like “Day…Who-Cares-We’ve-Lost-Track.” Let’s get greezed up O Fair-Skinned One; we have a lot more shoveling to do…

Top of the mornin’ to ya Ellie! That’s a big mountain of crappy clay you’re sitting on…Actually, if it was crappy it might have been worth keeping!

…denver craigslist > for sale / wanted > free stuff … 3 yards of worthless dirt…get it while it’s hot!

Does a princess sitting on the crud make it more attractive? It was gone the day we listed it, so that must’ve done the trick. Yup, for sure!

The new garden is so huge that the swingset had to be relocated to the opposite side of the yard. Ryan kept working on the garden rather than digging post holes for the swingset, so only Eleanor was light enough to enjoy it for several days. She seemed pretty upset about it:

Now wait! Don’t get the impression that we’re not into small gardens anymore. “Small” is relative, these plots are where the zucchini, melons and other giant vines are growing. 

We learn more each year we do this. We’ve heard that marigolds are really are good at keeping the mean bugs away. So far so good; only one big bug and she seems pretty harmless…

I’m not so sure about this one…better go get the swatter. (Nice model pose Bin-bug!)

A few days passed and there was still no wait line for the swing, so Ellie took the opportunity to swing like the bigs do…Stop that Ellie! It makes you look older!

That’s it! You’re in the way and underfoot Ellie! Penalty box, 5 minutes! She even has the toothy hockey player smile to boot! 

She quickly discovered that the penalty box was a lot like a sandbox, and then she didn’t want to leave…

-3+6=9. That’s how dirt works. We took 3 yards of dirt out and put 6 in, so that means 9 yards of dirt…so far…

If only all the shovel-benders of the world were this cute; we might actually forgive their laziness!

Then it happened…another trip to Orange/Blue… Surprise! Daddy promises that this is the last time…before the next time! Eleanor walks about 60% of the time now, as long as she’s not wearing shoes.

Excellent work Ellie! Looks like you’ve found the latest in high-fashion transportation. I think Rowan was expecting to be self-propelled…

We’re up to 10 yards now…and 10 shades of brown!

Where’s Drew? Man down! Looks like he’s caught a severe case of lazysummerafternoonitis. Poor kid…

Have you ever played Float the Rag? I’m not sure what the rules are, but I do know hats with headbands are required.

Oh-no, it’s an epidemic! Rowan, can you hear me?! Speak Rowan! mmmmfffbldrphh? I knew it! 

Looks like that species of Bin-bug has been identified…it’s a water bug, duh.

And now the reveal:

That’s right, we’re rockin’ the hot pink plastic flamingo. Waaaay cooler than a scarecrow.

Keep a sharp eye bird, you’ve got to protect us from the blandness of February!

So what did we plant? Name it, we probably got it. We got jalepeños…

Onions…yellow ones, white ones, sweet ones.

No less than 17 tomato plants…did we just make salsa?

Beets. Mmm, I like beets once in a while, so we didn’t plant too many.

Spinachio…It sounds tastier when you add the -io on the end of it. Try it!

Not pictured: Bell peppers, summer squash, zucchini, cucumbers, rosemary, basil, carrots, lettuce, oregano, ichiban, watermelon, cantelope, tomatillo, green beans, strawberries…can you tell we’re excited?!

School’s out for summer! We enjoyed watching Drew & Brinley participate in end-of-the-year sports activities, graduation, prom…Ok, got a little carried away on that last one…

Where should we start? On the field of course! Are these girls BFFs? Attached at the hip? Well, they’re attached at the ankle for now. They are ready to win this alien race!

In case the races weren’t exciting enough, Rowan doing the Riverdance was quite the sideshow…

Hey Binnie, that’s a pretty sweet sag in them gangsta jeans you’re wearin’. I think they be Drew’s! And spots, ruffles and stripes? Only the Binbob can rock that style!

Rowan got first place in the clown-hairball shotput competition…not sure what the rules are on that…

Ryan said, “Where’s the war paint? The mud pit? The kilts? This ain’t a real tug ‘o’ war!” I don’t think they care…

This picture of Eleanor pretty much sums up the rest of field day…thud.

This is what Drew got to do instead of field day! Isn’t his little tooshie adorable, though!?

Flippin’ funnel clouds Batman! What can we do to keep the troops entertained while hunkered down inside this scholarly shelter? Creepy puppets are a sure bet! 

All’s well that ends well. We finally got to go home in time for dinner and bedtime. We had to get up early the next day to get the best seats at graduation. The Beacon of Cuteness helped us save seats…as long as she had a cracker.

C’mon, sing it! Daaah, Da-di-da, daaa-daaaah, daaah, da-di-da, daaaaah…Class of 2023!  Brinley made another fashion statement by insisting on wearing her clunky old gym shoes. Gotta  love a girl that knows what she wants…

Each graduate had their name read and any advice they had for next year’s class. The kids in the back are riveted with excitement, can’t you tell!? Are any of these kids on the Honor Roll?

Juice, cake, and hugs were served afterwards in the cafeteria. You ok Brinley?

Aw, Binnie is gonna miss her teacher! We’re gonna miss her too…We’re now without a kindergartner for the next 2 years!

Brinley told us that one of the things she will miss the most is the routine…Art, Gym, Music, Library, Recess…not to mention riding the big yellow bus! Dry those tears Binnie, we have plans for you! Summer School is now in session! Enrollment? Mandatory! Bwahahahahaaa! 

And just like that we have a 3rd grader and a 1st grader!

 

It’s been over two years since the last time we did a “one hit wonders” gallery. In the past these posts contained fun/funny/awkward/etc pictures of the kids doing random things that weren’t part of a story. This one feels more like a bunch of mini-stories, all of which we don’t want to forget. Fire away!

It’s graduation day in Brinleytown today (we’ll talk about that soon) but what would graduation mean if you didn’t know where she started? Once upon a time there was a little girl who told the world what she was all about…

Those all look like fun things about Brinley, but did you know she’s also quite a risk-taker? We finally muscled up the courage to roast some brussels sprouts. We actually enjoyed these broccoli-tasting leafy delights. Brinley gave this veggie a thumbs up, which means a lot coming from a 6 year-old!

One of the side effects of eating too many brussels sprouts is hairy spider eyes.

They might also give you the desire to wash your sister while half-naked…Oh the horror!

Deep in the Jungle of Suburbia, some animals have evolved and learned to provide for themselves…

Take this rare horned dwarf elephant for example: The large changes this creature has made make it almost seem as though it is not an elephant at all!

She has shed her horns, grown a longer shaggy coat of fur on her head, and has developed opposable thumbs!

As I approached this mysterious beast with great caution, I could not imagine what other changes might have taken hold. The animal stopped and stared at me for a moment, as if deciding whether I was a meal or a menace…or both!

I quickly discovered that this critter had developed a strong liking for clementine oranges that had drifted from the Island of Corian.

I checked my watch; it was almost noon. There was no reason this wild thing should be sleepy. Had she also become nocturnal? Maybe the clementine oranges were causing some kind of sedative effect?

The eleaphant sighed, belly full and contented, then disappeared back into the jungle…

Self-reliant Rowan is also a high-maintenance girly-girl. Case in point:

But honestly, how do you get nail polish on your forehead, ear, and ankle while painting your toes?

Le Scoob might not have a very big part in this post, but rest assured that this dude is busy! Drew enjoyed family recipe day with our favorite pot o’ gold!

Something else we are really enjoying is being mostly done with our interior painting. The main floor is done, and we even painted the front door! All we have left is the bedrooms…woot!

Hey Mommy! Eleanor’s got something to tell you…shhh, it’s a secret!

Hear ye, hear ye! Eleanor can descend stairs…this is NOT good news.

Hair out, shirt up, socks loose…the boys are sure to notice! Get that hoochie back inside!

Cross the laces, put the bunny in the hole; wrap the loops around the ears…

Loop the loop around the loop and we’ve come to the end…the bitter end…

…Brinley (and Ryan) can now tie shoes. Hooray!

We want an encore! Alright!

The premiere of the big show finally arrived, and these two blonde bombshells arrived together wearing the latest in high fashion…

Hold on a second! These dresses are the same! How embarrassing! Oh wait, they’re not quite the same. See, mine is one of a kind. Mine is too! Oh yeah?! Well, mine is…(sigh)…

Another Sunday, another premiere…and Rowan doesn’t even want to know if Brinley has the same dress…

Like we said, Drew was pretty scarce in this post. But that has a lot to do with him being abducted by aliens. At least they couldn’t scan his brain. See ya Drew!