Owen's Birthday

Owen turned three years old yesterday. He was super excited to get a new bike. I came home to find Keri in the garage trying to take the entire pedel arm set off the bike. She wants Owen to learn how to keep his balance and use his feet to stop himself.

He was really happy to have a bike. We rode it all around the house before I had to leave for an EQ presidency meeting.

Grandmas outfits

Mom Pittard got Owen and Bruce their own slick matching outfits. It came as part of Bruce's birthday package, but I'm sure he was happy to share with Owen in the fun. They both loved their outfits.

Bruce has a fun smile. Not sure what expression Owen is trying to make. Recently, he has been making some funny ones for the camera.

Renovation Update

Alright, the yard is really coming together now. The hardscape is pretty much complete with a few minor modifications and touchups. Keri and I are very pleased with how it is turning out. All that is necessary to do now is to dig out the large and small circles for the play ground area and sand box respectively and lay some irrigation lines. Should be done by the end of the week.

Bruce Bday and backyard update

We gave Bruce some of Owens old stored away toys for his birthday. He was never happier .

How the backyard is coming.

Some miscellaneous stuff

For those of you that don't know, we have a desert tortoise named "Flash." We obtained him from some friends of ours that were moving back up north in an environment that would not be suitable for a desert dweller. Flash earned his name by zipping around our yard when he first started to familiarize himself with our yard. It took us a few attempts to turtle proof our backyard since he managed to escape about three times. Our neighbors have become used to our visits to their homes to look for our wayward turtle. Last year, we made a home for him. However, he had other decorating ideas and dug himself a hole that stretches about 10' long. Here he is camping out.

Owen is practicing his climbing and swinging.

As part of getting our backyard done, we have had deliveries of rocks and sand to the house. After seeing how much fun Owen and Bruce are having with the deliveries, it might have been a better investment to simply dump a pile of rocks and sand in the backyard. They really have a good time. Here they are transfering the rocks to the caution cone.

Our lantanas are doing well this year. For some reason, both of the boys love to eat the flowers. When Owen first discovered this, we were concerned since almost all plants here in the desert are poisionious. Fortunately, Lantana flowers are not.

Hope you can see this design. Keri has worked hard on it.

Transforming our Backyard

Ok so I'll admit, doing landscaping is not my forte. I'd much rather work an equation than a brick. After doing the irrigation and grass, I determined that it was going to take me a long time before I was going to get the rest of it done. So here we are, almost 5 years after moving into our house with the backyard in about the same shape almost three years ago (just a few more weeds). So, we saved up our pennies and decided to have someone who knows what they are doing help us out. We will take you through the various stages of development. I'll even post the autocad drawing Keri has been working on for the last few months to design the layout.

Keri is really getting into this cloth diaper thing. She has started to make covers for the diapers, even. Here, Owen is showing off the latest fashion in cloth diapering accessories - The Tarzan Cover. A wool cover designed to keep even the heaviest drinkers dry...(oh I hope we can potty train this kid soon.) This thing actually does a pretty good job at keeping the leaks to a minimum.

Re-caulking the shower: Daddy and Owen

My first attempt at making this thing work.

On Saturday, September 20, I decided that I would re-caulk the master bathroom shower after I noticed it was starting to crack. Of course, Owen wanted to be right in the middle of things and found the tools I was using particularly interesting. He decided that he was going to help out by plopping himself down on my feet in front of me and working on one wall while I was working on the other. We had a great time together digging out the old caulk. As we were working and talking, Owen said to me, "Dad, my birthday is December 10th, when is yours?" I would tell him mine and Keri's and Bruce's as he would sequentially go through the family. He also was very intrigued with the MP3 player and would laugh when he heard music coming out of the earbud after putting it in his ear and then mine. Then, he said, "Dad, I love you." It was a particularly poignant moment for me as a father. It was the first time Owen had said that to me without being prompted or coached. Owen is, as a general rule, a mommas boy and he really clings to her. It was a special experience to build that father-son relationship and get feedback on how he feels.