Now you know why I haven't been blogging much...

After two weeks of having little boys in my house with tummy issues, yesterday was especially wonderful. My mom, dad, and niece came into town to spend the day with us, and I think it's safe to say we had a great time together.

Upon arriving, we took them all into the backyard to see our new patio. After weeks and months of hard work, it was totally worth it to see my mom's reaction! She loved it. Yay! Especially touching was when she saw the pin oak tree we had planted in my grandpa's honor. She told me over dinner that she thinks Poppop would have been very proud of it.

We sat outside for a while and chatted and then headed out to get a fishing license for each of us and to a nature preserve where we caught two little bluegills. Not a banner day for fishing, but we had fun (despite the occasional rain and impatient kiddos). Caden made it clear that he wished he were fishing too, instead of sitting in his stroller.

When we got home, we feasted on some good food...steak, baked potatoes, grilled asparagus, corn on the cob, cucumber salad, and strawberry trifle. YUMMO! Cody and Cassidy enjoyed playing in the yard (although they were really wanting to get into their swimsuits and play on the slip and slide...they were overruled by the adults). He made up for it BIG TIME today as he spent the entire day with his friends slipping, sliding, throwing water balloons and soaking up the sun!

Now that the yard is finished, I wanted to share some pictures of all we've done. This will reveal the reason I haven't been blogging much! (It's been totally worth it, in case you were wondering.)

First, the patio and gazebo...

The side flower bed next to the garage (this is to the right of the patio as you sit on it)...

This is to the left...(there's a veggie garden there too)

This is my pride and joy. It's the pin oak tree planted in memory of my poppop...

Hope you all had a safe and happy Memorial Day. Thanks Nanna, Papa Dean and Cassidy for coming to see us. We LOVED having you here!