The Back Yard I Imagined

Shh...don't breath.  Don't move or even think about email because if you do, more will surely land in my inbox.  One of the things I love more than anything is having an empty inbox.  Most of the time it isn't possible because I have things I'm waiting on, such as a package to arrive or a birthday party to occur, but as of right this minute, my inbox is empty.

This is great.  I can write a blog post and not feel hurried to get it done as quickly as possible because the children will need to be picked up soon and they're going to need to be fed and there are eleventy-twelve more things that need to happen before the day is over and oh, don't forget, you're hosting a surprise 75th birthday party tonight you need to get ready for.

But I'm not complaining.  A busy life is a fun life.  I've been completely not-busy before and it's not nearly as nice as it sounds.  Having lots of things to do to keep you happy and occupied is the way to go for me.

Now about that back yard...

When we started building our house we knew there would be dirt that was dug out from the front to accommodate our walk-out basement.  At the time I told our builder that I wanted as much back yard as possible and that I wanted that back yard to be flat.

I remembered playing in the yard as a child at my house.  Having grass and a flat location to play ball, badminton, freeze tag or any other imaginary game a child can dream up is ideal.  Only we bought a lot on a fairly decent slope.  So that dirt was going to be key.

We were able to get a good bit of flat yard by the time the final grading was done.  Last night, for the first time, I really got to see that flat yard in action.  The children from the surrounding houses gravitated to our yard and they started running around and screaming and having a great time.  They were taking turns on the swings and sliding down the slide and then there would be more screaming and running.

I stood back and smiled because this was what I had pictured in my mind several years ago and I'm glad it's happening now.

The Big Boy Update:  We were at a hamburger and hotdog outdoor stand the other day.  You can look in and see the people making your food through large plexiglass walls.  My son was excited to watch them preparing the hamburgers and the french fries.  They couldn't hear him through the wall but he talked to them anyway.  He said, "Hi.  Hi in the cooking.  Hi cooking fries." 

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  My daughter likes the big potty.  If you take her into the bathroom, she prefers going on the adult-sized potty far more than the toddler-sized one.  She will pull up the stool, put the foam smaller-sized seat on top, climb up and then do what needs to be done.  But the best part is watching her get down.  She does this all the time without an issue but it never fails to look like she's either going to fall off or fall in.

Fitness Update:  Five miles that started in the dark and ended in the dark as we had to be done by 6:00AM to accommodate my neighbor's schedule.  But it worked out well.  I got back, showered and got the grocery shopping done, all before the children woke up.