Go outside and play!

I have always dreamed of having a backyard so I could send the kids out to play. I've had a backyard before, but not one that was fenced in and attached to my door so I could keep an eye on them without being outside with them. I don't really have a legitimate backyard here either because they don't actually exist in Orange County. Nevertheless, we do have a porch. I used to send Ryan out, but if he saw a single person out in the park behind our home (be it a 4 year old boy or a 55 year old gardener) he would hop the fence and be on the other side of the park before I could blink an eye. Realizing this to be a huge abduction risk, I had to get a lock for our sliding door and keep him confined to the inside. As a result we rarely spent time on the porch. We have a few large trees shading it, which is a positive thing, unless you are in charge of sweeping the area as there is constantly a layer of the tiniest leaves in all creation, sprinkled on every square inch of patio. This added to our reasons to avoid the area. I didn't love them tracking leaves into the kitchen and Katie would also eat piles of leaves and sidewalk chalk.

This said, I finally decided that I would improve the area. I swept off the leaves, cleaned up the scattered toys, and bought some sand for our turtle sandbox. Ta da! Now it's almost like a real backyard. I actually DO send the kids out to play and they are occupied and get along well, and they're getting some fresh air. Yesssss!

Now, Ryan follows sand etiquette when we go to the playground on "Park Day," but here at home I will find a mound of sand in Katie's hair almost every time they go out. Good grief Ryan, don't you know that it's impossible to get sand out of people's hair? Plus, it's going to get in her eyes. If it's not one thing, it's surely another.

Here they are loading up the sandbox with their toys.

These trucks are WAY too big for the sandbox.

I'm just glad they're having a good time - and staying out of my hair when I make dinner.

Bob's Big Boy

This is one big bunny! 10 pounds doesn't seem that huge until you realize that your children were 3 pounds smaller than that when they were born! He came to us with the name "Bob" but it seems so boring. We changed it to Cuzco, but Ryan kept calling him "Couscous" so now we call him Cozmo.

Yes, he is completely litterbox trained. We keep him in the kitchen to protect our carpet just in case. (Might be a mistake if we can't get the bunny odor controlled). He's been pretty shy thus far, mostly sticking to his cage or under our kitchen table in the corner.

I'd venture to say that you would too if you had 2 small shrieking children looming over you all day long. He does hop out and around the house every once in a while but hasn't gotten himself in any trouble yet.

We'll see how the Bayles family does as pet owners. As I was writing this blog I heard Ryan laughing and Katie squawking. I went in the kitchen and found Ryan spraying kitchen cleaner ALL in Katie's hair and now he was aiming it at Cozmo. I hope this bunny lasts more than a week (not to mention my daughter).

No kids?

That's right, Derek and I went to the beach by OURSELVES today. We stayed a few hours and played frisbee and made a sandcastle. We haven't had so much fun together since two weeks ago on our previous date night. We were able to use our tripod to get a shot of us with our sand castle - complete with moat and small entry way into the courtyard.

Gina's Bag

Here you go Gina, a sneak peak at the pretty bag you picked out. Even in the cold Utah weather you'll be thinking of spring for sure. This one even has adjustable straps. Ooh la la!

FINALLY, a new blog entry!

I'm back to cloth diapering (I don't need any comments from all of you who think I'm weird) and am really happy with my diaper choice. After tons of research I decided on a brand called bumGenius. It's a one-size diaper that fits babies from 8-35 pounds. SO, I can use them on Katie AND Ryan (at night since he's potty training and usually wears underwear during the day). Anyway, they are REALLY easy to wash and don't stain and have great stretchy tabs on the side that make them fit the waist really well.

We got 5 of the diaper-wearing cousins together and you can see, they really DO fit all the different sizes. You gotta love diapered bottoms!

(Notice how Judy is the one reliable person looking at the camera in all the pictures. Plus, I love her crossed feet in the last picture.)