Getting closer....

The big work is done in the backyard now - the wall, patio, and lighting are finally complete. As you can see we now need plants. Many plants. And some grass. Oh, and the shed, but supposedly that will be done and in place by Monday.






We really like how it is coming along so far. Once the plants get in, the grass grows a bit, and Mike's beloved chiminea is in place (I think this is the reason Mike is doing all of this, just to have a spot for a chiminea), things will be good. We also got some great end of season deals on outdoor furniture last weekend. There are benefits to dragging our heels on getting this done.

And for our cute Henry fix of the day, here he is riding the T yesterday:




Playing with his friend Alexander:




And with me on the Swan Boats the other day:

Birthdays galore

This has been the summer of birthday parties for Henry (and watch out - we have two more coming up over Labor Day weekend!) Not that I am complaining...Henry has some wonderful friends and he has a blast at every party he goes to.

This past weekend was the party for his friend Xander. They had the party at a local gym which turned out to be very, very fun.








And he got to continue his all cupcake diet.



In other exciting news....the wall is done!





The blue taped areas are the lights they put in. Supposedly they should be done with everything by Thursday (the shed, the patio, the walkway, and new pavers on our driveway), which is exciting. Unfortunately, the "completion" probably won't include the new plants and new sod that is needed, so we may be enjoying our new patio in a very brown yard for a week or so.

Yet another Wall Update

Since everyone is interested in our wall progress, right?????






The wall should be done....oh in the next year or so. Then maybe we can get started on the shed and patio.

Heat Wave

This pretty much sums up how we are handling the current heat wave in Boston.

Busy Weekend

It was another busy weekend here. On Saturday we met up with Kate, Jake, and Griffin to go back to Davis' Farmland where many animals were fed:



Pony rides were had:




Cows were milked (kind of):



And splash park fun was had:



Today, after a major haircut for our little guy (it was looooong overdue) we went to his friend Ruby's 3rd birthday party. It was held at a local puppet theater and Henry was enthralled by the puppet show:



Here is the semi-scary puppet man explaining how he did things post-show:




Henry had a great time with the birthday girl and Jake:





Enjoyed his cupcake:



And forced all his friends into some rounds of "Ring around the rosie":



He and Jake kept going even after the other kids quit:

Concert in the Park

This evening we took Henry to an outdoor kid's concert at a local park. We were there with a few of his friends, and all the kids went CRAZY. There was some serious dancing going on.

Note Henry's grace. He is a superb dancer:



Henry and Jake had some fun tackling each other:



Then Ruby got in on the action:



Then all 3 decided to tackle Mike:




All in all, an excellent way to spend the evening.

Backyard II

After a week away, this is what I came home to:




As we can see, the wall has been started.



The square portion is where the shed will be built:



And the rounded portion is where the patio will be:



The view from Henry's window:

Some like it hot

Henry and I are back from a week's vacation in Florida. Did you know that August in Florida is hot? Like, REALLY hot? I suppose I knew this but had kind of forgotten about it when I booked the trip. To beat the heat while we stayed with Grandpa Tim and Nene, Henry and I engaged in a great deal of water play.

The Pool. Here he is after being dunked by me:




And here he is pretending to "clean" the pool (he also pretended to be a garbageman for a while the other day. He may have a future in the service industry):



The beach:







And a fabulously cool water park we found:






Here we are after going down a water slide:



Thanks again to Grandpa Tim and Nene for hosting and dragging us all over Florida for fun activities!

And now, just to make everyone smile, here is a video of Henry serenading you:

Backyardigans

It took us 2 years here in our house to finally get down to business and do some of the renovations we wanted to. We are slowly getting there - we finally got our plantation shutter and got our new light fixtures (getting the electrician here to install them is another story). Now, the biggest project: Re-doing the backyard.

Here are our "before" photos - as you can see, it needs work. We have done nothing with the space (including weeding or mowing it regularly - it shows).









The plan is to install a small shed (for the lawnmower, grill tools, Henry's outdoor toys, etc), push the small hill back, add a field stone retaining wall, add a blue stone patio and path, and add lighting. We will be getting a lot more grass area and hopefully a more functional space.

Here is the yard this evening, after day 1 of work:








It looks a little scary.

In other news, Henry decided today that he wanted to take his shirt off, wear his backpack, and do some cooking: