TUNNEL

This is technically warning for Cheryl, who has kindly offered to help with planning our landscaping. We just made it more difficult.

When our daycare changed their buildings around they no longer had room for the huge wood and plastic play structure they used to have. After months of seeing the plastic bits sitting in a side yard I finally had to ask - did they have plans for those?
They didn't. They just wanted them gone.
(Not shown: the Civic and Mazda with tunnels on top (and the climbing one sticking out the back of the Mazda) driving back to the house. Wish I'd gotten that picture!)
Fortunately E doesn't know this is work, so he got all the accumulated mud off for us (sorry about the white balance, he didn't actually go albino with happiness).
E was so happy that helping was hazardous.
Sorry, hon, should I remove that child from your head or just sit back here laughing and snapping pictures? 
TUNNEL!

I'm not sure where these will end up. My original plan to line them up in the side yard is temporarily foiled because E scoots out too fast to have a river rock landing pad. One is hiding under a tree next to the slide in the corner of our yard (where it does blend in better) and the others are in the side yard for now (the back yard, that is - Dad was concerned for the neighbors' sake, but we'll find other ways to torment them). Some parts may one day become part of a really fun bed - the ends are made to take 2x4's, so there are a lot of possibilities (hamster trail to the balcony?). Who knows. But for now E is having fun and we were able to haul one into the front yard last weekend and get a lot done while E played. However, that is a whole OTHER post....

First day of preschool

A formality, of sorts, since he's just changing rooms in the same building. But a milestone, nonetheless.

Best celebrated with a fireman tattoo and a plastic shark, of course.

Mommy's Boat, Eamon's Boat

Cheryl recently came to help me figure out how to design my yard (since the advertised "professional landscaping" must have been done, as Ray notes, by a professional CPA, not a professional landscaper). She asked whether we wanted to keep the kayaks out in the yard, and my answer was "For now, yes". Here's why:
What's in Mommy's Boat?
Mommy sit in mommy's boat. I sit in my boat.
(LOW. RIDE. ER.)
I sit in my boat.
Oh, what's in there?
I'm in the boat!
I'm walking on the boat!
SLIDE!
For most realistic effects, repeat italicized portions repeatedly in happy tone of voice.
Not pictured: stacking rocks on boat, stacking rocks in boat, hiding things under boat, bouncing balls on boat, bouncing balls in boat....