New fence

This is our new fence, isn't it nice? When I was growing up there was always a gate in this fence which allowed us to access the Muir lot without going around the block. The fence was repaired and replaced several times but always there was a gate which let us know that we were always welcome to the Muir home. Always we had to make our way through the corral, past the outhouse, and then to the back door of the Muir home. We hardly ever knocked, just opened the door and yelled, "Are you home?" We loved going there and it seems fittin' that there is no gate there now. It just ain't the same!

magic basketball

We finished the pictures in the tunnel, then Jared started bouncing his ball against the wall. "Wait, let me get a picture of that!" I said. We got some pretty neat shots with the basketball suspended in mid air.

Jared

Oops, I got the same picture twice. Oh well. I love the colored one in his school colors. Check out the shoes.

Our basketball star

We took Jared to our favorite tunnel for a photo shoot yesterday. We Got some awesome pictures and he had a ball. He's not famous for liking to have his picture taken but we had fun.

Jack Turns One

Jack is finally one. We are so happy he is in our lives. We had Alyssa here for the special day so we took the family to a local hot spot for gourmet popcicles. Jack enjoyed his first popcicle and he ate the whole thing.

We had another, more formal, celebration on Sunday. We made a birthday cake for Jack and Alyssa and opened presents.

I think Kennedy and Tristan were more excited about the gifts than Jack. The cake, however, was enjoyed by even the littlest of my kids.

We have enjoyed having Alyssa with us. It's given us a good excuse to do things that we don't normally do like go to Duke Gardens for a picnic, visit the science museum, play games, go to a movie and finally, go to a musical. We will be sad to send her home tomorrow. She is really easy to have for company.

The Beards are at it again!

Hey, look, I actually loaded a picture to the blog. Yer old ma has finally done it. I thought you would like to see our crab apple tree in all it's splendor earlier this spring. And now the Beards are finishing our fence project even as we speak. They are adding the last segment separating the garden from the Albert Muir property. It is one solid fence and I expect it to be still standing as the earthquakes rage at the Second Coming.

Gold at the end of the rainbow

So there I was, with two friends watching Citizen Kane, when I received a call from my mother telling me to run outside and check out the rainbow that had appeared in front of the house. We proceeded to race outside, grabbing my camera to see if it could capture this spectacle in full 10 megapixel glory. And we were met with quite a sight.

Appearing to set down right in the field, directly in front of us, it was a phenomenal sight. Being the energetic, adventurous boys we are, we set off running into the field, towards the apparent touchdown site of the rainbow, chasing that legendary gold. And we found it.

Pelted with torrential rains, drenched to the core, and fully in awe of all God's creations, it was quite a moment.

Magnificent

And finally, here's a panorama of the whole thing. None of these pictures really do it all justice, but I thought'd I'd share.