Partners in Crime

We were playing at a friend's house this afternoon when Leyla jumped on the back of Connor's bike for a ride...

The Eich Farm

For the record, Andrew got a little carried away with the gardens this year!! But we've always wanted to have our own garden and his time off between jobs allowed him to get some real plans in place.

What we've got going on out there at the moment : Romaine, spinach, kale, cabbage, asparagus, garlic, tomatoes (plum, rainbow and beefsteak), peppers (sweet, bell, serrano and habanero), carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, brussel sprouts, beets, broccoli, leeks, and strawberries. In other smaller planters we've got basil, parsley, oregano and sage. Since this is year 1 of our garden we're trying to keep it simple ;)

This first garden has been more of a learning process for us than anything. We're finding out what works and what doesn't. For example our romaine and kale has been awesome but our spinach kind of bombed. We've also lost a few plants to insect damage, and since we're doing a totally organic garden, we're learning chemical free ways to keep the insects away. Any tips, please send them my way! Only the leafy stuff has really been ready so far so it remains to be seen how the other stuff will do.

Connor has been involved in this process every step of the way- from planting the seeds, keeping them watered, transplanting them to beds, building the beds, and picking the stuff once it's ready to go- he's thought this has been so cool!

Planting the seeds: 

 First sprouts.

Andrew had this "Gro Light" set up going on in his office for what seemed like forever. Unfortunately I failed to get a picture of when these plants got really big, it was jungle-like in there for a bit. This was probably Connor's favorite part-  every day he would run into Andrew's office to see how much "his plants" had grown overnight. 

Transplanting sprouted plants into the beds.

The plants a couple weeks ago.

 

Getting bigger.

 And now!

The romaine has been a big winner.

And the kale (we love kale).

This post is starting to feel like a science paper, enough about the gardens ;)

More Garden Pics

I've been meaning to do a post or two about our gardens, since they've been quite the weekend project around here! Here are Andrew and Connor constructing one of the garden beds. Those boys work so hard! Pics of the planting process to come ;)

Hauling wood.

Connor is really good at drilling and hammering nails (always closely supervised!)

 Finished product! Leyla supervising per the usual.

 

Weekend Kid Pics

We had a low key but fun weekend. We hit the dog park (a favorite place of the kids'), the playground and bike riding at Waveny, otherwise we mostly just played at home in the backyard. Andrew and I had a really fun dinner on the beach (Long Island Sound) with friends on Saturday night. 

Some pics of the kids:

Connor on his way to t-ball Saturday morning. He really loves it and he's a really good player (obviously gets that from his Dad)!

Bike riding at Waveny Park.

 Leyla on the scooter at Waveny House. Not a bad backdrop!

 Playground.

A rose for his sister ;)

 

Garden #1!

 Garden #2!

 Sweetface.

 More scootin'!

 A result of her being so petite and so physically active? Freaking baby Madonna arms! This chick is seriously ripped. Her little body looks like that of an Olympic gymnast. Maybe because she thinks she is one ;)

Leyla on the Scooter

And yes we are in the market for a very small helmet!

Sweet Kids

They love to hold hands, wherever we go. I hope it's a long time before they grow out of this because I think it's just the sweetest thing!

Memorial Day Weekend

Bunch of random pictures from the weekend:

Best buddies.

On Saturday morning we were invited over to swim at Andrew's old boss's house in Greenwich. Here's Leyla ready for the pool party. Note she's wearing her first bow ;)

 It was tough to chose my favorites of Leyla in the pool, she had such a blast!

 She loved to jump in.

Dai Hayashi, a friend and former colleague of Andrew's from Tokyo, was in New York this past week and came out to stay with us on Saturday night. It was so nice to catch up with him.

Naked baby in the sprinkler!

So fun!

Andrew attempted to create a makeshift slip and slide out of a tarp.

Demonstrating it for the kids. He gets an A for effort (and my goodness did I laugh!!) but he decided to order one from Amazon for next time ;)

Time for yard work. The kids love to ride around in the back.

Connor was just lounging.

 Best summer cocktail ever. We juiced (we are big into juicing!) watermelon, pineapple, lemon and a few strawberries, then added 1/2 glass of champagne. Cheers!

 Our roses are in full bloom!

 New Canaan's Memorial Day parade.

 Connor's view from the top.

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Memorial Day weekend. Thinking of all those that have or continue to fight for our freedom!