Settling in

We have been here for 3 weeks and are settling in bit by bit. We got a puppy! There were 7 to choose from and we picked this one. What do you think?
I think we made a fine choice! Her name is Roxy and she is adorable but has made the last 3 weeks very hectic as we are potty training and teacher her that she CAN in fact occasionally be left alone in her little bathroom.
She had a fun first week playing with the kids and romping all over the yard.
Sash and her pup:
Adorable girl:
Asleep on Mom's lap:
Teddy and Roxy have good snuggle time on this fuzzy red blanket that they both love:
We have 2 lemon trees in our yard and they are FULL of lemons!
We bought a juice squeezer and have been making home-made lemonade. What else can we do with lemons? They're falling off the tree!!
Sasha is a pro at juicing...
And we put up a tree swing. This is version #1 as we actually ended up taking it down and securing it to a much higher branch:

 The first week we had a lot of fun just hanging out nearby the tree swing taking turns while Mom worked on the garden.

Speaking of gardens, I got one all dug out and planted. Expect fresh produce by Christmas!

 Now in all the above pics it looks nice and warm outside due to the kid's attire but it's actually pretty cold - in the 60's. It's just that we're used to summer and the kids are hopeless optimists. I keep telling them to go change but some times I just give up and let them freeze. They gotta learn sometime right? But Teddy and Roxy have discovered that when you get chilly you can warm up nicely on the bricks:

Jeff and the kids spent the first weekend making a home-made bow and arrows. I think they were inspired by "Brave" and all the space around them. I was pretty skeptical but they made a set that actually works!

 

 They even stick into the ground if you shoot it right. Perfect shot!

The yard is a great place to hang out. So far we have seen monkeys, a mongoose, HUGE snails, and lots of really interesting birds. Here's 2 of our favorites. The big one has a few babies in her nest and if you zoom in close on the picture you can probably see one. The other hanging basket nests are built by these very bright yellow birds. In the picture you can see 2 completed nests to the left and center high a ring that is a partially completed nest. There are also some large flightless birds but of course Maximus is making quick work of those suckers. He has my blessing... they eat my beans.

Here's my little hero. He's killed every last mouse in the house and has taken to killing them outside and bringing them to me as presents. Except for the flightless birds.... we only know about those because their numbers are diminishing and we find large piles of feathers here and there. After 2.5 years of being trapped inside, my guy is more than earning his keep.

 By about 7:30 Roxy is done for the day and will sleep just about anywhere but prefers to be held. Thankfully for her there is no shortage of volunteers for this job!

 The kids take turns getting to start out with her in their beds until they fall asleep and then Jeff and I get her and snuggle her on the couch. Finally she goes to sleep in her little crate between the kids beds.

All these pictures are from our first week. In the last 2 weeks it has rained constantly. I mean every. single. day. Not sprinkles, but torrential sheets of water. We're about to be flooded out and there is more rain in the forecast! It's really quite depressing and sad but looking at the pictures in this post has reminded me that this will once again be a nice place to be if the sun ever shows it's face again!

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