just trying to be free from it all, and out into that sun.

i needed the tv turned off saturday morning,

and i wanted the kids outside.

so i made them all grab a plastic bag, and we sat down to pull some weeds.

we talked about rolly polly bugs and how they are crustaceans and not insects.

you learn things like this when you take zero period marine bio senior year.

there was a LOT of whining.

and at one point everyone wanted the giant orange bag that max had,

and chase and max had a full on brawl to fight for it.

9 month heavy with child emily just didn't have the gusto to do anything other than take pictures of it all.

they might actually be my favorite kid pictures of all time.

i can't stop laughing still. 

max won,

chase found a bucket,

and brennan and i talked more about bugs and spiders,

and he told me everything he learned this year about caterpillars and butterflies at school.

and i was just so glad that i made us all go out and pull weeds in the garden for an hour together.

it was worth all of the whining,

and fighting,

just to sit there and talk about bugs with brennan.

and watch max run back and forth in her elsa nighty helping chase learn which ones were pumpkins and sunflowers, and which ones were seeds.

god bless max.

also, the flower beds looked a lot better after,

and i felt pretty awesome that the corn was now completely free from that darn morning glory that loves to choke it right at the roots.

i showed my kids how amazing it is to watch the green beans push their way up 

through the hard cracked dirt.

lifting their heads straight for the sun.

it never ceases to amaze me how strong one little seed can be.

and when i'm out there in my garden i start thinking about life, and analogies,

and really deep stuff like that because it's just peaceful out there, and you have time to think about that kind of stuff.

like how strong we can be,

especially if we're pulling the weeds away from around us,

just trying to get free from it all,

and out into that sun.

amazing i say.

amazing.

and so i told brennan about this as i was thinking about it,

because he was the lucky weeder sitting beside me in the shade while i was thinking about all of this.

brennan of course thought i was JUST talking about green bean seeds,

but one day i think he'll get what i was saying.

and i think that will be really great.

just sayin'.