Boys, Boys, Boys

On Tuesday, we got to visit with my friend, Allison, and her boys, Josiah and Samuel. They are each about a year older than Koen and Tavin and make for some fun playmates.  Allison and I do a lot of praying for each other these days as we are both steeped in the intense job (and privilege) of nurturing and training these men to be.  It was fun to let them all play together and also to see first hands that boys will be boys, especially at these young ages.  They did very well together overall, but we definitely had our hands full with overtiredness, sharing issues, inappropriate behavior at the lunch table (Tavin was quite the little instigator!), etc.  Here are some cute pictures of all the boys' fun.


Tavin loved this plastic lawn mower.  Way better than the folding chair he likes to drag around our yard saying, "mow lawn, mow lawn, mow lawn."

Tavin also really enjoyed the sandbox.  So much so that I'm thinking our backyard could use one.  He filled the dump truck up with the loader over and over and over again.  

Josiah and Koen stayed quite busy with their little games.  Here they are digging for treasure (which was a game they went back to several times).

Koen was especially intrigued by this game.  Here he is in a new spot trying to find something of import under the swings.

Allison is such a great mom.  She has a lot of patience and is very easy going.  Here she is getting the boys interested in a little baseball practice (Tavin is mowing the outfield).

Treasure was a theme for Josiah and Koen.  Here they are panning for gold in the sandbox.  

We got an extra special treat from our friends.  They had a basketball hoop that they were done with and they gave it to us.  Here are the boys enjoying it later that same evening as Doug grilled dinner.  Koen is very good at getting baskets already.  Tavin has gotten a few shots in, but he's still figuring out the best place to stand and the proper way to throw the ball.  It's all pretty cute.  Oh, and by the way, my first shot (from a good distance away) was nothing but net!

Allison, Josiah and Samuel, thanks so much for your hospitality with your home, back yard and toys.  We had a great morning with you and we will have a lot of fun with the basketball hoop as well!