I grew up in a small town. A smaller town than we live in now. Growing up we had neighbors who watched us every time my sisters and I went outside to play. If we were in the front yard the neighbor on the left would sit in his livingroom window and watch us instead of television. Who knew that watching kids play kickball, hopscotch, or "hot lava" could be so entertaining. If we were playing in the back yard, then to the right of our house we had an elderly man who would watch us. He would sit outside, beside his house and smoke his pipe and throw marshmallows at us. At the time we didn't think it was weird that he was throwing marshmallows at us, but we did dislike how the marshmallows smelled like pipe smoke. We ate them anyway. He would throw the marshmallows over the peonies, that separated our yards, and we would scramble to grab them. Other than that, he would watch us weed the garden, climb trees, or once again play kickball.

I kind of forgot about the neighbors who watched us from afar, until yesterday. After church yesterday morning we were talking with some people from town, one of which happens to live just a few houses down from us. She told me that she loves to watch the boys scooter and play outside and that she finds herself standing at her window watching them for a period of time and laughing as they do their silly boy stuff. I'm 100% sure that she will not be throwing marshmallows at the boys, but it still reminds me of when I was little.

Both boys have been LOVING having a yard and space to ride scooters/skateboards. They rush outside after breakfast and they come in to eat meals, but other than that they spend all day outside exploring and getting dirty. They were hesitant, when we first moved here, to play outside alone. They always wanted us to watch them from the porch, but they are comfortable now to play without us watching them, and we too, are comfortable letting them be outside alone.

We are fairly settled now. There are still some boxes around, but the things we need are out and have been given a new home in drawers or closets. We have spent a lot of time with our great friends who live just across town, and finally got our library cards today. This weekend my mom and dad are coming for a visit and next week we register the boys for school.

More to come...