"Hello" from the Long Lost Bousquets

Oh, wow, I just realized I haven't posted since March! I am a very, very bad sister (and daughter). I enjoy reading everyone else's posts so much; I think I've just been waiting for something exciting to happen before I write. Nothing too exciting is going on, but we're all happy and healthy. Our biggest project of late has been Jeff building 5 terraced garden beds at the side of our house; I've included "before" and "after" pictures (the “afters” still need soil in them and the rebar has since been pounde down, but at least you get the idea). It's been a huge undertaking as Jeff has planned, leveled, dug, sawed, drilled, nailed, and hauled lumber and soil all by himself (well, actually that isn't true; Eva's been helping too :) ). Right now he's shoveling topsoil into all the beds and then we'll be ready to plant the 20 packages of seeds we bought at the store the other day (Eva was so excited!). Besides the garden, we've just kind of been doing the normal stuff. Lots of playdates, going to the park and the library, etc. A couple weeks ago some friends and I took our kids to a park that is also a working farm to see the baby animals that were just born this spring. The kids had a blast! Aiden especially enjoyed "driving" a tractor that was parked by one of the walking paths, and Eva was "kissed" by a calf. Eva and Aiden are getting so big, and they are so sweet. Aiden's favorite thing these days is giving the kittens hugs and carrying them around the house. The kittens are very patient with him and seem to enjoy the attention for the most part, which is good because when he picks them up he just grabs whatever handful of skin and fur is most readily available; this afternoon I caught him carrying Hopper by the cheeks (he was holding the cat against him so it probably took some of the pressure off the poor guy's face, but still). We try to discourage such behavior, but it seems like whenever I turn my back.... Eva 's almost done with preschool for the year. I'm working on trying to plan out activities to keep us all busy without emptying the bank account. Luckily there's a lot of fun things to do out here, so it should be a nice summer (especially the family reunion!). We love you all!