worker bees.

We had 5 tons of rock delivered to the house last weekend to cover a large area of dirt in our backyard. Fun to transport from the street to the backyard? No. Not at all. But we did recruit some helpers as we try to instill some sort of work ethic into these kids. They stepped up to the plate and were great helpers!

Lincoln wheeled the wagon full of heavy rocks.

Dad used the wheelbarrow (Mom used it the day before, but she's not quite as strong as dad so she was happy to pass the baton to get the work finished on Sunday)

And Cassidy used the kid wheelbarrow! 

a brotherly visit.

We were beyond thrilled to host the most recent guests in the Gough house: my brother Jeff, his wife Suzy, and their 13-year-old twin girls, Allison and Nicole. This was the first time for most of them to visit Arizona and they came at a great time of year, escaping April snow in Michigan and enjoying sun, blue skies, and temps that got into the 90s here in Arizona.

While they were visiting, they drove up to the Grand Canyon and back down through Sedona for a couple of days, both incredible places to visit. We also showed them around the Chandler area, went on a boat cruise on a nearby lake, and enjoyed family time together in the backyard. The kids even got in the pool, which was showing temps around 68 degrees...brrrr...

Selfie of the five of us on a boat cruise on Saguaro Lake.

Cassidy, Alli, Nicole, Jeff, and Lincoln standing on the top step of the pool. 

Of course, Dunkin got in on the pool action and took several dips.
When he got out of the pool, he always ran over to Suzy on the lounge chair to help cool her off!

Cassidy thinking about getting in the water.

Jeff dipping his feet in and catching some rays.

Nicole and Dunkin.

Water fight!!

Jeff got the girls pretty good!

We climbed "A" mountain in Tempe while Matt was working and Linc & Cass were at school.

Julie, Alli, Nicole, Suzy, Jeff

Nicole

Allison

Suzy...not wild about heights!

Alli

Nicole

Twins making the walkway into a balance beam and driving their mom crazy! 

Jeff, the camera man, coming down the mountain.

Nicole and Alli posing with a prickly pear cactus. Look...it's in bloom!

Suzy and Jeffy with the cactus.

Awww...hand-in-hand.
Alli, Suzy, Jeff, Nicole

Alli, Nicole, Suzy, Jeff on the ASU campus.

 

Jeff and Suzy enjoying the sunshine on their last afternoon here.

i got a new pillow!

No, I'm not talking about Lincoln and his favorite pillow (the flat thing he calls "Peebs" and will probably still have when he goes off to college). Instead, I'm talking about Dunkin's new comfy spot. Dunkin's Yiayia sent it to him in the mail. It's personalized and everything and he actually uses it - yay!

Dunkin on his new pillow!

Two peas in a pod.

Cassidy gives Dunkin more space than Lincoln does.
Linc actually takes up half of Dunkin's pillow, as you can see above. 

Happy Easter!

Who doesn't love the ears on their chocolate Easter bunny? This year, the kids got bunnies with HUGE ears. Gotta love it! 

Easter morning, opening plastic eggs that were hidden around the house. 

After having a bit of chocolate for breakfast, we got dressed for church.
Here is princess Cassidy all ready to go!

Big bro and little sis lookin' good for church.

The day before Easter, the kids participated in a neighborhood egg hunt. They had a great time running around the green belt searching for plastic eggs.

Hunting for eggs.

Cassidy stopped for a quick pic before moving on to find more eggs.

Lincoln filled his Detroit Tigers bag with plastic eggs!

Happy Easter, everyone! 

 

...and 1 more makes 5

Meet the newest addition to the Gough family: Dunkin! He is a 9-week-old Welsh Terrier.

We are all in love, especially when Dunkin is sleeping at our feet or by our side, or when he's playing with us. We will be even happier, however, when he his housebroken, stops chewing/biting on everyone and everything, and when he is well-trained. All in good time.

Hi! I'm Dunkin.

Who wants to play frisbee?
Just look at that face! 

Linc LOVES when Dunkin lays down with him.

Cassidy has been diligent about keeping her bedroom door closed to protect her precious Little Blankie, her stuffed animals, and basically all of the prized possessions in her room!
She has warmed up to him over the last week, though, and they are already becoming good friends.

put me in coach, i'm ready to play...

It's that time of year again: baseball season. Opening day for Little League in Chandler was March 19th.  Lincoln is on the Colorado Rockies this year.

The annual fly over.

The kids with balloon baseball man.

The cheering section.

Linc has been playing catcher for at least a couple of innings each game.

He's so cute all geared up!

Way to catch that ball!

Catcher in action.

Playing first base.

 

Running past 3rd, headed for home!