Sunburns and worms

Today I spent several hours in the front yard, trying to finish digging out our park strip. (Next step is putting down the weed barrier, then placing planters and mulch over that.)

During my morning stint, all the kids were outside "helping" me. After several near misses with the too-big shovels, I made the big kids pick up rocks instead of digging. This degenerated into worm-farming.

Look, another worm!
Quick, pick it up! Now, bring it over here! (To the flower beds in front of the house.)
Oh, it's so cute! It's name is...is...Lahlee. (Or Hember. Or some other improbable made-up name.)

All in all, I think at least 15 worms got relocated, named, and cheered into the soil of their new homes.

During the afternoon stint, the little neighbor boy came to help. R. (6) confided to me that he loves digging. In fact, he told me, he is digging a hole in his backyard.

What is the hole for, R?
Oh, to look for worms. And to bury someone in. You know, if they die, then I can put them in there.
(Blink, blink. Try not to laugh.)

(I mentioned it to his mother later--she looked horrified for a minute, until she realized I wasn't bothered or worried, just really amused.)

I also got the first sunburn of the season, although fortunately Hebs missed out this time. (Last spring, when he was still an infant, we went for a lovely springtime walk. His poor little baby head got burned so badly that it blistered and bubbled. Worst Mother Ever.)

Of course, our "last" winter storm is supposed to blow through for the rest of the week. We'll be dropping something like twenty degrees between now and Friday, just in time for my brother-in-law Tyler's graduation from BYU. So, probably no backyard picnic this weekend. But spring is really truly here!