After dealing with this for the past several days (note the muddy paws and face), we were quite anxious to begin spreading mulch around the house.

It was really cool to see all four boys working together today to help bring the mulch from the driveway to the backyard. Jake was the dump truck driver (a.k.a. wheelbarrow pusher) and the other three used hands, buckets, and shovels to load the dump truck (imagination is key in prolonging young children’s work time).

Derek was a work horse with that shovel. He’ll be sore tomorrow.

Our (almost) 2 year-old neighbor even lent a hand.

In addition to spreading mulch, the boys planted some vegetables in peat pots.

Jeremy proclaimed himself the “carrot guy”, and he was in charge of planting the carrot seeds.

The fruit veggies of their labor. From the fruit of his lips a man is filled with good things as surely as the work of his hands rewards him (Proverbs 12:14).

Then Derek, who was working in the yard while the others were planting, came over to show Jeremy one of the many worms we found in the yard. No kidding, every time we dug up a weed or turned over dirt, we found a half dozen worms hiding in there. They say that’s a sign of healthy soil.

Yeah, well, try telling that to Bubbie. He says they’re bad. Fortunately for him, he has three older brothers to work on him until he turns around in his thinking.

Just for shock value, here’s a picture of the worm.

To conclude this post full of pictures, I’ll leave you with a shot of our mini tulip garden. Aren’t they beautiful?