Strawberry time!

Love, love, love this annual tradition—the time with our friends and the gallons of berries and jam it brings to our freezer and pantry. Our little troupe has really grown since the early days.

Down on the Farm

This spring we returned to Carlton Farm to see the baby animals, watch a milking demonstration (I got to try my hand at milking, too!) and play at the water pump and big slide. This time I skipped the raw milk purchase (sorry you real/raw/whole food junkie friends; I’m just not on that bandwagon yet!) but I did bring home a pound of good fresh sausage. Fun day.

Easter

Here we are looking all smiley and ready for Easter worship. I must say, Sunday mornings in general (and Easter in particular) cause me to belie my sanctification (to quote Dr. McLelland). However, eating a few helpings of cheese grits at the church brunch (oh dear, that sounds unspiritual…let’s call it common grace) and listening to the adult and children’s choirs rehearse “The Strife is O’er” (glorious!) improved my attitude considerably. 

(Caleb elected to sit in on choir practice rather than play in the nursery.)

Intro to Skiing

Back in March Erik took Meg and Nate to Cataloochee, NC to give them a little taste of skiing. They had a great time and hope to go again next winter, as do Kate and Caleb (who was offended and devastated that he didn’t get to go!)

 

Believe it or not, a few days before they went I happened upon 2 pairs of ski pants—exactly their sizes—at Goodwill for $3 each. Have I mentioned how much I love Goodwill??

Moongazing

Robbed!!

We were all eager to watch these little bluebirds hatch, but this morning when we went out to check them we found the nest dislodged and all but one of the eggs broken or missing. Some of us almost cried. We suspect a raccoon!

Bake Sale

Meg and Maggie did some baking, posted flyers around the neighborhood, and set up a cute shop in the front yard. They had a picnic blanket and bistro table so their customers could linger to sip lemonade and enjoy their purchases: Iced sugar cookies, chocolate chip “crisp” bars, and lemon squares. Kate helped pick flowers to decorate and a nice time was had by all. 

Cherry Blossom Festival

In between Nate’s several birthday celebrations we squeezed a pot luck cookout with friends from church to enjoy the lovely weather and beautiful cherry blossoms in the back yard.

Nate’s 8th Birthday!

This year Nate requested a sports party. It was such a fun idea! And easy for me, as Erik organized and refereed all the games leaving me to decorate the room and feed a table full of hungry boys, which is always gratifying.

Friend party on Saturday:

(These boys cleaned off the whole veggie platter!)

 

Family celebration Sunday night:

 

Actual birthday Monday morning:

New telescope from Grampy & Grammy!

 

Special birthday outing with Pappy: Harlem Globetrotters!

 

Happy Birthday Nate! We love you!!

New fishing pole

Arts Festival

This year the Perimeter Arts Festival theme was Circus! I took a ring master and two lovely acrobat/trapeze artists, and we enjoyed a musical program, original art demonstrations, and craft projects related to the theme. The main project was a block puzzle for which each child chose six photocopied prints (from dozens of circus-themed works by famous artists: Picasso, etc.), cut them into six pieces, and stuck each piece on wood blocks. Very cute. The lunch room was decked out like a big top serving corn dogs, soft pretzels, fluorescent colored drinks, and cotton candy. Unfortunately we missed the juggling lesson because we had to leave early for gymnastics.

 

 

Our homeschool group also held a poetry recital during the morning. Meg and Nate did a great job with their poems. Kate had diligently prepared and was excited to sing All Things Bright and Beautiful. However, one of the first girls to stand up announced she would recite that very poem. Kate turned to me in sock and then dissolved into tears. I tried to convince her that the other girl had spoken her version which only included less than half of the verses Kate knew, but her moment was ruined. She decided she wanted to do “The Swing,” which she had recited before another group last fall. I quickly looked up the words on my phone and read it to her once for a refresher and then she stood up and said it beautifully. Sweet girl.

Library Lessons

Meg and Nate are now the proud holders of DeKalb County library cards! They have been learning to type so I taught them how to look up books and find them on the shelf. They also reserve books on line each week and monitor their lists to see what is due. I can pull up in front of the library and they run in, pull their books off the hold shelf and run them through the self-checkout scanner (their favorite part!!) I went in without them the other day and the librarian told me Meg and Nate do a great job and are the best organized of all the kids who come in.

Caleb Turns Four!

Good morning Birthday boy.

(Breakfast choice: fruit loops!)

 

To celebrate with friends we went to the Yellow River Game Ranch and fed all kinds of animals.

Then off to McDonalds for lunch and cupcakes.

We had a very fun morning, though I fear three unhappy occurrences will dominate Caleb’s memory:
1) a turkey at the game ranch biting his finger 2) his mother forcing him to have milk at lunch when all his friends had juice  3) the wind repeatedly blowing out his candles before he could.

Family dinner, cake and presents.

 

“New” bike!

 

Birthday Encore: the fun continued the next morning with presents from Grammy & Grampy.

 

Happy Birthday Caleb! It is fun watching you grow up!!