I'm Not Dead...

I'm Moving. No, Ryan and I have NOT come to our senses, sold the cows, and bought a hut on a beach in Barbados.

In January we decided to build a new house. Just like that. We didn't have anything else planned for our summer. Why not?

We've rented a "summer house" around the corner from our farm, I am MADLY organizing 12 years of accumulated "stuff" and four kids into four piles: "keep", "store", "TRASH", and "donate". Not as easy as one may think. And I had some delusional grandiose idea that it was going to be orderly.

We are scheduled to demolish our old farm house the second week of June, and pour the new basement after.

Matt the contractor is promised to start August 1st. Hell or high water, he knows I'll be there with breakfast so he'd better be there with some employees~

With all that said, my phone line was ripped down by some farmer who thinks when it comes to equipment, BIGGER is better. No home phone, no internet. (p.s. the un-named farmer is not Ryan.) My FABULOUS Verizon man did come out on Memorial Day to fix the problem, since we are moving this Saturday, we decided there was no reason to put up a line to be tore down in 4 days... I miss my internet. Do you all use "google" as much as I do?

Small (guilty) Pleasures!

YEAH!!

The season premiere of "The Bachelorette"

starts tonight!

I thought this expression was so cute.

"What?"

"You talkin' to me?"

"Wanna check out my pedicure?"

and yes, our living room floor usually
looks like that.

Pedicure

Bea gave Jack his first pedicure in the bath this week.

With her toothbrush!

My Mother's Day

On Sunday morning I woke up to these beauties!

After dedicating Jack at church, we went to our local Mexican Restaurant for lunch, and then home where I took a lovely nap with Jack.

After my nap, we planted some of our garden!

Tomatoes, broccoli, pumpkin, zucchini, green beans, peas and sunflowers.

Elle and Will are anxious to see who's row will pop up first!

Soccer Season

Soccer season is now in full-swing.

They are on different teams this spring, but both have the same color shirt. Lime green. Will is number 1, Elle is number 2. Unfortunately, the games are at the same time, at opposite ends of the complex. As parents, this is really the first time we've had to "divide and conquer".

Elle is now in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade group. She is so happy to play with "serious" soccer players. She volunteered last Saturday to sit out the first quarter so that she could play the rest of the game.

Will is doing so much better this year. Having Elle first really did nothing to help her parents 'parent' a boy. Last spring Will cried every Saturday morning before his games. He was tired. He did not want to spend his only free morning on a cold soccer field. I cannot blame him. I did not want to be there either...

This year he is excited about his practices, loves his games, and is much more aggressive. Now, I'm not one to advocate aggression, but when one is part of a soccer team it is better to go after the ball and attempt to help you team than stand (sit) on the field and pick your nose.

Just sayin'.

Dedication

Sunday at church we dedicated Jack.

We promised before God and our church family to be godly parents and to teach Jack about Jesus and follow him.

Pastor Kurt chose this verse for Jack:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Proverbs 3:5&6

Jack O' Lantern

Will lost his first tooth.

OK, he made me pull it out.

He did. I promise.

I hated pulling my own teeth.

It was so gross. It was not even really ready.

See all that blood?

But I was so sick of his whining,

I just did it.

And it made him so happy.

The tooth fairy brought him a dollar, that pleased him.

And the principal said: "That whole 1st grade is starting to look like Jack O' Lanterns"

Which pleased him more.

Bea's Three!

Here she is on her actual birthday, her favorite meal: "Chik-ehn an Fwies"

Ryan hid this in the shop and told Elle: "Don't go in the shop. Bea's birthday present is in there, and I don't want her to go out there. STAY IN THE YARD". So, Elle told Will: "Don't go in the shop. Bea's birthday present is in there, and we don't want her to go out there. STAY IN THE YARD". Bea overheard.

Whenever we would talk about her upcoming birthday party, she would say: "my birfday is in the shop."

Then she went to the shop.

And we could not get her off it.

This was her reaction to every single gift.

How easy to please!

With her teddy bear cake. I made for her little party with our "family"

My decorating skills could use a little practice...

FAME

If you check this blog on a regular basis, I'm sorry.

I've been busy. I'll try to catch up.

Last weekend Elle participated in the local Art show.

This is J., a classmate of Elle's with their artistic renditions of St. Francis.

They both did a Fabulous job, and you'll see Elle's hanging in our home!

Her dance troupe also performed, here she is front and center.

It was a great day. Elle did wonderful in all of her performances, and her artwork is fantastic.

I love looking at all the exhibits, people who have artistic talent just amaze me.

Coming up: Bea's Birthday, Will's Jack O' Lantern, and the best thing to happen to us since, well...Jack was born!