Cleaning off my memory card

Mary's new big girl bike. We're waiting on the real training wheels to arrive, so in the meantime we've got temporary smaller ones to help her stay up.

Riding bikes to the Battlefield on Memorial day. We visited the nature center and walked down to the creek.
Elijah was very proud that he took this picture.
Mary took this one.
Playing cards with Grandma Betty in the camper.

SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!

Woo-hoo! Now the big dilemma is...start having fun or clean the house from all the clutter and junk that has accumulated. I asked Brian this morning about having a LARGE yard sale and getting rid of some of our furniture. Does anyone else just ever get the urge to purge your life and start the next phase with less?

And the fun is just beginning

My friend, Kerrie, and I took the kids to Prophetstown State Park today. We walked around the farm and then went to one of the playground areas for lunch. Aunt Laura and Grandma Susan were with us too. We tried to camp there this weekend, but it was booked so we're backyard camping in the new camper. Last night only Elijah stayed with Grandma and Laura, but we're going to try it with everyone tomorrow night I think. We took our bikes with us to the park too and had a nice ride along the trail. Elijah is quite the little bike rider. He, Laura, and Susan actually rode back to the house in Battle Ground from the state park. I am so impressed with him. It's actually been a little difficult to keep up with him now that he's on two wheels.
Emily had the most fun seeing the animals. She petted the pigs, sheep, horses, cows, and chickens. She only got pecked two times before deciding that was enough.
Mary went in with the calves. One of them licked Emily on the face!
Eli and Mary G. getting cozy in their new bed.
This is it!!

Emily, at 18 months, is all about moving. She says lots of words: bye bye, hi, mama, dada, Jijah, Mar Mar, Bob-o, Papa, Lucy, sit, more, no, cup, juice, outside, shoes, walk, night-night (which is actually what she calls her paci) and she can give the dog commands like "down". She is a busy, busy girl. She is making me laugh these days when she gets really close to doing something she's not supposed to--like climbing the rails up the swingset. She'll put her foot up and look at me and say, "bye-bye" with a little gleam in her eye. I'll say, "No bye-bye. Feet down." and she'll say, "hi" and take another step up. Little stinker.

Score one point (well, maybe ten points) for staying in Lafayette. Today after I picked Elijah up from school, he and I ran in to McCords for cherry cokes and a giant cookie to share. We then decided to walk down to the pedestrian bridge again and watch the trains go by. It was delightful and sunny and warm. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with my sweet son. Mr. Bojangles, this older man who plays the mandolin and sings folk covers downtown for the farmers market was out playing as well. It was one of those moments when you think to yourself, "self--remember this moment."

This weekend has been HUGE for us. First of all, Elijah learned to ride a 2 wheeler. He was extremely afraid to attempt it and we'd had numerous conversations about how he thought it would take him months and he'd need to wear pads, etc, etc...Boy was he ever surprised at how easy it was for him. He's been out riding all weekend--and he and Brian rode bikes to church today (another plus for staying in town for now!). In other big news...

We got a camper last night!!!!! Well, it's not technically ours, but for our family to use. We ended up getting a much nicer one than I originally thought we'd end up with, so I am SO EXCITED! It is a 2006 Jayco popup. It has a king bed, a queen bed, and 2 table fold down beds. Seating for 4 at the table, the table can be moved outdoors and attach to the side, it has a refrigerator, stove, heat and a/c, and an outside shower hose. So last night Brian and I were immediately plotting our summer travels. We CAN'T WAIT!!! We're off to see the country.

Goofy girl!!

It is so interesting to me that on a normal school day I drag Mary out of bed at 7:05 so that we can walk out the door at 7:20. I literally thought she was going to daycare in her pajamas on Friday. But come Saturday, she is in our room at 6:03 ready to start the day...

IRP NIGHT

Yes, that is Luke Skywaker riding a bull in his diorama.

Independent Research Project Night

As they have learned about the elements of a story (characters, setting, events) the students in Elijah's class each wrote and presented a short description of the character they chose from a fairy tale. Elijah picked the Irish Cinderlad. They also made a diorama with the setting and characters. It was a short and fun way for them to share what they learned.

To say that we've been busy lately might just be an understatement. I think we are starting to feel that if we're not in motion we are asleep. Let's see...where should we start?

Last weekend (Mothers' Day) was a pretty awesome time. On Friday night I went to the grocery store alone after everyone was put to bed so that I wouldn't have to worry about getting to the store for the weekend. Brian was having band rehearsal at our house when I got home. Saturday morning we got up bright and early to meet some of his students and co-workers at the Attica farmers market to sell the rest of Seeger's greenhouse plants. Brian took the older kids with him and I stayed behind to walk the dog, get a shower, and let the baby sleep (not in that order). I had such a great time walking Saturday. It was crisp and sunny with a bit of wind. Emily was putting her face out to feel the wind on it. You could almost see the wheels turning as she contemplated what the feeling was. She and I met the others later in the morning in Attica. The farmers market is in the elementary school parking lot so the kids had a great time on the playground all morning with some of their friends. We came home with (another) truckload of plants for our yard so in the early afternoon I put tomatoes and sunflowers in the ground and potted some Mothers Day plants. Later that afternoon I went and got a fabulous pedicure with a friend and when I got home it was time to get ready for the SITTER! Yes, we were out of the house Saturday evening with no children. The STH played the Mosey down Main Street and it was SUPER, UBER fun. I went in several shops that I'd never been able to visit, saw tons of people I knew--and got to talk to them for more than 30 seconds, and went out to dinner with our friends. It was truly a fabulous night. Except that Mary wouldn't go to bed for the sitter, but that's another story.

Sunday we spent at church and hanging out with Brian's family at his sister's house. We played kickball, laughed, enjoyed our family, and ate some great dinner.

This week has been a bit of a blur with the STH performing at his parents' church Mother/Daughter banquet dinner last night, me on a field trip to the Indy Zoo yesterday, and Elijah's upcoming Independent Research Night for school on Thursday--oh wait, I mean, tomorrow. I think the end of the school year is always busy, but this is the first year it has been THIS busy. I am sure glad I did not sign anyone up for spring sports.

A very productive weekend

And the aching back to prove it!! Saturday morning we were supposed to walk the mini marathon in Indy, but we just hadn't trained enough so we walked a "mini" mini. Brian and I met up with his mom at the state park at 8:30 on Saturday morning. Bob-o watched Elijah and Mary so we could keep a decent pace. We walked about 7 miles, or a little over half of a mini marathon. It was about 2 hours. The weather was perfect and the setting was beautiful, so I am not too sad we missed the Indianapolis sea of people. After we got home and rested for a while I decided to work in the yard. I got weeds pulled, more veggies planted in the garden, and the grass mowed. Today after church I bought some mulch and got it layed in the front beds. I planted almost the rest of the veggies and lots of the potted herbs. My biggest accomplishment was getting the back junk yard area dug up and cleaned up so we can plant more things behind our garage. Now all the junk that was in the dirt is on the back concrete pad, so I am hoping to finish that project this week.

Here is what we have planted in the garden so far:

sugar snap peas, carrots, lettuce, cabbage, spinach, swiss chard, onions, potatoes, cucumber, squash, yellow peppers, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, tomatoes.

herbs: cilantro, italian basil, thai basil, lemon grass, flat italian parsley, catnip, thyme, garlic chives.

I am really excited about eating a lot of our own food this year and that it is farmers market time again.

Why won't anyone sleep around here???!!! I declined going to my sister-in-law's for a fun family cookout because I knew I had some tired kids. Mary, the most difficult of the non-sleepers, got put to bed at 7:00 after a nice warm bath and a story, in hopes that she might be asleep by 7:45. Here it is 9:30 and guess who just popped out again? Emily has been fighting it for the last hour. Grr.