Kid Talk

In the last week or so these are questions/conversations with the kids.

Why is it ok for girls to ask boys how old they are, but it is inappropriate for boys to ask girls how old they are?

Mommy, I know that God can hear us when we talk to him, but we can't hear him when he talks to us, right? (This was before 7:30 in the morning and asked by a 5 year old.)

Me: Abby, please take your cat (stuffed) off the kitchen table. Abby: Why mommy? Don't you like cats?

A couple of days later:

Abby: Mommy, there's a cat in the yard. Do you have any cat food? [No, we don't own a cat so no cat food here.]

Andrew: I can't sing any more. My breath is down to a level 2.

I know there's more, but I can't think of anything else right now.

I did take non-picture flowers while at Daniel Stowe last week and because I feel like a post is kind of boring with no picture, I'll leave you with this. She's a classmate of Adam's. She's beautiful.

Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens

Yes, Adam and I went to DSBG on Tuesday. It was so much fun. And because I took HUNDREDS of photos that day, here are some more for you to see. (There are more than two so if it stops after two just hit play again. I can't figure out why it is doing that.)

More Swinging

I really had fun taking pictures of the kids swinging earlier this week. Here are some more pictures. It's so nice to see the blue sky--that is SOC--no editing. It's interesting how the sky shows up differently in the two pictures of the boys though.







And sometimes it's just no fun being a sister sandwiched between two brothers.



Does anyone else take these kinds of pictures of their kids?

Bzzzz

Adam and I had a lot of fun today.







Yes, we had a lot of fun, but I'm falling asleep as I type. Can you guess where we went? Here's a hint: Botany is a branch of biololgy and is the scientific study of plant life and development.

Just A Swingin'

They're Back

I have the best parents! Last week was Spring Break for my kids and they spent the week with Grandma and Grandpa in Ohio. Grandma and Grandpa drove down to get them, took them to Ohio and then drove them back Saturday afternoon. Did I say that my parents are the best? It seems that I never get a picture of all three kids with Grandma and Grandpa. Unfortunately, my parents were leaving on Sunday morning and my mom wasn't feeling well, but she was a trooper and stood for a picture anyway.



The kids had a great time and I've heard several mumblings of "I miss Grandma and Grandpa" Sunday afternoon and evening.

Sunday afternoon I was trying to get a picture of Abby for the We Picture This Mamarazzi Photoblog. It was drizzling rain, so the kids were playing with the umbrellas. I can't remember why she was upset (I think it had something to do with Andrew), but this is what she looked like. I do love her long, slender fingers.



Here's a couple more.





And the boys...


Boink!

Daughters ~ We Picture This

When I saw the theme for the We Picture This blog, I wanted my entry to tell something about my daughter. I think these images do just that. Abigail loves music. These pictures were taken on a beautiful fall afternoon while we were at a local elementary school playground. She was dancing and singing to the music in her head and at that moment in time had no idea that I was even around. It was a very windy day, and I even like how her hair is blowing out of her pony tail. I love these so much that I framed them and they hang on the wall going up the stairs to her room.

Canon Rebel XSi

1/1250

5.6

250mm

AE

ISO 400

Canon Rebel XSi
1/640
5.6
250mm
AE
ISO 400

Canon Rebel XSi
1/1600
5.6
194mm
AE
ISO 400

Head on over to the WPT this blog and check out all the other wonderful images of Daughters.

Easter

The kids spent Easter morning/afternoon with their dad. My parents were in town and after church and soaking up some sun on the patio, we headed over to my Aunt Saundra's for lunch and her birthday celebration. The kids hunted their Easter eggs with their dad, but Kristi let them join in the fun with her kids as well. Ever notice how once your kids hit a certain age the egg hunt isn't so much about the joy and astonishment of finding an egg lying in the grass, but about the quantity of eggs you find and who had the most at the end of the day? They started out calm enough, but as soon as they got the word, it was a different story.




See what I mean?


Kylie is so sweet. When we were saying our goodbyes, she thanked me for playing Play-Doh with her (something we did before lunch and this was well into the evening).


I know this has some harsh shadows, but Caleb is just too cute not to post.

Some random shots of the afternoon.











I like these two photos of Abby a lot, but they each have someone in the frame. I've got to learn how to get rid of things like that.





And here's one that doesn't have anyone else in the frame, but the lighting is just not the same as above.

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Kylie is "getting Andrew's tickles."

And let's not forget the real reason for Easter. He is Risen...And It Is Finished! Praise God for that!



It's good to remember that we are all sinners saved by His grace.

It Fell and It Was Frozen

This afternoon it hailed.

Who is under the hat?

Oh, there he is.

Dust Bunnies

Last night was good at our house. Good food (the weather was nice enough to grill a pork tenderloin) ~ good laughter. It's almost like someone has flipped a switch. Everyone was relaxed last night ~ peace reigned. Maybe Aunt Saundra flipped the switch while she was with the kids while I registered Andrew for kindergarten. Whatever happened, I'm praising God for it! The four of us even played a game of sorry and not one fight broke out. Yippee!

During dinner, Abby said she thought she saw something move out of the corner of her eye. I told her it was probably just dirt. I got the quizzical look. I said, "You know, dust bunnies or something." Amazingly enough, not one of my children knew what a dust bunny is. I tried to describe them but was getting no where. At one point, Abby says, "Oh, I get it. It's an Easter trick." No, sadly it is not. So we Googled dust bunnies. Now all of my children know what a dust bunny is.



Do you have any Easter tricks at your house?

5 = Kindergarten

Last night I did something for the last time.



I drove to the local elementary school.



Filled out some papers.



And signed my baby up for kindergarten.

Except he's not my baby any more. Now he looks like this.



And when he's pretending to be angry, he looks like this.



And when he's serious, he looks like this.



And when I ask him to give me his "I Love Mommy" look, he looks like this.



While he's not "all grown up," I suppose he is ready for kindergarten.

The Farm

Saturday afternoon we headed to Aunt Saundra's to do some yard work. We picked up sticks, cleaned up a small portion of the shop, cleaned the cracks out of the driveway, blew of the driveway (several times) and learned that you can, in fact, jump a riding lawnmower with a van. Sunday after church we went back to Aunt Saundra's for lunch and more time outside.

There was a fence post to be mended--notice Rusty in the background making sure things were done just right. Adam did get "slimed" by Tic Tac once on the back of the neck--pretty funny!



Tic Tac is in the background of this picture--left side. Look at how white he is getting.



Andrew was getting some love from Traci.



Maya (Kristi & Ian's dog) is staying on the farm this week while they are out of town. She loves having the ball thrown for her and all of the kids were happy to oblige. Here's Abby trying to get the ball back.



Traci & Adam's dog, Chaucer, loves things that do not belong to him. Aunt Saundra had to chase Chaucer down several times. Here she is trying to retrieve Abby's flip flop. (Adam took this picture)



The apple tree was also in blossom and buzzing with activity.





I think these are starflowers. Anybody know for sure? They are so pretty and so dainty.



The kids also jumped rope, played some basketball and ran around like crazy. All in all it was a wonderful weekend.