Snippets

Tonight my 8 year old daughter rode a school bus for the first time in her life. We commented on how few children her age could say that. We took the bus with the kids at the school that we work at to a nearby church for a fun time in their youth group 'hangout' for our last night of AWANA. Fun night with too much candy and entertainment!

We planted our garden today, now we will see how our garden grows. Every year brings a new experience there. This year we placed landscaping fabric down on the walk ways, to hopefully save us some weeding time (wishful thinking?) I have gotten my workout through garden and yard work this week. Two hours of mowing and fertilizing and then two hours of raking, prepping, and planting. I look forward to a couple rainy days of staying inside and just 'doing school.' And, hopefully starting in 6 weeks or so we will begin picking some lettuce, beans, peppers, spinach, broccoli, cabbage, cucumbers, squash, onions, beets, carrots, etc., etc.

Yesterday my older three went to a minor league baseball game with tickets they earned through a reading program (Blake brought home a foul ball for each kid in our family!) With just the younger two at home we took full advantage of our reduced responsibilities. We cranked up the classical music and had an hour ballet and gymnastics time. I pulled up a couple ballet lesson Youtube videos and we practiced the steps they showed us. Then we walked in circles around the great room pointing our toes, skipping daintily (well, Nathan wasn't quite so dainty), and listening for the subtle beat of the graceful music. We talked about the various songs that played as well and what they reminded us of. Sometimes we became waves crashing up on the shore, or soldiers marching in unison, or a prowling lion. Brooke and Nathan had such a great time and woke up begging to do more ballet again today. Great stress relief and music lesson all rolled into one, not to mention a great relationship building time with the littles.

May is traditionally one of our busiest months. A birthday, baseball season, end of school year activities at work, garden planting, used book sales, and a plethura of other activities clutter our calendar. But, then comes June. A break from work, swimming weather, less scheduled days, more down time with family, I can't wait. Today we enjoyed a delicious, sweet watermelon that reminded me of the promise of those days to come. It won't be long! 19 school days left . . .