Quick Visit

Mariah stopped to see us on her way home for the summer. We had an awesome day with her!

We had a long bike ride.

So many inch worms. They were everywhere!

Beautiful flowers.

Fun at the bike park.

It was a beautiful day!

Peonies

My peonies are blooming and they smell heavenly! 😍

Thief

A couple of nights ago, someone went through our neighborhood breaking into cars and mailboxes. They made a mess in Jim's car and stole his garage remote.

We don't condone name calling 🙈, but this was pretty funny. The little girls put a note in their window in case the thief comes back. Abby sure has a fighting spirit. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

P.S. They aren't scared; we've reassured them that the thief will be deterred now that the remote doesn't work and we've added security measures. They are more indignant than anything else.

Last Day of Homeschool

Today was the last day of our homeschool year (for most of us). I surprised the kids with orange rolls as a treat to celebrate. They loved them! 

Bring on summer! 

Dandelions

The kids found some crazy tall dandelions by our creek!

Fishing

Jim took some of the kids fishing tonight. They caught a couple of decent ones!

Abby

Yesterday, Abby surprised us by cooking breakfast for everyone.

She has the cutest little pigtails.

School Performances

We had an evening of performances. Annie had her band concert and Logan was the lead in the school play. It was so fun watching them; they both did great!

A Little Adventure

My walk today was a bit of an adventure! To start with I nearly stepped on this snake. 😮 I definitely jumped!

Then I found a new trail to explore and got lost! 🤣 I'm not sure how I became so turned around, but by the time I decided to head back to my car, I had no idea which way to go. I walked until I saw another person who thankfully pointed me in the right direction... which was the opposite way. 🙈🤣

Finally, I got caught in a downpour during the last few minutes. 🌧

The foliage was beautiful and peaceful, though, and I thoroughly enjoyed my little adventure!

A Taste of Childhood

A taste from my childhood: pepperoni dipsticks. I haven't had these in over 20 years.

As a child, I generally packed a cold lunch for school, but pepperoni dipstick day was definitely a hot lunch day! This was true for many of my friends and my siblings. My mom used to make them at home for us sometimes.

My family liked them today too. 😊

Day to Day

Abby: *drinks chocolate milk*

Brig: "My tongue needs some!" 🤣🤣🤣

Jim and I had a lovely walk today.

We have six new games! We haven't played Scythe yet, but we're enjoying the other ones.

Haircut Fail

Haircut fail! Abby's bangs were SO long, so I decided to trim them. I've done this plenty of times with decent results, but not this time! Oops! 🙈 It looks way better when her hair is on top of her head. I wonder if I can convince her to wear a high top knot for a few weeks? 🤣🤣🤣

Her face! 🤣

Funny Brig and Nature

Brig: *puts hat on backwards*

Brig: "I look like Mark Rober!"

I guess he's a fan. 🤣

A little nature therapy.

Bubble Gum and Brig

Observation: ALL of my kids chew bubble gum with their mouths open. Aaah! 🙉 I let everyone have gum during school today. It wasn't my smartest move. 🤣

Also, Brig is hilarious. 😍

Spring Fever

We have major spring fever in our house. Once the oldest two finish this last little bit, we'll be done. They have just 2 lessons left in Algebra, then the rest is easy. We can do it, we can do it, we can do it! 

We're SO ready for summer break! 🌞

Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2021. We had a lovely family day with church, yummy food, games, and gifts. ❤

Kids Say

Brig was pulling on me while I was making dinner tonight and I kept asking him to stop. 

Brig giggling, "I'm taking away your mind!" 🤣

I sometimes joke with my kids that they're making me lose my mind. I guess he's internalized that idea. 🤷‍♀️🤣

On the way home from church one day the kids were fighting. I kept encouraging them to be kind and I even sang the song 'Kindness Begins With Me. They completely ignored my efforts and continued to bicker.

Finally, I decided to see if changing the subject would work.

Me, "What did you learn about in Primary today?"

Laurel (who'd been part of the fight)  suddenly perks up all cheerful and sweet, "I learned about being kind!" 🤦‍♀️🤣

Another Adventure

Abby and Alex joined me for a walk on Friday. They wanted to go back to the lake to see if the duck was still there. We didn't see the duck, but we did find three geocaches, some painted rocks, and Abby thoroughly enjoyed picking wildflowers. I'm grateful for the beautiful weather this week that has allowed us so much outdoor time!