First day of Spring...

...felt like the first day of Summer!!

Basketball Weekend

Three of us spent the weekend at a basketball tournament in Michigan.  Two went to Grandma and Pada's.  One stayed home to save lives. Here is one player and one very supportive big sister.

The team they're playing here was really good.  The flyers also played a terrific game, but lost in triple overtime.  Heartbreaker.

 A breakdancing troupe showed up for some between-game entertainment.  What fun. 

 I can't believe anyone can actually do this. 

 Time out.  These coaches are really great.  Hey Uncle Phil, the coach kneeling in the middle lives 2 doors down from your friend Doc from IU. 

The cheering section.

Seven Quick Takes Friday

Seven quick takes are about all my brain can handle these days... So here's a run down from the week:

1. Susan had a little surgery this week, and just in the knick of time. We've had at least 3 'visiting' cats in our garage in the past 10 days or so. This morning I discovered she had removed her cone yet again overnight and ripped out her stitches. Ouch. So back to the vet we go.

 

2. With his new taekwondo belt, Vic has earned the right to take a sparring class. He is thrilled and wears his new gear at every opportunity. His little sister takes advantage of every photo op.

 

3. Finished the book Maria of Guadalupe by Paul Badde. Two thumbs up. Highly recommended.

4. Off to Michigan this weekend for a basketball tournament. I'm driving solo since Daddy has to work. Many thanks to my parents for keeping the little guys for an overnight. Big sister is coming along for moral support (and a new book on her kindle).

5. The weather we've been having is just delightful. I'm certain we'll be heading back to normal temps at some point... But so far this week, we've had 2 days in the 80's.

6. With this lovely weather, we've taken advantage of the swim spa for the first time this season. I meant to take pictures, but, of course, couldn't find the camera.

7. And the last big event of the week... Eustace took Lucy and Victor to a field trip in the sugar bush yesterday, God bless him. It's a half a mile walk back into the woods where they learn all about maple sugaring, get to tap trees and collect sap, and eat pancakes. It's a great experience, but unfortunately, not at all wheelchair-friendly. Anyway, thanks, Daddy, for taking a day off work to do this for your kiddos!!

Linking up with Conversion Diary today! 

7 Quick Takes Friday

1.  Pregnancy Update:  Almost 32 weeks along!!!  OK, not quite, but I feel it's always important to round up.  :)  We're all getting anxious to meet this little guy who has the funniest in-utero movements.   It seems he may follow in his brother's footsteps and become a fan of taekwondo. 

2.  Speaking of martial arts, last night Mr. 7-year-old earned his camo belt!!!  He's very excited because this means he can begin sparring.   Not so sure how I feel about that, but he's thrilled, and they do wear lots of safety equipment.  Technically, they're not even supposed to make contact... 

3.  Here are some pictures from a recent field trip to our local botanical gardens.  Right now, they have the CUTEST farm exhibit. 

'Milking' a cow - it's water...

Three boys on a scavenger hunt.  They're searching for the plants from which came each of the food products they're holding. 

Digging for veggies.  In real sand.  The kids could have stayed at this display all day.

4.  A sure sign of bedtime, last night our youngest 2 children were arguing over which of their stuffed animals was smarter.  Calg*n take me away...

5.  Wednesday was Miss Felic's Feast Day.  Our tradition is that on your patron saint's special day, you get to choose the dinner menu.  So, her choices were: lemonade, sprite, broccoli, cheddar cheese, and cupcakes with sprinkles.  I rounded it out with a new chicken recipe.  Sts. Felicity and Perpetua, pray for us!!!

6.  Reading a good book (I'm not that far into it, but so far, so good) called The Hour That Matters Most by Les and Leslie Parrott.  It's all about the importance of families having dinner together on a regular basis.  We do a lot of this already, but these authors are inspiring me to try to make it a little more special.  They also cite lots of research on how kids behavior corresponds positively with eating regular family meals.  Interesting. 

7.  On my nesting list of things to do:  sweeping all the blinds, reorganizing our sewing area, cleaning out all the closets, swapping the kids winter/summer clothes, starting some seeds for the garden.  Think we'll make it? 

Nice Surprises

Look what my Buddy Janelle sent me (along with nursing and boppy covers - thank you!!!) - a wine bottle filled with M 'n M's. That's what friends are for!!!

The last day of February and the kids were wearing... shorts!!!! Of course it was back in the 30's the next day, but everybody lived it up outdoors while they could.

These apparently are 'ninja moves'. Hmmmm...

This is not really a surprise, but look who still wanted to sneak in the house in spite of the gorgeous weather.

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

{pretty}

Is there anything nicer than a baptism?  These are our dear friends: Steve in the red tie, Shannon holding sweet baby Marie, and 2 of our Godchildren - Anne being held by her grandmother on the left and Josh serving on the right.  Marie is baby #5 in their family. 

Isn't she a beautiful baby?

Here are 3 of my children along with another Godson (John Paul) in the middle.  It makes me {happy} to see how captivated they are by the baptism rite. 

 In other, much less awe-inspiring, news, we finally held our production of 'Hamlet' after several months of rehearsals.  The {real} part is how many life changes, illnesses, family difficulties we worked around to complete this project.  The kids persevered and did a great job.  Above you'll see Claudius, Gertrude, and Hamlet.  In case you're wondering, this play was held in our basement.  It was a sell-out crowd with 3 parents, 1 grandfather, and 2 younger siblings in attendance. 

 {funny}  This is me as Polonius 'dead' on the floor.  When we started rehearsal, I wasn't yet pregnant.  The show must go on...

 Here's Rosencrantz addressing Gertrude with his blue blankie in tow.  I'm pretty sure that wasn't in the script.

 Enter Laertes on the left. 

Cast and Crew.  Don't worry about the subject matter being too much for the kids - we used a very much abridged version which was definitely more comedy than tragedy.  But each child had at least a few actual Shakespearean lines to memorize.  Serious fun.  Love homeschooling.