14 Years and 5 Great Kids

One of the best things about celebrating 14 years of marriage is having an almost-13 year old daughter who can make you an entire 4-course meal all by herself (with her little 'assistants' and 'servers').  This child-made and served anniversary dinner is a tradition that has evolved over the  years from pb and j to last night's feast of BLT's, sautéed summer squash, lemonade with pineapples and berries, and peach cobbler.  Seriously yummy.  And look how pretty the table was!!  In between courses, Dad and I sat on the front porch in our new rocking chairs (his gift to me!) and practiced growing old together.  And chased our 2-year-old.  Life is good. 

nerds 'r us

Poor little guy has a cold which is not slowing him down very much.  Also, check out the roses tucked in our napkins!  So cute.  And on the plate is a cheese and cracker appetizer which may or may not have hit the floor on its way from the kitchen.  5 second rule.  Good thing those little servers have quick reflexes.  :)

Adventures in Bird Watching

Anyone who spends more than 20 seconds with Kid118 will know how much he loves birds. For his birthday in February, he really wanted to visit a raptor rehab center in the southern part of our state. Alas, they were unable to handle visitors at the time due to the extreme cold and the fact that they had moved all their resident birds into their house (!!!). So, we planned to try again when weather conditions were more favorable.

Someone decided to 'help' me pack by unloading my entire t-shirt drawer...

...and trying things on, too, of course.

So, last week we packed up all of us plus Grandma and Pada and headed south.  We stayed in a family cabin at the Brown County State Park.  My parents camped.  Here we are at the nature center.

I wasn't exactly sure what to expect at the raptor rehab.  I knew it was at a private residence, but assumed there would be a barn or some such place for all the birds. 

I was partially correct.  We drove down winding, hilly, narrow county road just a few minutes outside town and arrived at a cabin with multiple 'structures' around the property. 

The owners walked out to greet us and asked us to wait on the porch while they tended to a bird emergency.  A new patient had just arrived with a badly infected wing. 

After a short wait, the 2 ladies who operate the rescue began bringing us their permanent residents to visit.  They are not allowed to show visitors birds who are able to be released into the wild.  That's always the goal, but for some injuries, just isn't possible.  So, at the house they will stay.

 

We got to see, up close and personal, an Eastern Screech Owl, a short-eared owl, an American Kestrel, and a Bard Owl. 

Then we took a trek around the back of the property to see at least a dozen more large birds of prey in the backyard.  Crash was more interested in Grandma and the wild strawberries.  And the lawn mower. 

I'm not sure which was the favorite,  but this Harris Hawk was a definite contender.  The guides were quite taken with our kiddos and their love and knowledge of these creatures, so I'm pretty sure we got the super-deluxe tour package to the tune of 2 and a half hours.  They loved every minute. 

Piano Recital 2014

Every week, without fail, our faithful and patient piano teacher Mr. Otis drives to our house and gives 4/5 of our kids piano lessons. Joy also gets a voice lesson. Like (what I imagine) most children do, ours complain about practicing from time to time. For one of our kids, this is a daily theme, while for the others, it is more-or-less rare.

  Yo-yo begged to begin lessons in February. I had fall in mind as a good start time, but her tears persuaded me ("Please, Mom!"), and she has yet to complain about her practice time.

 The general trend in our house seems to be early enthusiasm, followed by increased grumbling around year 2 or 3, when the difficulty level really picks up. I remember that experience myself as a child. Did my parents let me quit? No way. And that's the approach I'm taking. I know the satisfaction in muscling through the mastery of difficult technique, and the joy that comes from really being able to play.

  Are we pressuring our children to become musicians? Definitely not. Are we hoping to teach our kids something about perseverance? Absolutely. And music, of course.

  Each year in June, all our teacher's students and their families meet in a Methodist church for the annual recital. One by one, each child makes his way to the front of the quiet church and plays or sings his prepared piece. I expected Yo-yo to be a bit nervous, especially because it's her first recital. I was wrong. She flitted about the church while everyone warmed up, and when it was her turn (she was first on the program), marched confidently to the piano and played 2 duets with her teacher: "Winnie the Pooh" and "Sailing."

  Our other kids immediately followed with their piano pieces, then Joy sang "Feed the Birds" from Mary Poppins. All did very well. Then we listened to everybody else and ate cookies afterward. Grandma and Pada always come, which makes it extra special.

pre-performance goofiness

debut on piano

all our little virtuosos  with their teacher

Sleeping (sort of) at the Zoo

Friday night, after months of eager anticipation, our 4H club spent the night at the zoo. It's a special program our zoo offers, just to allay any fears that we broke in... The kids had a bake sale to help offset the cost a few months ago. Finally, this weekend, the big night arrived. I'm pretty sure it was even better than expected. Sounds like it was well-executed and great fun. My husband, because he is on his way to sainthood, went along as a chaperone. So, yes, I stayed home with Crash and slept in my own bed. Everyone else slept on the hard floor in the aquarium. Before...

...and after. :)