Nature

Bee in Flight


It's Pollen Time around here, and if this photo doesn't prove it,
just look at my kids' runny noses. Then you'll understand.



Broken Web


Kinda disappointing. I really wanted to shoot a spider on
this web.



Runaway Max


He really wanted to run into the water after the
"cack-cack cucks". see footnote 1 We're having this Max
running off and away predicament frequently. Wake me up
when he turns four.



Dad's Little Fisherpeople


Nothing much to say about this one. The photo really tells
the story. It might be one of my favorites.



Trail of Tears


"It's toooooo long!" "My feet hurt."
"I HATE mosquitoes!" "You said we could get
ice cream!"


The End.



Footnote 1: translated "quack quack duck". Did you get that one?

Our Little Accessory

Lord save him from being the younger brother of two older sisters, Amen.

Today he came up to me with teal nail polish on all five left fingernails.

Yesterday they thought it would be funny to put a (large) doll's dress on him and a bonnet.

The day before that someone decided he needed to learn about high heels and purses.

Now, I'm all for letting my son show his feminine side--goodness knows the perpetrators show their "masculine" sides often enough--but this poor boy has no clue. Hey, if he grows up and wants to partake in all this silly girlishness (of which I, thankfully, escaped in my own childhood) well more power to 'im. But you gotta feel a little bad for the dude, being paraded around in the fashion akin to a small accessory dog.

He's just so darn cute. I know they can't resist.

The Lion Sleeps Tonight

Originally posted at Homeschoolin' Mamas
***************************************************


Tuesday was Field Trip Day. We decided to fit in a little science and a little social studies all in one day. First up was the zoo, which was a blast.

Just look at this sleepy guy!

And his friend, Mr. Not-So-Sleepy.

Giraffe eye. Creepy or cool? You decide.

Ooooh! You totally need to click on Mr. Bluefrog to enlarge the picture for detail. He was SO cool.

These guys, notsomuch. Enlarge them only if nonsqueamish.

Yo. Wuzzuuuup?

You can pick your friends...

Mmmm. Boogers. Yum.

OMGosh! You saw that? I'm so embarrassed.

Hannah's Big Day

My big girl was so excited for this day. She took her preparations quite seriously, as well as the whole Sacrament. Sometimes this girl drives me crazy and we clash a lot. But when her behavior is troublesome to me, I at least can rest easy in the fact that she has quite the special relationship with God going on. Priorities, you know.

Easter on the Prairie

We stepped out the door on our way to the in-laws' Sunrise Service. And what a sunrise it was!

This is what it looks like in the "parking lot" of a tiny country church at 7 a.m. The majority of the vehicles are parked evenly on the crushed Sioux quartzite, and the vehicles you see in the back are parked off the side of the cornfield. If you were to sit in one of these vehicles in the driver's seat you would be immediately facing the cemetery, which is the yard of the church. Which is where the children play. Well, you know, all five children that belong to this church, that is.

And this is what a bad family picture in front of said church looks like. With a little bit of equally horrendous photo doctoring on top. I feel the need to remind everyone that it was buttcrack-o'-dawn-thirty and really windy as well. And, I wasn't even taking the photo, so I am adamant that I cannot and will not be held responsible.

And this is later--sheltered from the wind and past the buttcrack-o'-dawn-thirty bleary-eyed-ness. My grandfather-in-law doing what he does best--staring off into space. But not in a bad way. Oftentimes this look he has perfected is followed by an expansive tale of piloting in WWII or, alternately, the proper soil temperature of some obscure Brazilian fruit tree. I like to use hyphens whenever I can--it makes life interesting.

Stay tuned, more to come.

Minnesota Winter Morning

Minnesota Winter Morning

Pre-Contest Contest

I'm biting the bullet and entering a contest. I have no delusions that my photos would actually win, but you need to start somewhere, right? So this is my starting point.

I need y'all to help me choose which ones to submit. I'm going to submit 3-5 or something like that and leaving it up to you to help me decide who makes the cut.

Please vote by commenting!

#1 Emme looking through slats at the playground on her fifth birthday.

#2 The girls walking home from the beach.

#3 The dirty feet picture.

#4 Hannah after a hike.

#5a Same day walking home from the beach

#5b Same picture, different effect, can't decide which I like better!

#6 Max at the beach.

#7 Emme at the Children's Museum.

#8 Kids by a barn.

#9 Sibling love.

#10 Max and Grandpa.

#11 Lily pad bloom outside Como Zoo.

Please help me choose!

'Officially' Homeschoolers?

Originally posted at Home Schoolin' Mamas.
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Does this make us officially homeschoolers?

I think it does.



Hannah's first robot.
A cross between WALL-E and Mr. Krabs.

I'm now going to qualify 'official' as 'when your daughters receive an erector set for Christmas and it becomes their favorite present.

How You Can Tell He's a Reader For Life

Max loves books.

Before naptime and bedtime I read him a story.

He insists, without fail, on taking each book to bed with him.

If you were to look in on him during sleep,

This is how you would find him.

Cuddled up in his car bed,

Nose resting ever so slightly on the cover,

Fist still gripped securely around the binding.

Yeah, Max loves books.

Did You Miss Me?

All right, I think I've been BAWOL (bloggishly absent without leave) for about a month now. So this is one of those boring update blog entries. What have I been doing the past month?

• Number one, we moved. After a four-month-long ordeal, we finally got our house bought and moved in, with literally 20 minutes to spare.

• Because of this, I have been spending much time getting unpacked. I am not 100% finished, and probably never will be, but at least we can eat without searching for dishes, shower without searching for towels, and get our schoolwork done without falling too far behind.

• And anyway, before we moved the computer broke. Well, the power cord broke, and HONESTLY people!, this is the THIRD power cord I've had to buy for my MacBook in THREE years! Wusupwitdat? Macs are supposed to be far superior, but in this arena it is failing horribly.
  

• Cord now bought, internet now on, and this is the first day I've been able to get back into the swing of my "net routine"...three hours later and it looks like a hurricaine has passed through my living room and kitchen. I've been so good about keeping up with housework lately, and now I see that I will need to SEVERELY limit my online time right away again.

• Without being able to say much more, hubby is on an in-house interview today. Pray for him.

• Max is walking! Finally! Just shy of his 16-month birthday. I'll have video soon to deluge y'all with.

• And, hmm, that's all for now. The following picture has nothing to do with anything, but an incongruous picture of Conrad from the county fair seemed somehow to not fit at all, so here we are.

Five. Five!

On the completion of your fifth year,
this is who you are:

You have such a kind and attractive personality; everyone smiles when you’re around.

You have a deep and considerate soul. A good portion of the time you seem young for your age, but your eyes betray the wisdom beyond your years.

You have definite moods, and when you’re in one, you’re in one! You are impulsive but not easily swayed. You think everything through, thought by thought, unless you decide not to!

What You Love

Stuffed animals (every single one is named Peanut)

Being close to mom

Acting crazy

What You Do Not Love

Bad guys

Punishment

Being rushed

Happy Birthday, EmmeMoo!

Family Reunion

Last weekend we had a family reunion. This is not unusual for us, we go to at least four of them a year. As I alluded to earlier this week (whilst in a sleep-induced haze, admittedly), the big deal with this one was that the missing branch from down south came back to surprise the rest of the Family Tree. For the first time in nine years, my grandma had all her kids together. And there are eight of them. Amazing!

When you have eight middle-aged children spread out across the country, getting them together for a photo op is no small feat!


Until right now, I don't think I've ever seen a picture of my dad with his four brothers. I think their collective profiles speak volumes about genetics, don't you?


Well, this one's just for fun. They're all headed off to the zoo with cousin/aunt M.

On Your Seventh Year

At the completion of your seventh year,
this is who you are:


You like to be called: "a tomboy...but a little bit girly-girl."


You could still beat any two-year-old in a tantrum contest, hands-down.


You are quick, independent, and goal-oriented. Oh, did I mention you were so much like your mother?

What You Love
science and nature
reading
playing with babies
snakes
fashion

What You Do Not Love
being interrupted
people wearing "inappropriate" clothing
being told NO
injustice
having your hair brushed

Happy Birthday BananaGirl!

A Happy Fourth

I just had to share the kids' photo shoot from the holiday while we were out wasting time until Daddy got off work. There are a lot here, but trust me, I had to choose between many more!



These first two were taken in front of a big metal barn-type building at the park.



All the rest were taken across the road in front of another barn at the park. Yeah, I don't know why there're so many barns at the park either. You locals know of which park I speak.







Here comes my absolute favorite:



Wasn't that one just darling?
Please excuse the dirty feet. A malady that's hard to avoid when you mix kids and summer.





Happy Independence Day! Love, Hannah, Emme, and Max.