You've been EGGED!

Shortly before Easter we "egged" our neighbors.  The boys were so excited with our attempted covert operation they could hardly stand it.  And then . . . they got us back!

Here's the link to the printables if you want to give it a try.  We cut and colored our own egg splats. :)

Summer Vacation 2011

We usually trek up north to Duluth for our family get-away but this time we opted to head south to Wabasha. We spend 3 nights at a little hotel with a pool so one of their main activities (of which we have no photos) is swimming in the pool over, and over, and over again. Please bare with me and the gazillion photos, it was so hard to decide what to post.

Our first full day there we visited Kellog's Lark Toy Store. This place was amazing and oh how I wish it was closer to us. They have an indoor carousel with beautifully carved animals to ride on. There were lots of jitters from Agent E & The General but we coaxed them on for a ride and they were really happy to have done it.



























Lots of hands on toys to be played with.

Roger that

Near the end of this school year Agent H and I studied the Wright Brothers and the science of flight. Coincidentally the Crystal Airport was hosting a homeschoolers airshow. We've been to what feels like a gazillion airshows but when I saw that they were going to give tours of the control tower and were offering a seriously affordable ticket for an actual flight . . . I mentioned it to EH. He was all over the idea. So on a Friday afternoon after homeschool co-op, they headed out for an amazing experience.

This is a picture during flight

Agent H said he was scared at take-off but then he enjoyed it (this was his first flight).

This is one of my favorite pictures of EH. Last summer a friend invited him to go flying.

Summer's work

This year was a fresh new start to gardening. I moved our garden from the back of the house (just not enough sun) to the front yard where I can eek out about 7 hours of sun in one little 6x6 spot. Some cement blocks donated from my parents, landscape material, and about a 'zillion pounds of peat moss and manure and we had our first raised garden. I purchased my seedlings from a friend who is starting a planting, etc business. She uses heirloom/organic seeds and cares for them the way I would (that is if I didn't have a wanna-be green thumb that's mostly black)

The yield was tremendous! I dehydrated tomatoes off and on for weeks and the rest my mom canned for me.

I guess this was a pretty common picture for the summer. I have been working to beautify the entrance to our driveway for a few years. It's taken many years but I think I'm finally starting to like it. My dear secret sister from co-op gifted me transplants from her garden for my birthday. I'm looking forward to seeing them fill in over the next few years. What an amazing gift!

Geocaching

We did something so unbelievably cool! "Are you up for an adventure?" were the words of my friend JK, knowing that I've been a bit of a mess lately. Oh what the hey, sure! So after we (all of us plus her and her husband and youngest son - Agent H's good buddy who shall be referred to as Agent E) polished off most of the pizza we hit the road and went geocaching. I have no idea if I've even said that right cause I'm so unfamiliar with the lingo but it was a blast. They brought their GPS unit and the coordinates and off we went to go discover treasure hidden around a nearby lake. The kids brought back bouncy balls, PEZ dispensers, and toy police badges. We wondered down deer trails and were surrounded by raw, organic beauty.












Little E did a great job keeping up with us all. Most of the vegetation was at his eye level but he plunged ahead fearlessly. Time to go home and have some ice cream.

Train trip

A night away and all the trains he could shoot - my birthday gift to EH. I got a tip from one of EH's friends about this great place for train admirer's to visit. Agent H and Little E spent two full days with my parents so they also had a super special time too - thanks M&D! We wondered rail lines, lounged at crossings waiting for trains, chased trains in the car and parked to wait some more. We spent a lot of time just sitting together. Sometimes I sat in the car quilting, reading, and staying warm. The peace was nourishing.


More of EH's pictures are here.

A day enjoyed!

True I had to forgo the luxury of a Mother's Day bath because I had nursery duty at church but the rest of today was grand.

EH and the boys took me out to Potbelly's for lunch (EH has teased that it's an appropriate place for a pregnant woman to go and Agent H now enjoys calling me Potbelly on occasion).

After lunch we hit the nature trails by our library (a lead from our neighbor-thanks!) and hiked till we found the perfect spot to share our chocolate chip cookies.

A round of naps for everyone and then I prepared fondue for dinner. A rare treat we really enjoy. I think Little E ate rice, Agent H ate pickles, I ate an abundance of mushrooms and chicken, and EH took care of the bison steak.

To top off the night I happened to hear the music of the Good Humor man up the street. Agent H has been saving his Valentine's Day money from Grandma for months for just this purpose, so he claimed a tweetie bird ice cream snack and even bought his brother a Dora ice cream.

Tonight the boys will spend their first night in their new bunk beds. EH and I worked like crazy to prepare the room for them this weekend but that's another story for another day - pictures to come. I hope everyone sleeps well.