Thursday, April 30, 2015

Where do babies come from?

It happened. Lincoln asked Jenn where babies come from. He was under the impression that one orders them. (He could be forgiven for this, given our family's circumstances.) Thankfully he asked Jenn and not me.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Leesville Lake, Zoo & Such

Well, I better do some catch-up, because there's a boy who's about to have a seventh birthday soon, and I'm gonna post a big thing about that. So...

The kids all got some one-on-one time at the cabin, Henry got a new bike, I took the kids to the zoo,

Leesville LakeLeesville Lake
Leesville LakeLeesville Lake
Leesville LakeLeesville Lake
Leesville LakeLeesville Lake
Leesville Lake
Leesville LakeLeesville Lake
Leesville Lake
Akron ZooAkron ZooAkron Zoo
Akron ZooHenry's New Bike

Jenn's working on an amazing cake for this weekend. Stay tuned...

Sunday, April 12, 2015

Iceland & Easter

Easter

Lincoln, Lydia & Henry really enjoy cousin time with the Hopwoods, and Ella's birthday party was a good time for them all to catch up. And Em made a darn good cake with some good coaching from the family cake guru.

Ella's Birthday Party
Ella's Birthday Cake

The next country in Jenn's homeschooling/cooking adventure was Iceland. Iceland has some, shall we say, interesting cuisine. It was a two-fer for the kids, in that Jenn made a really neat dinner with lamb & Iclandic bread and then followed up with a traditional breakfast of Icelandic pancakes and yogurt. And it's amazing what these kids retain. Lydia walked up to the globe the other day, pointed out Iceland, and said, "Here's Iceland. And there's the glacier." And her finger was in the 100% correct spot!

Iceland

We're liking the more spring-like weather. Between the hiking and playing outside, it's gonna be a good year, and we're even planning a real garden for the first time in this house. Photos to follow when it's through.

HikeHike
Hike
Mossy Log, Spring 2015

Of course, the kids are always looking for things to do around the house, and out and about.

Lydia Washing Dishes
Painting
Lydia Gymnastics
Easter
EasterEaster

The above photos are from Easter at the Parkinson's in Dublin. I'd like to draw your attention to the long bubble container, Lydia's is pink, that each of the kids got. This is the subject of a big first that I heard just a few days ago.

The kids were talking about wanting to blow bubbles outside, but I was in the middle of something in the kitchen and I couldn't go outside. Henry said, "Aw, now I can't play with my bubbles."

I asked him why not. His reply: "'Cause I can't hold the container with my other hand."

And that represented his first actual complaint about his hand. It made my heart sink a bit. I wonder how often these moments will happen in the future. But on the flip side, it's pretty darn amazing that he's made it to 4-and-a-half years old before voicing his first real complaint.

Jenn and I also have what may be an uncomfortable situation coming up this week. You may or may not know that we've decided to move Lincoln to a new school next year. Most of what we wanted to see out of his current school has simply not panned out. He's had two amazing teachers who have really connected well with him. The overall school environment is just not what we were looking for, and certainly not what we wanted to pay for. Lydia & Henry will join him next year, giving Jenn one destination (cue Handel & his Hallelujah). This Wednesday is our exit interview with a board member and principle of his current school. There shouldn't be too much of a discussion beyond us listing our reasons. I hope I'm proven wrong on my suspicions of it being uncomfortable.

Jenn & Gretel Run