Happy Spring, Part 4

Well, believe it or not, it was warm just yesterday. We spent the afternoon eating lunch on the trampoline, raking the lawn, working on the tree fort, and cleaning up the perennial beds. But today, more rain mixed with SNOW!! My brother Nate called and said ,"Does God even KNOW it's almost May??" We decided maybe someone forgot to get Him a calender for Christmas and He really is mixed up. :-) At least today it isn't "sticking".

Ehh...What's Up, Doc?

I told the kids recently that they are allowed to get veggies any time they want, without asking, for a snack. This is so helpful in encouraging them to eat more produce each day. (Thanks, mom, for doing this when we were little!!) Carrots aren't Isaac's favorite veggie (actually, he prefers broccoli), but a while ago when I was unloading the produce coop box, he requested that I keep the tops on the carrots instead of snapping them off as usual...and Voila!! Isaac's eating carrots!

(Please take notice of our little "grow operation", as Jeremy calls it, in the background. Do you think we'll EVER get to plant these seedlings outside?)

Angel Escapes

This morning when Ryley woke up, he didn't see Angel in her tank. He began looking, and found her on the shelf below the one her tank rests on...sound asleep on his Palm Tree Leaf hat from Hawaii. She'd somehow escaped in the night and climbed down to the next shelf. I knew there

must be some important reason for all the clutter in his room!!

Ownership

A couple of months ago, I decided to break our main living spaces into "stations" and assign one to each kiddo. Now, in addition to their regular morning chores, when it's time to tidy the house, each one has his or her own room/space to be responsible for. It's been fun to watch them begin to take ownership of their own stations. This weekend, while at Lowe's, they asked if they could each pick out their own plant to "beautify" (my word, not the boys'!) their spaces. This morning, they painted their terra cotta pots.

Happy Spring, Part 3!!

Well, believe it or not, this is the very same table we ate lunch at on Wednesday in our shorts!! Yesterday (Friday), April and I left at 7:00 am to go to Anchorage for the Curriculum Fair.

When we left, the weather was nice, but by the time we got to Anch, the rain was pouring down. In a very short time, it turned to big heavy snowflakes. We had a fun, full day, with lots of shopping. Because April had taken her snow scraper out of her van, we used my flip flops to scrape. We decided that one benefit of having them was that, unlike a scraper, they come in pairs...one for each of us!! The snow accumulated to about knee depth by the time we rolled out onto the sloppy/icy roads at 11:00 last night.

Robin of Locksley

Josiah made a target for himself the other day. He got it all set up and began his target practice, from a good distance away. He persevered...until, FINALLY...a BULLS EYE!!

Happy Spring, Part 2

Yesterday (Wednesday) was beautiful. We enjoyed our first of many lunches out in the back yard in the sun. We read a book during lunch, then the kids hopped down and ran back to continue working on their tree fort. Alas, this weather is not quite here to stay...the forecast for the weekend is rain mixed with SNOW!!

Inspiration

"All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education."

-Sir Walter Scott

This morning I was mixing up some granola to stick in the oven and Anna was playing with the Scrabble tiles. (She's been having so much fun spelling words with those tiles lately.)

I turned around and walked past the table and this is what I saw. I asked Ryley who spelled all those names. He said that the other three spelled the ones they could, and he helped them spell the rest. This is the HEART and CORE of Leadership Education!! These little pieces of "fruit" in my kids' lives are what spur me on to continue on the course of a Thomas Jefferson Education!!

Go Where Everybody Knows Your Name

Just now, Anna was telling me that she knows our phone number. Sure enough, she does! So, following her lead, I began asking her other pertinent information. Here's how the conversation went:

Me: Where do you live?

A: Wasilla, in Alaska

Me: What is your mama's name?

A: Sarah Coke

Me: What is your name?

A: Anna

Me: Anna what?

A: Anna-Elisy-poo!

I guess anyone who really loves her would agree that this is her name...even little cousin Quaider-Patater!!

Happy Spring!!

Well...it's snowing...in April...again. After living almost 14 years of my life in Alaska, I really should know better, but I was beginning to think it was finally Spring. Jeremy thinks this is as much accumulation as we've gotten in one snowfall all year!

The kids wanted to go out and play, but Anna reminded them that we put our snowpants and boots in the crawlspace and brought out the mud boots in their place. Maybe we'll have to take a trip "down south" to retrieve them.

Grandma and Grandpa Steele

At Eklutna One Fine, Spring Day

We were so excited and thankful that G & G Steele (Dad's mom and step-dad) could come to visit from Tucson, Arizona. It's been about four years since we've seen Grandma, and almost seven since we've seen Grandpa (which means Isaac and Anna have never met him until now!)

We had a great time together, and I so enjoyed visiting with Grandma and catching up on all the cousins and their families.

One afternoon, we drove to Eklutna and did a bit of mild hiking along the still-frozen lake. Usually it's a bit chillier up there, but the day we went it seemed warmer. There was no wind, and the sun was shining. Except for the mud, it was perfect! (Of course, the kids thought the mud was the icing on the cake.)

Evenings found us at home sitting around the table or fireplace with a big bowl of popcorn, playing games.

Thanks so much for coming, G & G! We Love You!!