Rainy day pictures.

I just had to take some pictures the other day. It was raining but looked really neat. So I thought I would share. It made me happy to take some pictures - I don't do it nearly as much as I did on the island and I miss it.

We had a robin couple build a nest at the top of a gutter, under the protection of the roof. They ended up having 4 babies and they grew really quickly. They have left the nest - one morning they just weren't there anymore. There is one still around the house that flies a bit but hops around and is still being fed by the parents. I don't know what happened but it has been neat to watch it.


Here's the fat baby bird.


I loved the look of the haze.




New growth on our pine trees, with pine cones and rain drops.

Drops in a puddle in our front yard.

The only yellow tulip in our yard. We had one other tulip, a red one, but it's gone already. I really want to plant more for next year. We'll see.

These little delicate flowers are growing in our front plot.

My neighbors red maple. There are lots of these around town and I really like them, with the green contrast of the other tress and the grass.

Video Game Memories

While we lived on the island, Ben had the pleasure of playing video games at a friends house a few times. Since we don't have a gaming unit of any kind he was not very experienced in any way. He still enjoyed it. Today, while eating lunch, he shared a memory with me. He was going on and on about a game where there seemed to be a lot of killing/shooting. Then he said there was one game that didn't have much killing. "There wasn't any killing, except for one part but it was in defense, mostly. You tried to stay alive but I wasn't very good at that." I just thought it was funny.

Really Sleepy Girl

I have gotten into a bad habit of not giving Kemiah an afternoon nap. Not really a big deal because then I put her to bed right after dinner and she goes right to sleep. The other night Kevin had her sit down at the table while we were finishing preparing dinner. After a little bit, Kevin laughed when he walked into the dining room and found this...


Yes, we even got video of it because her head was bobbing until it would finally come to rest on the table. I laughed at Kevin's commentary as well as the dozing Kemiah.

I did move her to the couch, after we recorded the event, and she took a little nap. After I was done eating dinner, I woke her up so she could eat something before I put her to bed. Sweet, sleepy girl.

Bones and Brains

I like to go over the kids bones while they are laying on the floor or where ever. I'll start at the toes and tell them what bones are in their toes, feet, ankles, legs, and so on. They usually laugh a lot so it's fun for them and they are learning at the same time. This morning, I did it to Xiomara and when I got up to her neck, I told her it was attached to her skull. She said, "That protects my brain so it won't get eaten." (It was something like that.) Yes, I guess that's what the skull does, but I'm not sure why she thinks her brain is going to be eaten.

Learning to crochet

The older kids and I sat down yesterday to start learning how to crochet. The hardest part is learning how to handle the yarn. It was a little scary how crazy Ben and Emily were about the difficulty of the learning process - perfectionists who thought they should be able to do it correctly the first time. I won't go into details because I can happily say they got the hang of it and did much better today. They are practicing chaining a long chain and then they pull it out and try again. They are all excited to actually make something but I told them they have to learn the basics first before they can just start with a project. Hopefully they'll see that I'm right as they get better and the project is actually fun to make because they know what they are doing. They were very excited to show their Dad how well they could chain.

Kemiah just wanted to be involved in the picture taking. She was being so silly, with her trusty baby, Logan.

"Mom, watch me!" Kemiah declared as she went over the edge of the couch after Logan.

What sweet children I have. We'll probably do some crocheting after lunch today! Maybe we'll move on to add some different stitches.

Another birthday come and gone!

Marissa was very excited for her birthday and had a hard time picking out her cake. Once that was decided we were all ready to celebrate. Kevin picked up the gifts, but there was one that I had to do some work on. He got her a crochet book with some fun projects so I had to decide which one and get some yarn and equipment. Of course, we knew the other kids would want to join in so I had to have enough for all the crew. I ended up making her a bag for the yarn, book and other things and it was really fun.

Birthday morning (which was Saturday), we had pancakes with smiley faces topped with vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream which she chose. Believe it or not, I didn't take pictures (so sad). They had blueish eyes with red smiles. All the kids loved them! Her birthday card from Grammy and Gaffa arrived in the mail by lunch time so she enjoyed opening that, with an audience.


I handed out balloons late again but they loved those as well! It's nice when they are so happy with the simple pleasures. They really enjoy blowing them up and then letting them go so that they fly around the room. Kemiah had fun until she hurt her ear while trying to blow hers up.

We went food shopping after breakfast, and since all the kids enjoy doing that it was fun for them. I really need to get better at involving them in the shopping process rather than just carting them around the store. Then maybe I would enjoy the trip, too. (I was not very good about taking pictures - I'm becoming a slacker!)

Once we got back home, we had a little lunch, made Marissa's cake and made the pasta salad for dinner. It was fun to spend some time alone with the birthday girl. We were able to compromise on the cake... She wanted it cut into the shape of a ballerina and I said it would be great to just have their plastic dancing girls on top of the cake. She went for it and we were both happy.


Kevin came home in time for dinner, which we had a little earlier than normal so that we could then have the party. She blew out the candles, and enjoyed opening the presents. All the kids were excited about the new books - I'm pretty sure they have all read the ones that Ben got so it was time for new books. She was very excited about the double Nancy Drew book that the extended Roy Family got for her.

Kevin sat down with them to read one of the books that she received. The kids really enjoyed it and it was fun to watch them get excited as the story went along.

It was a nice day to celebrate Marissa being in our family. She is a very caring, kind, affectionate, friendly, smart person who is willing to help in so many ways. I'm glad she is with us and really glad that she enjoyed her special day.

Children's Zoo

Yes, we made this trip back in April but I'm just now posting about it. In my defense, I tried posting before but it wouldn't let me add pictures - and what good is a post about a visit to the Zoo without pictures?! Anyway, here I am getting it done and I'm sure you will feel better, as I do. Of course, our Zoo is not like what you think of when you think ZOO. We don't have giraffes, elephants, rhinos, zebras, lions, tigers and bears. No, no. We have cows, llamas, goats, Clydesdale horses, miniature horses, emus, kangaroos, eagles, white wolves, some kind of monkey, alligator, penguins, peacocks, coy fish, ducks, and a sand pit where the kids can dig and play while looking for fake fossils. Oh, we also have a train and a merry-go-round that you can ride for free if you have a membership or you can pay a few dollars each time they want to ride. I'm thinking the membership would be good because we can save lots of money if we go more than 2 times during the year. Besides, the kids like petting the animals and feeding the horses. Even Xiomara (who was afraid of our little baby chicks when we first got them) was reaching out and touching the horse. The day we went was really perfect and we had a great time just walking around, seeing the animals and playing. And it was a free day so that was even better!



Ben checking out a llama. There were two, one black and one white, and they had really awful teeth. Apparently they haven't been to the dentist.


Emily trying to feed the horse some grass that is on the ground on our side of the fence.


Marissa was happy to pet a cow but none my other kids would. We saw lots of cows on the island but they didn't want to be touched so I guess she was really happy to finally touch one.


Xiomara's moment of bravery. She actually did it several times because I had a hard time getting a picture. Finally I got this one!


Kevin had a headache after our trip to the Castle Museum so he went home and kept Kemiah with him so she could take a nap. I just had these four kids.


Here are some of the animals. It was too cold so the alligator was in its indoor habitat.


Male peacock in the groundhog habitat.



Emu taking a rest. I thought it looked interesting with it's feet underneath it.


The two kangaroos just laying around.


The caged penguins not in their full habitat because the workers were cleaning it.


The kids in the sand pit. It was nice for me to just sit and watch them for a bit.


So that's it. Thanks for enjoying our trip. As I finished this up Kemiah was sitting on my lap and when she saw a picture of the kids all together she asked, "Where's me?" I just thought it was cute that she wondered why she wasn't in the picture.

Moving right along.

Ben earned his first bead in Cub Scouts at the April Pack Meeting. That means he has completed three of the 12 requirements. He is close to getting a second bead at the May Pack Meeting so he's moving right along. Once he completes the Wolf requirements, he'll move on to the electives to earn the arrow points. Those will have to be sewed onto his shirt so he'll have lots of practice sewing. Way to go Ben!