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!

I know it's a weed...

But really, they are pretty.

Especially when you have a whole field of them... like our backyard.

Sadness

We lost a kite today. Well, not quite. We know where it is... at least 20 feet up in a tree in our neighbors yard.

We have a pretty open backyard but if you let go of the string then it's not so good. The kite got away from Marissa and I gawked a few seconds too long before I took off after it and it is now stuck. What a bummer. Maybe if I can make friends with someone who owns a bucket truck.... or a local firefighter... Maybe we'll just enjoy it flying in the tree.

Playin' at a park.

Back when the weather was warm... well, it's warm again but we did go through a cold snap (not as cold as some places because at least we didn't get snow, although it got close)... I took the kids to a park. I figured they were tired of playing inside and the yard really doesn't have much to offer. They had a good time and so it was a hit. It's right next to the Saginaw River so we took a walk to look at the river as well. Ben is really wanting to go fishing - memories from the island and our neighbor, Will. It was a nice afternoon.

I would have put captions in for all the pictures but they are pretty self explanitory and I'm sure you can be just as clever (or more so) than I so just enjoy! We had a nice time.