Planting the garden

We've had some really beautiful weather already this spring so I've already gotten the itch to get out in the garden!  I managed to start a lot of veggies in the greenhouse this year and I think they are ready to go into the ground...

 

So I solicited the help of two of my master gardeners

and we got busy planting seeds for corn, carrots and spinach

as well as planing the peas that we had started earlier.

My kids LOVE peas, especially right off the vine,

so they were more than happy to help put them into the ground!

I am so glad that my kids enjoy being outside, and in our garden in particular, ALMOST as much as I do!  I am excited about our crop this year and am learning more and more about what I can and can't grow as well as what things I know we'll use the most of!

 

Date in Seattle

Kevin and I have been enjoying a concert series put on by the Seattle Symphony this year.  The concerts come about once a month and I always look forward to going to Seattle on a date.  Tonight was the last concert we'll be attending this season.  Kevin had the day off work and it was beautiful weather, so I took a half day from school and we headed to Seattle to enjoy the afternoon sunshine and a nice dinner before heading to the symphony.

We parked at Benaroya Hall, then walked down to Pikes Place Market.  Tourist season is obviously in full swing, as there was a line out the door at the original Starbucks.  Now, I love my coffee and I like Starbucks, but out the door?  Maybe they didn't know there were at least 5 more in a 5 block radius :)  Oh well, I know it's the attraction of the ORIGINAL place that drew the crowd.

We wandered through the market and got a few snacks and of course stopped by one of my favorite places in all the market...the fresh cut flower booths.   My date was sweet enough to buy me a bouquet to take home.  When we were had our fill of the market, we headed down to the piers to look around and eventually find dinner.

After much walking and window shopping we were definitely ready to sit down for dinner.  We had already decided on one of our favorite restaurants in Seattle,  The Crab Pot.  The food is always good here and we usually order one of the feasts.  Who doesn't love having your food dumped out on the table in front of you?!  Lot of fun!  We took our time on the uphill, return trip to Benaroya and then enjoyed the symphony.  One of the things we like most about the series we chose, entitled "Untuxed" was the length of the concerts.  The concerts in this series took no intermission and lasted about an hour.  Now, I enjoy classical music, but an hour is about my limit before I start nodding off!  As the title implies, it was also a very laid back atmosphere and even the folks in the symphony wore casual clothes. As an added bonus for those of us less educated in the fine arts, the lead bass player came out before each concert and talked a few minutes about the piece we would be hearing.  I loved that!   What a perfect afternoon!  Couldn't have asked for better weather or better company :)   What a great date! 

Caps and gowns

This school year seems to have come and gone in a blur!  After auction and spring break, I thought for sure that the last eight weeks would sort of drag by.  Yet, here we are with only five weeks to go and those weeks are packed full of things I am looking forward to.  Our baby is graduation from Kindergarten this year and our school has a special ceremony, just for them...complete with cap and gown.  They tried them on today and I got a sneak peak of the pageantry as they all came in my classroom to say hello!  What cuties!

Especially that tall blonde, third from the left!

 

Here's a close up of my girl in her cap and gown...*sniff*...okay, probably won't cry on this one, but the one in 12 years...that'll be another story!  Congratulations to the class of 2025!

 

Monster trucks

We went to the spring fair yesterday and they had Monster truck rides

so we bought tickets for the kids

We already had tickets for the Demolition Derby that night, and truth be told, when we bought the tickets, we thought there would be monster trucks, too!  Oh well, this was still pretty neat and the kids enjoyed the the derby all the same.  The battery on my phone died about half way through the day, so I didn't get any other fair pictures.  I'm sure we'll be back for the regular fair in September!

Kittens

Our kittens are about 3 weeks old now and since momma cat keeps them in the garage with her, we don't really get to spend much time with them.  They just recently opened their eyes and started moving around a bit, so we waited for momma to leave, then brought the kittens in for a few minutes.

The kids were all pretty excited, since they really hadn't gotten to see them up close yet. 

Of the 5, one of them is grey and this is one that we want to keep!

There is also a very cute, striped one that looks a lot like the momma...maybe we can keep this one, too?!!  Addison sure likes her!  We've already found homes for 3 of them, so that just might work out.  One of the benefits of living on a farm is that our kids have gotten to see LOTS of baby animals!  What a neat experience :)

School daze

 

There are a great many benefits to working at Bethel Baptist Christian School.  At the top of my list is getting to see and be a part of my kids school day on a daily basis.  I love that I can peak in their classrooms at any given moment just to see how they are doing.  I love that I know each of their teachers on a personal basis and, over the years, have called many of them friends.  Such is life in a small school where you attend church with most all your co-workers and all your kids attend class together and are friends with one another.

 

Happily reading!
 

Another benefit is that I find out first hand when there is a struggle or something amiss with my kids.  Each of their teachers this year have made a point of keeping me posted on not only their school work, but also when they are having an especially good...or bad...day.  Our usually very social and active kindergartner recently decided that she didn't like school.  Odd, she has always been the only one that wanted to go!  She complained about going for several days in a row, so it was no surprise when her teacher stopped by to chat with me.  "Addison has been one of my top readers this whole year, now all of a sudden she wants nothing to do with it..." she said. Hmmm, something is definitely wrong so I spoke to her that evening and in a rather round about way, I discovered that she was finding her reading difficult and just didn't want to admit it.  So she and I got her little reader out and went over it maybe 10 times....she was in homework heaven!  I honestly think that we had been focusing so much on the boys during "homework time" that she was getting a little jealous.  Well, that and she was confusing some of her long vowel combinations.  So now, while the boys are busy with their homework, she gets out her book and reads to me while I make dinner or works on her cursive writing along side her brothers.  Funny how a little work can make you feel more accomplished!  Thanks Mrs. Sears for taking the time to tell me about my girl!

 

 

Sunday best

I love Sundays!  Kevin and Raymond are usually up and out the door to work on our church's bus ministry long before these two sleepy heads wake!  Anyone with kids knows that with each combination of siblings comes a different dynamic...while Zachary and Addison usually bicker when all three kids are together, they get along surprisingly well when it's just the two of them.  On this happy day, they were getting along famously and we'd all managed to get dressed and ready for church without much to-do.  There they stood, waiting for me to get my shoes on and chatting amicably enough when I looked over at them and thought, "my word, but those are some good looking kids...all dressed up for church and happy to be doing so!"  There are days I'd like to lock them both in their closets and maybe find a quiet spot for myself and there are days like today... when I know I am blessed and I can't image loving my kids any more than at that moment!  I think Sunday brings out the best in us all :)

Bike time

These two were up and at it EARLY this morning!  Dressed and on their bikes at 7:30am.  They both recently learned to ride two-wheelers and we've promised them a "bike ride" once they are stable and relatively self-sufficient on our gravel road.  I guess they want to take advantage of their time and get some extra practice in!  That or avoid homework, which is usually part of our Saturday morning routine :)

 

Uncle Steve

Kevin doesn't get the chance to see his family in Michigan very often, so it was a nice surprise when we got a call from his sister Linda's husband last week saying he'd be in town on a business trip and would like to meet up for dinner.  But, of course! Uncle Steve (not to be confused by my brother, Stephen, whom my kids call Uncle Steve as well) was working/staying in Bellevue so we decided to meet him in Tukwila, allowing him to avoid much of the southbound traffic at dinner time.  We picked Red Robin, since is a long time favorite, easy to find and I knew the kids would really enjoy it.

They had a million questions for Uncle Steve who happily answered them all and we enjoyed a nice evening.  I'm hoping he'll bring Aunt Linda and cousin Stevie out for a visit next time!  We sure would love to see them ALL!

Spring Break!

I've really been looking forward to Spring Break,especially since we finished up all the auction work...I guess I just really wanted a break!  The first couple days were pretty low key, just hung out at the house with the kids, did a bit of housework and poked around in my flower and garden beds awhile.  Today, the sun finally came out, so we headed to the park to play awhile and enjoy the fresh air.

We chose Sprinker since it has a nice playground

for my little monkeys

and more importantly, a basketball hoop for my up and coming basketball player!  Raymond is playing on  a junior league at school (pics of that later) and loving it so he was excited for a little extra outdoor practice.

Here's hoping the rest of the week is just as nice :)

 

 

Greenhouse

Last year, my sweet husband bought me a greenhouse and I used it a bit, but this year I was determined to get a jump start on the growing season and started some seeds earlier than I normally would just to see how they fared in my fancy new greenhouse.

There are broccoli on the right and peas on the left.

 

And a week later (the tray on the bottom left of this photo is the same tray of starts as the picture directly above it!  Growing like gangbusters!  I am making a concerted effort to grow only what I know we will use...the first couple of years I planted a garden, I planted EVERYTHING and a lot went to waste because it was simply stuff we didn't eat much of.  This year, I am growing salad items, as well as some zucchini, peas, beans and herbs.  New to us this year are going to be potatoes but since we use a lot of them, I figured I might as well as give it a try.  I'll take photos of the potato cages we are attempting just as soon as I get them put up.  And I can hardly wait to start my tomato plants!

 

 

Easter Sunday

I love traditions and look forward to many different ones thoughout the year.  One of my favorites, if I had to pick one is Easter Sunday.  We get to sleep in just a little longer since church starts a half hour later to accommodate a special Easter service.  Then after church, rain or shine the kids have what our Pastor likes to call an "Easter egg dash"...not so much a hunt because it is thousands of eggs strewn across a field and then kids run out and collect as many as they can.

Here is Zachary  

and Addison collecting all they can.

 

Another part of the day is gettng a few token pictures with friends.  Some of them we've taken the same picture each year.  One of these days, I'll have to round them all up so we can see they years pass by.  It might make me cry though...kids are all growing up SO fast!

And after the egg dash, we host a family dinner at our house.  I love that everyone still gathers for holidays!  It's one of the few times each year that we all get together and I always enjoy spending time with my mom and brothers.

This is Addison and one of her friends from school.  They were really enjoying the beautiful weather and a chance to get outside together!