Yup slowly but surely we are working our way to current life… it has just seemed like the year has slipped away before we could truly grasp it! But on I go… May…

Well, what happens in May? Mother’s Day… that is the big one.

Mother’s Day dinner with Nana and Baba

But we had so much more going on… Spring means sunshine and park days! We do have a couple nearby.

It also means (in Texas), roses are big, gorgeous and mailable… Gammie has always sent us beautiful blooms from her garden that seem to make it in record time for the most part, smell and petals intact!

Garage sales have started back up as well. A goldmine for books, toys and the odd piece of clothing… especially when they are walking distance.

The hot find for this year – LITTLEST PET SHOP pieces! Trinity and Echo are now addicted to them. Odd little bobble head things.

Miss Trinity completed a couple workbooks, as did Emanuel.

We dressed up fancy for church, especially when there was singing to be done for the Cherub Choir!

Scouts figured highly in our activities around the month of May… anything to fulfill Emanuel’s arrow points. This is a game where you throw washers into a pie plate. All the kids enjoyed that one! Noisy though.

One of Trinity’s birthday presents was a knot it yourself fleece blanket with a Hello Kitty theme. Trinity was such a go getter with this one – her goal was to finish in time for the Family Night movie at the YMCA… she made it!

Miss Echo was gifted a lovely selection of shoes thanks to the Schwartz family’s neighbour! What a blessing!!

We took the whole family for a special outing to the carousal at one of the smaller malls.

The kids rescued some free chairs from the end of the neighbour’s drive as well. Decent condition and rather comfy!

May also marked the beginning of this year’s straw bale garden. Nana and Baba are gone so much now they figured they would set it up and let the boys go with it. The results were… varied… but they did enjoy the process of setting things up, planting and such.

It is surprising how quickly winter melts away around here. The kids are always quick to embrace that change, really they are quick to embrace each and every season with a great deal of enthusiasm.

Cousin Robbie even found the time for a visit! A college student now we see a lot less of him but the visits we do have are terrific!

We ended the month with a trip to the zoo (Como) with Aunty Shandai and Uncle Ravyn. Sometimes a place takes on a whole new experience just by adding some amazing company. So sit back and enjoy the inevitable photo overflow!!!! Happy May!!! (belatedly!)

We picked a busy day and had to park away and take the shuttle which the kids LOVED

Sea Lion

this little guy was all over the place within arm’s reach!

Bonsai!!!

You can find the rest of the month’s images (many from the zoo) HERE. Can’t resist sharing these!!!

And of course we spent a lot of time with the Schwartz family! Even met the neighbour’s baby.  Now that we have snow it is fun to look back at all this green warm sunshine!

Don’t forget Home Depot with Daddy and Baba!

And our time with Kites and the Wind (resources HERE).

And tons more but instead… a few more pics and then bop up to that link at the zoo section and see the overflow! Bask in the warm images with our cold winter just beginning!

Trinity’s birthday party (note Novak boys)

Two new blue bracelets!

Feeding the Starving Children with Scouts

Easter shoes thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Mike!

Merry Christmas (belatedly) to you and yours! As usual I am behind on my reporting but I am making a real try to catch up… just you watch, November will spontaneously pop up one of these days! And then you will be in the know again!

Anyway… Christmas Day for the Reinsch-Johnson clan. It was a different one from our previous ones here in Minnesota. First off because we really did not have extended family beyond Nana and Baba here for the day or eve. In the previous years Christmas Eve was our time with Ken’s Uncle Moose, Aunt Colleen and their two kids. But this has been a rough year for Moose (Paul) and while he is on the mend they were really not able to come over for the traditional Ukrainian meal of potato soup and perogies. It was probably for the best as this December has been one of illness for the family. So many yucky colds! But thank goodness we were assured that he is better and home again.

Of course we DID enjoy our meal… and the company was wonderful as was.

That evening we did put out our cookies and milk for Santa. In our new pj’s.

Echo and Ken spread Reindeer Food out on the lawn since we went to bed without a speck of snow to be seen really.

Christmas Day was just the household and it was wonderful. We did not manage to Skype with Gammie as she was having issues on her end but we did text back and forth and take some pictures of the openings.

Amazingly enough with two countries and multiple states we did not have any duplicate gifts this year! Each and every one was well received and I can honestly say I have not seen the kids happier.

We had calls with both sets of grandparents… Alberta and South Carolina. As well as a lovely chat with My brother James and his wife Holly… well mostly Holly. Even a peek in on Cousin Jimmie.

Dinner was a delicious turkey and trimmings thanks to the hard work of Nana and Baba. But for the most part after the excitement of the great toy opening it was a nice, quiet and relaxed day.

Enjoy the overflow!!

August 18-24

The girls are over the moon with their mini fashion shows. We are so spoiled that Gammie can and does send us so many outfits.

In celebration of Jeff being here AND he and Daddy being busy in the sub basement we had an outside lunch on the front stoop.

Right after that I realized that We had missed a rather special LARGE present that had been mailed previously from Texas. I think she got the most excited opening this one. The way it was rigged up the large caterpillar sort of popped out for her. Instant favourite.

That evening we had special plans. Jeff headed out with Chris for beers and visiting and the rest of us were off to Aunty Judy and Uncle Jim’s for a special family celebration of Echo’s 4th birthday complete with a cake made especially for her by Uncle Jim! He works for the Pilsbury company and makes an AMAZING cake!

I really can’t think of a place the kids get more excited about visiting than “Robbie’s House” and he wasn’t even there that visit!

In the morning the kids pitched in and worked on Echo’s birthday present from Jim and Judy – a Barbie lego set! With a little blue pool.

We continued our learning… mostly shark related…

And then we paid each of the kids and extra dollar of allowance to spend the week pulling weeds! What an efficient crew we had out there from the biggest to the smallest.

And the guys continued their gaming… interspersed with cleaning out of the sub basement. This all went SUPER well until they were at the tail end and found… a leak. Sigh. I am so proud of Ken for jumping in an working so hard to create space and organization in our world. This new and improved healthy Kenny is AMAZING.

We had company on Wednesday, well additional company. Robbie and Alicia came over for dinner and gaming. The kids are in love with these two, rightfully so. And it is doubly amazing that they can enjoy boardgames with us.

I found a spare moment and finished up a special wallet for my Renaissance Festival outfit. It will loop around my handle so that I won’t lose my ID etc. I love it, I altered a basic billfold style wallet pattern to fit what I needed and there you go – no lost nothings when I go out this year!

There was time for playing outside AND checking out the garden with our guests.

All this while Ken and Jeff made us dinner – Curry and a yummy sort of pudding pie. SPOILED US!!!

On the 21st you can check back and see our Treasure Box we got in the mail from Grandma and Grandpa Mike HERE. We evened that day out with Munchkin (game) and time outside.

All the weed pulling led us to tweezers and patience as we removed burrs that attacked everyone pretty equally.

The kids have been loving another adult in the house. Especially one that knows all about Canada. Eases the homesickness a little, just like Grandma’s Canadian Treasure Box.

What a week!!!

Really… can we keep Jeff forever? Because Ken has been so positive and the kids and I have enjoyed the company so much! We had all of Saturday and half of Sunday to enjoy with him and some lovely weather.

But then it was time to say good bye! Definitely a hard one… I don’t think anyone who visits us down here really realizes how much their visits and packages mean to us. A taste, touch, sound of home… thank you so much everyone for remembering us!