I know I know… BELATED but I AM catching up and it WAS a special Mother’s Day for me…

May 11

It seems we have set a precedent with our busy May weekends. BUT this was Mother’s Day so it was a special kind of busy… First off we had to head to Sunday School. There was a parent meeting about VBS and the following year’s Sunday School during class. Even Echo came along to enjoy the various people at church. In fact, next year she is going to be in Sunday School for the very first time! And it looks like she will be in VBS this summer (end of June) as well.

After Sunday School we headed home to take our yearly Mother’s Day photos. I think we all looked rather spiffy!

And then it was time to change out of the finery and leave Echo with Nana and Baba for the first part of the really MOMMY centered portion of the day. We got out to Lochness Park (seriously! But no unknown monster in the depths sorry!) to begin what we hope will become a lifestyle change for us all – GEOCACHING!

I have wanted to try out this GPS based treasure hunt for a year now… but until we had to upgrade our phone we really could not do it. Amazingly enough Minnesota has thousands of cache locations for us to find and explore. Some are micro where you just sign a log, some larger where trinkets can be left and taken.

I sat down and made sure to make up a few marshmallows (crochet) to leave at the nicer caches. The kids have also grabbed some of their small and not favourite toys to leave behind as well.

Amazingly enough I was the first one to find a cache!!! Talk about appropriate. And the excitement, the working on keeping our eyes open… the out and out exercise coupled with a treasure at the end has everyone in our family absolute hooked!

We ended our circuit around the lake with lunch in the vehicle out of last year’s picnic bag (awesome purchase from Target). And it was time to head home for an amazing nap and dinner from the family’s favourite Chinese restaurant.

And boardgames with Daddy

Happy Mother’s Day to all you Mommies in our lives… a special call out to those titled ladies in our kids’ lives – Grandma Reinsch, Grandma, Nana, Great Grandma Rapp, the God Mommies: Darcy, Christine, Xinny Karyn, Esther, Ada and Bree… Thank you so much for taking on the responsibility of being a support to the kids. We love you all!!!

March 18-23

MARCH 23RD HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!!

This was a pretty nasty cold with more and more kids getting sick. So Tuesday was not an improvement on Monday. However we did finally have our green lunch! Just as dinner.

And then… MORE SNOW!

I also finally got my labels up on the shelves. I am already seeing  this help with organization… the bane of homeschooling… you never get everything put away, there is always something on the go so if I can organize SOMEWHERE then I am going to hop up and do so!

Wednesday was doubly rough with teacher succumbing to the nasty bug. So we… rested!

We did try to get more on track on Thursday.

The twins even managed to complete their United States state books. Not much more than an introduction to each state (half a page) and such but it was a chance to see them on a smaller scale than a whole country map.

We brought out the Time Bingo game I got months ago for a dollar at Target and saw some huge leaps in the ability to read an analog clock.

We ended the week with a Family Fun Day. The usual… check out the yarn at Joann’s, run into places we had coupons for…

And a wander in one of the smaller malls.

We had toyed with going to ride on the carousal but the kids were certainly not up to that treat. Instead we went to the food court and got the kids cinnamon buns to share. That is a SUPER treat as I think it has been nearly a year since they have had something like that. I lucked out and found a Japanese place that is almost as good as Edo Japan… and something TRINITY liked! Sauce on the food and all!!!

We have our daily laundry chore to handle.

And then a movie to round off our fun day.

On Saturday we had Matt, Fran, Izzy and Henry over for afternoon snacks. Everyone gets rather excited when we know they are coming. It is really one of our best chances for play and visit for kids AND adults and I am so thankful for it.

Sunday was Sunday school and then car building. Sadly it was the twins’ turn to be absolutely out of sorts and for the first time in ages require naps without being sick!

The best way to end a sick week/weekend… quiet play! And the prayer that we ALL get better quickly!! After all spring is here… in name…

Bit of an emphasis on games lately!

February 26-28

We have, in the past, done full out units on Dr. Seuss’ birthday. This year we decided to really just enjoy some worksheets and books. There is something amazing about first of all sharing these books I remember from my childhood with the kids but ALSO watch the twins read these stories to their siblings themselves. Quite the tongue twisters at times but Gavin toughed it out and bit by bit read through an entire book.

In the middle of a week we have to find some interesting activities to add to our routine. The girls went the tent route.

And the boys decided to give a Lego boardgame I found online HERE a try. I love this one, it uses reading, creativity and math skills to create an activity all the kids can enjoy.

We have found ways to make EVERY day enjoyable really… everything from tents to games to climbing on Daddy when he is on a break.

And then back to reading.

We took everyone out to run errands… Miss Echo was VERY pleased with her 1.00 sun hat from Target. Quite the find!

And that brings us to March! As I look back at February I see a flexing sort of learning. We have looked at Valentines Day, discussed China in amazing depth… talked about the Olympics and continued with our swimming and had a blast with Scouts. Ken is healthier than ever and our decision to stop expanding our family is one we have fully embraced. How blessed are with to have 2 months of 2014 with so many wonderful and positive things! Now to continue the trend!!

Baby in a suitcase???