Sunday

Maelle and I spent most of the day at church at her First Communion retreat. I didn't take any pictures there, so here is a picture of Chris and Winston. Friday was Winston's second birthday. We didn't do much to celebrate. Chris did get him a new toy at the store. We are so happy to have this wonderful dog in our lives. 

Dive-In Movie

The kids had a fun day with their cousins. We made breakfast which included some delicious bacon from our first set of pigs. A little while later, Chris took Benny and Tony to Benny's soccer game. Maelle, Bella and I picked up Michayla and headed to Hobby Lobby to get some paper to finish Maelle's First Communion banner.  At 5:00 we went over to the pool for the Dive-in Movie fundraiser where we ate junk food, watched Moana and the kids swam in the pool. Everyone had a really nice time.

Cousins

Tony and Bella are spending the weekend with us. They have all been looking forward to this. Chris, Michayla, Benny, Maelle and I met Cheryl and Mark and the kids at Lonestar in Dundee for supper. We were there for a long time, but it was nice to visit with them. We are anticipating a fun and rambunctious couple of days with the cousins. 

Cold Soccer

What a difference a couple of days makes. Tonight's soccer practice was freezing. Well not literally, but very blustery. I anticipated that it wouldn't be warm, so I brought a coat and a blanket. That didn't help much. About halfway through I couldn't take the wind blowing in my ear anymore, so I went and sat in the car and read my book. Benny and the other kids didn't seem to notice, let alone mind, the cold. It looked like they were all having a great time. 

Yearbook

The 2016-17 Herrick Park yearbook is finished! I don't know why I volunteered to do it again this year. I guess I don't remember it taking quite this long last year. Plus, I just really enjoy putts no it together. I have been working on it every spare moment for the better part of a week. This is an extra special yearbook because it is the last Herrick Park yearbook. It is filled with lots of amazing people and wonderful memories. I will miss every single one. Farewell, yearbook! 

Soccer

Tonight was Benny's first soccer practice of the season. He is really excited about his team. I had to leave practice to take Maelle to piano lessons. Thankfully we are switching piano to Mondays starting next week. Although, we will have something every night of the week. Thankfully Chris's job allows him to be home in the evenings to help get everyone where they need to go. 

Piano Practice

When I arrived home from work tonight around 7:30, Benny was up in bed with a headache. Maelle had just gotten out of the shower. I brushed through her hair then asked her if she had practiced the piano today. She had not, and got started. It's amazing how far she's come in just a couple of years. I hope she will continue to enjoy playing like she does now. 

Pigs

Our first set of pigs went off to Jerome today. It was a little bit sad knowing their fate, but it is, of course, inevitable. They are farm animals after all. I'm proud to say they had a great life living on pasture, basking in the sun each day, safe in their shelter each night. We kept them healthy and clean (relatively speaking), and we loved them. We appreciate their sacrifice and contribution to our lives. Thank you, piggies. 

Wiffle Ball at Dusk

Right before bed time, Benny suggested we play wiffle ball. It sounded like a good idea, so we all went out front. We decided there was not enough time for a full game, so it turned onto batting practice. Chris pitched most of the time while Benny, Maelle and I took turns hitting until we got three strikes. At first I was striking out quickly, but after a few at bats I got in the groove. Benny was also hitting more than he missed. Chris took a turn at bat right at the end. As we were walking inside, Benny was asking if we can play again tomorrow. 

Deep Dish

We used to make deep dish pizza all the time, but we somehow forgot about it. It's been years! Tonight we pulled out the pie pans and made some of the most delicious pizza we've had in a while. It had pepperoni and sausage and pesto, onions and garlic. I'm certain we won't forget about deep dish pizza again for a while. 

Headache

Maelle came home with a headache. After taking some Tylenol and resting for about an hour, she felt better. It was obvious she was feeling better when she ate her tacos, corn, and real black beans and then asked for more. After supper she and Chris were being pretty goofy. I'm glad she's back to her silly self. 

Gymnastics

Maelle has been struggling a bit lately in gymnastics. She has even said a couple of times that she doesn't want to do it anymore. We think it's because she has struggled to get to level 3 in some of her events due to her inability to do a few of the skills. Well, she had two good weeks and has moved up in almost all of her events. She wants to continue on with Pre-team, which is good. I hope her recent success helps her stay motivated to keep going. 

Egg Salad

What do you eat for lunch every day for a week after Easter? Egg salad, of course. Chris likes me to make his egg salad for him. I'm not sure why. He says he likes how I make it better than he does. He's not a lazy guy, so I suppose that's the truth. He likes a little Sriracha in his egg salad. I also use stone ground mustard along with regular mustard when I make it for him. I usually add salt and pepper, but I just realized I forgot this time. I hope it's still good. 

Magnolia

This is the gorgeous magnolia tree down the street from school. It was in full bloom today, a sure sign of spring. I think it is one of the most beautiful trees I have ever soon. I have taken many pictures of it over the years. I will miss not driving by it on my way to work each day next year. 

Happy Easter!

It was a great Easter! We started out with Church at 8:30. We came home and did chores then left for Cheryl and Mark's. When we got there, the kids did an Easter egg hunt. We ate a delicious supper of ravioli, meatballs, Italian sausages, bread, and salad. There were lots of delicious desserts too. It was nice to be with family to celebrate Jesus's Resurrection. Happy Easter, everyone! He is risen! ✝️

Spring!

It was an absolutely gorgeous day outside. The perfect day, really. It was 83 degrees with the most wonderful breeze imaginable. I spent a couple hours with the bees making sure they are ready for the honey flow, which is starting. The dandelions are in bloom! I also made a cake to take to Cheryl and Mark's for Easter dinner tomorrow. It turned out great. Chris grilled out on the Weber. Somehow we managed to fit coloring Easter eggs into our busy day. We are now all ready for the big day. Happy Easter Eve!

Louie

Benny made a new friend tonight. I guess we all did, but he took a real liking to Benny. This cute little puppy is Louie. He is Dave and are Rebecca's "grand dog." We were over at their house for supper and cards while the kids played all kinds of fun stuff. Cody came over with his brand new puppy, a chiweenie. He is really cute! We had a really fun night with great friends. The only thing that could have made it better was an adorable miniature cross breed pup! 

SHU Track

Tonight we went to the track meet at Siena Heights to watch Michayla run. Unfortunately we missed the 1500 because they were running about 40 minutes ahead of schedule. The kids and I got here about five minutes after they finished. Michayla got third in her heat. Then the kids and I went to eat supper at Sauce with Jayne, Mike, and Marcella. We brought our leftovers back for Chris who opted to stay and watch the meet. He so enjoys a good track meet. Anyway, the kids and I are now sitting in the car waiting for Michayla's second race, the 5000, which we think will start at about 9:00. It was starting to get very cold and the kids were whining, but didn't want to leave. At least now they're whining in the warm car. Go, Michayla! 

Celebrate! Tecumseh

Tonight was the annual Celebrate! Tecumseh event at THS. It was another amazing success. There were a couple thousand people partaking in free food, performances, and exhibitions of all types showcasing all that is wonderful about this great town. I saw some old friends and enjoyed talking with everyone. I didn't take many pictures, but was really happy to have gotten these pictures of Maelle along with this magnificent artwork. The bird's wings with the colorful feathers were created using individual feathers that were made by every elementary art student in Tecumseh. Maelle even knew exactly where hers was and showed me where so I could zoom in. It has cranes all over it to show her love of origami. The butterfly wings were made by high school art students. They were both beautiful. What a great night! 

New Bees!

I drove to Swartz Creek to pick up our new bees today. That's about 200 miles round trip. It was worth it! I'm so excited to be starting out another bee season. We got three packages to go along with our two hives that made it through the winter. I'm hoping we can do some splits from those in a few weeks. We got all of the bees settled into their new homes with minimal issues. I'm looking forward to trying some new things and learning a lot this year!

Anxious

Before I even got in the shower this morning (at 5:50) Maelle was up making herself some oatmeal for breakfast. She was very anxious and excited to get back to school. Over break she mentioned at least once a day how much she loves school and was missing it. I'm glad she loves school so much. (And I'm really glad she can make her own breakfast!)

Last Day of Spring Break

It was a wonderful relaxing and somewhat productive break. While we didn't do anything too exciting, the kids had a lot of down time (for watching movies, video games, reading, etc...), and I think they enjoyed it. It was a gorgeous day today, and they spent a good bit of time playing outside. From the start of break I had told them that we would get ice cream sometime during break. However the opportunity never quite arose, and the weather was really not all that great. Well, finally we were able to go tonight. It was just the kids and me, as Chris opted to stay home and shower and get ready for work tomorrow. It was a nice way to end a really nice break, and I think we are all looking forward to getting back to our routines tomorrow. 

Farming

Today was a day for farming. The weather was finally nice enough to be outside. First thing this morning, I drove to the feed store and stopped at the bee store while I was in Napoleon, but I didn't need anything. After lunch Maelle and I went out to the beehives while Chris worked on pig fencing. We found the queens in both of our overwintered hives and got three hives ready for the new bees which will be arriving next week. Our overall farming goal for the day was to move four pigs into Butte for a one-way trip to Jerome tomorrow. Unfortunately we could not get those smarties to get into the chute, so they will live to see another day. 

No Snow

We were predicted to get about 4 inches of snow yesterday and overnight. Well, it snowed quite a bit yesterday throughout the day. There was sleet and freezing rain and some legit snow. Thankfully it did not stick. I was not excited about the prospect of even a few inches of snow in April. Winter needs to be done. Our neighbors to the south, i.e. My sister in Ohio, was not so lucky. They got what looked like five inches. It got into the low 50's here today, so had we gotten any snow, it would not have lasted long. 

My Birthday!

Today is my birthday. I turned 42 today. Feels pretty good to be 42. It's been a good year, and I'm looking forward to even better things in my future. It's nice having my birthday during spring break week. This has been a fortuitous perk of having been born during the first full week of April. I was able to sleep in (really just laying in bed for two hours reading), which was nice. Then Benny offered to make me breakfast in bed on account of my special day, which I politely declined. I spent the afternoon mostly relaxing and cleaning my bedroom and closet. We went to dinner at Chomp Burger, and Michayla joined us. After that we came home and I opened my presents and we ate the delicious chocolate cake with buttercream frosting that Maelle and I made yesterday. Yummy! I got everything I was wishing for for my birthday, and I continue to be so very blessed to have so many special people in my life. It really was a happy day! 

Silly Benny

For about a week now, Benny has found a different way each night to be dead when I've come up to say good night to him. The first night he was in his bed with his nerf sword between his arm and his chest. Tongue out precariously. Thankfully he couldn't hold a straight face, so it wasn't but mere seconds before I realized he wasn't actually dead. The other nights were variations on the same theme. Who knows how long he held these poses before I wandered in. Tonight it was this radio, fallen on him in that deadly way heavy appliances can. I barely had my phone out for a picture before he was cracking up, apparently alive. It just goes to show you, these moments, like childhood, are fleeting. 

Silly Maelle

Benny had a friend over today, and they played great all afternoon. They even let Maelle play with them some of the time. When the boys were playing Wii, Maelle was busying herself with other things. She came upstairs dressed like this at one point, laughing hysterically. I'm glad she can entertain herself. I also made a really delicious lasagna for supper, and then we watched one of my favorite movies, The Music Man. I think the kids really enjoyed it, especially because they recognized the song I sing to them every night before bed, "Good Night, My Someone." Good night!

Mutti Visit

My mom drove up to spend the day with us. She also wanted to see the piglets. We went out to lunch and shopping for clothes for Maelle with her birthday money. We ate at Aubree's for the first time. The kids and I got the pizza buffet and my mom ordered soup and a sandwich. It looked really good. After lunch we went to Elder Beerman's. Maelle got some shorts and tops and I got a new purse and wallet. We also stopped by Michayla's dorm room to visit her for a little while. Then we came home and my mom hemmed two pairs of pants for me. She is also going to clean and press Maelle's First Communion dress and see if she can figure out what's wrong with my sewing machine. My mom really is the most amazing person I know. Thanks for coming all this way to hang out with us, Mutti! We love you! ❤

Michayla and the Piglets

Michayla came over to visit this afternoon. She wanted to go out and visit the piglets. She was able to hold this one, out littlest piglet. Unfortunately we have had a couple losses. Three of Miss Piggy's babies and one of Audrey's did not make it. We're not exactly sure what happened to them, but we suspect they were stepped on or something. They all seemed fine and then they weren't. Hopefully the ten remaining piglets will all be okay from here on out. 

Butte

Chris drove 400 hundred miles today to bring home Butte. That's the name of our new stock trailer. While he was gone, the kids and I went to see the movie Sing for free. Actually, it was free for the kids and only cost me a dollar (plus $25 for popcorn and drinks). I really like this trailer. Chris was also looking at an electronic blue one on Craig's List and I thought that was the one he was going to get. Boy, was I relieved when I saw him trailing this Butte up the drive instead.