Down on the Farm with Nana and Granddaddy

The big kids each got a turn driving Granddaddy's tractor while they visited at the farm over Easter break.

Meanwhile, Julia got some work done here:

Office work:

and yard work.

It's good to have a diverse skill set.

Julia reading to her Baybay

"Boy. Bear. Bunny."

"Nana. burr. apple." Oh, and baybay needs a "bow" for her "ha".

Morning walk

I took these pictures this morning while on a walk around the neighborhood.  We were on our way to visit with a friend from preschool who lives just around the corner.  Julia is definitely getting slighted in the picture department, partly because I'm short on time and partly because she's highly uncooperative. 

Pierce's Belated 7th Birthday Post

Pierce turned 7 a couple of weeks ago.  We had a small celebration, and Aunt Cindy, Uncle Chris, Sarah, Brian, and Caroline came to celebrate.  He loves all things Lego and still enjoys Transformers, so that's pretty much what he got for his birthday. 

He is such an enthusiastic little guy and loves to play.  He also loves to read, go to church, learn new things, go to school, watch Lego videos on the computer, and be around people.  He finished up his basketball season, and soccer starts next week.  I think I'll be spending a lot of time in the van during practices until it warms up around here.  He has his second very wiggly tooth; I'm wondering how long he will keep this one in.  He's also enjoying learning piano and seems to be doing pretty well.  Here are some pictures of my 7 year old.

Opening a couple of gifts:

Aunt Cindy got the kids these silly headbands:

Seven candles:

On his actual birthday:

Happy belated birthday, buddy!  We're glad you're ours!

Madelyn is nine!

Madelyn is nine.  I blinked again.  It seems like every time I do that, one of our kids is a year older.  Her birthday was last Friday, and she requested Dunkin Donuts as a school treat to share with her friends.  Smart girl!  She is a smart girl, with or without the Dunkin Donuts request.  She loves school, loves reading, loves to learn. She's doing very well with piano.   She played soccer in the fall and will again in the spring, and she's playing basketball right now.  Her offense needs some work, but she is aggressive on defense and loves to steal the ball.  Her coach called her a thief last week.  She amazes me with her ability to memorize things.  Listing facts as she's studying for a test seems so easy for her.  Maybe it was for me, too, when I was young, but I don't remember it being that easy.  Her ability to memorize scripture for school and her Sunday school class at church is also impressive.  She's a complicated girl, though.  She won't dare wear pants, unless they are leggings under a dress or tunic because boys wear pants.  But, she won't wear bows in her hair of any kind because they're uncomfortable or babyish.  She's pretty quick to tell you what she's thinking, which has its pluses and minuses.  We are constantly working on tone and taming the tongue. 

We had a small celebration for her birthday.  JD's parents, brother, sister, and sister-in-law joined in the celebration.  My parents are coming in a couple of days.  She requested birthday cake and hot dogs as her birthday meal.  Here are some pictures from her day:

Cousin Caroline came to celebrate.  This picture just cracks me up.  Oh, so hard to get good pictures of the kids.

Happy 9th birthday, Madelyn!  We love you!

Another Snow Day

 We've had quite a bit of snow this winter, and we received 10 inches of snow last night.  It's snowing again now, but it is starting to wind down.  The kids played quite a bit.  Julia braved the elements for a little while, but it was so deep that she had trouble moving in it.  The big kids worked on a snow fort for a while and hope to finish it tomorrow. 

Julia when she thought the snow would be fun:

 

 Getting ready to head out:

 

Madelyn was a amazed that she could hide her entire arm in the snow:

 

Pierce conquered the mountain of snow to climb into the tree house:

Lost tooth

Pierce finally lost the wiggliest tooth ever a few days ago.  It had gotten to the point that he was getting so distracted by it.  He had been very resistant to pulling it out.  Finally, I convinced him to let me give it a good pull "just to see".  I hardly had to touch it.  Here he is with only 23 teeth: