Church activity

We had a stick pick up activity at a nearby camp with food and games too for the kids.  I'm loving the outside and the new green everywhere.  And now there's lilacs!  I love lilacs, and they always remind me of my mom Chelsie.  I even have some white lilacs in my backyard.  Beautiful flowers, scent and a beautiful mom.  Here are some more beautiful moms in our church who do so much.  

Last Co-op

We have loved being a part of our homeschool co-op this year and ended up with a potluck and a little bit of a program and art display to show what the kids have learned and done this year.  I joined for my kids to have more social interaction, but they actually did learn!  So it was an added bonus.  And the moms I met there have been a wonderful blessing to me.  Here are the Spanish classes saying John 3:16.  

Spanish teacher Señora Thatcher

Here are two sisters that are as sweet as can be.  Renae and Kim.  

Our special friends Kadyn and Eli.  

And their mom, my friend Carly

Last field trip to the Children's Museum in Mankato.  Brand new and so fun especially with a group.  They learned more about agriculture in Minnesota. 

My favorite part - a Maud Hart Lovelace front porch area.  She is the author of some of my favorite children's books, the Betsy, Tacy, and Tib series based on her life growing up in Mankato with her family and friends in the early 1900's. 

My good friend Katie with her daughter Lauren 

The kids favorite part - a huge treehouse 

Love this!

Kids Perspectives

Ava's highest praise of a meal is when she says, "It's better than pancakes!"  Pancakes and peanut butter and jelly are her two standard favorites.  

Jack said, "Good thing we're having soup today.  It'll help Ava's hoarse breath."   What he meant was that with Ava's cold and losing her voice, soup will help her.  Ha.  That's not what we got out of it!  We laughed and laughed and now he's old enough to be embarrassed, so he didn't appreciate it like we did.  

We were headed to a meeting the other day at a different church, and I happened to call it an appointment.  Ava said, "Ow we getting shots?"  What?  No!  She still talks about the appointment where we didn't get shots.  Kids perspectives are so funny.  Ha!

Saying something like, "Quit pushing each other's buttons" really breaks up an almost argument.  They both stop and try to figure out where in the world are people's buttons and how am I pushing them?

On our friends' motorcycle 

Smith's Greenhouse

We came home with a broccoli plant and a tomato plant, but the odds of us actually being able to enjoy anything that we grow just aren't good.  I'm so much more comfortable eating things other people have grown and nurtured.  But they're not dead yet, so we will see this through until either we have to throw them out or we can give them away.  Again I don't have high hopes for us getting anything actually edible from them.  But who knows?  At least we had a fun time digging in the dirt.  

Full bloom!

And it smells great!  It's been fun to see everything green up and to see trees with the new green buds and some with flowers.  I love this time of year when it feels like you can finally get outside comfortably most every day!  Fairmont is waking up.  The birds are chirping.  All the time.  They're happy too.  

Tooth #5!

Random

Game time for the youth kids.  My phone died, so I didn't get any of the kids playing, but it was fun and fierce!  They had a great time, and we are happy to have such a good group of kids. 

I guess Ava was a bit cold. 

Girl time

Another Metro Women's Center volunteer day.  We filled a couple of hundred bottles for the Amazing Grace Walk coming up soon.