Garden season

It may not be a surprise to hear that I planned to finish our school in early May so that I could be out in the garden this month!!  Good timing, too, since this week we've had fantastic weather.  Here's a glimpse of what we have going right now:

I need to plant my raised bed (herbs and flowers this year)
and when we get the bike shed, the honeysuckle and
hydrangea will be planted at the perimeter.

"just a few" flowers to plant (these aren't even any of my vegs)

peas are doing well

Our onion harvest that overwintered...Marcus had to pull them
up so he could till the gardens.

A glimpse of the tilled garden.  Hood strawberry plants are
on the left side of the fence, and perennials all along the other
side (you can see some purple and yellow columbine.  This
year we will have perennials and annuals all along the garage wall.

Honeysuckle along back fence.

Look!  Do you see what's hiding in my strawberry patch???

With this hot weather, it won't take long....

Some more varieties of my lilacs are coming on.

tiny cherry

blueberries are looking good (plants are still small though)

You can see the 3-tier strawberry patch on the left.

We're looking to redo this 2nd level area, hopefully this
summer.  I'd like to take out the lawn, add a small 3-sided
"tea house" (to be like a playhouse/theater), and expand the
bark play area a little bit.

My babies are liking the sunshine and hot weather.
(My first time starting tomatoes from seed; I saved seeds
from my heirlooms last year.)

Summer Break begins....

We just finished up our 32nd week of school, which means we are done for the year!!!

Well, sort of.  We'll be using the rest of the month to study for the standardized tests that Bunny and James have to take in early June (3rd and 5th grade as required by Oregon).  I have a few workbooks that they will go through, to get used to the format.  Content is not my concern (I know they're smart, and if they miss questions because of content then it's just because I haven't taught them that subject yet, no big deal) but I do want them to be familiar with the idea of testing.  You know, filling in bubbles, eliminating the obviously wrong answers, looking for traps, etc.

After testing we will continue on with "summer school" which will mostly be catch-up.  Off the top of my head, I think James has to finish history (mostly reading), Bunny must do most of her subjects (we slacked off this year!), and Mariposa will finish math and a little phonics.  Normally this would stress me out, but I don't mind for some reason this year.  I know it was my "fault" and that I really want to start the new school year on target, so we will work hard to finish the work.  Besides, I don't want them to sit around all summer anyway!

Here is a glimpse of how Mariposa has been enjoying her time off:

And a view of what I've been doing with "all my free time:"

Marcus installed this spice rack (from Amazon)
and I wasted no time filling it with my sprinkles!

We will continue to have Mrs. N come 3 days a week (like normal) which will give me time to do the school work and tackle bigger projects.  Today, for example, I ordered the bike shed, worked in the garden, worked on a landscaping projects plan, and did some correspondence.  Other projects for the summer include general clutter-busting, clearing out the barn, working towards our landscaping projects, and adding to our home furniture (especially the master bedroom and the living room).  Marcus and I also want to go on a LOT of dates this summer (thanks to Hannah being home!!!) and also really enjoy the kids in everything (else) that we do.

Yay, summer! :o)

A Perfect "10" for Mother's Day

I have found that the key to a perfect Mother's Day is planning (at least when you have a gaggle of young kids and a very busy husband!).  This year I came up with 10 things that would make it a perfect Mother's Day for me:

#1 Go To Mass

#2 Have brunch with family

Every year we host brunch at our house to honor my mother-in-law ("grammae").  Luckily my in-laws help with food and this year I didn't bake dessert or make munchies, which was great because Marcus and I could concentrate on the hot food (eggs/taters/English muffins/bacon).  Meghan made her famous "cinnamon roll" cake and some bagel appetizers, and Nicole brought donut holes as well as crackers and dip.  My father-in-law ("papa") brought great fresh fruit and a bottle of fine champagne.  A great morning to honor grammae!

thanks for the fruit, papa!

#3 Get Presents
My kids and husband are so generous!  :o)  I got homemade jewelry, a hedgehog garden stick, seeds, lip balm, Sour Patch Kids, a poem, and a bird feeder.  

 #4 Read

This is the book I'm currently working on...
a great nutrition book, if a bit lofty in its goals.

 #5 A Nap
#6 A Chocolate Malt
...which meant a trip to the Cruise-In Country Diner for dinner!!!

 #7 Take a Walk
Rood Bridge Park was perfect for that!  Wooded trails and a great playground.  Sedric didn't even know what to do: he kept running around from play structure to play structure.   He had a blast!

#8 Garden
Right after church I went outside to cut some flowers, so I guess that counts.  I wish I could've actually planted something! but I got time in the garden and that was very nice.
#9 Watch Some TV
Marcus and I try to sit down about once a week, after the kids are in bed, to watch some TV together.  It's really the only time we're both sitting still (and awake) at the same time.  So I wanted to incorporate that into my special day.
#10 Sew Something
Sedric is in desperate need of new bibs.  I meant to make some "boy" bibs when James was born, and I even went as far as to cut the material, but I never sewed them up.  Now, 9 years later, I'm still using (ratty old) girl bibs for Sedric!  So this is the first of hopefully many boy bibs I'll be sewing:

So there you go!  A perfect Mother's Day!  And it really was....

The Very Hungry Butterfly

Mariposa wanted me to chronicle her trip to Colorado through food....

on the first flight

trying seaweed (she didn't like it)

tuna sandwich--grandma had left a can of tuna from her last
trip, and Erica and Carter are vegetarians so we helped them out

oatmeal for breakfast

Mexican food before the Children's Museum 

chili night!!!

lots of s'mores on this trip (Carter has
a microwaveable s'more maker)

ooh la la!!  tres bon!

saturday market hot dog and mango lemonade

scone at the market

at the cupcake shop in Longmont

first class lunch--chicken sandwich with sriracha mayo

Becky&Mariposa in CO--Saturday

Our last day in Colorado!  Carter made crepes for us, yummmmmm!!!

A few of the healthy toppings ;o)

A run after breakfast (I was standing at the end
of their driveway, house to the left).

out and about for more adventures

For our Saturday adventure we went to the Boulder Saturday Market, Longmont version.  :o)  All the same vendors but at the fairgrounds--easy parking, lots of room, very nice!!  I wanted to buy everything but since I was catching some flights in a few hours, I knew I couldn't carry it all on.  :o(  I did pick up some Horsetooth hot sauce for my oldest son, though!  

tuckered out from all the activity

 And finally we got to see downtown Longmont.  We visited some of Erica's favorite places, including the candy shop and the bakery.  :o)  You would think we're sisters!!

And after that excursion, Erica took us to the Denver airport.  Marcus had upgraded our flight to Seattle to the first-class section :o) so we were traveling in style.  Mariposa really liked it:

Our next flight was not so glamourous, but
it was still fun...we had to board outside,
in the rain!!!

We made it home at 7pm and were greeted by some enthusiastic kids and a tired husband.  :o)  Marcus did a GREAT job holding down the fort, and at home I found the house clean and the laundry done!!!  Maybe I should leave home more often....  :o)

Becky&Mariposa in CO--Friday

Friday was another full day!  Honestly, I don't know how Erica has so much energy!!!

Playing with V before her morning nap.

 Erica wanted to take us hiking, and she had just been to a great place: The National Center for Atmospheric Research.  It has nice facilities for, well, "using the facilities" (changing diapers etc.) as well as a mini science museum about weather.  The trails are extensive but we just took a super-short loop to get the idea.

We first picked up sandwiches at Snarf's.

Lunch before our hike.

Lots of cacti!  Not something we see at home much.

We felt like mountain goats.

Erica is pointing to (about) where she lives,
out there in Longmont (we could see Haystack Mountain from here--she lives right next to it).

Inside the science center

 Next was Violet's 6 month doctor's appointment!  We went to the same hospital where she was born--it was VERY nice.  Here's our chubby baby:

 She got shots as well, but I did not take pictures of that.  :o(  Poor baby!  After going home for a bit, we were off again, this time to a performance of the Niwot Community Semi-Marching Free Grange Band.  Ha ha ha!  Niwot is a tiny town nearby, and all the band members are in it just for fun.  They all had different old marching band uniforms, so funny!

Niwot Market is mom and dad's favorite hangout when they
visit Erica, I am told.  :o)

Carter, Violet, and Mariposa watched from the car
(I mostly walked around, took pictures, etc.).

We have a future semi-marching band member here....

Carter picked up pizza on the way home, and after dinner we relaxed and watched a movie.  Perfect day in Colorado!!!