Memorial Day

We went to the lake.










And then we went to Casey's New Orleans Snowballs. Wren got strawberry, I got black cherry, Jane got rainbow, Chase got creamsicle, and Ben got bites of everybody's.

But we ate them too fast to take pictures.

triangle quilt

I finally finished it. It's going in the mail today. Or maybe tomorrow, depending on how terrible the children are for the rest of the day.


I tried to institute "rest time" today. Where they would play quietly in their beds, looking at books, doing puzzles, etc. After they screamed so loud they woke up the baby, and played so rough it sounded like the house was falling down, I declared it a failure and am going to send them outside for the afternoon.


Although the girls get tired of the yard, their brother loves being outside. Specifically the "eating dirt" part of being outside. Which is where quilts come in handy. At least until he scoots his way off the edge.


I am just so deeply bummed not to be there in person, and hold the little baby this quilt was made for. I can't even really talk about it. I'll get there eventually, I'm sure. Maybe I will even leave my terribly behaved children at home when I visit!


And in the meantime I'm sending this. I love you, baby. Our whole family loves you. Be warm! And like triangles!

the graduate

I know it's a little bit silly to make such a big deal out of a kindergarten graduation. I get it. How would she -not- have graduated?


And yet this is also a celebration of her time at this really wonderful school. She's been a student at St. Matts for more than half her life! And a way to say goodbye to these teachers who have loved her so well and taught her so much.


So we did the whole deal. "Diploma," bible, they gave the kids little silver crosses. There was a sheet cake, balloons, lots of running and screaming and inevitably crashing after the sugar rush wore off. There was a slideshow, and they handed out boxes of kleenex on the way into the sanctuary.

It was a nice day. And here we are. In the first week at home, with summer stretching out like a limitless expanse before us...

May God have mercy on us all.

mother's day beaumont trip

It was a tractor riding,


squash chewing...


slip-n-sliding,




cucumber-picking,


garden admiring,




gourd-painting good time.


We had a great Mother's Day weekend, and we were back in town for Jane's soccer game on Sunday afternoon. Where she scored the winning goal! And got the MVP medal for the game! Go Jane!

I hope you guys all had equally victorious weekends, hopefully with lots of gourd-painting too.

McKinney Falls

Water levels were a bit low, and Onion Creek might have been giving off a slightly more "oniony" flavor than usual. Onion rolled in putrid fish maybe? But that wasn't going to stop us!


Something that was going to stop us though, or at least stop the girls, was any bug at all, even if it was just a rumor of a bug. We have got a serious phobia brewing here.


Which is weird because they are totally cool swimming deep into the water and getting their toes nibbled on by millions of minnows they can't see. Honestly? I'd be more worried about that, than about a grasshopper on the way to the car.


But whatever, that's just me. Sitting on a blanket, pulling handfuls of river rocks out of Ben's mouth every 20 seconds.

It was a nice day, and I really hope this tiny bit of rain we're getting is followed by a lot more, so our next visit has a rush at the waterfalls instead of a trickle, and maybe a little bit less eau de low tide.

sisters

Having a little chat.


Doing a silly dance on Mt. Bonnell.


The school year is wrapping up with a very packed schedule for the month of May. I am hoping that between all the parent conferences, and end of school parties, and teacher appreciation parties etc. we have time to breathe and enjoy some time outside. Before summer gets really really hot, and hiking to the top of Mt. Bonnell is no longer a great idea for a weekend afternoon.