Beautiful Day

Andy, Janelle, and Seth came this weekend to have a belated birthday celebration for Seth. He was very excited, but when anyone said Happy Birthday to him he would quickly say, "It's not my birthday anymore." --We celebrated anyway!



Saturday was beautiful, so we spent most of the day outside. Kaitlyn and I started with an early morning run, followed by a family game of softball, PIG(basketball), bike rides, trampoline jumping, and a fire for roasting hot dogs and making smores.



The weather was beautiful, and the day was perfect!



And to Casey's picture at the top-center holding the big long stick thingy - You might be a redneck if you duck tape a roasting skewer to a broom stick to roast your hot dog. Alex was nice and called it ingenuity. Either way, it was the most sought after roasting stick of the day...

Boys-n-Sticks

I knew when we bought our house that I really liked the lot, but what I didn't realize was how many hours of entertainment would be provided simply by the fallen tree branches.



I wish I had taken pictures when we first moved in, but Cody and Ryan would find big long sticks and sharpen the tips on our driveway to make spears(really sharp). Ryan would collect piles and piles of these spears and would have to hide them from Casey, who upon finding them would throw them into his fire-pile(where all sticks eventually end up).



I am now watching three little boys during the week, and they also have become enchanted with the sticks in our yard.



On any given day the sticks are wands, lightsabers, swords, bows, guns, and yesterday they were building tools for Avery's house of leaves.



Young and old, the sticks are treasures to be found.



Each day adventures are made...



And many times arguments are had over whose sticks are whose.



But one thing is for sure - battles are fought, enemies are defeated, and lives are saved if they can just find the right stick.

My Handsome Scouts

February was National Boy Scout Month, so the boys wore their uniforms to church this past Sunday. I have to admit, even though I was a cub scout leader for a little while I'm clueless when it comes to the whole scouting program. In preparing for Sunday I found 6 badges that needed sewn on Ryan's uniform which had probably been missing for months. He has the wrong troop number on his shirt, because it's Cody's old one and THANKFULLY Casey offered to sew Cody's merit badges on his sash or they would have come out looking a little crooked and not so pretty. At least, they have good leaders and enjoy the scouting program. Hopefully mom can catch up soon.



Cody has just submitted his papers to be approved for his Eagle Scout project.



And Ryan just earned his Bear. So proud of these Handsome Scouts!

Quail Eggs

Quoting Andrew Zimmern of Bizzare food Ryan said, "If it looks good eat it" as he ate his 4th quail egg of the morning.



Every year Casey teaches a class called, Birds In Our Lives. For a part of the class he gathers quail eggs to marinate into different flavors.



Ryan loves to be a part of the preparation process in watching Casey boil, peel, and flavor the eggs. And there is always a few left over for a Saturday morning breakfast.





Ryan thinks of them as bizarre because of their small size in comparison to chicken eggs, but actually they are a delicacy in many countries, including western Europe and North America. In Japanese cuisine, they are sometimes used raw or cooked as tamago in sushi and often found in bento(a single-portion takeout or home-packed meal common in Japanese cuisine) lunches.

They are similar in taste to chicken eggs with the yoke being a bit more creamy, and
if anyone wants a sample there are plenty left for trying....

Sick at Home

Ry as been at home sick for the last two days. It's sometimes hard to know if Ryan is really sick, or if he just wants to stay home because Cody did the day before. Yesterday he did lay on the couch most of the day and looked a little pale, so it was believable. But today he has managed to gobble down a bowl of cereal, 2 oranges, 1 pancake, a grilled cheese, applesauce, and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich(to which he replied...maybe I should've ordered toast)---all before noon!

I think tomorrow he will be back in school.

Kisses for Mom

I'm not sure if it is because he is the last child or if it is just his personality, but Ryan is not afraid/ashamed to show his love and affection to his mother in public. When the other children started school that was the end of the hugs, kisses and holding hands with mom, but when I dropped Ry off at his circle drive in front of the school this morning he said, "love you mom." And then, as he's walking in and I am driving off he motions a kiss to me, waves and watches me drive away. Such a sweetheart, and I LOVE IT!

Christmas

I'm having a bit of a Christmas hangover in the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in(not having to wake up to the sounds of an alarm clock) over the break. Having to re-train myself to get up early again has been painful.



We had a wonderful time shopping, making gingerbread houses, playing at Pump It Up, a picnic at the park, shopping, cooking, a trip into Madison, shopping, Hot-n-Fresh Krispy Kremes(Thanks Andy & Janelle), playing games, shopping, visiting with friends and family, afternoon runs, and just spending time together.



I was a little lazy in taking pictures, because I was just enjoying the time. I already miss it and am looking forward to next year when we don't have to be anywhere or do anything. We can just relax and do whatever it is we feel like doing together. It was perfect!



We wish you all a very Healthy & Happy New Year!