"Wow. Wow. Wow."

This morning, we walked outside, and Noel pointed out some mushrooms that had sprouted up. Mushrooms are a new thing for Sylvia, so I told her to feel how soft they were. She did, and was impressed.
She stood silently a moment, and then in serious amazement, says "Wow. Wow. Wow." :)
She helps me to love this world.

Asher's 12th Birthday

Asher turned 12 while we were visiting my sister in NY. Asher got a harmonica, and so did the little girls. (Sylvia and her cousin Nora). Here they are jamming out.

This is my sister Lisa, her husband Wil, and Nora. They are sporting the latest trend in NY party hats.
My sister was wonderful and got party plates and made red velvet cupcakes for the party. Red Velvet cake was the signature cake of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in NY during the 1920's.

Lisa bought the little girls matching party dresses. They looked adorable, and ready to party.

A Proud Mother Moment...

Tonight the older kids were all playing in the same concert for the first time. Asher played viola with the 6th grade orchestra, and Noel played cello with the 7th graders. The neat twist though, was that for the final song (a joint piece for the whole middle school orchestra: grades 6-8), Mattias (grade 4) got to play along on his electric bass. It was sooooo cool.



There were only 3 electric bass players, and the amp was really cranked up. The song was from the Rocky movies "The Final Countdown". It starts with a long bass guitar slide, and then goes into a rock beat. The electric basses were plugged into an amp the size of a dishwasher, and it shook the seats in the gym. The whole crowd was watching them in awe. These 3 boys led the whole group of 80 plus musicians.



Mattias ended up getting to play, because Asher asked his orchestra teacher if he could. She was wonderful to let him do it. Mattias has only been playing bass since Jan., and has taught himself from a book... so it was amazing to see him work hours and hours this past month, and learn this difficult song. I worked with him to get the right rhythm over and over, day after day.

When he was playing... I was soooo proud! He was standing up next to 2 shaggy haired 8th graders, and was keeping up!
I would hold my breath when I knew a tough bunch of notes were coming up, and then almost jump out of my seat, and squeal at Sean when I saw Mattias nail them each time. Whew. I am glad it is over. My nerves can't handle this kind of stress. :)

All the kids played beautifully, but it was such a proud mother moment to see my little bass player shine.

"Hey Chicken!"

Today we spent the afternoon at our friends house, the Johnsons.

Our friends are chicken farmers, and are raising a new batch. Noel is looking at some chics in a box.


Sylvia has been practicing holding them the past few weeks.. and is now a pro.

She decided to give the chicken a kiss. A second after this picture was taken, the chicken kissed back with a hard peck to her eye. Sylvia decided not to kiss any more chickens.


Noel came along to dig up some strawberries that Brook didn't need. She transplanted them to our backyard this evening.


While the big brothers are inside programming robots, the younger siblings engage in the weekly sport of "chicken catching".

Sylvia and Laura run wildly after the chickens. Whenever Sylvia would see a chicken pass by, she would yell "Hey, Chicken!" and gallop after it. It became her battle cry. For 2 hours, I sat in the sun, and listened to "Hey, Chicken!"

Here Sylvia is trying the sneak approach... She actually catches the white chicken. It is the first one in 2 months that she has been able to catch.





Persistance pays off. Sylvia becomes an expert chicken catcher for the rest of the afternoon. She catches chicken after chicken with her friend, Laura. The chickens were glad to see us go.

Swimming at the Dog Park

The Dog Park is one of our favorite local hang-outs. When the weather turned 70 degrees this month, we let Sylvia wear her swim suit, and wade in the river.

She had a good time making a sand castle, and trying to avoid the dogs playing tag all around her.
Maya was in heaven, with sticks, water, and a dog buddy to romp with.

Much laughter...

Much laughter was heard from Deb and Noel when we went hunting for the fabled "Lone Tree Bluff Scenic overlook" in a local State Park. We followed the directions, and arrived in a parking lot, with this sign posted...


The laughter started when we tried to figure out what was so scenic. :) The picture below is a view from the parking lot of the overlook. We were used to Western U.S. version of scenic overlooks, where you pull over to the side of the road, and look down a mountainside so steep, it makes you dizzy. Overlooking a ploughed farmers field, after a 90 min. drive, made us both laugh hysterically. We weren't sure if this was Wisconsin's idea of a practical joke, or if they were serious.


I had heard there was someplace to hike, so I wandered around the sign, and saw a trail with steps in the bushes behind the sign. We hiked up 89 steps to a hilltop where their was a short interpretive trail. It taught about the glacial deposits that this hill was made from. Still, the veiw from the hill was less than spectacular. I'll bet it will be nice in fall, when the colors change. We will return then.

At the top of the steps, Noel impressed Sylvia with making little finger people with acorn hats and mud. The weather was perfect, and the area was secluded. Not too many people enjoying the scenic overlook this time of year. It will be a trip to remember though. It will always set the standard for Wisconsin scenic overlooks.

Noel: Landscaper Pro

The days before Easter found Sean and Noel working on a 4-H landscaping project. The goal was to get a path put in our front yard, where we always cut across. They were pressed for time, because Sean only had 2 days off, and a rain storm was on the way. It took hours of work, but they did a great job.

Here is a before picture of the front yard.



This was a tough part... cutting the sod, and smoothing the ground. We have a lot of old trees on the property, and an neighbor had to bring over a saw to cut through on huge underground root.




Here they have filled it with a gravel/sand mix, and started laying the bricks. Noel picked them out. They were a great choice.



And finally, a path. It is really nice not to be slipping in mud as we go in the house from the car. Next step... to fill the spot between the bushes with plants, and edge it with stones.




Noel also enjoys indoor plants. Along with a landscaping project she has been learning about houseplants, and starting them from clippings. Here she is with some of her plant-pets.