Memorial Day Weekend and beyond

Memorial Day weekend was hot, hot, hot here.  But that didn't stop the adults in our family from working outdoors as much as we could.

While I worked on fruit trees, Matt worked very hard to finish building the chickens' pen.  Of course, this project (along with many of the others I have asked Matt to take on in years past) took longer and was more work than we anticipated.  But it's finally done!  It looks great AND it's about as predator secure as he could possibly make it.

The chicks have officially moved out of the garage and are loving living outside all the time.  (Actually, we aren't sure if all five of them are girls at this point.  One of the darker ones is developing some traits that appear to be more rooster-like ... hmmm.)

In the midst of the work, Matt and Ethan were able to partake of Matt's birthday present from Ethan - an evening at the racetrack!

The boys left on Sunday evening around dinner time for the Tournament of Destruction at the Jefferson Speedway.  Events included backup races, bump and run races, and spin to win.

From the stories they told and the videos they shared, it sounds like the two of them had an awesome time.  Surprisingly, our 5 year old didn't have too many adverse effects after staying up way too late that night.  Way to go, third child!

On Monday, Kate and I participated in the Memorial Day parade in McFarland, while the other three watched (and collected candy).

The longer we live in this community, the more people we know and recognize during events like these.

The rest of last week was full.  After finishing up thinning and bagging the fruit on our fruit trees, I realized that our garden had been almost overrun by weeds.  But, most of Wednesday was spent in the kitchen catching up on food tasks since it rained most of the day (and made the weeds grow even taller!).  Then, Thursday was an "Anna appointment day" ... a.k.a. appointments, visits, meetings for Anna from 9:30 a.m. straight through until 4:30 p.m.  At least Ethan, Anna, and I made the most of it by having an indoor picnic while waiting for her AFOs to be adjusted and then an ice cream treat before therapy.

But ... Ethan and I played in the pool just the two of us on Tuesday afternoon.  That was fun :)

By Friday, I needed to work in my garden, for many different reasons.  Ethan helped and I felt a lot better by the end of the day; days like Thursday still drain me mentally, physically, and emotionally.

While Ethan and I worked on Friday, the girls participated in Waubesa's yearly Olympiad (field day).  The weather was beautiful and it sounds like both Kate and Anna have some good memories from the day.

That evening we even managed a family campfire to round out a full day for everyone.

Saturday was another work day in our home, with the kids pitching in whenever and however they could.  For the afternoon and evening, we hosted our book club, which included lots of playtime and a cookout.  This group of kids is pretty cool when they get together.

Now we're into the LAST week of school for Anna and Kate.  There's a lot still on the list of "things to get done before summer officially starts."  Yikes!

Whew!

The last week has been a whirlwind, as will be the next week, and the week after.  I had an idea that the end of May and beginning of June would be a bit tricky, but there wasn't much we could do about the timing of life.  It just hasn't helped that all of the gardening tasks were pushed back due to our cold April, and now have sped up due to the record heat.

After Kate's birthday celebrations, we headed down to Illinois last Sunday for our nephew's confirmation.  Congratulations Mark!

Since we can do this trip as a day trip, we opted for not staying overnight anywhere.  Unfortunately, though, we had terrible thunderstorms/rainstorms on our drive down.  Thankfully, we made it to church in time and were able to enjoy one of Chris' last Sundays as pastor of this congregation.  He recently accepted a call to a congregation in eastern South Dakota, close to where Matt's parents are moving after Grandpa Mischnick's retirement!

The service on Sunday was wonderful and we were glad to be able to worship with many family members, as well as to enjoy time with everyone after the service.

Not only did we get to spend time with the Navurskis family and Grandpa and Grandma Mischnick, but we were pleasantly surprised to see Matt's Aunt Kathy and Uncle Martin for the second time in just a few months.

It's always a riot when these two sisters get together :)  Matt, especially, enjoys their bantering and reminiscing.

It's still hard for us all to believe that Mark, the oldest of the Mischnick grandchildren, will be in HIGH SCHOOL next year. 

Back at home, the girls had a short week due to staff development on Thursday and Friday, and Ethan was home with me all week since his preschool is over for the school year.  In between various outdoor and indoor tasks, Ethan and I managed a few different bike rides during the week.  During one of those rides we had to stop to let a turtle cross the trail :)

During another, we had to spend some extra time in the tunnel so we could play with our echoing voices :)

Thursday was a somewhat busy day, with friends coming over in the morning, and then Anna's therapy appointments in the afternoon.  There wasn't nearly as much driving around town as there typically has been on a Thursday, but there also wasn't a lot of time at home to tackle various projects.

Matt took Friday off of work to deal with some of those things and by Friday night, the kids were showing us with their actions, and telling us with their words, that they wanted a Friday family night activity.  We ended up riding our bikes down to the lake and spending time down there together.

The mile or so ride home is mostly uphill, but Kate made it the whole way without stopping and Ethan only had to stop to walk his bike up the steepest part.  Anna needed more of a boost from Matt than anyone, but she completed the whole ride.  Way to go, Anna!

Since Friday, the weather has been HOT.  Not only did that mean the air conditioning was turned on, but it also meant that our pool warmed up enough to play in!  The pool has gotten use each day of the weekend thus far; pictures of that will come soon :)

The girls only have a couple of more weeks of school before summer break officially begins, but this extended weekend has given us all a taste of how the routines and expectations will change once that time comes.

Happy Birthday, Kate!

On Wednesday, May 16, Kate turned 9 years old.  Only one more year until she's a two digit kid :)

During the last year, Kate has continued to grow in her confidence in all areas of life: academics, friendships, independence, etc.  She has continued with piano lessons and has jumped into the world of 4H.

Kate is still a kind, sensitive, active child who has a silly, typical kid sense of humor.  She also takes on the role of the "bossy" sister with both of her siblings at times, and is a stickler for accuracy (especially in terms of what others say).  At this point in time, Kate tells us that she would like to be an author when she grows up and she would also like to own lots of cats.

Wednesday started as a special day for Kate, finding 9s all around the house and opening cards/gifts from family in the morning.

Ethan was very in tune with what Kate would like this year.  Sure enough, Kate was SO happy to get more little animals with which she tells imaginative stories for hours on end.

One of my treasured memories of the morning is from when I dropped the girls off at school.  As we pulled up to our handicap spot, two of Kate's friends were waiting at the crosswalk with a happy birthday cheer to welcome her.  Our girl has found a nice group of friends this year :)

The afternoon included plenty of free time and then our first dinner of the year on the patio, by Kate's request.

Since the birthday girl had requested corn as part of her birthday meal, Ethan and I picked up some of the first corn on the cob at the store in the morning.  The kids were all thrilled.

A delicious dessert and more time to play outside rounded out a beautiful birthday for our dear middle child.

Kate wanted to have the opportunity to celebrate her birthday with some friends this year.  After thinking and researching a little, we decided to pick the girls up from school on a Friday afternoon, visit The Madison Greenhouse Store to make terrariums, and then come back to our house for playtime, pizza, and cake.

The first thing I learned was that having five 3rd grade girls in the back of the van can be LOUD, but fun.

This group of girls had a wonderful time investigating the store, making their terrariums, and waiting for everyone else to be finished.

While the last girl was finishing up her project, the others found a bin of rubber ducks and sorted them.  The cashier was actually grateful for this since our group pulled out all of the Irish ducks left over from St. Patrick's Day :)

The rest of our time back at home was filled with energy, excitement, laughter, running, and smiles.  The girls were very kind about including Ethan in all of their active activities, playing upstairs, downstairs, and outside.

Matt even joined in the fun for awhile, although he learned that picking up and swinging around 9 year olds is more challenging than it was when everyone was smaller and lighter :)

Sprites were a special treat all around, but everyone was glad to toast Kate.

Kate opted for our tasty homemade chocolate cake as dessert.  Everyone agreed that it was delicious.

The evening ended with the whole crew (Anna included) around the table working on some perler bead creations.  We were thankful that the rain held off until after most of the party was through, and were also thankful to get everyone to sit down relatively quietly for a few minutes :)

The tiredness at the end of the evening and the smiles all around were proof that this was a good, memorable evening.

Happy Birthday, once again, sweet Kate!

The end of preK and the beginning of summer (sort of)

We are fully into the fast-paced time of year now.  Each week, each day, seems to be filled with its own excitement for at least one member of the family, often times for more than one.  Here's a few quick updates about life leading up to today.

Last week ended with several rainy days, which helped water in much of the garden and bring forth many of the trees' leaves.  We opted for a Friday night movie night and *finally* watched The Sandlot with the kids.  For Kate's week as special person, she claimed that The Sandlot is her favorite movie; I'm guessing that she would have claimed whatever movie we had watched most recently :)

Saturday the rain held off so Matt was able to finish most of the frame of the chicken run while I finished spreading the rest of the mulch.  I think I did a bunch of other stuff, too, but I just can't keep track of it all anymore.  The chickens are still growing and doing well.  They enjoy whatever "free range" time they can get, but are getting harder to catch now that they are bigger and faster.

The family treated me very well for Mother's Day.  In addition to the kids' personalized cards and poems from school, I also appreciated the chocolate treats with pictures and notes that have been hidden around the house.  We're not sure if I have found them all yet ...

Monday my parents came down for the day to help with some things around the yard, but also to attend Ethan's preK recognition night.  My dad built the frame for the door to our chicken yard while my mom weeded.  She really does love weeding :)

PreK recognition night was great.  Ethan had a nice group of kids in his class and two wonderful teachers.

In watching him participate in the end of the year activities, we notice again that he is definitely his own kid and different from his sisters when they were his age.  He is kind, inquisitive, energetic, and a goof.  We love him.

Wednesday was Ethan's official last day of preK, complete with the family picnic.  It may take us a little while to find our daily rhythm together again, but I'll be glad to have fewer time constraints to our days.

Sunshine and Rain

Although we are still several weeks behind in terms of spring's plant development, we can officially say that the warm weather is here to stay.  Since last week, we have had several days of rain followed by plenty of sunshine and warmth, with another round of rain today and more predicted for the weekend.  With the late start to spring this year, much of our annual spring yard work has been crammed into a few weeks, with a couple of larger projects added into the mix.  Needless to say, Matt and I have been busy building up our strength and stamina during the last few weeks :)

One of the projects for this spring was to add mulch under the drip line of all of our fruit trees.  After we had a visit from an expert (who also happens to be a fellow Valpo grad), we learned that we should do this in order to ensure the health and optimal production of our trees.  Last week we had a HUGE load of mulch delivered in the driveway and I worked my way through it last week and over the weekend.  Some of it is still there, but it's raining today so I can't haul more mulch :)

Just about every day that was possible, the kids found a way to play in and with the mulch pile.  Mountains, cliffs, avalanches, etc., were all enjoyed.  (Ethan also helped me haul some mulch on Friday, but he had more fun playing with the girls on the weekend.)

Another major project is the chicken yard, which Matt designed and is in the process of building.  We have the space and desire to give our chickens more room to roam than a typical commercially built coop, so Matt is working on creating a predator-proof structure.

Speaking of the chickens, they are continuing to grow and thrive (we hope).  When the weather has been warm and dry enough, the chickens have been spending time outside in a small pet cage to help them get accustomed to the outdoors and the ground.

The chickens LOVE this time.  The kids do, too, because it means they can handle the chicks as much as they want to.  (Disclaimer, when the kids are not right next to them, the chicks are actually confined in the cage!)

In spite of the nice weather, the girls have still had some school work to keep up with, although I'm hopeful that their teachers this year will continue to reduce the amount as we get closer to the end of the school year.  At least everyone has a nice, sunny place to do their work.

PreK doesn't exactly have extra "work", but there are plenty of extras this time of year for Ethan, too.  In fact, Tuesday was the annual field trip to the zoo for the preK and 4K kids.  Ethan asked me to go along and, even though there were plenty of things I could/should be doing at home, I decided that the field trip was more important.

Ethan, his buddy Madison, and I trekked around the whole zoo for a couple of hours and had a grand time.

Well, except for the last 30 minutes or so.  By that point Ethan was pretty tired and, since Mom was his chaperone, he got grumpy and ornery.  Oh, well.  The memories from the first half outweighed the struggles.

I'll close with a quick garden update.  My broccoli plants have all miraculously survived, after several different setbacks.  We'll have to see how they produce this year, though.  The onions and peas are up, but we haven't seen the potatoes yet.  I planted the first half of the green beans this week before the rain, and Ethan helped me get the tomatoes into the garden on Tuesday afternoon.  Last night Kate and were finally able to have a small serving of our asparagus.  Yum!  We decided not to grow sweet corn this year, with the plan to just purchase some to freeze in August.  This means that we have loads more room to grow the rest of the food!

Spring!

Spring has *finally* sprung here in south central Wisconsin.  It's so hard to believe that just two weeks ago we were in the midst of a snowstorm!  But that time has officially passed, and with the thunderstorms that went through the region overnight, the grass has turned green and it actually feels a bit more like spring.  Hooray!

The kids have thoroughly been enjoying their time outdoors.  Bikes, swings, sandbox, tower, driveway, and grassy yard have all gotten plenty of attention and playtime.

(Check out this girl's new glasses!)

Although Ethan doesn't exactly enjoy getting cleaned up the evenings, I consider it to be a good sign of his activities during the day that he needs a shower every evening these days :)

The chicks are all healthy and growing.  They made the transition successfully over the weekend from the basement bathroom to the dining room, and have even spent a little time outdoors getting used to the grassy/ground.

They have not only provided entertainment for the kids and adults in the family, but Rusty also has spent plenty of time watching over the girls :)

In addition to the excitement of the weather and the chicks, we were able to celebrate Matt's 40th birthday as a family on Monday.  (A larger celebration is planned for later in the summer.)

Gifts, tasty food, and a celebratory lunch were all included on his actual birthday.

Matt even humored the kids by wearing his special celebration accessories when we went out to lunch on Monday.  The kids were SO excited to celebrate with him.

The day ended with a meeting ... ugh ... but not a work one.  Matt and I spent Monday evening at the middle school, along with many other 5th grade parents, to learn some of what to expect when our children enter 6th grade in the fall.  I'd somehow forgotten how much planning and communication goes into these kinds of transitions for Anna.  As Matt reminded me when I was starting to feel overwhelmed, the transitions always work themselves out, it just may take a little longer for Anna and her team to find their rhythm.

In the meantime, we will enjoy the experiences of May, for all of the family.