In the Merry, Merry, Month of May

Lots of nothing and everything all at once over here.  Chemistry is done for the year, 

May Day! May Day!  They wanted to "do something fun."  So they helped me make sugar cookies and I let them waste use sprinkles.

 Emmy insisted that she wanted an Elsa cake for her birthday, so we looked at some cake pictures online.  She would not be dissuaded... so I borrowed their Elsa barbie.  Jamie suggested using rice crispies for the skirt instead of trying to bake or sculpt the right shape cake.  (We made cupcakes too, don't worry.)

 Meanwhile, back in the living room, this little squishy can reach the piano.  

 My little baker wanted to help make her birthday cupcakes.

 It was chilly, but they had to play in the playhouse with the dishes Grandma Kathy contributed to the cause.  

 Our last day of class was all about Electrochemistry.  I spent Thursday evening testing homemade batteries.  This is my favorite- a stack of pennies, vinegar soaked felt, and washers generates enough electricity to light up an LED. 

 Elsa got the rest of her slightly ombre skirt... and Emmy really wanted her to have snow in her hand. 

 Bob was home on Emmy's birthday and helped the girls fly their kite.

 Eating "chewy heads," aka air heads. 

 Happy Birthday to Emmy!  

 Three years old already... crazy.  

 Opening presents with little sister's help.

 And big sister's help.

 I made her a doorway puppet theater from an old curtain and fabric scraps and they put on several "shows" for their captive audience.  

 They added the ponies and Baby to their cast.  

 Once we got the yard mowed, we moved the playhouse out under the trees.  Isn't it so cute!?

 Sunday after church we went to the farm for Emmy's party/Mother's day.  Grandma Kathy gave her toy cleaning supplies... haha.... (Melissa and Doug makes everything.  They've been using them in the tub and they loooove 'cleaning'.)

 Uncle Jake gave her a "bone-in-arrow!"  A compound bow, no less.  

 And shooting lessons.

 Jack wanted in on the fun too.

  We had driven over a piece of wood in the road on the way to the farm; by the time we got back home one tire was flat. Ugh. So Monday morning was spent shuttling car seats and borrowing vehicles and getting the van to the "tire fixing place."  And then Emmy had her 3 year checkup at the doctor.  We stopped at DQ on the way home because it was necessary.   

 Is anybody home?

 Watching Marci's tree come down.  And being like the big girls...

 The peonies are blooming! The peonies are blooming!

Bob invited Dang over Saturday afternoon.  The girls insisted they play tag and hide and seek.  Ha.

Sunday was a quiet day and then we all woke up with a bad case of the Mondays.  So we went to the park for lunch and a change of scenery.  It was warm... and they don't look enthused, but they were sooo excited.  There was another family there with girls to play with and they had so much fun.   

In the afternoon I built a picnic table!  I mostly overcame my fear of the circular saw... 

 Cadence approves.  It's not perfect by a long shot; I'm hoping a good sanding will help with some of my wonky cuts.

 But, it's so cute!  And I made it all by myself!  #howhardcanitbe #stubbornwysswomen

 They were begging to go swimming after supper but we don't have the pool out yet.  They settled for the sprinkler, or, "the magic water door."  Odd children.  Hehe.  Look how lovely and weed free the garden is!  That won't last long.  

 Little squishy was content to watch from the stroller.

We went flower shopping yesterday and bought all of the flowers.  Or tried to.  And Cadence tried to eat every plant she got close to.  *sigh*  Good times.
Blessings.

Three little kids for the flavor

Well April showers better bring May flowers, and make the garden grow and all that good stuff because it is wet out there...

We had a good Easter weekend.  On Thursday we celebrated Passover; the girls were super excited to eat on my "fancy dishes" and drink sparkling grape juice.  I did not let them use goblets though- I'm not that crazy.  "This is a feast!"  (Of which they mostly just drank juice and ate deviled eggs.) 

Mom and Lena and Jack came over on Friday for a little bit.

They decorated some cupcakes with Grandma.

Jelly beans! Frosting!

Then they dyed eggs- Jack got to dunk a plastic egg in water, seriously the best idea ever.

The girls were very confused about going to church on Friday evening... is it Wednesday? Are we going to eat lunch?  Haha.  

Saturday we went to Koch Easter.  The big girls had a great time with the kids and the bounce house (Cadence loved bouncing too! So funny!).  I got stung by a wasp.  Woe is me.

Checking out their Easter baskets on Sunday morning.  The books they got are wordless and the pictures are really cool, which I love.

Little squishy was more interested in the paper Easter grass... she got a book of animal poems, one of which is titled "Cadence."

Oh man, we tried to get a picture of the girls in their matching Easter dresses....  there are 20 more that are equally terrible.  Haha.  I'm so glad I wasn't wasting film!  

We didn't have plans after church so it was actually a delightful and relaxing afternoon.  Cecily and Emmy wanted to hunt for eggs, so I hid empty eggs a couple of times for them.  Cadence approved of the sunshine and soft grass. 

Sometimes they would share an egg with her.

Such a lovely day.  

When it's nice out we go outside and pick all of the flowers.

She's already figured out that if you touch the screen, it lights up.  *sigh*

What is this??  I'm not sure about this dandelion crown at all!!

She was soooooo mad that she couldn't get the doors to open.  

These doors are a little bit easier... 

We had to mow already.  And we had to get the picnic quilt out and eat a snack and nap and play in the sandbox.  Emmy is afraid of the mowers because they are loud; she was not interested in the earmuffs though, so Cecily wore them.  

Like I said, we pick all the flowers.  #noblossomleftbehind  

First porch picnic of the year!  

This cupboard is a little bit more difficult to childproof... she was so pleased with herself though and I was almost done with supper...

We borrowed a tiller this year and Bob tilled up the garden.  It seems huge this year, but it's not any bigger than last year.  We planted potatoes, onions, and beans so far.  The girls pulled a bunch of random seed packets off the rack to plant later.  I don't think we have room for squash, watermelon, cucumber, and flowers.... and they don't even like squash so I don't know how that one got in there.

Ooo!  We used the girls' Christmas money from the Greats to get a playhouse!  Bob was up late one evening putting it together.

They are so excited!  

They haven't gotten to play in it much yet since it got cold and rainy. 

I found another toddler swing on varage sale because someone is completely uninterested in learning to use a regular swing and in taking turns with Cadence.  

We've been married for 8 years!  

There's an old song the Statler Brothers sing... "Then add the wedding bells, one house where lovers dwell, Three little kids for the flavor, stir carefully through the days, See how the flavor stays, These are the dreams you will savor!"  
We didn't do anything this year, but no one was sick, so it was a good day!  :P  I got flowers... I gave Bob an antique bowl that I liked because the traditional 8th anniversary gift is pottery or bronze and I needed an excuse to buy it.  Hehe. 

Cadence has hit the 8-10 month sleep regression and the  9-10 month growth spurt at the same time.  Woot.  I just love waking up for 1.5 hrs at 4am.  Or twice a night.  And naps are all over the place and completely unpredictable.  Delightful.

It is funny when she starts to fall asleep in the high chair...

Getting a little stir crazy on these rainy days.

But when we make them go outside they just stand there (and shiver).

We only have one more week of Chemistry for the year!  Crazy!  Last Friday we talked about Equilibrium and they sort of laughed at my joke... *sigh*  We babysat with our potluck in the evening which is always a chaotic fun time.  
Then we had a quiet rainy Saturday and a quiet rainy Sunday, which I love.  
Blessings.

April showers

I really don't mind a slightly rainy spring.  If we didn't have rainy days, I would get nothing done inside the house.  As it is, I'm down to one room left on my spring cleaning list, plus washing windows.  Woot woot.

They do get a smidge stir crazy so we all went out during a gentle rain.  

They thought it was great fun. 

 Until they both tripped and got their hands/clothes muddy and suddenly the world was ending and they needed to wash their hands.  *Sigh*  I'm raising a bunch of city slickers.  

Sometimes I'm pretty sure they aren't listening at all when I'm reading library books... then they "read" them to each other and they repeat every detail.  

 Little squishy is fond of garbage cans.  This bathroom has a pocket door that she can open by herself. 

 Finally a sunny day!

 Life is good when you've got green grass, bare feet, and a cozy quilt.

 The girls and Bob requested a Zelda cake for his birthday.  Sooooo.... I attempted to make a shield and the "tri-forrest" symbol with colorflow icing.  I've never done colorflow before and I didn't plan far enough ahead so it didn't turn out very well at all.  Oh well.  Live and learn.  

I had one nap to work on it so I didn't have time to let the outlines dry before switching colors...and the colors bled. Then I put it together waaay to late at night.  The buttercream consistency was off for piping and my clever leaf border ended up looking like random blobs of frosting.  When BOTH of my shields broke I threw up my hands and said forget it, shoved the broken pieces on the cake and called it a night. *Sigh*  It was a cool cake in theory.   

They didn't mind the imperfections. 

 It's a miracle!  They are playing outside without me!  Haha.  One of them is not very independent and the other one I don't really trust on her own.

We had communion on Saturday and the older girls got to go to the farm for the evening.  I took them over after lunch so Cadence could play too.  The cows were very shy and Emmy was afraid of tractors (even the ones parked in the shed) and Cecily kept telling me that I could go home now.  Ha. 

Cadence got to come to church with us so I did not have a quiet, peaceful communion experience.  We spent our time in the baby room with Shelly and Gideon and we did not get the giggles.  

 Sunday was the Easter program.  Cecily did good.  I think.  I was out with Cadence so I sort of saw most of it.  I'm just glad she's not terrified.  

It would be nice to be able to walk across the room without stepping on something.

Picking dandelions in the cemetery.

 I love walks!

Spring is my favorite.
Blessings.