Jack's ninth birthday survey

I've been meaning to post this... These were hard to get out of him. It seems like he's nine going on thirteen some of these days anymore... He doesn't have time for Mom's silly questions.


1. What is your favorite color?
“Greenish-blue”

2. What is your favorite toy?
"Legos."

3. What is your favorite fruit?
"Blueberry, no actually plums. Maybe not plums. Alright, that’s good."

4. What is your favorite movie?
"How about Lego Movie. And also The Hobbit." (The 1977 animated Hobbit)

5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch?
"Pasta."

6. What is your favorite thing to wear?
"I don’t have one."

7. What is your favorite game?
"Chess."

8. What is your favorite snack?
"I don’t really have one. Maybe those pretzel thins."

9. What is your favorite animal?
"Now that one’s a really tricky one… honey badgers or dolphins.”

10. What is your favorite song or music?
“Everything is Awesome”

11. What is your favorite book?
"The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place Series”

12. What is your favorite school subject?
"Coding”

13. What is your favorite sport?
"Karate."

14. What is your favorite thing to do outside?
"Climbing."

15. What is your favorite thing we did this past year?
"Maybe going to South Dakota... all of the caves and rock formations..."

16. What is your favorite holiday?
"Hmmmm...Christmas."

17. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast?
"Pancakes."

18. What is your favorite restaurant?
“Pizza Hut”

19. If you could pick anywhere in the world to visit, where would it be?
“Maybe Australia. They have cool animals.”

20. What do you want to be when you grow up?
"Maybe a computer programmer.”

21. What are your favorite hobbies?
"Reading. And karate."

22. If our house was on fire, and you could grab only one thing, what would it be? "My lizard, Draco.”

Jesus Christ is Risen today!

Some scenes from a day full of blessings... Easter treats! The older two accompanied Mike to the Vigil Mass last night and were up pretty late, so they actually slept 'til a reasonable hour this morning... ...merely the face of confusion. What's going on?! A great new board book... The one in the basket- The Little Flower, I won on a blog giveaway a few weeks ago- perfect for Opal Therese :^) Everything must be neat and tidy. Always. Pick up sticks! Nut. The post-Mass crew Toby wasn't having any of it... Until the promise of a treat :^D TEEEEAT! <3 These two worked together <3 The rain started in during Mass, so we had the egg hunts indoors (one with the T-Man, and one without.)

"The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay." ~Matthew 28:5-6

Alleluia! He is risen! We are blessed!

Holy Week Miscellany

<3<3<3

We have been weaning this dear one since last weekend. And in one week, he has only nursed twice (because I really needed him to and didn't feel like pumping). This is the longest any of ours have ever breastfed (19 months), and the transition has been as smooth as I could have hoped. He's taken sippy cups of water or cow's milk without much fuss and has been eating better table food, so that's a plus. I will miss that sweet time with him, but we've been doubling up on books and cuddles to make up for it. Mike and I went out on a rare date on Tuesday night for a movie and Mexican, and returned to this. He apparently walked in front of Iris swinging on the swing. The big, wooden bench swing. Other than oozing, he seemed just fine when we got back. The morning after, he could hardly open it, it was so swollen. It didn't seem to bother him, though, and it's almost all healed now. Thank goodness for eager helpers :^) Sweet Russie. No, her shoes are never on the right feet.

Hip hip hooray!
The goats are back in their pen today!

They keep rushing back and forth to the spots they used to jump over and seem so confused when they are met with a 6' fence every time. They have really made a mess of our yard, but hopefully, we'll be able to clean it up some so I can feel good about letting the kids run around out there when it gets nicer :^D This one has been really been enthusiastic about reading as of late. And this one got a cool programming book from Uncle Will and Aunt Ashley. He has been tearing through it and even programmed a game with Mike. We had a mild winter, but we're still waiting for Spring to come around. On Holy Thursday and Good Friday, we had some sleet/snow/ice thunderstorms, which seemed appropriate. The ice glistening over everything was pretty, but I am so thankful that this kind of accumulation is on it's way out, at least for a few months. Especially since Mike just informed me of the temps forecasted to dip back down into the teens for his birthday next weekend. So sad.

I haven't been as on top of Lent this year, much the same as I wasn't on top of Advent, but that's okay. Mike always takes off for Holy week, and it's been so nice to have him home. We've been going to more church services this week and just doing more as a family. And it's been quite nice. Today, we dyed eggs while Toby was napping. Note to self: don't bother with the marble kind. They look kind of neat, but they make a mess, and I think every one of us dyeing spilled a bunch of the oily color mixture all over the table/newspaper. And Opal had to have a wardrobe change. But all in all, they turned out beautifully!

It's almost time...

We are blessed!

Babcock Dairy and Dairy Cattle Centers field trip

Adding sugar... This was basically the maternity ward- all of the ladies expecting any day (We could see this one's calf moving inside her big belly) Hours old! Mike took off for Holy Week (as he usually does), so I was able to leave the little two at home while the big three and I went on a field trip with our homeschool group. First, after walking almost a mile from the parking garage, we met at the Babock Dairy Center, where we got to see and learn about the facility where they make ice cream, cheese and other dairy products. After the tour, we got to taste some of what they were making just down the hall: delicious ice cream. At 9:30 in the morning, no less. If we can ever get these goats to stay in their pen (6' fence has been going up, but it's cold and rainy today and not really putting-up-fence weather), we hope to breed Miss Fanny this fall and get some goat milk in the spring. And then, we can try our hand at making our own goat cheese.

After the dairy making tour, we walked down the street for our tour at the Dairy Cattle Center. We learned a lot of interesting things about the industry. Did you know that the average dairy cow at the UW Cattle Center produces 100 lbs (almost 12 gallons) of milk per day? That would last our family about two weeks. The biggest producer they have makes 200 lbs per day- that's a LOTTA milk! And we got to see and touch a 12.5 hour calf (which weighed about 80 lbs when she was born last night). We plan to go back sometime to see the milking process- the machines looked pretty high-tech. They scan chip implants in each cow's ear to keep track of how much milk she is giving/should be giving, and any problems or other pertinent info. Abigail was excited to hear that the equine building was next door. We may be doubling back for that one, too.



I hadn't realized it was going to start raining, or I would have brought umbrellas. Alas, we ran the nearly mile back as fast as we could in the steady rain, which turned into stinging sleet while we were running back. Poor Jack started sobbing (It did really hurt, as did our freezing foreheads), so I told them to duck under a little overhang with me for a breather. I looked down at my phone GPS, which I was using to get us back to our car and realized the building we were sheltering under was the same building the garage was under- we'd just come from the other side of the building. So we got to walk through the warm, cozy building and then down to our car. Thank you, God. I was just so thankful, as we had been running back across puddle-ridden parking lots and train tracks, that I wasn't pushing one in a stroller and carrying another one on my back!

I miss the warmer, sunnier weather we had earlier this month, but a friend reminded me of the appropriateness of the rain and darkness during this Holy week. It ended up being a fun morning. And soon, we will be able to rejoice!

We are blessed!