Memorial Day

We had a really nice 3 day weekend. For the most part, the weather was great - the kids and I planted the garden.  We set out our tomato, watermelon, and cantaloupe plants that we started from seed. We also planted corn, pumpkins, onions, various kinds of leafy greens, radishes, beets, carrots, cukes, hot peppers, and various varieties of squash. Oh, and potatoes, because the kids had so much fun digging them up last year.

For Mother's Day,  Cole had given me a recipe holder made of popsicle sticks that he made at school.  He included several recipes, so for Memorial Day, we chose one of those recipes to make - chocolate covered strawberries.

At noon we went to Westlook Cemetery and met up with Peter and Paul, Martha and Chris, and Joan for a picnic lunch  and some flower planting. Cole brought his chocolate covered strawberries to share. Doesn't  Heather look like she's advertising Orange Crush soda?

Time to get to work. Cole and Martha plant some flowers for Grampie.

Heather supervises.

Wayne plants flowers for Elijah Stone, whom he has been researching and learning about for his Storykeepers project at school. On Friday, the 4th grade will present their stories to their classmates and to parents who are able to come.

Elijah Stone

Heather signs her name and draws a picture in Grampie's log book.

The gang.

Later, back home in the early evening, there was a brief thunder shower which left us with this Memorial Day rainbow.

Last year, when our neighbor dug a trench across our front lawn to run power to his barn, a lot of these ledge rocks were churned up. Heather and I gathered them up recently and made a makeshift fire pit for roasting marshmallows.

From earlier in the week, Heather plants our  new baby strawberry plants. They came in the mail as  bare root plants. We put them in the newspaper pots to get them started for a few weeks, until the weather was warm enough to set them out. 

We had to get rid of our rooster. He was just too mean. The two hens enjoy roaming the yard. 

And now we have 4 new chicks to add to the family.

Doesn't Spike look like the Big Bad Wolf? Look at those teeth? If you were a little chick, wouldn't you be nervous? "The better to EAT you with my dear." Actually, he's very good and doesn't bother the chickens at all. We kept him hooked up when the chicks were out just to be extra safe.

I'll close with a picture of my Dad. That's who I was thinking of on Memorial Day. 

Wayne Hits a Double

Wayne had a baseball game tonight, which they lost to Irasburg, but he did a good job and got some good hits. This is a short little video of one of his hits. I showed it to him when we got home and he said, "Put it on the blog. Put it on the blog tonight." So here you go...

I think it's cute the way the 2nd baseman kicks the dirt in disapointment.

The Best Days of May

After a lot of cold, wet days, we are enjoying the sunshine this weekend!

Heather and I do not have preschool on Fridays, so we had a nice day all to ourselves. Heather decided it would be a good day for a picnic for herself and some of her stuffed animals.

She spent the rest of the afternoon in our new hammock reading books to her stuffed animals. (This is between the two pear trees.)

On Saturday, Heather had a tball game, Wayne had a baseball game, and then Wes took the kids to Addy's graduation party. I went home with a lot of plans for yard and garden work, but what I really did was a whole lot of sitting on the porch with Spike and Patches.  Anyway, it sounds like the party was a lot of fun. All W,C, and H could talk about was Martha's pool. Congratulations to Addy.

On Sunday, Cole and I decided to spend some one-on-one time. I feel like I never get to do this with Cole. We wanted to go for a bike ride, and we thought we would beat the heat by going early in the morning. However, by 8:30 it was already getting uncomfortably warm.

We went up Perron Hill...

 ...and across the swamp road...

 ...which comes out by this farm on the Shadow Lake Road.  This horse was friendly as can be.  As we were riding by she came eagerly to the fence so we stopped to visit. 

 I don't know specifically what breed of draft horse she is, but she's massively muscular. Her hooves are the circumference of dinner plates. Just incredible. Yet gentle as a kitten. If horses could purr, she'd be purring as Cole patted her nose. She loved it when we patted her face and shooed the flies away from her eyes.  As we rode away, she followed along by the fence as far as she could. I'm sure she was saying, "Don't go. Don't go yet." We rode up around Daniel's Pond and then back the way we came.

 When I took Cole for a bike ride, Heather was heart broken that she couldn't go. She has learned to ride her bike, but the driveway is all she's allowed to do for now.  So to cheer her up, I told her that we  could go to Shadow Lake Beach in the afternoon. They all played at the beach for a while and then Wayne wanted to go fishing, so we went to the camp for a little while.

 As Wayne was fishing, a loon popped up right in front of the dock.

To top off the weekend, strawberry rhubarb pie for Sunday night dessert.

All day, Cole kept saying what a fun weekend this was and that it felt like summer vacation already.  Tomorrow will be a rude awakening when he has to go to school. The countdown begins.

Cole's First Communion

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there!  I was treated to breakfast in bed which consisted of pancakes with our own homemade maple syrup, orange juice, and coffee. I also received a sweet card, a handmade recipe holder that Cole had made in school, and a new MP3 player.

Today was also a special day for Cole. He made his First Communion. For the non-Catholics who may need an explanation of this, check back to my post from a couple of years ago about Wayne's First Communion.

First of all, before the ceremony, the Knights of Columbus put on a hearty breakfast of pancakes, scrambled eggs, sausage, orange juice, and coffee. I've been very well fed today. 

During Mass, two of the First Communicants brought up the bread and wine, while the others carried up flowers to place in front of the statue of Mary. Since it was also Mother's Day, Father Naples thought it would be nice place a May flower crown on her just before the closing.

Sadly, I didn't get a photo of Cole actually receiving 1st communion, because my cameral flash was too slow. Don Whipple was taking candids of this part, so I'll have a copy of that in a week or so.

After the formalities were done, Whipple took charge and lined everyone up for group and individual shots.

At home, a barbecue...

...a few cards and gifts...

...and some cake. Wayne wrote the "Happy First Communion Cole."

Home Run

Wayne hit his first home run in today's baseball game in Barton. He's always been a pretty good hitter, smacking some line drives and doubles. However, being so tall and lanky, he doesn't have a lot of weight to put behind the bat and send the ball flying to the outfield. Until today, that is. He is very tickled. I have no photos to commemorate the event because I missed that part of the game. I had to take Cole to his First Communion rehearsal.

Wayne is also learning to be a pretty good pitcher, striking out quite a few batters today.

It was a lovely day to sit and watch a game, with Cole and Heather running around with their friends, licking ice cream cones from the pharmacy. Before Wayne's game, Heather had a tball game, also in Barton, so there were several little ones running around all day in their bright yellow Pirates shirts. What a welcome relief from last weeks game where we all turned onto blocks of ice.

Art Extravaganza!!!

Every year the preschool has an art show in May. It is a BIG, BIG deal. The teachers plan for it all year long.  The kids know about it and talk about it for weeks in advance. Each classroom  is completely gutted and transformed into an art gallery.  The lobby, every sitting area,  each hallway, and the cafeteria become magical, colorful, and whimsical. 

In the Blue Room, which is Heather's classroom, there was a water fountain with a whole beachy theme going on in one corner featuring sand castles and sand art.

Painted pails and buckets.

Another area of the classroom had a garden feel to it with plants, soil, and handprint decorated stepping stones.

Canvas paintings.

Wanted by the Law!

Scratch art.

Art on foil with glue and paint.

Decorated mirrors.

Fish painted t-shirts.

Lots of handprint artwork.

Spin art kites.

Pillows the kids made themselves.

Self portrait.

Mug and coaster. I'll be drinking my morning coffee out of this when it comes home.

Painted wooden frames.

Another type of "self-portrait."  The written parts say things like, "When I grow up I want to be a doctor." and  "My favorite color is green." and "My favorite book is Clifford." I'm sorry the picture is not sharper so you could read it.

 Journals the kids have been working on all year.

 Stained glass art. I still have the one Cole made in preschool hanging in the dining room window.

This is my room - the Green Room. Heather had artwork in here too - all the students had artwork everywhere, not just in their own room. I don't know who that kid is, but I wanted to get a picture of this area - mulch, stepping stones, real trees, a crushed rock pathway, and fairy houses.

Can you tell that these moose are hand and feet prints? The bears are shaving cream and paint art.

Leaf themed place mats.

A school-year's worth of work, and a mad scramble for the day to get everything displayed and the preschool transformed into a stunning art gallery.  All for a 2 hour art show and then it all comes down.