14

Lydia isn't the only one with a March birthday.

It's hard to believe that he's 14.

Spring

It has really been spring here for the past week, and we've been enjoying a lot of time outside.  The chickens have enjoyed it, too.

I've been happily transplanting cabbages, cauliflower, broccoli, and kale to the garden.  The transplants are doing well so far.

 But no one has been happier this week than this 8-year-old:

Weekend Away

My inlaws came down Friday night, and Saturday morning Nathaniel and I headed off to stay at a state park while they watched the kids.  We had a great weekend.  It started with Elijah and Malachi's chess banquet on Friday night:

The chess team did very well this year, and they celebrated being state champions.  Elijah was the first place alternate board in the state, out of about 90 alternates at the state tournament, so that was a great accomplishment.  

This boy and that smirk!  And here Lydia is modeling the new dress I made for her.  

Saturday was about as beautiful a day as one could ask for, so we had a great time walking around town and in trails in the park.  

Sacrifice Beads

Ever since we watched a Holy Heroes video that talked about sacrifice beads, Lydia has been eager to have some.  She was even willing to spend her own $8 (which is a small fortune for her) to buy them.  We have an abundance of beads and string, so I suggested that we make one, and she eagerly agreed.

Sacrifice beads are a way to keep track of good choices during the day.  The examples in the video were things like "When Mom says clean up and you don't want to, pull a bead and do it anyway without complaining."  Or things like sharing with your brother when you don't feel like it.  Little sacrifices in daily life, basically.  Anyway, she is so excited about her sacrifice beads.    

We attached them to a safety pin so she can wear them (basically none of her clothes have pockets or belt loops).  I pinned it to her, and she declared, "Now I'm officially a Catholic!"  This girl cracks me up.

Birthday Madness

Well, our March madness here is birthday madness, since Nathaniel, Lydia, and Elijah all have March birthdays.  We let Lydia have some friends over for a party yesterday, since it wouldn't work out close to her actual birthday.  She had a blast.

The girls each brought a doll and had a tea party on the floor.  Few of the girls really liked tea, but they loved the chocolate chip cookies.

Lydia was happy, and two friends got to stay later to play longer.  I got to enjoy some time with their moms, so it was a win for us both.  The boys had a blast as well, since Elijah was at the state chess tournament (where his team won, and he got first place for alternates) and Nathaniel took Malachi and Gyunay for some arcade games.  

Packer fans and egg pyramids

Elijah loves the Packers jacket my parents got him for Christmas.  Nevermind the fact that it's so cold today he should be wearing his winter coat, but at least he wears this jacket without protest.  He also refused to stop eating the biscuit for the picture, but still.

He was also thrilled that we have eaten less eggs this week, so he could make his egg pyramid:

It's the little things, folks.  And don't worry, I plan on trying a new egg recipe today.  It's an appetizer-type, and if it turns out ok, I'll make some more for Nathaniel's work potluck tomorrow.  Plus, I am taking deviled eggs next week for the chess banquet.  So we will use the eggs, eventually.

Library Science and Plum Blossoms

Today, Gyunay and I went to the library.  They have a traveling exhibit that just opened today, and it will be there for 3 months.  It's from the science center, and there are lots of activities for little kids to explore.  Gyunay especially liked 2 of them.  The first is this rollercoaster room:

The kids can make their own tracks and roll the balls down them.  Gyunay wasn't interested in making any tracks, but he did love rolling the balls.

The other exhibit he really liked was this giant light brite.  I know Lydia and Malachi will also get a big kick out of these exhibits, so we'll have to visit again soon.

In other news, here is our plum tree:

Yes, it's beautiful, but it shouldn't be blooming yet!  The thing refused to listen to me, and insisted on pretending it's spring.  The odds are good that a killing frost will take any possibility of plums this year.  I'm a bit hopeful; maybe I could throw a sheet over this 10-foot tree?  But then again, every year we have snow in March, and our last frost date isn't until April 10.