Snow day

Snow day! It has been very cold here in our neck of the Prairie. The kids had a snow day yesterday and a late start this morning. So we decorated for Christmas. After the kids were bored with that I told them to go find something to do. For Eden this included teaching Lars how to read and for Lars this included playing endlessly with the Christmas village and his cars. For Elia,  she just wanted to eat her gingerbread house , so she did. Mom, in this case, just needed a nap. I suppose, there is always tomorrow. For now we enjoy each others company.

Cousin Lea's wedding

After a very late night/early morning flight into Detroit airport, we had about 10 hours to get home, sleep, shower and get ready for the Kraft family's wedding of the year!  

With Cousin Lea as the bride, Eden made a beautiful addition as one of the flower girls in a dress her Aunt Janet made for her.  Here are a couple photos from where I sat:

Flower girl - Eden

Elia sleeping on Kalli's lap from beginning to end

Lars wishing he were sleeping

sprinkle flowers as you go...

Benny on the left, Eden on the right

Lars gets up to leave part way thru saying, "I gotta get out of here".  Papa is happy for the walk, I'm sure

Cousins!  Mataya, McKenzie with Elia, Eden, Josh, Ariya.  Zac in the back, Ziana and Lars in the front

Sarah & Eden, all dressed up.  Eden LOVED her curls for the day.

Thanks, Lea and Gabe, for a fun filled day with lots of family and friends!  Eden had a wonderful time being your flower girl and we thank you both for that special moment in time.

Happy Birthday Mommy!

I was folding clothes in Lars' room this morning before school when a very excited Eden came in and wished me a Happy Birthday, followed by Lars with the same message. (prompted by dad?) Elia is still trying to pronounce the word "Birthday", but was pretty close!  Lars drew me a rainbow picture and thought about a present from Bommgars for me (that's a cattle & ranch type store that he likes).  I said I'd pass, but thanks anyway. 

After school, with Allen out of town until Wednesday, Eden wanted to do SOMETHING special since it was mommy's special day and we always do SOMETHING special for the birthday girl or boy.  I said Mommy's are exempt from that rule but since she didn't know what exempt meant, she didn't think that was true.

Eden wanted to take me to dinner and insisted on cake and ice cream afterwards because, "Mom, you ALWAYS make cake for people on their birthday.  You ALWAYS remember everybody's birthday and we ALWAYS have a big party with lots of friends!"

This year, May 6th was in the middle of a very busy couple of weeks for us and all of our friends!  

So, with three kids in tow, we had a bite to eat up town, then went to the grocery store for Chocolate Cake with Chocolate frosting and Mint Chocolate Chip Ice cream.  We devoured it when we got home and made a big chocolate mess before hitting the sudsy bathtub. 

It was a wonderful day and I expect wonderful days in the year to come.  

Thanks to all the Birthday Wishes and Love sent my way.  

April Showers...Bring Coal?

The big news in town was going to be the blizzard that kept kids home from school for three days the week after Easter break, but now that was 2 weeks ago, so we're on to bigger and better things!~  

The big news in town this week is the clean up underway from a 15 car coal train derailment on Sunday morning, in which Hwy88 is closed to thru traffic.  Or anything else for that matter.  I can't swear that it woke my kids up, but I woke up to what I thought was thunder, and went back to sleep.  A few minutes later, two thirds of my children were in my bed...it was 0540 and the train reportedly derailed at 0530.  I couldn't believe it, as we'd had an ambulance call over those very tracks just a few hours prior to the wreck. I don't think I'd have known how to get back to town if it had happened while we were in the country!  Thankfully, no one was injured in the train wreck and it didn't hit the depot or destroy any vehicles or property.  

Since we were up in plenty of time to eat breakfast and get dressed for church, we drove up and checked out the wreckage.  As you can see, it was something to look at.  After church, Elia and I came back to snap a few photos.  By mid day, there was a swarm of RR workers in bright orange vests, taking care of organizing the clean up.  Big machines came from Grand Island and Cheyenne that evening and set up huge lights and worked overnight in getting things piled up and twisted metal stacked into organized piles.  I stood nearby for several minutes late that night to watch the process.  It was very streamlined and seemed like everybody knew that they were doing.  I've never seen so much RR activity in all my life.  Lars is especially thrilled with the excavator on top of the pile of coal that sits taller than the depot next to the tracks at this point.  It is slowly offloading the coal into cars that are now coming back.  The highway is still closed over the tracks, but a big vacuum truck came yesterday and sucked up the coal that was spilled and not moved by the dozers.  The tracks had to be rebuilt there, as they were totally pulled up by the wreck, and the road will have to be re-paved, but for now, the detour signs remain. 

As for the lot of us; Allen has a cold.  I think Elia is close behind him.  She keeps bursting into tears for no reason and holding on to mama.  She is still a pistol and can't be left alone for longer than about 35 seconds, give or take.  In the past couple weeks, I've found a bag of Doritos mysteriously missing with orange fingers and face nearby, my printer paper scattered all over, plant dirt embedded in carpet, an empty checkbook, dog water splashed on the laundry room floor with toys being cleaned, torn up newspaper in the toilet, empty thread spools, previously pinned sewing projects unpinned, malted milk easter egg snacks hidden all over the house, unidentified sticky goo under the kitchen counter and other weird situations that I thought I'd never forget but seem to evade me now...

Eden is reading the "Meet Samantha" American girl series.  We finished the first book last night and I picked up the second book at the library this morning.  She has joined the jump rope team and practices 2x/week at the community center.  She loves it, but it makes our life just a little bit busier, which I didn't think we had time to accommodate for in the first place but have somehow managed to.  She's getting so independent and is a real life saver for me.

Lars is obsessed with drawing maps these days.  Dozens of detailed maps each day.  I have a stack that, when laid end to end, cover both living room floors.  Many have been made at school and I feel that I probably need to give his center a stack of paper, as we have used most if it in map drawing.  He has parking lots, too, with assigned spots for the city workers, police officers, and the LLV (long life vehicle, also known as a post office mail delivery truck). He is educating himself on GPS coordinates and wishes that Bridgeport had a big lake to plot freighters on.  Freighters are his second favorite right now.  

As for me, I'm just trying to keep up with everybody else.  Every day.  And sometimes at night. 

Until next time...

Pictures

Lars helping Daddy fix the door to his pickup

Eden and Kyra are selling GS cookies!

Elia

Elia playing with barn at HS

Eden is learning how to sew...and doing quite well on her own! She helped me make 23 T-shirt bags for the Head Start kids for their end of the year celebration, the last dozen all on her own. 

This looks like a good place to take a nap...finger still in mouth

Helping wash dishes

Lars' new glasses

Elia celebrates Dr. Suess day at the library during story hour

Time Marches On

I am fully aware that tomorrow is the last day of February.  

And I will update this blog.   Really I will.

Does anybody want Girl Scout cookies? (I have several cases sitting in the living room, lining the wall.)

And Soon Too!

I promise.  

Maybe.

Right after I change the sheets on the wet bed, clean the rug that the potty training girl just soiled, re-caulk the bathtub that I screwed up the first time when a spider landed on me as I was perched precariously on the window sill with one foot holding me from a slippery end.  Right after I get the laundry cycled and start supper, which happens shortly after I get lunch cleaned up and dishes put away from the dishwasher (I love modern technology).  I need to brush Samson again too, as he just got a bath uptown and is shedding endlessly, which compliments his good looks. (And boy does he smell better than rotting garbage now!)

We have a new printer.  And it works (imagine that).  Super well. Prints and copies, every time you tell it to. I love it and have scanned enough into it to make my life somewhat more efficient.  Somewhat is a loose term. 

Lars has a new fascination with the Titanic. He has always loved ships and freighters and boats, but now is learning lots about the ship and it's fate to the bottom of the Atlantic.  He informed Elia just this morning while looking at a book that the Titanic hit an ice berg in the middle of the ocean and sank to the bottom with hundreds of people on board and they drowned or froze to death in the water. To which she answered, fingers in mouth, "uh huh" and walked away.  Word to the wise; don't walk away from Lars when he is attempting to educate you on something.  It causes problems.  She dutifully came back and listened to the rest of his spiel about the lifeboats and the rescue until his schoolbus came and honked loudly for his signal to put the book down and board the bus. 

Excuse me a moment while I dress a Polly Pocket and fix her house.  (The side wall fell off in a sudden tornado). 

Now where was I? 

Oh right. 

We got the Buick sold.  I need to run the paperwork to the courthouse after the notary public signs to the fact that it's Allen's signature on the paper.  Who knows if the notary public is the signer?  Shouldn't they need a witness to that, too?  Or does that just complicate matters further?

Well crud, the phone rang and I lost my train of thought.  

Oh I remember.  At story time this morning, we celebrated Dr. Suess' birthday, who happens to share a birthday with the librarian's son, who I'm told is a lot like Dr. Suess himself in some ways.... but I digress.  The kids made hats from Cat in the Hat and glued fish on paper for One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish.  Elia wanted her snack (Red gummy fish) as soon as the glue hit the paper and the fish were secure.  

After running routine errands today, I am relegated to the desk work that so easily gets forgotten because I'm too busy having fun being a Mom.  In fact, just to get out of this chair a little longer, we made muffins.  And they're tasty too.   

Eden, who is now 100+ days into being a first grader, had her first experience as her classroom's Alternate to the Morrill County Spelling Bee in Bayard (a nearby town).  She practiced her words and presentation and annunciation for the week prior, but did not end up competing.  Which suited her just fine, as she was terrified to go to school that day in case she had to go the Bee. 

There's the buzzer on the washer...brb. 

Elia, the ornery and obstinate one of the bunch, has had her brush with the law of Mom lately.  She prefers to dress like a princess (which at this point means wearing a dress), and act according to her own set of rules, changing them as she sees fit and crossing her arms across her front to show you how mad she is.  A bird could definitely perch on the lip she has at times.   She and I hang out in the mornings while the older two are at school, often playing with dolls or reading stories or putting puzzles together.  She helps me bake and put dishes away, fold towels and clean up spills when she's not being bullheaded.  She must get that from her Aunt, that's all I can think of.  She still hates the vacuum cleaner and thinks Samson is her personal chauffeur at times, but they are learning to respect each other every day.
Allen has been busy working on race car stuff, pastor stuff (Happy Lent), sick people and funerals.  I've been busy with Mom stuff, EMS stuff, Kids' stuff and all the other 'stuff' that doesn't really have a category.  

Christmas cards didn't get sent this year (no offense I hope), and I have a stack of unopened mail that needs a good going through one of these days.

Planning trips to Wisconsin for a wedding next month and then Michigan for another wedding & vacation this summer. Lars wants to fell some trees with his Uncle Chad and Cousin Josh, as well as go fishing and watch boats with Papa and Zac.  Eden want to swim and ice skate.  Odd combination.  She is also excited about being the flower girl in Cousin Lea's wedding.  

And that about sums it up.  Life is good.
 
I'll get back with you all someday.  

Until then, keep on.