Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Grandpa Grote turned 93, June 27. The kids and I were able to be there for the celebration.

Payton and Ian got enjoyed playing with cousins they don't get to see very often.

 

Uncle Raymond is a master balloon animal maker which thrilled my kids.

 

Raymond also made the cake - German chocolate AND a chocolate bundt cake filled with chocolate chips,coconut, and nuts - yummy! There were 93 candles on his huge cake. All the great-grand kids blew out the candles. It was a good thing there wasn't a smoke alarm in the dining room ;)

 

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The Box

The box is finished.

 

It has been delivered into the hands of the new owners.

 

The project is complete.

 

We can now have our Dad and husband back....until the next woodworking project begins.

 

Rock wall camp

The kids have been learning to climb this week. I know, I know....they already climb everything (including furniture) and have been since they could barely stand. But, this is all official-like, with a real rock wall, harnesses, ropes, knots, and instructors. Our gym offered a camp this week. It's 2.5 hours, for 4 days. I was a little worried that it was too long and the kids would get too tired, but they LOVE it!

They have a wall that has the letters of the alphabet on it. The first day the kids climbed up to somewhere between L and N. The second day between T and V. By the third day, they both had made it to Z and to the top of another wall to ring a bell. They were SO proud of themselves.

Payton learned how to tie some special type of knot. They learned how the harnesses and ropes work. They exercised quite a bit. They said their hands were a little sore, but I think it's been a great experience.

Our gym has open climb times during the week where we can go as a family. I'm thinking that this will be a great thing for us to do this summer :)

 

Payton's Ballet Recital

Last weekend, we had both sets of grandparents and Kennedy come visit for Payton's end of the year ballet recital.

Hathaway's Academy of Ballet does a very nice job putting on a huge production. They rent out the Eisemann Center which allows the kids to dance on a large, beautiful stage. They do the younger classes (Creative Movement thru Ballet II, which encompasses ages 3-9) on one day and then the older ballet classes and preprofessional groups the next day. We only went to Payton's, but it was almost a 3 hour production.

Payton was very excited for all the family to see her perform.

 Her class peaked just at the right time. The performance they gave the night at the recital was the best I've seen them give.

She was a little overwhelmed with all the roses she received after the recital.

She couldn't stop smiling.

Ian's Graduation

My baby is graduating.....

pre-K.

When we were going through school, we only had high school graduation. So, I'm not sure I understand what the big deal is when I hear of pre-K or Kindergarten graduations. Really? Is it really a big milestone?

Oh, well. We were invited. We went. And it was SOOOO sweet. It really should be called an End-of-the-Year Program because that's mainly what it was. 

The kids sang some cute songs for us. We watched a slide show with adorable pictures. And then the kids all received a rolled up piece of paper with a ribbon around it.

Ian and Ms. Kelly

Ms. Kelly and Ms. Rita

Ian's Class

The Garden

The garden can bring so much joy. It's a lot of work, and can be hot and frustrating. But, when you see the plants grow into something beautiful and fruitful, its very rewarding.

 

I planted onions from seed for the first time this fall. A couple of weeks ago, it was time for harvest. There were so many of them, I decided to braid them together. This made it easier to hang them up to dry. My only problem with braiding the onions came with those that had flowered. The stems aren't bendable like the others. Those I had to just set aside and let dry individually.

 

I've also harvested my contender bush beans already. I've picked 4 times so far, and I think they're about done. It may be getting too hot for more blooms. But, I am pretty pleased with the crop this year. Out of one picking, I harvested 6 pounds of beans from my single 10 foot row :) I used to always complain about picking beans growing up. I still complain (a little) about it now, but I enjoy the fresh beans so much, it's worth the pain in my lower back.

 

I'm growing English cucumbers for the first time this year too. I coaxed Scott into building a trellis for me. It turned out great.

 

I have tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash all starting to produce, too......

 

It makes me happy :)

Look who we found...

at the garden!

 

Our friend, Fuzzy, the worm.

 

Ian took aN instant liking to him and whisked him away to the large pile of mulch before Mommy could squish him.

 

After a while, Ian exclaims, 'Mommy, the worm left some green stuff behind, really, he did!' I had to explain that this was the worm's poop. So, of course, the first thing he tells Daddy when he sees him, 'We found a worm in the garden and he pooped green stuff! Really! He did!' :)