Let the Adventure Continue...

As usual, our week was filled with lots of fun and adventure!  Last week Wednesday, we spent the morning with Great Grandma.  After helping her with some tasks inside the house, we helped her put some plants in the ground outside and worked in her yard a bit.  Uncle Fred happened to be home that morning preparing for some field work and offered the girls a ride on the big tractor.  They were so excited!

Tierney didn't get to be part of the ride, but was just as happy to watch the tractor and all of the goings on at the farm.

Back at home, we broke out some toys for Tierney to ride on, and she was so excited!  She figured out how to make her little car move quickly, and was scooting around the yard, chattering away for quite some time.

Thursday morning, we got an unexpected addition to our family.  Meet Lucky!

As I was finishing up my crossing guard duties for the morning, a gentleman drove up and approached me.  He told me he had found a kitten in the road Wednesday afternoon, and after seeing it almost get hit he picked it up.  Not from around here, but in town for work, he kept it in his truck in an animal trap cage with a shirt for warmth over night.  His dilemma was that he could not care for it and would not be going home for some time, so he asked if I might know someone who could take care of it.  The sucker in me felt bad for the cat, sight unseen, and I agreed to take it home with me and try to find it a home.  When he opened up his truck and pulled the kitten out, I was not prepared to find such a tiny and near lifeless cat.  The poor thing was nearly frozen and could barely lift it's head or cry.  

After talking with Alex on the porch and getting his consent to bring the cat into our house and care for it (knowing full well that if we did it would be staying), we found a little box and some blankets.  I made a quick run to the vet for kitten milk and the tech encouraged me to get him warmed up quick.  Things did not look very good and I was afraid he might not make it.  Still, we got out our heating pad and made him a warm, safe spot to rest at home.  The girls and I had already planned to do some garage sale shopping with a friend, so we left the kitten in Alex's care.

A couple of hours later, I started getting text messages.  The kitten was bouncing back, accepting a little milk from a syringe and standing.  

Another message told me he had jumped off the kitchen counter and was following Sadie around.

 And yet another message assured me he was quite happy and doing much better.

Of course, we were glad the kitten would be ok, and the girls were thrilled to have a new pet!  

Lucky is seldom left alone, there is always some house, toy, bed or something else being made for him.

At roughly 4 weeks old when we got him, he is now beginning to get more active and want to play a little.  We've weaned him off of milk and he is eating solid foods as well as using the liter box on his own.  Lucky is quite the celebrity right now, except with Tobi, who is slowly allowing him nearer and nearer without hissing.  Sadie thinks the kitten is great and wants to play with him, sometimes to the kitten's detriment as Sade wants to pounce and jump around and sometimes bats the kitten away in her excitement :)  A few more weeks, some growth and familiarity, and I have no doubt he will be well accepted and adapted as a part of our family.

Last Saturday, we got to go to my cousin Charles' wedding, and had a wonderful time.  It was a beautiful day, perfect for an outdoor wedding.  Country themed, with horses, hay bales and the works, the girls and I donned our denim and cowboy boots for the occasion.

After the wedding, we waited for what seemed like years to eat.  The last table to be chosen, the girls were ready to eat the table, so we were doing whatever we could to keep them distracted!

Once fed, they were much happier (Daddy too!).  They even got stick horses to keep, a prop the wedding party used to ride in on as they were introduced.  Liz and her boyfriend gave theirs to the girls, and they were so excited to try them out immediately.

Once the dancing got going, the girls were even more excited and unstoppable.  For close to an hour and a half, they danced nearly non-stop.  Ezri was just amazing, the moves and dances she came up with.  It was a joy just to watch her, and of course to join her!  Tierney enjoyed the dancing immensely as well, kicking and squealing away as we bounced and dance together.

Let the adventures continue...

Just Having Fun

It has been another fun-filled week here.  As usual, the girls make up the fun as they go.  This past week, Tierney was the center of a lot of the fun in the house.  After baby sister climbed into the baby doll stroller on her own one morning, the fun began as the older two girls discovered how much fun it was to push her around.  Of course, baby sister thought it a grand time, squealing and kicking her feet the entire time!

 I have received many bouquets of flowers lately.  My flower gardens may be sparse this summer, but my window sill will be filled with bright and beautiful flowers, all the more beautiful because of the precious girls who have dedicated time and energy to picking and proudly presenting them to me.

 

 We tackled a much despised task together this week while Daddy was gone to Chicago for business - grocery shopping.  As a couple of months had passed since the last trip (I stock up because I dislike it so much), we found ourselves needing a lot of staples and ventured out.  At one of our stops, we treated ourselves to donuts!  Red frosted donuts...  which the girls thoroughly enjoyed

 Back at home, we have been working and playing in the yard when weather allows, playing and learning in the house when it does not.  We ended our week with lots of friends and play time outside on Friday and Saturday and a restful afternoon on Sunday.  With temperatures in the high 70's and even 80, we sure enjoyed the warmth and sun!  The mosquitoes, not so much...  They nearly carried us off Saturday night after a kid friendly game of baseball at the park with friends.  Yuck!  Still, we are all smiles and enjoying the fun the front yard brings.

Happy Mother's Day

We got to spend last Monday with Great Grandma.  It was an absolutely beautiful spring day, and wen spent much of the time outside together. First task of the day, help Great Grandma bring her mail to the box...

 The girls were thrilled to discover new baby turkeys in one of the barns, and repeatedly went back in to watch them.

 At one point in the morning, we came across a snake eating a frog.  The girls were interested to see, but Great Grandma was not thrilled to have a snake right next to her house, so we had to dispose of it, which was a bit of an ordeal.

Thankfully, sidewalk chalk offered a nice distraction and we were soon having a wonderful time writing and drawing all over the cement.

Even Tierney was having a great time with the chalk, adding her marks all over.

 Back at home, as we hit a rainy patch of weather, we applied ourselves to a fun task - cardboard box cars!  Once Mommy had cut and taped them into shape, the girls went wild!  We added wheels, headlights, taillights, steering wheels and even windshield wipers and door handles.

 Four hours over a couple of days, the girls were busy decorating their cars, quietly focused on the task.

 Tuesday evening, we put our partially finished cars in front of the TV and the girls had a "drive in movie night" together.  I don't think I have ever seen them both sit for an entire movie, they were having such fun with their cars!

 We still find the girls with markers and stickers adding details nearly daily.  One day, Ezri decided the cars needed to be lifted so they could see and work under them too.  Such fun!

We spent an afternoon at Tulip Time this week too, watching the dancers and the parade.  It turned out to be a very nice afternoon to be outside and, as always, our girls enjoyed themselves immensely.

 Tierney really liked the bands and would get all excited and hardly contain herself when one would pass by.

 The girls and I did a little garage sale shopping in Hopkins this past weekend and found some deals that made each of us happy, even while dodging mist and rain occasionally.

A bed tent was among the exciting finds.  A sleepover was attempted, but after a long night of getting the girls to fall asleep followed by a 3am wake-up that included argument over blankets, the tent was short lived.  Perhaps we'll try again another time...  But, they were sure cute when they were sleeping all snuggled up together!

We ended our week celebrating Mother's Day together with Grandpa, Grandma, Opa and Oma at our house.  While not so pleasant outside, we had a nice time together inside and the girls really enjoyed the time with their grandparents.  5 years of being a Mommy already, and what a fun, exciting, tiring but fully rewarding ride it has been!

Nature Lovers

We can finally open the windows and let the wonderful fresh spring air flow through our house, flushing out the winter blahs, germs and what not.  The warm temperatures have been well accepted by everyone here, we have all been so anxious to play outside, work in the gardens, dig in the dirt and walk bare footed in the grass.  This past week has granted us all of that and more!

On top of loving the weather, we have been experiencing some nature fun in and around the house.  The girls have been thrilled to watch a couple of rabbits that continue to hang out around our yard daily.  It has also been a big excitement for Ezri to finally get to use the ant farm she got for her birthday.  The ants arrived in the mail last Monday, and she was beside herself with excitement, nothing could tear her away from them!

After we set up the farm, we added the ants and the fun really began

Ezri carried the farm around the house, talking to the ants and giving them a tour.  She named them too!  She spent nearly two hours straight with the ants before being distracted.  Each day, this is the first thing the girls go to check out, and the adults around the house have been found to be watching the busy ladies at work from time to time too.  It is quite amazing to see how quickly they have filled the sand with tunnels, picking up sand and moving it all around.  Who knew ants could be so fun?

Friday afforded us the opportunity to spend the evening with our friends the DeLaney's at their home.  A cook out and bonfire as well as plenty of time for the kids to play together was such a welcome beginning to a beautiful weekend.  The kids all played so well together!

S'Mores and plenty of sugar kept the kids up well past bed time, but as they were handling themselves so well, we let the fun continue.

A highlight of the night for our girls was the baby chickens.  Just moved into a new coop that was completed that night, the kids could hardly be pulled away.  Alora was so excited to catch them by herself.

And thought it just hilarious when one jumped up onto her head!

Ezri was not as confident about picking them up, but thought it quite cool to have them perch on her shoulder.

Even Sadie has been loving the extended time outside.  She is fitting in with our family so well, enjoying the outdoors as much as we do.  She has finally become friends with our neighbor dog, Molly, and seeing the two of them together is quite funny.

Saturday, the girls and I set out to complete a project they have been talking about for some time.  They have been enjoying watching Tinkerbell movies, and decided they wanted to make their own fairy house for our yard.  So, all week long, we went on nature hunts to get stuff we needed to use, the girls each choosing things they wanted to add.  The final piece was an old flower pot from Becci.

We worked for quite some time, gluing bark, sticks, rocks, pine cones, bird nest pieces, grass and more to the house.  The girls were so excited about how the house turned out!

And I was pretty proud of the results too :)

I have allowed their imaginations to run with this for now, so they will often peek inside to see if they have a fairy visiting.  I have told them they probably will not get to see one, but Ezri is sure Tinkerbell will come to visit sometime.  I love that kid's imagination!

We took the monthly pictures of the girls again...

We ended our weekend with another fire at our home Saturday night with more friends and lunch with even more friends at their home on Sunday.  We practically lived outside this past week, and it felt so good!