the rest of April

I like the blend of fun, and schooling, and independent play/self entertaining we have going on in the mornings. Last week the kids asked if they could wash their play dishes and have a "real" tea party.  Awesome idea.  They were busy for at least 20 minutes washing (Conrad) and rinsing (Norrie) those dishes.  I sat in the corner drinking my real tea and going through mail.  I mean, supervising.

After the dishes had air dried, we brewed some berry herbal tea from TeaSource and broke some breakfast pastries into smaller pieces.  Tea was served in the cozy space beneath the loft bed.

Last Sunday after church it was Norrie's turn to "supervise".  I had pulled out several ingredients that had been thawing in the cooler for our dinner and she insisted on being a part of it.  We made a good team, and a killer sauce for our spag squash casserole.

Also last week the kids helped me put together a new trofast tower.  A few changes at home called for more storage--namely, Norrie is sleeping in her big bed now which takes up 1/2 the space under brother's bed.  So we moved out the rocker and side table to create more toy storage space.

taking care of our little seedlings...

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learning all about friction and pressure - what better way than with long skinny balloons?

  

HOURS of entertainment here.

and Norrie, just being cute and smiley.  

And tomorrow begins my favorite month of the year!

Biking, and hiking

being goofy ;-)

 Tim took off the training wheels this spring, and Conrad wasn't thrilled about it.  He was sure it meant he would never ride his bike again.  We knew that he was finally big enough (tall enough) to finally be able to reach the ground (read - catch himself before crashing) so it was time to take those off before he trained himself into being completely dependent on them.

A couple days later, dad and son took the bike up to the driveway.  Then the next day, Conrad is telling, and showing, me what daddy had told him.  He was able to coast for short bursts, and quite optimistic.  Then the rains and really windy days came.  Seems like weeks passed before he could get his bike out again.

Since the sun is coming up so early lately, Conrad's turning back into an early riser.  One morning I heard him go in and out several times (must remind him to stay inside until mommy is awake!).  Eventually Norrie and I were up, we had our breakfast, and Conrad was dragging us outside to show us something.

 You guessed it - he had been out practicing and practicing on his bike.  And he is now a biking superstar.

 See it, do it, teach it.  Norrie's getting lessons from big brother.

And loving it.

Hiking the prairie trails

First Game

 Conrad's first game was April 21 and he had a blast.  Their practice had been cancelled Thursday night so he went into the game with only one short team practice under his belt.  And it was apparent.  There were only 2-3 kids on the team that really had an understanding of what was going on, and Conrad wasn't one of them.  By the second half of the game though, he was catching on and even scored his first goal!  

good game, Green.

Go Green!

First Day at Christine's

 The kids started at a new daycare today.  I think we all had some cold feet, but the kids had each other and Christine gave me a hug when I left assuring all would be well.  Then throughout the afternoon I received pictures of the kids - how sweet!  This first one had a send time of approximately 20 minutes after I left them.  Guess they were tired...

  

I spoke briefly with Tim this evening and he said Conrad was thrilled, Christine had awarded him with some sort of certificate for being a super helper.  I look forward to asking the kids in the morning how their first day was :)