The girl loves playing soccer in the mud! Especially. “E-fence”
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Category Archives: family
Pow wow
Last Saturday we had the privilege of attending the 60th anniversary American Indian Institute of Chicago’s Pow wow. It was a wonderful day of learning, enjoying friends and meeting new friends. Here are some of my favorite moments.
The girl enjoyed dancing anytime there was an intertribal dance. She even encouraged her friend to join her (and her mommy)
The daring girl learns some outdoor skills
The girl loves being outdoors and learning about plants and animals. This mom is so happy that her girl is interested in all things that fly, creep, crawl, and hop.
We had a terrific outdoor weekend with friends and family.
This girl isn’t afraid of any challenge. We had the opportunity to go to a crossfire ministry sporting event. This ministry provides opportunities for young people to learn outdoor sports like fishing and archery. She was determined to try to shoot a bow.
She could be a pretty good shot in a year or two!
Fishing was her real passion (and talent). Here is her first fish!
With a little coaching and encouragement, the girl was fishing in no time! She was casting…
…and reeling them in…
She even learned to safely handle the fish (a grown up removed the hook)
This was a catch and release event!
Everyone had a great time and caught a lot of fish!
The fish were great, but the swing was amazing!!!
This was the perfect celebration of summer !
The Cake
Yesterday was the girl’s half birthday. She was very excited and told everyone we saw. The secret ingredient for my favorite chocolate cake recipe was in our CSA box this week, so we decided to bake a “half birthday” cake. The girl did most of the work!
(In retrospect, the egg wasn’t my best decision…a huge mess followed this moment…it was really funny and the girl understands the mechanics of eggs now!)
“Is it ok to use the whole bag of chocolate chips? I hope so because I just did.”
The batter looked yummy, so when the girl asked if she could taste it, I said sure!
I had no idea this is what she had in mind:
(Don’t worry…we won’t share this cake…though I’m sure the oven killed any germs)
Our secret ingredient!
Once the cake was in the oven, clean up was a breeze!
It’s a yummy cake!
Black Hills…our favorite things
We had a good month at the Science Station! There were so many fun things to do! Having Nonnie with us for 2 weeks was the best part!
We loved hiking and rock collecting.
Surprising encounters with wildlife (big and small) were always exciting.
The girl loved learning from mommy’s students and she took any opportunity to show them what she knows!
Storybook Island is an awesome retro playground. The girl’s mom likes the vintage toys from her own childhood, and the girl loved climbing on all of the characters.
We look forward to being with our friends at the station! Picnics, swinging, and playing in the fountains! Time really flies by when you’re having so much fun!
In the Hills
We have been in the Black Hills for a week now. The girl and her Nonnie have been taking care of each other while I teach. One day, the girl helped her mommy’s class with one of their labs:
The girl certainly loves to be with “the big kids”, and my students are terrific to include her! We have been enjoying wildlife and hiking in our spare time. The bighorn sheep came to campus one morning:
At Custer, we hiked to see a tree that is over 300 years old! This tree was a seedling when Bach was a teenager! Wow!
We also saw bison and pronghorn on our evening drive!
The girl is quite a rock hound, so “panning” was her favorite activity this week!!
Today we had a picnic, fed fish at the fish hatchery, and went on an awesome hike with awesome friends! The girl practically ran the whole way!!
Summer so far
Summer so far…
Lots of smiles!
Lazy walks.
Play!!!
Snuggles and heart-to-hearts…
Acts of bravery:
Inspiration from a hero
Blowing bubbles and learning to swim.
Hide and seek.
Lots of beautiful music!
Daffodils
Each spring we make a trip to the arboretum for a run through the flowers. It’s really an accidental tradition, but one I’m thankful for. Our first visit was when the girl was a few months old:
When she was just over a year, she tried to walk for the first time in these flowers:
At two she was running and singing to her own tune!
Last year, the girl at three was getting ready for her release surgery.
Now she’s four, and she’s found her wings.
Sunny Days
Finally, some sunny days just in time for Easter weekend! We really enjoyed running in the mud, helping the farmers, “hunting” for eggs, and coloring some too!
We joined our friends at Klein Creek Farm for a run through the mud and a fun morning helping the farmers.
I thought it was appropriate that her favorite job was shoveling manure.
We joined “a million” other kids for an Easter egg hunt.
I was really worried that the eggs were too well hidden!
The girl was up for the challenge!
After the hunt, we had fun coloring our own eggs!
Amos even found an egg!
Happy Easter!
Fossil Hunt
The girl’s Nonnie took us on a terrific adventure while we were in TX! We went on a fossil hunt! We mostly found ammonites. Ammonites are ancient cephalopods (like squid) from 240-65 million years ago. They were free swimming…so we were hunting in a place that was an ocean long ago! Very cool!!! All three of us found fossils, but the girl was the only one to find a “crocodile!” The pictures tell the story of a very fun day and the prize find (by Nonnie).
