Where I've Been

It's been a busy couple of months, so I'll recap:

D's birthday

On June 5 my oldest child turned 14. Handsome and strong, funny and argumentative, helpful and responsible. He makes me laugh, is interesting to talk to, and just a person I really enjoy being around. I'm so glad I have him!

June

As always, we limped to the finish line with the ending of school on June 9. One more day and we wouldn't have made it! On Saturday, June 10 we headed to Muskegon, Michigan for a family wedding. We spent the night there and went to Michigan's Adventure, an amusement/water park. It features both roller coasters and water rides and slides. I haven't been on a roller coaster in years, and I braved a few, and found them to be actually fun! We had a lovely day, sunny and in the high 60s, but a little cool for water rides. The kids, of course, went anyway! The best part was there were NO lines. Literally, get in line and be on the ride as soon as it returns from its current run. The park also features many rides for younger children, both tiny tot and medium sized rides.

The following week we left on Thursday for Delevan, Wisconsin, (in the Lake Geneva area) where D's sister lives. We had wedding in Madison on Friday, June 16. Daryl and I attended it without the kids, who stayed with their aunt, uncle and cousin. It was a formal evening wedding, and I wore a little black dress that I own, along with some great costume jewelry and rhinestone studded thong sandals. We spend the rest of the weekend visiting with Daryl's sister and her family as well as my mother-in-law, who was there as well. Lake Geneva is a beautiful lake resort town, and we spent some time there, even renting a speed boat and going for a boat ride. We left our 3 older daughters in Wisconsin to visit with their cousin and returned home on Sunday.

K's birthday

My littlest boy turned 3 on June 20, but since his sisters and his Dad were out of town, we didn't celebrate it until June 22. I still wanted to do something special with him on June 20 (even though he didn't know it was his birthday) so I took him to the movie "Cars." It was his first time going to a movie theatre. He had fun, although the movie was actually way above his level of understanding, and he did lose interest before it was over. He enjoyed sitting on my lap and eating popcorn, however, and I thought the movie was quite good.

K. is an active, happy little guy. Still not fully potty trained, and still competing hard with his little sister to be the baby, but slowly making progress toward being a "big boy." He loves his big sister J. more than anything, even me! He is friendly and outgoing and very loving and affectionate. He has a great sense of humor and often makes us laugh. All boy, he loves action figures and cars, balls and bikes, and like the rest of us, adores books!

Another Reader

IMG_1389, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

One of the great blessings in my life is how my children love to read, and how easily it comes to them. By kindergarten each has seemed to magically just "get" it and be able to sound out words, without phonics or special work of any kind on our part. Then they progress steadily until 3rd grade, when they take a huge leap and are suddenly able to read long,difficult chapter books.

It helps that from infancy they are surrounded by voracious readers and heaps of books.

Years ago my oldest child's kindergarten teacher told me that some children begin school not knowing which way to hold a book or turn the pages, which really saddened me.

Here is a picture of A., who already knows how to do that and enjoys "reading" a book on her own.

Riding Lessons

IMG_1397, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

I. has begun taking riding lessons. After teling her yes, I discovered that this is the world's most expensive sport. I am rationalizing that she has not participated in many extracurricular activities, while her older siblings have many seasons of (expensive) soccer under their belts, so from a fairness standpoint, it's OK to spend more on her for a while.

The horse she is on is named Winton. He is 28 years old and has taught hundreds of local children (many of whom are now adults) how to ride, and to say he is mellow is a huge overstatement. Saying that he struggles to stay awake during lessons is more truthful! He is perfect for a beginner, however.

Note the riding boots and helmet, purchased by me. The pants are hand-me-downs from her best friend, who not only rides, but has her own pony.

The biggest problem with takking riding lessons and having a best friend who owns a horse, as far as I can tell, is the constant queries. As soon as she began lessons, the queries began: "Can we get a horse?" I have said no a thousand times, yet she continues to ask. (sigh) Although we live on 8 acres in the country, and are actually zoned to have a maximum of 3 horses on our property, we do NOT have a barn or any other shelter for horses. In addition, her dad and I are NOT horse people. We don't know anything about caring for a horse and are not interested, at this point in time, in doing any of the work involved with owning a horse, not to mention the expense.

Introducing Cazadora

Introducing Cazadora, originally uploaded by PaulaK.

Three weeks ago this little kitten joined our family. She was 6 weeks old when we got her, ostensibly to hunt the mice that are driving me crazy in my old house. Her name is taken from the Spanish word cazador, which means hunter in English. We call her Cazzy for short. She is extremely playful and feisty. She keeps herself very busy climbing (all the way to the lampshade on a tall floor lamp!) , running, chasing, and batting at anything and everything. As I blog, she is playing with the cord on the computer, sometimes climbing the chair and running across the laptop, pausing only to take a few swipes at my hair. Hopefully all of this means she will be a terrific huntress!

What Color Green Am I?

You Are Mint Green

Balanced and calm, you have mastered the philosophy of living well. Your friends seek you out for support, and you are able to bring stability to chaotic situations. You're very open and cheerful - and you feel like you have a lot of freedom in life. Your future may hold any number of exciting things, and you're ready for all of them!

What Color Green Are You?