Martin Quote

Willa:  Hey mom!  Mom!
Mom:  Hmm?
Willa:  Blood tastes good.  It really does.

Calvin by Calvin

Calvin stands under his self portrait at arts night.

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year, I got art!

Self made from Willa.

Enoch's card he made at school.

 

Emma's self directed card.  I LOVE it.

Willa's gift from preschool.

Calvin's card from school.

Annnd....

Sidewalk art! from Elizabeth, Calvin, Willa, Kyle, & Mikayla.

Emma Played Church Ball

She was awesome.

 

Spring Has Arrived, with Ice Cream

No school and lots of sun, it was an almost perfect day. We decided to take our first family bike ride of 2013. Destination: Soft Serve.

 

Oscar and Will in the trailer, Oscar is eager to get out.

 

 

Cherry dipped cone.

That face.

Ice cream mishap.

Taran and Emma show off their cones.

Calvin and Enoch sit down to enjoy.

Saturday Evening

I'm not even sure what to call this here. It was just a lazy, calm Saturday evening, all the normal stuff was happening:
we're daily in the same room together,
Willa frequently cuddles with David in his lap,
Emma loves to curl up in those chairs,
Oscar is always hanging around to be apart of what's happening,
Enoch and Calvin regularly use the love seat as trampoline, &
Taran often moves through the house in a self meditative daze,
but somehow it's rare that these normal actions combine together so perfectly.

Calvin canon balls in the back.

Oscar and Taran are drawn into the space.

Enoch leaps, Emma yawns, Taran found a book, Calvin watches, Willa plays, Oscar observes.

May Day at the Y

May 1st, traditionally a day to celebrate spring, flowers, and color but it was snowing when we headed into the YWCA.

 

 

Pretty much the only color from the day was when Oscar bit the tip off of a marker while in babysitting.

 

And Willa too, because she's just cute.

 

David After Another Year

This year David's birthday celebration was very understated and sandwiched between his lecture prep and dissertation work. But we got as much party in as we could. His special birthday dinner was hot dogs, grape juice, and pie. That's right, I offered him the world and he chose processed meat sticks and mustache making beverages.  Really, what do you expect from a man who comes dressed to his 39th birthday party in a Boba Fett Tshirt?

The man who puts the "boy" in "birthday boy" showing off his key lime pie.

"Happy to you!  Happy to you!"

Question: How Does Taran Eat a Little Hot Dog?

Answer:  With a LOT of sauce.

A Corndog Muffin made with little sausages is one of our favorite dinners. It's easy to make and those little sausages are so yummy that sometimes they are plucked out of the cornbread and saved for the very end.

Taran decided to do that the last time we had our muffins.  With one mini wiener on his plate he reached for the ketchup and mustard...

The correct meat to condiment ratio.

Use the dog to swirl the sauce.

Plunge in and make sure to scoop as much fixings as possible.

Any leftovers can be sopped with the fingers.

Wash it down.

Savor.

Calvin's First Pinewood Derby

Calvin has joined the Cub Scouts at his school. He loves it.

 

 

 

Emma Picks Up the Slack

She doesn't even know she's helping to raise her siblings
(in this picture, literally), she just loves them.

 

Accidental Oscar

The camera, it's one of the easiest things to open on an iPhone. Oscar has figured it out pretty good. He still doesn't know to point, then shoot, but he's got the click part down.

Self portrait.

Toes and bottle.

It took me a while to figure what this was when I found it in my pictures:  Extreme Carpet Close Up.

Self Portrait II.

Daddy at church.

Encouraged to mischief by older sister while at church.

Sunbathing, Minnesota Style

Home and inside all day Saturday, I shouted at my boys, "You either go outside, or help clean up inside!" Enoch and Calvin opted for the outside. I found them thus:

Enoch found a sunny patch at the gate.

Calvin cuddled up on a sled.

Do not wake a hibernating boy!

Merry April!

Oscar, early in the week, with just a little snow on the ground.

Willa, Friday morning, with a LOT of snow on the ground.

David and Willa, Friday afternoon, in a winter wonderland.

Emma attacks.

Calvin in my childhood A&W hat without gloves.

The whole family in front of Lake Nokomis.

Enoch over Minnehaha Creek.