Weekend Notes

Calvin went to DisneyWorld!

The Madison High School Band marched down Main Street this week. 

After much begging and some threats, Calvin sent us pictures.

Nana, David, Willa, Oscar, & I made signs to wave them out of the school parking lot.

My mommy made a shirt (she is SO CUTE!!!)

The Band marches. It is named “Spirit” for Spirit of Madison.

He and his friend Spencer appear to have eaten their way through the parks.

   

Calvin in Florida: Representing Madison with Martin good looks!

And in true Calvin fashion, he slept whenever and wherever he needed.

Other things happened:

Summer Reading started at the Madison Public Library. I acted as Children’s Librarian for a week and did 9 programs and oversaw 3 volunteers. Plus kept up the semblance of being the director. I loved it until Thursday. Then I was just dead tired!

   

Willa and Oscar started a running program called Sample Strong (named after a doctor who liked to run, Dr. Sample.) Willa found a 4 leaf clover in the grass.

David ran this week too. And he looked good doing it!

Black socks and short shorts (cat noise!).

Enoch had a productive week but I got this picture of him not being productive. 

Hypatia was under his knees but as soon as I thought to snap a picture, she was gone. Stinker.

  

So I got a picture of her on the steps. And late a picture of her on my nice new couch. Stinker.

I have a Hutterite friend that I made at the library. Maryanne. She’s been inviting me to visit her colony for a while. I finally had some time this weekend. I brought Willa because she’s the same age as Maryanne’s youngest. They were awkward together—she picture below—just like real teens. 

Oscar came too. He sat in the machines in one of the manufacturing shops. The colony has every thing on sight. A large kitchen for the women to make food for everyone to eat 3 meals a day in. And shops and equipment for the men who work there.

  

 

Weekend Notes May 29 - June 4

Looking at my camera roll you’d think it was a boring week. Really, there was so much happening that I didn’t have time to take the pictures. 

This was a week of fitness:

David did Jared’s favorite Memorial Day Work out “The Murph”. 

David worked so hard he bled. Either that or he burned the tip of his nose trying to take the lid off of a pot of scalding hot water with his teeth in the front yard and ripped off the scab with a too enthusiastic drop to the bottom of a push up. You decide which story is more believable.

I went out for a 9 mile WALK! But wanted a picture of my hair during the 1.5 minutes of cascading curls I get in a day.

I hadn’t meant to walk so far or for so long but I went off the gravel roads several times to see pasture and spring in South Dakota. It was so lovely and the weather kept changing so it felt like I was starting a new walk every 20 minutes. 

Later in the week I went on an in-town run and had to snap a picture of the spray paint just left for later on the street. Madison is a magical place.

Another run another day.

This is what the running the gravel roads in spring look like but this road is special because I met Meyers on it.

The library had a teen (Teen Advisory Board) sleepover on Friday.

The sleepover was in honor of one girl who had asked for one for years and years. 

She is moving this summer so I said yes and the crazy crew gave her a funeral.

 

During the “funeral” I used my phone to play sad music and laid it on the coffin.

I didn’t pay attention and let them drag it out. That must be when Charlotte Hasleton (niece/cousin/prankster) gave a hold of it and took about 200 selfies.

 

 

Apparently Willa got in on the action.

 

The teens finally dozed off around 2am. 

They were up and out at 8am and I survived the whole thing with the help of 2 parent volunteers and David. We walked to the Sundog Cafe to eat a calm and quiet breakfast.

I had to let Emma know that her scones are SO mush better.

And then, just because, I stayed for the library service project. My mommy came to help.

I had to snap a picture of our awesome sense of style!

More Emma: shes’ working on crowns with themes picked by her father:

Waterfall ideas:

Morning Star:

Well, she’s working as hard as Seppy, her cat, will allow.

Not pictured:

Enoch’s garden work.

Oscar’s watering work (for people on vacation).

Taran’s day-to-day.

And more.

Not all of it was good. Calvin left for camp and I miss him.

David got word from a grant that he didn’t get it.

But all-in-all, I’ll take it!

 

Off The Wall

In 2021 the Martin family started doing family counseling. We were in a dark place after my graduation (I’d spent more time away from my family than ever), COVID, and our uncertain ties with the LDS Church had made home life tense and unhappy.

One of our first sessions was drawing/painting/depicting our Family. I loved the results so much I kept them on the wall in the kitchen/table area. It’s been a couple of years and it’s time to take them down. So here they are, off the wall and on the blog.

Enoch’s picture.

A tree representing parents with 6 branches for 6 kidlins.

Emma. — She was at SDSU but came to support when she could.

Another tree with 8 Martins under it’s canopy.

Calvin.

A one-eyed, one-horned flying purple people eater because family is weird and terrifying?

Oscar with 7 people and a camera?

Maybe he didn’t have time to finish.

Mine (Lisa’s)

I’m not an artist so I used a color to represent each member of the family and wrote their name as their body. I made sure to make all their eyes brown because I loved my brown eyed husband and kidlins.

David — brown — dark, earthy

Lisa — yellow — happy, bright

Emma — purple — sophisticated 

Taran — grey — hides, enigma(?)

Enoch — bright pink — drama!

Calvin — blue — cool, rational

Willa — red — wild

Oscar — orange — curious, growing

Taran

There’s a story to this. I recall laughing. I will have to get him to tell it.

I don’t know what happened to David’s or Willa’s. Makes me sad to have lost them. But I’m glad I have these ones.

Also, removed from the cork boards, under the family pictures above were these documents:

A Long Ago “After School List” with check marks for completion. Includes paper route plans.

A screen time agreement plan for the family. Another try and another fail (eventually) for reigning in screens. It had everyone’s signature on the back. I remember we went to Brookings and talked it over at a Chinese restaurant and they signed. The food was good at least.

This is proof we tried.