Snow Day

We finally had a "snow day" from school yesterday. No, we didn't get three feet of snow (thank the Lord!), but the power was out and wasn't going to be restored until about noon. One would think they could do some school work with natural light and even do some stuff outside, but apparently not. The Elementary school concert was scheduled for today, so Morgan was the tiniest bit disappointed that school was cancelled. He got over that feeling pretty quickly.

Ironically, power was back on just after 8am, before school would've even started. Don't know why it took so much less time than predicted. Officialls were probably kicking themselves, but we enjoyed a lazy day at home.

You'd think I would've caught up on some future blogs, or given my dog and my son (not necessarily in that order) a hair cut, or organized the messy areas in my house, or one of another million things I should do. But I didn't. And I'm glad.

Birthday Island

Nicole's theme for her 13th birthday party was Survivor: Birthday Island. We're good parents and we've succeeded in getting our daughters hooked on reality television. Survivor is one of our weekly rituals!

The kids had a great time. They had "buffs" (matching team bandannas), built shelters, made tribe flags, competed in tribal challenges and went to tribal council. If you're not a Survivor fan, all that means nothing to you.

This was the "immunity idol." Again, that will mean nothing to you if you're not a Survivor fan! She bought this beat up old horse for twenty-five cents at a yard sale. Nicole is wearing her "buff" that we got from the dollar store.

The first of many Tribal Councils. Glenn got to play "Jeff" (the host of Survivor). He had a good time with it, as you can imagine.

One of many challenges. They had to do a relay race with an egg in a spoon. They walked down the log and had to duck through the soccer goals. Ellea (and a couple of her friends) got to participate also, so that they'd have enough players.

A fun time was had by all. No one actually got voted out, they just voted for who would lose points. Ellea's team had the most points at the end of the evening, so they won.

Nicole told me after it was all over that she and her friends enjoyed it so much that they were going to have individual Survivor competition over the summer.

We'll see about that!

Pickle

Sadly, we are down to one 4-H pig. We had pig weigh-in on Saturday when every 4-H pig is taken to a scale downtown to be weighed and tagged. Nicole's pig, Pickle, somehow hurt his back in the process. We talked to the vet yesterday and she said to give him aspirin and hope for the best. Last night he could no longer stand up. This morning he was dead.

It's always sad to lose an animal, but unfortunately, it's also part of the process of having animals. Nicole has been given the option of getting another pig or switching to a lamb project. Lamb was really what she wanted to take in the first place, so I think we'll be in the lamb business soon.

Rest in peace, Pickle.

Happy Mother's Day!

Not my favorite photo of myself, but one of the few I have with all three kids crowed around their mom. Don't I look refreshed and relaxed in this photo?

Those were the days.

I actually do miss them sometimes. Our kids are growing up too fast.

And then I think about how much I like sleeping through the night.......

Happy, happy mother's day to all my mother friends and family out there!

Lucky Number Thirteen

As I write this we have 10 kids running around our house. It's 9:30 pm Friday night and we've been birthday-partying for the past 6 hours. I'm tired, but I don't think the party is going to wind down for awhile!

I remember that I wanted at least one girl and I figured if my firstborn was a girl, I'd be all set! Everyone told me that they thought I was having a boy so I convinced myself of that too. It was such a thrill to hear the doctor say that we had a girl when you were born!

It seems impossible that it has been thirteen years already. I'm afraid time will move even faster as you mature into the beautiful young woman you are already becoming. I can't imagine life without you. You're so kind-hearted and easy-going. Thank you for your beautiful smile and great sense of humor.

Happy 13th Birthday, Nicole!!
I love you!

Young Scientists

One of the requirements of the federal grant that I coordinate for our school district is that the kids go on a campus tour every year. This year, I took 35 seventh graders to the University of Idaho in Moscow (my Alma Mater).

My dear friend, Candi, works at U of I. She's the Human Anatomy instructor. She graciously opened up her lab to us. (Thanks, Candi!!!) She had two fun activities planned. They made working lung models with balloons, straws and cups. They also learned a little about forensics. They learned how to look at a human tibia bone and tell if it was from a male or female, and how to measure the bone and calculate the original height of that person. Candi did a great job with the kids and the lessons fit right into what they're learning in science right now.

Our other fun stop was the Museum of Entomology. It's a room full of (dead) bugs and the guy who takes care of them. It doesn't sound as great as it was. It really was interesting. There are so many different bugs! There were also a few live insects.

That blurry green thing on Nicole's hand is a "walking stick" bug. And not your typical stick-like walking sticks that you might be familiar with. They are from New Zealand and they live in brambles and look very leaf like. The boys are brown and look like dead leaves and the girls are green. They are very cool in a buggy-sort-of-way!