Papa and Grandpa

 Kara and Micah are blessed children indeed.  They have MANY aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, great-grandparents and countless others to dote on them!  This post is dedicated to a very special Papa  
 and a very special Grandpa.

Both are great and loved by Kara and Micah!

Ballard Nature Center

For our homeschooling field trip, we went to the Ballard Nature Center in Altamont. When I originally planned the trip, the temps had been in the upper 70s. Then they dropped and thunderstorms were forecasted. We decided to go anyway and were rewarded with a chilly, cloudy, but rain free day!We traveled on some of the many trails and found docks and overlook areas.And then we explored the exhibit room. Like bug tic-tac-toe:And a couple of cool trees:

And bird watching (with one way glass so the birds weren't scared off by us!)

We used a brush to uncover and identify different animals' tracks.
And looked at other interesting wildlife!Kara didn't like that bear but Micah sure did!
Micah just kinda hung out all day :)
The kids had lunch at a kid sized table. Then we visited a fun park. Sorry, no pics :(...but it was an awesome old school park with a merry-go-round and huge slide that would make any mom nervous.

Sorry if there are any grammar errors or typos. Cranky 8 month old is on my lap!

Micah's New Favorite Spot

Micah loves looking out the window. He usually doesn't like his Bumbo for long, but if it's set up by the window then he sits gazing out the window!

Nashville 2012

We visited our good friends in Nashville, TN for Easter weekend. Over the course of the weekend, we visited 3 parks....

a conservation area....

and a waterfall...

We ate delicious (mostly home cooked) food including Sweet Cici's frozen yogurt...

Where's mine, Mom?Mostly we just spent really good time together and realized that our lives have changed a lot since college with our combined 5 kids :)Sorry about the blurry camera phone pic. When all 5 kids are looking cute and happy and in basically one direction, you take the picture with is whatever technology is available!

Joy!

Is there any more innocent fun than rolling down a hill??




More to come from our fun Easter trip to Nashville :)

How to Eat a Bell Pepper

I like peppers. All the colors of the Bell Peppers. Pretty, huh?

But when I use a knife to cut it up, the seeds get everywhere and it's almost not worth the trouble.
A few weeks ago I attended the St. Louis Homeschool Expo. I learned MANY things but one of the most exciting was how to eat a whole pepper!

LIKE AN APPLE! Except you turn the pepper "upside down" and eat all around the seeds. The seeds just stay with the ribs and its a delicious, healthy, and FUN snack! See...That Works for ME!

Soccer Season is Upon Us Again!

I never thought I'd be a "Soccer Mom." But I have the mini-van and the LOVE for sitting out in all weather watching my daughter's games. Although the Urban Dictionary's definition does NOT fit me.I wish I could smile that big when running!

Anyway, we are two weeks into a six week season (too short in my opinion but those parents with multiple kids in soccer think its just right) so hopefully there will be lots more photo ops. And maybe some more pics of Micah!