Saying Goodbye to Old Friends

Saying goodbye can be so difficult. It's generally a time of sorrow, until now.

That's right, Marcus is done with diapers. I decided we would work on it together while Karen was out of town for the weekend. Meet our new friend, Big Boy Underpants!

Fishing With Kids

While Karen was enjoying a weekend away, I decided to take the kids fishing (with lots of help from my parents). We took John's boat to CJ Strike to try our hand at crappie and perch fishing. The fishing wasn't red-hot, but the kids each caught a few fish and had a good time. Marcus actually hooked his own fish, but nobody really noticed and it got loose while wrapped around the swim deck. Here is a picture of Marcus with a  perch.

 Here is Elena with a crappie she caught.

What Happens at the Cabin....

Well, it gets posted to Facebook, Twitter, and this here blog. Ok, I don't have a Twitter account and rarely post on Facebook. So here you go:

We forgot to pack pajamas for Marcus, so this is what he wore. As you can see, the poor little guy is clutching onto the last little bit of manhood he he could find in his inventory.

The snow is completely gone around our cabin. Karen's cousin Bruce, who owns the cabin next door said he has never seen things thaw this early in his 30+ years there.

It was a pretty mellow weekend. The kids hung out with their cousin Katie and did a few hikes. We had some huge bonfires burning up the remainder of the two big trees we cut down last year.

Compound work day

 This weekend the family got together for a compound work day, which is where everyone living on the compound pitches in on a large project. This stemmed from the dump truck filled with permabark and us needing to get it emptied for some upcoming projects. 

My dad is the compound engineer. He's the guy with the plan and he's telling us how this is going to play out. He decided that he would add on tree removal to the work list.

When unloading a dump truck filled with rock, the backhoe plays a key role. Good think we have two of them. We decided that filling all the wheelbarrows with this method is a lot easier than shoveling.

We emptied 10 yards of rock from the truck.  Afterwards it was time for pizza and beer.

While the adults worked, the kids were happily entertained on the play equipment. They love a good dirt pile. Sprout and Marcus brought their shovels to help out but they were having too much fun playing in the dirt. 

 

How a Five-Year-Old Makes Easter Eggs

As I was driving the kids home from school/daycare today, I asked them about their day. Elena explained to me that you can make Easter eggs by putting "normal" eggs in water. She ignored my suggestion that heat must be added to said water.

As I was reading her bedtime stories, I discovered this under her bed:

Yes, it's a egg in a glass of water. I can't wait to see what her deviled eggs look like!

Meet Bobby

Last weekend my parents brought home Bobby, a 25-year old Arabian kid-safe horse. The kids took turns riding him with me in the pasture. He's a very quiet, friendly horse. He still has a lot of pep for an old gummer though.

Bobby came complete with a kid's saddle. My dad and I took both kids out for a ride in the Owyhees on Monday. Elena rode Bobby by herself and had a great time. Sorry I don't have any pictures from that ride, I was busy dealing with the other, not-so-well-behaved horses.

Worst Birthday Party Ever?

Yesterday was Elena's birthday. We celebrated in our usual fashion with a swimming party at the local YMCA.Things started heading downhill on Thursday when Audrey got sick. Then Kenna, followed by Leah, Mae, and of course Escher came down with pinkeye. When you count parents and siblings, we were down about 20 people. We persevered. We encouraged everyone to eat seconds because there was so much food. 

We started off with a quick swim, but after about 10 minutes the lifeguards kicked everyone out of the pool for a standard potty break. We took advantage of the break to eat. Afterward we went for another swim. Then this happened. Actually the lifeguard told me there was a "chemical imbalance" in the pool, but this guy vacuumed the same spot for 40 minutes so I drew my own conclusions. We managed to keep six wet kids entertained for 40 minutes and enjoyed a nice long swim afterward. I stayed clear of the "vacuum" area.

Here is a picture of Elena and her friend Piper from school. Piper is a few weeks older than Elena; not only is she taller, she wins the hair category by about 10-1. Piper's brother Jason, Elena's Friend Zarek and her cousins Alex and Katie also attended.

 We managed to have a surprisingly good time. We may even give it a try again next year.