Thoughts and Words Ill-Sorted

After a short drive, we found ourselves in very different terrain from the horse-fences-and-lawn Bluegrass region.  As we hiked Rock Bridge, I took a number of photos.  Gratuitous photo pile-on to follow:

Erin

We learned the hard way last year that hiking in the middle of a Kentucky summer can be miserably hot.  So this year we started earlier.  On Sunday we headed out for an overnight trip to Daniel Boone State Park.  This time, Nathaniel assured me, he wouldn’t forget his shoes (last time he walked barefoot and I carried him half the way).

Since our old camera batteries were no longer charging, and I was in need of something smaller for upcoming trips, our family got a new camera.  So you should see more pictures of our kids and things away from our house (where we could charge each battery after it took a few pictures).  The kids got on a crafting kick this week (our first after school let out), so they decided to make their own cameras:

But then I’d better get back to doing more of this:

Both Sydney and I are slated for international trips in the next couple of weeks, and I need to be writing papers and making travel plans before then!

Erin

Erin

On the last day of April, we picked a large colander full of strawberries from our garden.  I knew I was right to say “yes” to Sydney’s marriage proposal exactly 11 years earlier, but it’s nice to have continuing confirmation.

Since that first picking, we’ve had five more colanders’ worth of strawberries.  This is a great start to the summer.  After making it through a steamy graduation last week and end-of-year meetings, we’re now left to our own devices.  The kids have only one more week of school and then they’re all ours.  Wish us luck 🙂

Erin

On Monday, Katherine was part of a recital of beginning piano students.  It was held in the auditorium at Asbury, where she’s been taking lessons since January.  Her piece: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” Her pre-recital giggles and energy had us a bit nervous, but she did a great job!

It does feel a bit silly to make such a fuss for roughly five minutes of performance by kids in elementary school–but then again, it’s a great chance to introduce kids to not only practice and playing, but also performing.

This spring is our first as a family juggling a child’s activity schedule (weekly piano lessons and weekly choir practices), and it’s certainly changing the dynamic around here.  We do, though, have it easy: we can walk her down to her practices at Asbury (no lengthy car commute into Lexington).  Katherine has bravely and patiently made it through the worst of the practice wiggles (“I’m tired,” “I can’t focus,” “I don’t have time”) and she’s discovered that those all fade considerably once you are actually sitting on the piano bench.  She’s dutifully practiced five times a week, setting herself goals and playing around with our old-fashioned metronome, and she’s now quite confident in both her skills and her interest in music.  Her teacher, a piano student at Asbury, has been very good for Katherine, and she’s kindly agreed to keep Katherine as a student in the fall.  So, currently Katherine has two main interests: reading and music.  As parents, we now have a goal of ensuring that all other activities get her up and moving.  There will be a lot of outside play this summer!

Erin

Erin

My hyacinths are faded, but Nathaniel’s tulips are blazing in the front yard.  Last fall, Sydney let us each pick one kind of bulb, and then he did the hard work of planting them so that we could enjoy a spring surprise.

We’re settling into our summer lifestyle.  Within ten minutes of arriving home after church, we were all out in the backyard, settled into the top tiers of the playground (underneath the newly leafed-out locust), eating strawberry/cream cheese/arugula sandwiches.  This evening, we had homemade pizza on the deck in-between play (kids) and gardening (adults) sessions.

Although Sydney is swamped, he took the time this weekend to try out his new yogurt-maker.  He claims to be able to make yogurt for half as much as it costs in the store.  For a family that buys several quarts a week (and that would love to use a quart every day for smoothies in the summer), this is a pretty big deal.

For the adults in the household, this is a busy time of year.  Sydney’s stretched thin with three classes (at two different universities), a sizable garden, and plans for farming.  I’m simply trying to wrap up my four classes and keep the end-of-the-year slide toward graduation (double the usual meetings, three times as many obligatory student activities) from overwhelming me.  Both Sydney and I are also trying to fit in some writing, since we’ll be delivering conference papers in May (Sydney: Michigan), June (Erin: Leeds), and July (Erin: York by Skype).  Our kids have been embarking on their own studies.  Nathaniel saw a picture of an activity he liked in a kids’ magazine and presented me with this bunny rabbit the other day:

Erin

The two pictures below pretty much sum up our week (though I’ve spared you images of the cold we’ve been sharing with each other):

A truckload of dirt for new garden beds in both the front and back yard.  We’re providing plenty of entertainment for the neighborhood.

At some point, while Sydney and I were talking the other evening, I realized that our children were both absent and quiet . . . and then I heard Katherine reading aloud from the other room.

Erin

This morning, the kids and I joined a pile of other families hammering away at small wooden objects at Lowe’s (the din was deafening), and we emerged half an hour later with two wooden monster trucks.  Those will be great fun out in the yard this summer and are, as of my writing, already covered in dirt.  Both kids were excited to have made their own vehicles with only minimal help from me.  On the way out of the store, we took a moment to shimmy to Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” in a convenient aisle before heading home.  Nice start to our spring break.

Erin

Erin