Thoughts and Words Ill-Sorted

As soon as the kids finished up their school year, they grabbed the bags they’d helped pack (a week in advance: I had to fend them off until then) and joined me on an early-morning flight to Iowa to visit my parents and brother.  The kids were delighted to find that I slowed down my usual frantic pace so that we could enjoy some down time together.  Some of our usual fun worked better there, and some worse.  Unfortunately, Iowa has far fewer trees, so Katherine and I had to borrow some extra gear from Grandpa so she could settle into her hammock with book and buddy: On the plus side, without two affectionate kitties, we could actually set out a puzzle on the kitchen table and still have all the pieces there.  As we worked our way up to Mom’s most complicated puzzle, we started to worry.  Mom, Dad, and I spent a late-night hour or two looking for one particular piece.  Not finding it, we assumed we’d lost it, and resigned ourselves to some disappointment when we finished the puzzle.  But, the next morning, Katherine reaches in and pops the missing piece into place.  Apparently six eyes weren’t enough; we needed eight or ten.

Erin

The kids are sitting at the counter in my parents’ house in Iowa, just where Adam and I used to perch.

Katherine to Nathaniel: “You’re just like Mommy.”

N: “What do you mean?”

K: “Well, Daddy talks about Mommy changing the subject randomly.  And you just changed the subject randomly.”

N (undaunted, doubling down, also just like Mommy): “What was the subject, anyway?  Besides, who wants to talk about the same old thing for your entire life?”

Five minutes later, as I type this, Nathaniel’s still lecturing the room about how annoying it would be if everyone in the world only talked about one thing forever.

Erin

One of the things keeping me busy this spring was the need to read through the proofs of my book and create an index, as final stages to this decade-long endeavor.  This, then, is what my spring break looked like:

We’re nearing the finish line, though.  The book comes out in July.

Erin

Sydney was away for several trips this spring, so the kids and I took off for local hikes before the weather turned hot; today, and for the foreseeable future, Kentucky is predicted to be in the high eighties and humid. In March, we hiked up and down the Jessamine Creek Gorge (and along the creek), and, in the last picture, enjoyed the view from the lookout at Tom Dorman State Nature Preserve.

I have not done a lot of hiking with the kids by myself before, but their legs are getting longer and everyone can now carry his or her own water/gear.  They also get that collapsing or despairing mid-hike is not going to save them; I can no longer carry them out!  I measured the kids today, and Nathaniel (8) is 4′ 6 1/2″ and Katherine (10) is 5.’  They both wear adult shoe sizes, and Nathaniel inherits my sneakers for play shoes.  All of that growth has now made them fun hiking buddies.

Part of the reason for our lack of blogging this spring is sheer busy-ness (more on that later), but part of it is also that the kids are getting old enough to spend significant time cooking, hiking, and farming with us.  That’s been a lot of fun!  They’ve also really gotten into read-aloud time in the evenings (we’ve worked our way through a lot of books that way) and, surprisingly, picking pieces out of the Mennonite Hymnal to sing together.  Now we’ll have to see what non-stop together time this summer does to our family dynamic.

Erin

Nathaniel constructing his birthday present, which combines two of his favorite things, Harry Potter and Legos:

Katherine in her favorite hat (which made for hat hair nearly every day this spring):

Katherine dutifully attempting homework while Domino “helps”:

Erin

For our last hike of MLK weekend, we stopped by Dog Slaughter Falls (near Cumberland Falls).  Sydney had the camera so that he could capture some of the water-and-ice sights that made us stop every few minutes on our hike.  And, as we pulled out of the resort to start the drive home, a barred owl swooped over the road and perched on a branch just off the road:

This is by far our favorite family vacation so far: time away from the world, a distinct lack of whining and dragging of feet (thanks, kids!), Sydney in charge of planning, challenging outside hikes, and warm soup and tea when we made it back to the cabin.  The spring got busy very soon after this, but this was a great, unexpected break from it all.

Erin

Over MLK weekend (yes, in January: I’m playing catch-up), we took off to Pine Mountain State Resort Park, just a couple of hours south of here.  We’ve decided that, on the whole, slippery winter hiking is preferable to insufferably hot summer hiking.  So we thought we’d go hiking when Kentucky was settling into a snowstorm!

We stayed in a cabin that was built during the Depression.  The thick logs nicely kept out the cold on single-digit nights–as long as we kept the single-pane windows shuttered.

The kids have only recently gotten into board games, so they were excited about the combination of outdoor adventures and inside games.  It probably didn’t hurt that I made regular rounds of hot chocolate and tea to keep everyone toasty.  The kids also made use of their new sleeping bags, so everything felt like an adventure.

For our first outing, the park roads were closed, so we hiked up to the Pinnacle Overlook at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park.  The kids really enjoyed seeing multiple states from up there.  On our second day of the trip, the kids worried we’d lost our minds as we took them into Blanton Forest.  Note to self: for winter hikes, more shoe traction is needed.  We didn’t have all the right gear for getting soaked in winter, but this was also our favorite hike: big forest, old trees, and terrain of a size that could make us feel very far from the rest of the world.  It was beautiful!

Erin

Despite best efforts, we’re definitely feeling it to be a full spring.  I just got proofs for my book today–which come with a four-week turnaround time for proofing and indexing–and have papers and exams to grade in all four classes.  Additional manuscript edits just came in for another article last night.

Sydney is slowly working through his book-length translation project, with a chart and countdown posted on the fridge in the kitchen.  But he’s also building a greenhouse (!) and juggling several other writing projects, in addition to his classes and the many students who want to meet.  And yes, farm season is starting up already in Kentucky.

The kids are not forgotten, however.  They just have their own projects to juggle.  Katherine is giving a speech on “How Not to Bang on a Piano” at school tomorrow, complete with illustrations.  She loves projects, even though they can be overwhelming, so she’s really gotten into it.  This has been sandwiched between events for Academic Team.  She medaled in the district event, and she’s preparing for a regional exam next week.  This, apparently, is what kids do on Saturdays?  They go to school to take exams??  The parents are a bit puzzled by all this, but the kids seem to be having fun.

Nathaniel, meanwhile, is watching the rest of us with bemusement.  He knows not to complain about the tiny bit of homework he receives in second grade, and is busying himself with craft projects and, when we let him, working his way through book after book by Rick Riordan.  He also pesters me to let him in on more cooking, so this afternoon I think he’s going to bake his first cake without any significant help.  After some discussion (he first wanted to try making the layered red velvet cake Nelson made for our wedding . . .), I think he settled on Grandma Dora’s carob sheet cake.  We’re all excited about this!

Erin

Just after Christmas, Sydney’s brother Nelson and Nelson’s wife Kira came for a visit, bringing 19-month-old Allister with them.  We hadn’t seen them since we spent Christmas at their house last year, and Allister has really grown.  Sydney and I were amazed that they were willing to travel with a toddler; given how much his lung power is increasing and how much more mobile he looks to be getting, we won’t be surprised if they limit their traveling for awhile.  But our kids thought he was much more fun to play with this time around!

We spent a lot of time in the kitchen, playing with bowls and wooden veggies and real veggies and cooking implements–and yes, that means both kids and adults.  There was a lot of cooking that week.  Given that Kira and Allister joined Nathaniel and me before the sun was up, and Nelson and Sydney are very much the opposite, the kitchen was busy most hours of the day.  But we also visited Newport Aquarium in Cincinnati and the Bernheim Arboretum outside Louisville.  And we took a number of walks around town, enjoying a mild winter week.

When they left on Wednesday, though, Sydney and I knew we’d better gear up for the spring semester, which begins on Monday.  It looks like cold winter weather will be swinging in just in time to demoralize our returning students.

Erin

You can probably tell that it’s been a busy fall for us.  Lots of teaching and writing deadlines for Sydney and me, lots of school activities for the kids, and lots of farming.  We’re hoping for a much quieter spring!

In early December, Katherine celebrated her third year of piano lessons with a recital.  Her teacher made everything feel special: reserving a space in a church, dressing up, and setting out a lovely reception.  Katherine really enjoyed the chance to hone a few songs, rather than learn something new each week.  She played 12 pieces in all. Erin