a break

We have a four day weekend beginning tomorrow and I couldn't be happier. I needed a breather and the timing is perfect. I'm counting down the days till life slows to a crawl. We've been in what feels like a sprint for the past few weeks. The end of school is both exciting and exhausting. I thought it might be time for a little update on a few of the happenings of the past couple weeks.

Nina and Rollin are really playing so well together. Several days this week, they kept each other entertained for 4-5 hours, mostly outside. I try not to interrupt them because they really get into their own little world. I love the days when we have that luxury of not having to be anywhere. Wish we had more, but they're coming.





I was shocked when instead of fighting over the one towel in their bathroom, they came up with this compromise all on their own after getting out of the bathtub!


Kona is still taking his job of chicken protector very seriously. He had another opossum under arrest on the fence this week. It's quite the stand-off and great entertainment during breakfast.







Evan is trying so hard to walk. He has taken several steps and the best thing about it is how excited the other three are. It's like a pep rally every time he makes another attempt. He is used to getting applause so he claps for himself every time. He is also determined to play in the dirt every single day and ruin all his clothes. There might be a lot of diaper pictures this summer!














Sela has been running track. She won two first place ribbons in relay and 440.


Rollin entertaining himself during the track meet.




I've spent lots of time going through my recipes preparing for a cooking class. Aside from creating the menu for the class, I found lots of old favorites to revisit. We've been having soup weather, unfortunately, but the Wild Rice Cherry Soup recipe from Lisa brought a little sunshine to our table. I actually thought the kids would be lukewarm on this one because of the textures and some new flavors, but boy wasI wrong. Everyone cleaned their bowls and Zig said it was his favorite soup ever.

Wild Rice Cherry Soup

Lemon Chicken Salad


Lisa and I have been walking with Rollin, Evan and Sofie on Thursday mornings. We meet around 9, walk along the trail, stop by Hillcrest Bakery, head to the park, feed the ducks, and head back to where we started and to play at the other park. We stop lots along the way to rescue snails and worms and, of course, for snacks. We get back around noon. Rollin rides his bike so he keeps us walking fast. I look forward to this time so much each week for the sunshine (sometimes) and the hours of visiting with Lisa.



And this post is getting too long. I haven't really even mentioned what we've been up to. But it's a start.

a family outing

We see several geese families on our Thursday morning walks along the rivertrail. The baby geese are so cute and Rollin has a hard time approaching them slowly. When he is around, somehow all ducks and geese decide it's time for a swim.

this is my kind of vacuuming!

don't ask how we discovered this trick!

funny

Oh how I love these pictures... they capture the girls just as they are right now. I can almost hear Nina's laugh. It's one of the things we love most about her. And the sparkle in Sela's big eyes. I don't know if these girls realize how special it is to have a sister, but someday they will. I'm thinking of hanging these pictures in their room so when they are upset with each other, they can always remember their good fortune in having a best friend for life.

baby gorilla

hello there!

the final sprint

The end of the school year is busy. There's just no way around it. The craziness of it all makes me look even more forward to summer break, if that is even possible. Auctions, end of year projects, field trips, parties, and on and on.

There are just not enough hours in the day right now so my blogging last week consisted of an ice cream photo. Ha! Sorry Mom and Tina, I know you'd rather see Evan. It was good ice cream though.

Anyway, the kids and Zig did honor my request of not cooking on Mother's Day, and we had a wonderful sunny weekend with lots of togetherness. I did not even think of getting out of bed until I could smell something cooking on Sunday morning :) They were each so proud of their efforts and the brunch (they were trying to get away with 2 meals :) was delicious. Sela even found a recipe for pancakes and printed it off of 101 cookbooks. That's my girl! They won't tell me what they substituted for buttermilk and I'm still a little perplexed about that.

This year the gifts from school were all handwritten poems and notes and I loved them. I'm sure when Sela, Nina, Rollin, and Evan are grown and out of the house (although Rollin has promised to live with me forever), their sweet words and sentiments will bring me to tears again and again as I look back on this time in our lives.

I love being a mother to these four amazing little people with all of my heart. I don't need a holiday or recognition, although it's nice and fun. The reward is in the life we live and I'm so incredibly grateful for each day I have with my children. It's a remarkable journey filled with moments of indescribable joy, and I couldn't ask for more.



We started the "no cooking" part of Mother's Day off on Saturday night with a bike ride. We rode our bikes to Bothell to this wonderful Thai restaurant. We almost ran out of time and drove, but we ended up timing it just right. We had such a blast riding our bikes...Rollin was doing wheelies and waving at everyone he passed. Evan was happy in his apartment on wheels being pulled by Zig. Nina and I rode side by side and talked about all sorts of things...like what kinds of desserts might be at the restaurant. And Sela led the way. It was probably one of the best nights we've ever had as a family. Everyone was happy, the weather was perfect, the food was fantastic, and the the last bit of sun was gone just as we arrived back at the park where we had started. We played with the kids at the park in the dark and then went home and crashed. We had lots of fresh air, full tummies, and plenty of good laughs.













The things we do to get a laugh out of our kids!