Holidaayyyeee.....

as in the song by Madonna.  I just have to share this story because it keeps coming back to me and giving me a good laugh.  I had all three kids at the grocery store at 4:00pm in the afternoon.  Never really a good combination but it was what it was.  We're in the frozen food aisle choosing a vanilla ice cream for Rootbeer floats when the song Holiday comes on.

Do you know what my musical Matthew did? 

Oh I'm laughing now as I remember.

He started moving.  Like bopping his head.  And his hips.  And then moving his hands to the beat.  And bending at the knees whole body moving.  Matthew has had an interest in music since he was young.  Well, he's young now (only 6) but I mean really young like maybe 2yrs. old or so.  Got the whole beat thing down early so him dancing is not really news at all. 

But him dancing in the middle of the grocery store is which is what makes this whole story so dang funny.  I'm trying to open the door to the ice cream and he's in the middle of it dancing.  He's also trying to talk (while bobbing his head up and down) to Ella Jane to let her know that this is the song "Holiday" on their Kids Bop CD.  I was just laughing at this point and made the rest of the shopping trip much more enjoyable.  So funny.

Sara and I are back now from our extended weekend in Seattle.  I think we may have brought back the weather with us though.  It's been nothing but cloudy and rainy!  Finally had thunderstorms today which has added some excitement to the afternoon. 

Assuming it all lets up by the weekend we'll be planting our garden.  The kids and I are excited about this endeavor.  I'm actually pretty nervous about it though.  What if the deer eat all of our hard work?  Or the bunnies?  I'm not sure I want to put enough energy into to it to keep all the critters at bay.  We at least still have our Farmer's Market~ love this time of year!

I got schooled...

My brother Fraser (and also my twin) challenged invited me to join him in his Hot Yoga class today.  Me, having never really done yoga before; (just at home and enough to know it wasn't really my thing) but always up for a good challenge, accepted.

Um, it may not have been my best decision of the day.  Or perhaps it was.  I'm still pondering.

Ever been to Hot Yoga?  Neither had I, until today.

The class which was full, was in this itty bitty room was about 105 degrees.  Or so I'm told.  Give or take.  We speak in hushed tones, lay down our mats, and begin our stretches poses.  Or rather the yoga folks begin their stretches poses.  I don't  because I'm the new girl who's never done Yoga (well except for in my living room but I don't think that really counts, b/c after about 4-5min. I get really bored and push stop on the DVD player) so I just sit cross legged on my towel staring at my reflection in the mirror hoping to get through this thing without fainting.

We begin and the instructor starts speaking Yoga.  Did you know it has it's own language?  She kept saying something like Chanooga and all I could think of was Chattanooga and the country song by Alan Jackson.  Now can you see why I only last 4-5 min. in my living room?  :)  I've got no discipline when it comes to downward dog and breathing.

I think I lasted about 20min. and then the instructor came my way and very kindly told me I was doing it wrong.  Well, not in those exact words but she could tell that I was getting tired.  So, I plopped myself down because my heart at this point was racing and I knew I wasn't going to be able to keep striking a warrior pose.

I was determined to stay in the room and as long as I breathed through my mouth I was okay.  You have to understand it's like being in a crowded sauna with 20 other VERY SWEATY strangers.  So, if I dared looked around (and I did once) I found myself wanting to gag and head for the door.  But then I'd be the new girl who couldn't take it and I wasn't about to be her!  But seriously, I've never been in the company of so many sweaty people before.  And their like 6 inches on either side of you.

All I could think of was my high school days and my friend Jane during soccer tryouts.  They were always held in the month of August and afterwards we'd drive down to the lake, sit in her van and let the sweat bead up on our arms.  When the heat was too much to bear we'd throw open the door and race down to the water and jump in.  Ahh, that rush of cool water....

The class did eventually end and much to my relief I was able to escape make a quick exit.  I came home drenched but feeling refreshed.  It was a challenge I'm not sure I'll do again but grateful for the experience.  (This picture was taken after we got home....all sweaty refreshed!)

Oh, and in awe of my brother (my twin) who does this 2-3 times a week.  Way to go bro.

My Little Sidekick...

Sara (who turns TWO today!) and I flew to Seattle last Thursday to attend a memorial for my uncle who passed away last week.  It's just the two of us and we are both enjoying this one on one time together.

The big kids stayed home with Jim and they're having their share of fun as well.

But for now, it's just me and my girl until we fly home tomorrow.

She catches on...

Does your youngest child catch on quickly too?  When each of our older children were turning two we didn't have things like helmets and scooters for them to play with.  Infact they were three and five when they got their first scooters.  But, now that we've had some time to play outside Sara has gravitated to what her sister does.

And that's, you guessed it.  Ride the scooter.

I mean, look at her go!  I have to say she's pretty good at it too.  Yes, it does have three wheels and all, it's not like she's having to balance but there is not an ounce of tentativeness in her.  It's just go with gusto. 

Way to go girlie.  So proud of you.

We had some fun this weekend...

Jim had the students on a weekend leadership retreat, so what did we do?  We packed up and joined him of course.  This is the first time we've been able to do this and the kids had a fabulous time.  I did too.  Lots of outside fresh air time and the kids got to eat hot dogs and hamburgers and share a bedroom, with a sink in it; boy did they think that was cool.

Jim and I went on plenty retreats when we were in college and our campus ministry director's wife (whew!) would usually bring her family of three little kids and pal up with other wives in the ministry.  There are no other wives here for me to pal up with like that but I love that we are sort of reliving our college years in some way by bringing our kids to these types of functions.

I could stare at these pictures all day.  I absolutely love them.  The one of Sara's hand on the swing is one I took of Ella Jane when she was just about the same age.  We have it hanging in our entryway but when I went to look for the file of it, I was out of luck.  I have no idea why I can't find that but if I do, I'll post 'em side by side.  So cute.

And Matthew on the turn thingy?  It has a name but it escapes me at the moment.  He loved this thing and was on it every chance he got.  Never photographed it but he was often times laying down in the middle, hands behind his head, eyes closed, smile on his face.  This boy can make me crazy sometimes but when I see him like that, I think I'm getting a peek into that sweet sweet spirit of his.  So thankful for the glimpse.

"Run Mama!"...

These are words I am hearing a lot these days.  Now that the weather has turned we are doing a lot of walking to and from preschool, and pushing the stroller to and from preschool, and running with the stroller to and from preschool.

Soooo.......

I am hearing a lot of "Run mama!, Run!" from Sara.

And...

"C'mon mom!, Run!" from Ella Jane.

I can't help but oblige.

At the end of the day, this mama is plain worn out.  That and taking care of our family for the past two weeks while a stomach bug has worked its way through all of the kids and hubby too.  But, in his defense, he took care of himself.

We're back to health now (thank goodness) and back to enjoying popscicles on the deck and tempted to let the kids stay up way past their bedtimes now that it's light out so late.  When we're all sleeping past 7:00am we know we're tired!  Loving school days but looking forward to having kids home for the summer.

We love our nature center...

Some of the things we have been a part of recently have been The Owl Prowl; where we learn about the owls in our area and then go out in the dark and call for them (and they really do call back!), made bird houses for the bluebirds in our area (although ours still remains empty), snowshoeing, pulling sleds (of course) and now Easter Egg Dying! 

Apparantly the juice of a few berries can go a long way.  We dyed eggs using remnants from cranberries, walnuts, onions, and rose hip.  Some gave great color, others did not.  I liked the walnuts the best.  It gave a real 'bird's egg' look to the egg.  And it was just pretty.  If it wasn't a hard boiled egg I think it could be a deoration.

While we waited for our eggs to be dyed we did a few crafts like the flower you see in Matthew's hand above.  Ella Jane is hard at work spelling her name here which is why her mouth is open.

We colored...

and said "Ta Daa!" (this really is what she is saying here)

And perhaps the most favorite craft of the night was of course these little jelly bean carrots.  Does her face not crack you up?  When I pulled this picture up I just loved it.  It still makes me smile.

We are almost never out at night because the kids go to bed at 7:00pm (and this event took place in the evening) but this was well worth the extra effort!

Dying Easter Eggs...

We're off to our Nature Center tonight to learn how to dye Easter eggs without using the store bought dye.  Sounds like it'll be interesting and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you through pictures and stories.

In the meantime, we've been having some wonderful spring weather which reminds me that I need to get on the ball and update my header.  No more mittens and snow for us! 

And now that it is so warm we are taking advantage of the fact that we live really close to our elementary school (a few blocks) and preschool (a mile).  Unless it's SUPER cold or we're running late we walk Matthew to school in the morning's.  And now walking Ella Jane (and picking her up) to her preschool has become a regular part of our week.  What a great way to fit in a little exercise and Matthew gets the independence and experience of riding his bike on a sidewalk.  It's been a great start to the season.