EKjourney Backup

I really do enjoy making a Holiday special and doing something fun.  It was certainly a lot easier to do this when the kids were little.  We could do a craft, cook something special, read some picture books.  We can certainly dive a lot deeper into subject matters when they are older but it takes so much more time to plan.  I am pretty good about doing a fun Thanksgiving bash, Christmas is often too busy with all the extras (parties, birthdays, shopping, rehearsals, plays) and I find that the kids are distracted.  Valentines is just too in the middle of Winter and I have trouble mustering up the energy and motivation to do anything fun.  But, Saint Patrick's Day is in the Spring and it seems like with the sunshine comes a jolt of enthusiasm.    Saint Patrick's day 6 years ago.  Sawyer was 10, Jubilee 8, Evi 7, Brighton 5, and Glorielle 3. And now!  Sawyer 16, Jubilee 14, Evi 13, Brighton 11, and Glorielle 9.  I meant to make green e...

We are 3 weeks into March already!  The heavy cloud of Winter Darkness is lifting and we are enjoying being outside and gearing up for garden season and warm weather to come!  And it is such a relief to have it be nearly 7:00 and the sun is just going down.     Oh kitties!!! Brighton's dinner disagreed with him and he threw up in the early morning.  Farley is helping him feel better.  Luckily, this was a clean puke bowl. Movie night on our bed with the boys while the girls watched something else in the playroom.  It is becoming harder and harder to find a family movie that everyone wants to watch. I had Phil turn around and double back for a picture of this. So, the power went off, again.  It was the final push that Phil needed to finish the generator hook up - one to the house and one to the pump.  And then, we were up and running.  It was amazing!!  We could use the stove, have a heater going, have on lights, have running wat...

Phil and Andy took a group of high schoolers up skiing again.  This time Evi got to go.  She picked it up quickly and had a fun day hanging out with Phil.  Not sure they saw very much of the other kids!  It was Jubilee and Zoe's second time so they paired up and got to try out some of the harder runs.  This is Sawyer's 3rd time and he was already up on the hardest runs and learning how to do jumps and get the front part of his board off the ground.   I would like to find a way for them to do this several times each season.  Unfortunately, it is really expensive and requires a parent that doesn't mind driving in snow!   Meanwhile, the two younger ones hung out with me.

Yes, Yes, Yes, Yes!! The days are longer, daylight savings time arrived, there has been some sunshine, and even a few days where the temperature reached 60's, the daffodils are blooming, and everywhere green shoots are popping up out of the ground.  It is here, it is really here, SPRING!! Still chilly frosty mornings The first mow of the new year (the first mow since, maybe October) Perfect for doing flips (although the ducks do love to nibble through the green grass fertilizing as they go). Storms roll in and out, puffy clouds capture light and shadows, Spring means cloud watching! These picture was actually taken at the very end of February.  It was Sunday, we were listening to a sermon online, and I was planting my seeds on the deck, in the sunshine.  The sun felt so warm and it was so amazing to be outside and so amazing to be doing "spring things" that I couldn't help but tear up.  It was a rough rough winter. My greenhouse isn't up yet.  There were literal...