Berrylicious

Here's a memory from late July, probably. I just had to put a photo of these berries up. Aren't they gorgeous?? These are all berries that we picked from our garden (bless the hearts of our industrious previous home owners!) We LOVED having all these raspberries right outside our door. We made many a batch of raspberry ice cream that was quickly consumed (before Weight Watchers, of course!) All the kids gobble up the berries (there are black, red, and golden raspberries, strawberries, blackberries (which I'm not as crazy about), and a very few blueberries). There are also a few cherry trees (not producing yet), an apple tree, and a plum tree (fairly sporadic producers, too). There are also a TON of herbs (previous owners were big on tea), asparagus, and a few raised bed plots (look for tomatoes and basil next summer!). I think Jared was sold on this house before we even walked inside. Need I say more?

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!!

Happy to say that I'm getting the hang of blogging a bit more here! Just wish it wasn't always at midnight.... ;) So here's a photo of Eva, Oliver, and Lucy right before we headed off to school for the first day. Oliver is in the Young Five classroom, and Eva is going into 2nd grade. Since we live in Hancock and the kids are "school of choice" enrolled in Houghton, we will be driving the kids there every day. They were both a little disappointed that they won't be riding the bus; I should tell them of my long bus ride and vomit stories to cure them of that. Ha!

We did "steal" a tradition from some friends of ours for the day before school. It is called "Family Feast", and is held the day before school starts. A family "theme" for the year is introduced, complete with crowns, and, of course, a feast! Since we've never done this before, we started out small. We let the kids choose their own meal (they opted for hamburgers, brats, chips, beans, and SODA!), but we did have a nice tablecloth, napkins, and candlelight (okay, so the light filtered in), but they still loved it! They gobbled up their food, and were moderately attentive when we talked about the theme. We are going to have "Follow the Prophet" as our theme, and have 2 Family Home Evenings a month where we have a lesson from a book called "Before They Turn 12" (based on the For the Strength of Youth booklets), and the other two where we learn about a prophet of the church (watch video clips, tell stories about that prophet, etc.). Jared is teaching a "Teaching of the Living Prophets" class this fall at Institute, so it should provide some nice carryover. Afterwards, Jared gave Eva and Oliver a Father's blessing. We recorded them, and I want to type them up and print them on nice paper so they can keep them from year to year and re-read them. I think it will be a great tradition for us, and one that has so many wonderful facets to focus on.

Rockhound, anyone?

I have been trying to have "surprise days" with the kids (an idea I got from the Ensign), where we don't tell them where we're going, or what we're doing until we're on our way or there already. Sometimes it's nothing too fancy or expensive (well, okay, usually that's what it is), but mostly it's a way to make something that isn't too exciting sound a little more exciting (i.e. the other day I got groans when I suggested that we go for a hike, but now I think I'll make it a 'surprise day' where we go on a "leaf hunt" for our leaf books). So far for our surprise days we have gone to the Houghton library (our first week here), and then a tour of the Quincy mine, complete with a tram ride and underground tour of part of the mine.

So last week, I was getting a little stir crazy, so for our latest installment of "surprise day", we drove to Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor. We walked around each city a little bit, but it's was Jared's idea to look for neat-o rocks (mostly we were looking for agates, but we picked up anything that looked interesting). We stopped first at one beach between Copper Harbor and Eagle Harbor that mostly had sandstones, but really fantastic rock formations and great waves on this particular day. The kids had a blast running on the rocks and playing games with each other. The next place we went to was called Sand Bay, I think, and was supposed to have a lot of agates and other rocks. Jared and I went a little crazy with how many rocks we picked up, but there were a ton of really cool rocks. Now we just need to figure out how to polish them, because I think they'd make some great jewelry. Eva declared it to be "the best surprise day" yet!

It was just so darn beautiful along the beach! This was the agate beach.

Here was some of Eva's booty.

Star Wars seems to permeate so many parts of our lives these days....

Lucy loved the windy windy spots on the rocks.

A rainy kind of day...

We had a wonderful rainstorm the other day...wonderful because it had followed several days of hot, humid weather, and also because I love rainstorms! Even nicer is that it was in the early evening so the kids could run outside in it. Eva asked me tentatively if she could go outside...and of course my response was YES!!! It took a few minutes before all three kids really let their hair down and splashed around to their hearts' content, but I think they loved it. I'm sure that we'll have similar kinds of situations this winter with snow! :)

Unplugged, Part 1

So, when we moved here, we decided to unplug the TV. Well, kind of. We decided that we would not get a cable or satellite TV provider (though I do love PBS and BYUTV!) Why? Well, we have long noticed that we watch a lot more television than we would really like to, and our kids were starting to "self-serve" with TV (and, more importantly, with the DVR). And so they were watching more tv than I was really comfortable with. Efforts to limit the tv watching were really only marginally successful, with at least one of my children (so far) throwing major tantrums that resembled David Banner's transformation to the Hulk. So, we unplugged. BUT with a small Netflix account and weekly family movie nights.

We're on our way! So far, I have learned that I need to spend more time with my children! Initially the kids did great, playing with toys they hadn't play with in a while, and listening to books on tape, etc., but the novelty wore off soon enough, and there we were, on the verge of pulling each other's hair out, or........TO BE CONTINUED!!!

An update (a MAJOR upate!)

Well...we have moved! Jared has gotten a new job teaching at Michigan Tech University in Houghton, MI. We live in Hancock and have a lovely little house that is just perfect for us (some pictures to follow!) We moved mid-June and are still settling in (after a two week vacation to Virginia for a family reunion). Everyone seems to be adjusting fairly well, but I have forgotten all of the many things that need to be done when moving! Change of address, change of bank accounts, changing utilities, changing license plates and driver's licenses (and how many pounds can I (without guilt) fib about?). On Monday I am going to register the children for school and start tackling a LONG to do list! I think there are....15 or so boxes left to unpack...not bad!

New Year's Resolutions....a little late...

I find myself thinking frequently these days that time is so fleeting, and that I really need to try to preserve some of these priceless memories that fly by every day. And then another day passes, and another, and another, and nothing is done to capture any memories! So I vowed that I would try to blog a little bit more this year to try to do just that. I think I will write in a more personal sort of style, because when all is said and done, I hope that I can look back on this and be glad that I included all sorts of details, thoughts, and feelings, much like a journal. So forgive me for that. And forgive me if there aren't as many pictures as there probably ought to be. One memory that prompted this resolution was thinking back to my junior year in high school. We watched a play called "Our Town". I can't remember the whole plot, but do remember that Robbie Benson starred in it. I remember one scene in particular: a woman who has died young is offered the opportunity to go back to any day in her life to relive it. She is cautioned not to pick a really special day--just any ordinary day. What day does she pick? Her twelfth birthday, a very special day. As she goes throughout the day, she learns things about herself, and wishes that she had made different choices, said different things, and simply was more grateful for the simple, ordinary pleasures that make life joyful. I think about that poignant scene as I am sitting in my rocking chair holding my little Lucy and smelling her clean hair. Or as I am standing and doing the dishes or laundry for my family. Or piling the kids in the car for the umpteenth time to run whatever errand. I think about what kind of a day I would pick to re-live. And I think that I would pick just about any day at all.