Hiking at Matthiesen State Park

Since Charissa is leaving in a week to head back to college, we decided to go to one of her favorite places here in Illinois - Matthiesen State Park.  It is about a two hour drive from our house but has always been worth the drive.  We packed a lunch and headed out with a promise of gorgeous weather perfect for hiking.

Tired before the hike ever began

Eric is ready to go ...

  
Eric was excited to bring his own backpack for hiking.  Yeah, that excitement died within the first three minutes of the hike, and Charissa carried it for 99% of the hike.  Eric did want it back at lunch time. Eric loved hiking.  He loves the outdoors period and was quite the trooper.  He did snitch a piggy-back ride up the flights of stairs - don't blame him there as some flights were quite long and steep.

Although we have had severe drought lately, the recent storms helped green up things and made for some beautiful nature shots.  It also created some puddles for getting wet and water fights.  The water was still low enough that the easier trails were accessible which made it easier on the younger kids and out-of-shape moms.

Let's Hike!

 

Jonathan doing some exploring

Clint and Eric enjoying the view

Joanna and Cara

Jonathan and Oren climbing and trying not to fall into the water below

  

Oren was King of the Rock until Charissa the Queen came along and showed him who was boss.

   

    

Kalynne tried to use a staff to part the waters on the bridge.

Enjoying a treat  ... It was National Soft Serve Ice Cream Day afterall.

Zeke

I have enjoyed watching the different relationship dynamics since having Zeke. Since we have had some super cold weather as of late, Zeke has been inside so it makes watching him more fun. His antics are funny as he not the most graceful dog. His ear has a habit of turning inside out giving him a lopsided look. He loves the outdoors, and I think the snow is his favorite. He just runs and bounds through with a doggy grin on his face. The outdoors only comes in second to being with his family. We are glad to have saved him from the shelter as he brings us much laughter.

Zeke has a different relationship with each family member. Take me for instance, Zeke is just like my children, I swear. I am the Alpha, the one in charge and the disciplinarian. When Zeke is doing something wrong, I am usually the one that punishes him. What is funny is when I haven't caught him in a no-no situation, but he will see me and start running away. Zeke will keep out of my reach or hide behind another family member when he knows he is in trouble. The dog acts guilty even if not caught (just like my kids). It is not all fear as Zeke does find me me a suitable companion albeit boring sometimes.

Kalynne is the caretaker, and Zeke adores her. He knows she is a pushover. She is his playmate and whimpers when she leaves his sight. It makes going to the bathroom or even piano practice difficult for Kaly.

Clint is Zeke's buddy and best friend. Both Zeke and Eric wait at the door to greet Clint when they see his car drive up. It is hard to tell who is more excited. Clint is pretty enamored himself and loves having Zeke.

Watching and whimpering while his playmates head back to school

Charissa is the one who rough-houses with Zeke. He loves wrestling with her, and it is quite funny to watch. To knock down his opponent Zeke jumps at and hits them broadside. Also Zeke doesn't fight fair if he is losing and goes for the toes. That hurts!

Eric and Zeke are quite the duo. Eric loves Zeke while Zeke tolerates him. The only incident was when Zeke nipped Eric on the lip. Eric was repeatedly poking Zeke in the eye. A poor dog can take only so much. Zeke knew he was in major trouble when he did it. Zeke has come to the understanding that Eric is not low man on the totem pole here. Now to solve the being contstantly bothered, Zeke has learned a method that is acceptable. He nibbles (lips only) Eric's toes or fingers. That grosses Eric out and stops the annoying action.

I witnessed it when Eric was holding on to the tip of Zeke's tail following Zeke around. Zeke tired of the game quickly and nibbled Eric's fingers to stop the game. Zeke does give Eric kisses and once Eric realizes whiskers are not meant to be pulled, perhaps Zeke will not run from Eric so much. There are times Zeke looks so worn out from entertaining and avoiding Eric. I think he is almost begging to be locked in the crate to be able to sleep. I can so sympathize, Zeke!

Life Happens

Geez, it has been a while since I posted anything. There has been plenty going on though, mundane along with the not so mundane. Where to begin?

The weather can't decide if it wants to be Spring or Winter. I am just glad for our new sump what with the rain and thawing we have been having. It has most likely saved us a few wet floors in the basement. Thank goodness for tax refunds that can pay for it too.

Thank goodness for tax refunds that can cover the loss of income from a temporary lay-off too. All those kids and deductions can come in handy. It seems that Clint gets to take a week off of work and not be paid for it. It most likely will be two, but at least it won't be back-to-back ... sort of. The first one is at the end of March. We had just bought a trip to Branson for a 15th anniversary get-away. We were going to take it when the kids had Spring Break. We are going to go when Clint doesn't have to work now. We found a sitter and made our reservations. Something good besides the enormous amount of yard clean-up has to happen that week.

We also bought a porch swing. We have only been here 6 years. We finally found the right one. We ordered it, and it will be ready in time for Mother's Day. You know where to find me (with my nose in a book) this summer.

Eric is quite the chatterbox now. He has plenty of examples around here. He can say school (when he sees the bus come and the kids get on). There is thank you, welcome, bye-bye, night, and what's that? as well. Oh, I am "mom" now unless Eric is showing his imp-ish sense of humor. Then he goes around the house calling every dad and just laughing about it. I get "What!?" when I call his name. That is also due to the plenty of examples around here. I heard him say stuck the other day as well. He can also say Charissa's and Kaly's names or at least an understandable variation.

I am surprised I don't hear stuck more often as Eric is a climber. I am always have to rescue him. He loves water too. Toilet seats have to stay down and bath tubs emptied. I found out the hard way about the tubs when I found towels, blankets, clothes, toys, and a couple of pillows thrown in the water.

Scholastic Bowl season is wrapping up. Charissa did well as JV captain. Kalynne has her last meet this coming week. both girls love it and earn their team plenty of points.

Oren didn't make it to state for his National Geographic Geography Bee. The poor kid was so heartbroken. He studied really hard too. We are all smarter now, because he shared all his information with us.

Joanna busted her chin open in PE a couple of weeks ago. It is to match the back of her head, I guess. She also was out this past week for three days with a bug that just made you feel yucky and lethargic with a low grade fever.

Jonathan had Pinewood Derby last month but didn't win any races. He was so bummed, and then broke his trophy since he won a specialty category. It was just not his night. He is looking forward to summer camp so I better get him signed-up!

Cara has stayed free of injury, illness and disappointment unless you count having been made to practice piano. She is struggling with that right now. I get to teach her as her dad is about as exasperated as she is.

I am staying busy with PTO (finished one project last week and moving on to the next, a fundraiser next week). Church keeps me going too. What with my responisibilities, the activities and everyone else's responsibilities and activities ... ugh! Okay, it is not bad just busy. I also pamper myself by working out three times a week. I started attending Curves. So far the effort has paid off with 11.5 pounds and 14 total inches lost. The photo from Thanksgiving was motivation and a shocker about how I let the weight creep back on again. I actually enjoy exercise or maybe it is the me time. A friend watches Eric 2 hours twice a week so I can workout and run errands during the week. I also go Saturday mornings. I try to squeeze in walks the other days. hopefully the weather will decide on sunny spring days so it is possible.

Now I better get to bed. I just realized I had typed this entire rambling news bit in my cooking blog. Thank goodness for copy and paste!

Funny Kid Videos

Sorry about the darkness, but Eric was so funny thinking he was pulling Charissa in our rolling desk chair. MUSH!

Oren and Kalynne goofing off ... think being cooped up indoors is getting to them.

Student of the Month

Kaly... er, Kalynne (as she likes to be called now) was October Student of the Month at her school as well as receiving this certificate. It seems our little drama queen is doing quite well. She turns 12 this week and will enter the Young Women program for youth 12-18. I teach and lead the 12 & 13 year-olds so that ought to be fun.

Kalynne also keeps busy with church, school, band (percussion), piano, choral, and caring for our animals. She also is joining the middle school's newspaper that is just starting up. I would add cleaning her room to that list, but by the looks of it she doesn't do that. Overall, she is a keeper, faults and all.

Why I try not to venture into teenage girls' rooms ...

Ignore the really cute kid for an instant and check out the background. UGH!

There are no pictures of the closet because those who ventured to do so were never seen from again.

Thoughts and Rambles

Sometimes what is said is not what is really meant. My 5th grader (Kalynne) had a play. The entire 5th grade put on various Aesop's Fables. I planned to make the 9 a.m. show, but had the 1 p.m. one as a back up. It was a good thing since I missed the 9 a.m. one. I showed up a few minutes late but just in time to see Kalynne's parts. Kalynne told me that I didn't have to come if I was too busy. I am glad I did because after she left the stage I saw her scanning the crowd from the wings. I was at the back so she couldn't see me. I saw her shoulders droop a little.

About halfway through the plays when another 5th grade class was performing their chosen fables, Eric started fussing so I stood up with him. Kalynne heard him and turned to scan the crowd on the other side of the theater. She found me, and her smile said it all. It said, "I know I told you you didn't have to come, but I am really glad you since that is what I wanted. Thanks, Mom."

My kids like to perform. They love the theatrics and drama. They must since they practice it all the time at home. Joanna had her chance to shine too. On her last day of pre-school a Mother's Tea was put on by the class. The children greet their mother's at the door and show them to their seats. They then take their drink order and serve their mothers. It is quite cute. There are gifts the children made. They love to help open them. Next comes the performance of songs and rhymes. Joanna kept making sure I was watching. When I would wink at her, she would wink back. The Mother's Tea is then finished with the handing out of certificates for those moving up to kindergarten.

I was watching one little boy sitting forlornly waiting for his mother. She was running late, and the look of relief on his face when she arrived was similar to the one I saw on Kalynne's at her play. The little boy, Hunter, is also Joanna's shadow and playmate. The teacher said he was rather wild when the year began, but Joanna was a big help in mellowing him out. I think that is the polite way of saying she put him in his place.

Children are so trusting which makes their naivety really fun at times. Oren told me that he asked his dad why it is called the "Birds & Bees". Supposedly his dad told him it is because birds and bees don't get along just like males and females. Oren had to check that bit of information with me. Usually I am the story-teller and get away with it since I have the better poker face. After 14+ years of marriage though my hubby is getting better. It is just that darn dimple that gives him away if he is up to some mischief. I am usually the practical joker too. I figure a bit of fun makes my day go by faster. Besides I consider it payback for giving birth, nursing, changing diapers and potty-training the li'l hoppers. And that is just by age three and not taking in the teenage hormone years.

Babies and Bunnies

We raise rabbits and kids. Both species are rather cute. We have a litter of four that are about 4 weeks old (one pictured below). Another doe just had SEVEN babies a week ago. I will take mine one at a time, thank you very much. Eric loves all things furry. The poor creatures don't return the sentiment especially when Eric is poking an eye or pulling an ear. Please note that I do chores on occassion. I am drying my clean laundry on the line which means I do manage to keep on laundry most days. It is the folding that I hate. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Aren't babies and bunnies just so cute?

A Child's Prayer

We raise rabbits and do so for selling them or meat. We also say family prayers each morning together before each heading off our separate ways (hubby to work, kids to school and me back to bed).

This past winter all three of our does gave birth. There were 17 bunnies born but due to a cold snap we lost all of them. We held off mating our rabbits until it warmed up a bit so not to repeat the sad misfortune. My 11 yo was heartbroken as she takes care of the rabbits and has a soft spot for all the baby bunnies.

Minnie, one of our does, had a litter yesterday. It is windy and chilly (at least it isn't freezing or below zero) so we have been careful to keep the nest box well insulated. The new litter made it through the night. We hope they continue to make it. It doesn't hurt to ask for help either.

This morning my 11 yo offered the family prayer. She prayed that Minnie's babies could live and grow old ... pause ... "at least until Dad gets a hold of them." There a few irreverent snickers around the table (myself included and hubby was trying hard not to laugh).

What were they thinking?

My kids are smart. They really are. I have their report cards to prove it, but there is no slot for a grade on common sense. Maybe that is a good thing as it would bring down their GPA.

My 11 year-old came in asking me what the blue snow was. As I like to stay warm I really did not know since I didn't venture outside. She said when she tasted it (my mind is madly trying to assure itself that no bodily fluids are blue) it tasted like salty, moldy potatoes mixed with moldy fish. I personally have never tried those combined flavors. I just told her that was really stupid to do.

My husband comes in wanting to know what I was be-littling our daughter about. I make her repeat the story. Hubby eloquently stutters out, "That was just ... what your mother said." Yep, couldn't have said it better myself.

The mystery substance? Miracle-Gro gone bad hubby had thrown out on our snow-covered garden area. Kaly insists she spit it out (who would want to eat those flavors anyway?). Seeing she didn't shoot up three inches overnight, I guess she didn't swallow any.

What was her reasoning for sampling unknown substances on the ground, you ask? "That's what they do on TV."