Weekend Adventures

The craziest part of our school schedule is over until mid-April when the end-of-the-year events begin, so we had a nice, stress-free weekend. We have a break from co-op this week, so Becca and I thought we'd get a jump on her 4-H sewing project. She's in level 3 this year and is required to make a top with buttons, a collar, and preferably sleeves. This is new territory for me- I don't do buttons. We are both worried about it! But we spent a long time poring over the pattern books and picking out material yesterday. That's the fun part! We'll go ahead and do what we can already do, then we'll have to beg for help. Janice, do you do buttons?:-)

Becca and I had a good time while we were out; she's a good shopping companion. It's fun having a daughter who's old enough to have fun with; it's not like taking one of "the kids" around any more. We went to the consignment stores downtown and ate Bruschetta outside Kirchoff's before our marathon Walmart session.

John worked in the yard yesterday and don't let him fool you: he likes mowing the lawn. His lawnmower finally died for good last year and we had to go buy a new one even though we didn't have the money for it. But he loves his new mower. It resides in a place of honor inside our over-crowded garage. He came in last night gushing over how fabulous his mower was. He also had a close call yesterday when the burn barrel shot a flame up into the air and singed the front of his hair off. Guess he got a haircut too soon! He's lucky to still have eyebrows :-). He's also been helping Philip and Becca make their cars for the Awana Pinewood Derby.

We had our mini-CARE group over for lunch at our house today. This has been a fun group; I'm sorry it's over. John and I were the youngest ones in the group and the only ones with kids still at home. It seemed like we used to always be the youngest when John Mark and Becca were babies, but now, we're right up there with everyone else. It was nice being "young" again! We had BJ and Beth, James, Woody, Kay, Glen & Vicki, and Don & Judy in our group. BJ and Woody especially have some wild tales to tell. It was a lot of fun. But next week, potluck. I like Potlucks.

Since this is my break week, I have a long list of great plans. I know I will only get a fraction of it accomplished, but I made a start: tonight I cleaned the little boys room. This is not a job for the faint-hearted! They are collectors of all kinds of junk: toys; kitchen bowls, cups and utensils; empty toilet paper rolls; rocks; paper of all kinds; candy wrappers; birthday, Christmas and Valentine cards; crayons and other art items; and many unidentifiable objects. I was pleased not to find any organic material this time around. I threw lots of stuff away, including any toy for which I could not find all the parts. It was a wonderful feeling! They still have so much junk they don't miss anything. They are upstairs playing in their room now; having toys with all parts accounted for is like getting them brand new again! Tomorrow we have 4-H, but then I will do Becca and the older boys' rooms and the laundry room. Wish me luck!