More Toothless-er

Poor Paxton, he's got hardly any teeth left!

Tree House Update

It probably would be more accurate to call it a Tree Deck...

Anyway, lots of work to do yet, but I did get the ladder finished this week.

(See Mom and Dad In May for early construction pics)

Mom and Dad in May

The month of May was marked by a very special visit from my folks. Mom and Dad packed up the camper and headed east during the first week of May, showed up at our doorstep a couple of days later and then stuck around for the rest of the month (with a brief trip up to Wisconsin in the middle). We loved it. Illinois or bust, here we come!

Dad had to stop a few times to try to frighten a fish or two, of course. Not sure what he scared in the mighty Mississippi!

It was fun to have them there during Mother's day. Everyone helped with Sunday Dinner. Even the Mothers! (Yes, that's Kenrick at the sink. He's officially Taller Than His Mom)

I grilled. Kind of predictable for Mother's Day, right? But hey, do what you know.

Mom attempted to tackle our dandelion "problem". I think the dandelions won.

And Dad tackled the little tree house project that I've had stewing in the back of my head for a few years. Turned out not so little. And it's not yet done (my fault, not his - some of the details were not ready to leave my brain), but he definitely helped get things off the ground. Literally. Thanks a bunch Dad!

Not The 'Shrooms We Wanted

Rumor has it that there are mushrooms in the woods by our house in the springtime. Morels, which are yummy, but also elusive. We looked a few times, but I think it was too cold this spring for a very good harvest.

Anya found some big mushrooms, but not the kind we wanted.

The kids found a fun tree to climb on. We didn't find much else, but even a 'shroomless walk in the woods is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, eh?

(My cousin used to say that all the time. I don't know why I just thought of it)

Princess Creative

Anya has gotten quite proficient at putting together her Lego sets, and lately has been moving beyond just building from instructions to creating her own. One of her last creations was a Lego wagon for her Lego princesses. She added everything a princess might need - wheels, seats, a door, and a fountain!

I love it.

Anthony Overdue

The last entry of the Birthday Series is long overdue, sorry. Anthony celebrated his 12th birthday in April. The celebration seems to have gotten smeared across about a month and a half because of an early birthday present in March, a cake and a quiet party sometime in April and then Birthday Pictures a couple weeks after that. Anthony seemed to take it all in stride.

The cake request this year was "something Minecraft". Andrea delivered. Anthony devoured.

You might be about maxed out when you realize on the day of your kid's birthday that you haven't really thought about a present for him, then you remember that he got his big present a  couple of weeks ago but it would be nice for him to have presents with the cake so you rummage through the back of the closet and find something that you picked up about six months ago that you thought he'd like and so you slap a pink bow on top and call it good. What is it? That's not a sewing box is it? No! Well, yes, but it would also make a cool collection organizer. You know, for rocks and shells and random doodads that seem to pile up around Anthony. He liked it.

The big present this year was a new bike. Big in more ways than one. He'll grow into it. Probably by next month.

Happy Birthday Anthony!

Ready, Set, Spring!

The appearance of spring always brings with it an abundance of frantic activity. This year is no exception.

Our crab apple tree seemed to explode overnight into a brilliant hue of pink, adding nicely to the spring palette.

It's time to resurrect long dormant landscaping projects as well, and my goal this spring is to finish up the garden terrace retaining walls that I started two years ago. A trailer full of block is a good start.

I'm actually nearly finished with the third wall now, but need some more gravel to fill the cavities. Then the caps can go on and we can flatten the space above for one more row of planter boxes. And then we pull weeds.

Last week we joined some of our friends for the Allerton Park Trail Run. A couple of the guys ran the half-marathon (not me!), a couple of the girls walked the 10k, and a few of us stumbled through the dark on Friday night for the pre-race Trail-Glo 5k run. Headlamps required, step carefully. I didn't get any pictures of me in the dark because, well, it was dark, but I did get a few shots the next day. Including this of the Weary Finishers after their leisurely stroll through the woods.

Anya made a sign and cheered hard.

And Paxton won the little kids race afterwards. Go Paxton!

Anya twirls. She probably would have won a medal for that if there was such a thing.

We're all winners! It was a beautiful day.

Spring also means track and field. Both Kenrick and Anthony are running this year on the Middle School team. Anthony is trying the pole vault. He's doing well - he cleared six feet the other day and looks better every meet.

Kenrick is running hurdles again. He hasn't had a lot of competition yet, but he's working on getting faster and is slowly creeping up on a State qualifying time.

Whew! All this running around and digging in the dirt and frantic blooming is exhausting! I love it.

Say what you mean, Mom!

Yesterday Anya asked Andrea if she could wear her new dress for meeting in the morning.

"Maybe Anya. We'll see."

"That means yes, right?"

No More Baby Anya

Today Andrea took Anya in to the school to get registered for Kindergarten.

That makes me a bit sad.

Predictably Pink

Birthday number three for the year belongs to Anya. She celebrated birthday number five with a scrumptious supper (menu of her choice) with her favorite family followed by cake and presents.

Her favorite family, minus me with the camera, getting ready to dig in to shrimp and toast, salad, carrots, and Cheetos. Yum!

Mommy outdid herself this year with a Frozen Princess cake (not frozen cold, Frozen the movie). Anya was delighted.

The crew, posing for the pre-puff picture. Paxton! Stop looking goofy. Smile Kenrick. Anya, look at the camera. Oh wait, the candles burned out. Okay here we go, "Happy Birthday to you, happy Birthday to you..."

Predictably, the presents were primarily pink. Hello Kitty.

A passel of princesses to add to the collection. Perfect.

Birthday 2

For the third year in a row it snowed on Kenrick's birthday. He was delighted.

We can hardly call Kenrick a Birthday Boy anymore. He did have a birthday, but he's officially As Tall As Mom and is starting to look like a young man instead of a boy. 14 isn't too old to have some buddies over for a party, however, so that's what he did. Mom made sure to have plenty of food on hand for lunch.

Vanilla cake with raspberries. Happy Birthday tooo youuu!!

The guys spent most of the day sliding down the hill and trying to stay out of the creek. Paxton and Anya had to join the fun too.

Two birthdays down, two more to go...

Let the Birthday Season Begin!

Paxton leads the charge with Birthday Number Seven. He almost has more years than teeth.

He definitely has more Lego's than teeth.

Grandpa and Grandma were on hand to help celebrate. And to try out the new silly nose Fibber game.

Happy Birthday, Paxton, may your infectious smile never dim, your enthusiasm never wane, your orange hair never turn purple.

A Sunny Start to the Year

The beginning of 2015 found me traveling out to Tucson, Arizona for work. We have a large test facility out in the desert were we can run our biggest machines. Part of the reason the facility is there is because it hardly ever rains and so we can run all year round. It rained while I was there.

It was snowing back home though, so I don't dare complain too loudly.

I couldn't take a picture of what we were testing, of course, but I did get a couple of shots while we had some down time. Looking east out over the desert.

A team photo inside the dipper of the 7495 Rope Shovel that our Demonstration and Training facility next door uses to impress customers.

We were impressed.

The trip gave me a chance to work on a little facial hair. It didn't last too long after I got home however; I got tired of kissing my wife from a distance. Also, my beard doesn't seem to be the same color as my head...

Wrapping Up

November and December passed in a flash, full of accomplishments, activities, and friends. Since I didn't keep up with individual blog posts, I'll have to try to wrap a few of the high points into one last big one for the year.

November brings the end of the harvest and this year the kids had a chance to ride in the combine with one of our farmer friends.

Thanks for the ride Clarence!

Anthony earned his black belt in Tae Kwon Do in November. The test was quite thorough, requiring the candidates to perform every punch and kick sequence that they had learned from the beginning of their training.

The belts were ordered and arrived a few weeks after the test, so the instructor presented them to all the new Black Belts during one of Anthony's last classes.

The training for higher ranks requires a much larger commitment than what we're wanting to give right now, so Anthony is finished with Tae Kwon Do for the foreseeable future after having accomplished a very significant and commendable goal. Good job Anthony!

The end of the year also brings winter concerts. All three boys were involved this year; Paxton singing enthusiastically with the first grade in his first concert ever, and the other two tooting their horns in a much improved sixth grade band and a very impressive eighth grade band, respectively.

Mom starting making bread. Again. She's still in somewhat of an experimentation phase, trying to get the right blend of sour and dough in the mix, but the results so far have been quite palatable. Paxton and Anya are of questionable assistance.

Thanksgiving dinner was spent in Decatur with a collection of good friends. Enormous amounts of food were consumed by all. Mostly by me.

Anya and Gwendolyn, busily crafting something before dinner. The two have grown to be pretty good buddies, and usually end up dressed in their princess outfits before the day is done.

After Thanksgiving we went to visit some of our good friends from Peoria. The Mommies went shopping. Everyone else decorated cookies. Especially Anya and Kiera.

Our Christmas break was very relaxed. We slept, played games and built Legos. Paxton is getting quite proficient.

Lots of reading was done by all.

And Paxton lost another tooth. His two top front teeth still haven't come in, so he's got a fantastic gap now.

So, another year under our belts. The kids are growing like weeds, our 'new' house is starting to feel like home after three and a half years, and work is going well. We have many wonderful friends. We're looking forward to 2015 and an abundance of new adventures.