SO MUCH Socialization

People who criticize home learners for lack of socialization have no idea of the number of friends my children make in one day. For instance, Ransom befriended this little guy, pulled him close, and shared his snack. 

You, too, can give your children this well-rounded experience!

They also learn home ec. skillz at a young age.  It's common for them to independently make popsicles made from pure water that turns into pure ice-- a treat for only the finest of palates.

*Susannah took this picture of the Three Amigos.

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary

 

Luke came in May and prepared the gardens for planting, and then it was plant-as-you-can for the next few weeks. Millie and Annika were both working, so this was the first year that Susannah, Piper, Luci, and I planted everything all by ourselves. 



Well, not exactly all by ourselves. Ransom discovered the manure pile was the perfect place for lounging while we worked. (A note about the manure pile. My incredible father-in-law, incredible husband, and a handful of incredible children filled Dude's truck and the back of our minivan full of free manure at least two times during the planting season to enrich our depleted soil. This giant pile represents a lot of their hard work!)

And these little girls begged to be able to help with the upper garden.  I think Zeke and Aidan must have pitched in, too, at some point, but I have no pictures to prove it.

Ah, the upper garden finished. It felt so good to have one garden planted.  (Susannah, in retrospect, these pictures might reveal why so few seeds came up.)

Can't wait to try it all over again. Ha. Sob.

Aidan Turns Eight! (5/2022)

 

Aidan's birthday also fell on a Sunday, so I'm guessing which of these pictures were from Sunday and which were from Monday, but it doesn't matter, anyway. We celebrated the boy just as we should, with blankets, feasting, and fire. 

Sunday morning breakfast. Decadent. Delicious.

Monday (?) morning brunch. A requested apple pie from Millie? Why not.

Supper was almost certainly different kinds of pizza, followed by either a jello poke cake or yet another ice cream cake. At this point, none of us, including the birthday boy himself, can remember what he asked for. 

But just look at that toothless grin, will you? I love celebrating the birthdays of our children. Their joy and excitement is palpable and contagious and makes me grin, even now, all these months later.

Happy birthday to you, little Fire! You color our days with your sweetness and mischief, all rolled up into one lively bundle.  <3

May Day Top-Secret Deliveries: 2022

 

Like just about every birthday last year, May Day fell on a Sunday. Since I was making breakfast, Millie was kind enough to chauffeur the younger children to the neighbors with the bouquets we had made, and I asked her to take a few pictures. 

Their undercover drop-offs appear so sneaky that I would have imagined the neighbors didn't notice a thing, except for the fact that one neighbor we only see a few times a year promptly mailed us a thank you note for the lovely bouquet. Oops. Gotta work on our stealth this year...

Crummy Photos Phrom the Phone

Tintin party on the couch!

I owed Zeke and Aidan a mini-date, so Susannah and I drove them to skate around the lake. 

Unplanned matchy-matchy.

One of the kiddos must have taken this picture-of-a-picture of Dude in his brawny youth. 

One day when all the older girls were gone somewhere, John used a free admission card to take the younger five and me on a surprise date to the children's museum. It was wonderful, though I wished everyone could be there.