Flight of the Butterflies

The first week of school I scheduled a field trip on Friday. It was perfect timing. 

We went to see "Flight of the Butterflies" at the iMax movie dome. The plan was to follow that up with a trip to a local botanical garden to see the live butterflies. However, the weather turned out to be stormy so we enjoyed the day at the Science Museum. 

So glad Poppy was able to join us on the first of many field trips for the year. 

We had a great time enjoying the exhibits, petting snakes (yuck!), and watching rat basketball. It ended up being a long day, but a fun way to spend the first Friday of the school year. 

Birthday

Last month, I was blessed by my family and enjoyed a great 38th birthday. There were signs...

Remember this sign from last year? It came back out for the month. :) 

There were flowers...

Special lunch and ice cream parfaits with Grammy & Poppy...

(a perfect birthday dessert since I don't like cake)

And then the boys enjoyed an overnight at Grammy & Poppy's so Darin and I could go out on a date. 

After some football in the front yard with the boys and my parents, 

I drove off to meet Darin footloose and fancy free.

If only I could have slowed down the time... it was morning before I knew it!

We were very glad to see our little cherubs at Luke's basketball game in the morning. :) 

The Call

I was born at 7:07am on February 8.

For as long as I can remember... maybe 20 years (?), my parents have been calling and singing "Happy Birthday" to me at the exact time of my birth. They have to set their alarm clocks so they don't miss it. I'm an early riser and I look forward to it every year. I love it!

My mom is a fabulous singer and my dad has had 20 years to practice. He has come a long way. ;)

This morning, after their call (which I put on speaker phone so the boys could hear)
Ethan said: "I love how when Poppy sings on your birthday he makes animal noises too."
To which Aaron said: "Yeah I heard a cow and a horse."
Ethan replied: "Today, I heard a frog."

Hilarious!!

Inspired

I'm beginning to realize that I am a "Jack of All Trades, Master of None." I love crafting, sewing, knitting and being artistic but I never really stick with any one thing long enough to be exceptional at it. But, I'm okay with that. :)

Recently, I've been itching to do a painting. It's kind of funny to see in writing.  I have zero painting experience. Darin doesn't even like me to paint our walls because I'm not careful enough. However, the boys keep bringing home great artwork from art class and I think, "Gosh, I want to try that too."

And then my inspiration struck... dear friends are moving to Pennsylvania to pastor a church there. The wife, Kristen, is very dear to me and as I thought of a gift to give her, I thought about how encouraging her relationship with the Lord has been to me. Immediately, Colossians 2:6-7 popped in my head.

"So then just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught and overflowing with thankfulness."

I lived for a long time with shallow roots. I wasn't studying God's word and although I believed in Him, I wasn't seeing the fruit of a close relationship with Him. My friend Kristen is the epitome of deep roots. She loves the Lord and His Spirit overflows from her. The perfect verse for what I wanted!

Quickly, I had a vision of what I wanted my painting to look like and called my artist dad to see if what I was wanting to do was even possible for a beginner like me. I decided that if the painting looked terrible, I could easily come up with a different gift. After three days of working on it, I finished my painting last night. My dad was so gracious to talk me through how to make my sketch on regular paper and then transfer it to the canvas. He came over two times to help coach me through the painting. It was super special time for me and I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did!

So, without further ado... here is my first painting. Not spectacular, but from the heart and I can't tell you how much joy it brought me to create this for my friend. I probably shouldn't quit my day job, but I'm pleased with the result. It was just what I envisioned. Notice the Bible verse is the "deep roots."

We will miss you very much Purdy Family!

Equine Extravaganza

On Friday, we joined my dad for a field trip to the Equine Extravaganza across town. My dad was really eager to go and since Ethan is such a horse lover, we decided to join him. It was definitely geared towards horse enthusiasts who already ride, own horses or farms. I was a bit out of my element, but it was a great diversion after our challenging week. I was amazed by a certain 6 year olds focus and attention span!!! Unbelievable. :) 

 Learning to rope cattle with the help of Cowboy Troy. 

 The other two boys were too shy to participate, but I was glad Ethan mustered 

up enough courage after watching for a while. 

 An amazing sculpture... quick take the picture before the boys knock it down or break it. I had to drag a four year old away as he kept running around and under it. And another boy, who will remain nameless, tried to climb it!! The people on the far right were NOT happy with us. :)

 A highlight was watching Lizzy Traband. She is an amazingly composed 

14 year old equine performer, trainer, competitor and clinician. 

It was a great outing. All in all, the boys did great and we enjoyed being together. Ethan was definitely the most interested. When we got home, Luke and Aaron quickly went upstairs to play with Legos. I found Ethan sitting at his school desk coloring a horse picture for Lizzy Traband. (He wants to mail it to her!) He had figured out how to switch the radio station and was listening to old fashioned country music. I'm talking fiddles and banjos. He was completely in his zone.  I love that he is an individual. 

Thanks Poppy for bringing us with you. 

Kid-free 21 hours!

A couple weeks ago, I reluctantly asked my parents to keep the boys overnight. Ever since my parents moved to Virginia I've been very cautious about asking them to watch the boys. They love being with them, but are not overly eager to have them fully in their care.  Or at least that's my perception. :) I also want to respect their new routines and busy schedule, so I don't ask. (And yes, my parents have quickly found some very dear friends, a church, bridge groups, choir, fitness club, etc.! They are quite social!) Anyway, I threw caution to the wind and asked for an overnight expecting a "maybe" but most likely a "no."

And they said, "It's a possibility." Which later turned into "yes." Hooray!!

So a week ago Friday, we ate supper with them at their new house, got the boys tucked in bed and drove away. Our only instructions were, "Jill, no school work!" and "Darin, no painting!" It was the first time we had this opportunity in almost 5 years!! The last time we went away overnight I was pregnant with Aaron. We had a dinner meeting with Darin's co-workers out of town so I had to share our time. I'm not very good at sharing. ;)

This time, our kid-free 21 hours was absolutely wonderful. I loved not being on mom duty around the clock. I loved talking and listening to Darin. I loved dreaming together. I loved having the time together. We took a day trip to a nearby town to do some shopping for a new kitchen table. (We've outgrown our table intended for 2... by at least 3!) And while we didn't make a purchase, it was such a terrific day. We were just together. Sometimes in silence. Ahh... silence feels so good when I'm used to shrieking boys! And I have to be honest, I didn't miss my sweet boys until almost dinner time the next day. I feel just slightly guilty about that... but I did check in and all was going really well.

When we arrived back at supper time on Saturday night, I expected the boys to come running with wide open arms. But, they didn't. They said hello and then boldly told us, "I'm not going home." "I didn't even pack my bags. I'm staying another night!" Luke even said, "I'm staying all week!" Hmmm... is that okay Grammy and Poppy? Maybe next time boys.

So watch out Grammy and Poppy! This Momma is ready for another kid free 21 hours and maybe next time we can make it 48?? Pretty please?? Thank you! Thank you! 

Coordinated

One of the treats of having my parents closer is that they can join us for birthday dinners. 

 Ethan specifically called and asked Poppy to match him by wearing a gray shirt. 

 It was a coincidence though that everyone else was wearing blue. 

Although, it's not all that shocking if you look in our closets. We have a LOT of blue. :)

I was the odd one out in coral. :) Luke was determined to sneak in 

the picture on this side of the table too. 

We were quite a silly bunch celebrating birthday's!

Another Road Trip

We hit the road early Saturday morning for our last trip to my childhood home in New Jersey. Luke and Ethan came with me and Aaron stayed behind with Darin for a little divide and conquer. 

 I had some happy passengers. Luke followed our route 

most of the way with our car atlas. This was a pleasant surprise. 

This cute boy was SO excited and chattered non-stop for the first hour or more. 

He was left behind the last time and was so glad to be along for the ride. 

My parents have officially moved to Virginia, but negotiations are still in the works on their New Jersey home. It's been a blessing to have this extra time to gather their belongings of 40+ years. 

My mom found a box full of old trophies that belonged to my brothers and the boys were delighted. 

They spent a lot of time in their "fort" in the forsythia bush with the trophies. 

On Monday morning, I scurried through the house taking photos and saying goodbye to the home 

I lived in from birth until college. It was built in 1820 and has lots of character. 

My parents have done a LOT to update it over the years. 

Had to get a photo of my childhood bedroom, although it used to be pepto bismol pink when I was a kid! (Maybe that's why I don't like pink?) It didn't have the closet or built in bookcases when I was growing up. My parents added that within the last couple years. 

While the bedrooms are pretty small, the downstairs has some really cool 

features that I was able to really appreciate with the rooms empty. 

 The dining room.  I love that floor! There is actually a fireplace not shown in this picture. 

 living room - My parents added this room and the basement below it in the 80's. 

The family room. (My grandpa built the bookcases, right Jeffrey?)

It was a crazy busy weekend of packing and cleaning, but I'm glad I got to visit one last time! 

(And boy was I glad to sleep in my bed Monday night after sleeping on an 

air mattress on the floor for two nights!)

Spring Break Adventures

We enjoyed several day trips to nearby parks, gardens, etc. for spring break this year. 

It was the first year of home schooling that we've actually taken a full week off. 

It turned out to be perfect timing in light of our family visiting, although it has been a 

little tough to get back into the swing of things this week! So glad it's Friday! :)

Botanical Gardens

 Aaron and cousin R 

So glad we made it past all the water without any of my boys falling/jumping in!

 Aaron, Luke and cousin R in the gorgeous orchid exhibit. (Ethan was not in the mood for photos!)

 sweet little poser

This "stick house" sculpture was amazing!

Beautiful sister-in-law and sweet baby girl

Climbing boys!

Day trip to the beach. This was very hard for the boys to understand. The only time we've ever gone to the beach is for a vacation when it's hot. They were wondering where the beach house was and couldn't understand why I didn't want them to go IN the water. (It was upper 60's and windy.) We had a great time, but there were many moments that tested my pitiful patience. :]

Example of tested patience: Ethan decided to jump in the water and then promptly drop to the ground and roll around until he was fully covered with sand. We had no access to showers or bathrooms and you can be sure that within moments he was shivering from the wind. I was prepared to let him experience discomfort from his poor choice, but lucky for him Grammy came to the rescue and shared her towel to dry him off and change him into warmer clothes. 

Climbing Wall:  This was probably my favorite outing because it made the boys so happy. If you've been reading this blog before you know that Luke and Ethan love climbing. I was thrilled to for them to have this opportunity and even more thrilled that my brother Jonathan and his wife Sarah could be with us. They both have extensive climbing experience. They met long ago at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and have done lots of climbing through the years. They were able to coach the boys and belay them as they climbed to the top. The boys had NO fear and boldly climbed the wall. 

Luke climbing to the top!

At the conclusion of his first climb! Happy boy!

Even 4 year old cousin R did a great job climbing!

We had two on-site sitters so Darin and I could keep our eyes on the climbers. 

Thanks Grammy and Poppy!

Ethan was SO excited!

All Together

The weekend of Palm Sunday, both my brothers and their families and my family gathered at my parents new house to celebrate their new location and to enjoy one another. There were 7 kids and 8 adults. Here are some photos from the weekend. The weather was fabulous for outdoor play. The kids played soccer, rode bikes, played with trucks and tractors and ran around.

cousin B on the tractor

 cousin A ready for our Sunday meal

We discovered a little friend on the wood pile that captured a lot of attention!

Six of the grandkids getting a peak at the wood pile snake from a safe distance.  

dyeing eggs on the deck

Ready for the egg hunt!

Sometimes the shorter kids found the eggs intended for the big kids. :)

 the egg/spoon race

Thankful for this weekend with family. I just wish it didn't go by so quickly!