Saturday, May 26, 2012

Our Family Has Grown!

... by eight paws!

Introducing our two new adorable family members...

Gloria






Mario





We found them on Craig's List and went out to pick them up on Wednesday evening.







They are about six weeks old. We are all having a great time welcoming them into our home. They are exploring, hiding, playing, eating, sleeping, snuggling, and working their way into our hearts.





Friday, May 25, 2012

Mid-May in Michigan

Last weekend we headed north to visit Jon's family in Midland, Michigan. It was a beautiful weekend and we really enjoyed seeing our family after the long winter/tax season absence.

We took advantage of the flexibility of homeschooling, leaving on Thursday and not coming home until Monday. This was the first time the boys really did full school days in the car (Thursday and Monday). It was actually really fun! And our hotel room had two desks which were put to good use for school on Friday. So, we got away for five days without missing any school! Woo hoo!

Car Schooling!
Grandma always spoils the boys with cookies and ice cream!
We had a great pool at the hotel where we stayed.
Jon and Adam put in a new mailbox for Grandma!
(Ray was feeling sick on Friday so we had to spend most of the day at the hotel.)
Relaxing in Grandma's yard
Playing baseball with Aunt Susan
Aunt Susan brought and cooked some yummy fish for Adam!
Swimming with our cousins!




Picnic at Grandma's

A fun birthday celebration!





Look at this gargantuan pile of gifts!
Grandma gave Adam this amazing art set!

My brother-in-law owns a furniture store furthere north in Michigan. When he pulled up with this load of mattresses, I couldn't resist climbing up for a nap!

Fun and games with the big kids
Even though Ray was fighting a bellyache all weekend, he was insistent that we go to the roller rink down the street from the hotel. So, my niece Addie joined us for some Saturday night roller skating!

My guys on wheels!
Unfortunately, my pictures were mostly dark and blurry. It was awesome, though, to see Adam get the hang of skating. He was so independent and proud! And God bless Jon for getting out there and skating with them. He learned to skate at this same rink. However, that was three decades ago. He won't let me post a picture of the lovely bruises he's sporting from his skating escapades!
On Sunday we went out to the farm where Jon's mom grew up. Jon's grandma passed away several years ago and it's now time to clean out her things. Lots of the cousins came out to get mementos to remember her by. We enjoyed showing the boys the old farm. And we came home with lots of special Grandma stuff.
Posted at Great Grandma's farmhouse

Jon's grandma was a faithful devotee of our Blessed Mother.
Here's Jon showing the kids how this house was made of sod!
As usual, I came home with no pictures of Jon's mom. She never wants me to take her picture  unless she does her hair, etc. But we sure did have a nice visit with her and we can't wait to go back later this summer.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Bosco Boys Club - "Cheerfulness"

This month's Bosco Boys Club meeting was great fun, as usual. We focused on the virtue of cheerfulness and discussed ways we can practice it in our daily lives. We learned the story of Saint Philip Neri who eventually became known as "the cheerful saint." He was a very angry child, but made the conscious decision to become cheerful. His cheerfulness was noted and emulated by children as well as adults throughout the rest of his life.



We began the meeting with some fun seek and find cartoon pages and some joke telling. Then we worked on two crafts: decorating mini-frisbees and making "sponge bombs."







Then we headed outside. It was a spectacularly beautiful afternoon!

We had a wild "sponge bomb" relay in which the boys had to use their sponge bombs to transfer water from one bucket to another.




We attempted to make some big bubbles.




We enjoyed yummy popsicle snacks. Here are some of the boys posing in front of the Saint Thomas statue (the patron of the parish where we are privileged to meet).


We had lots of fun playing outside. I made targets for the boys to throw their frisbees and sponge bombs through. (They were fun, but didn't look nearly as awesome as they did in the magazine that inspired them.) It's awesome to see the boys making friends and playing so well together. I love working with and getting to know these great kids.




At the end of the meeting we met with all of the children and adults from the other clubs and we had a simple May Crowning. We sang and carried flowers in a procession, prayed, crowned Mary, and presented our flowers to Mary.





 What a great afternoon of faith, fun, and friends!