16 1/2

1. What is your favorite color? Pink

2. What is your favorite toy? Claw clip

3. What is your favorite fruit? Cherries

4. What is your favorite tv show? Percy Jackson

5. What is your favorite movie? Pride & Prejudice (2005)

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Hoodie

7. What is your favorite animal? Panda

8. What is your favorite song? Never Gonna Give You Up

9. What is your favorite book? Heartless

10. Who is your best friend? Lucy

11. What is your favorite snack? Ramen

12. What is your favorite drink? Ramen Juice

13. What is your favorite breakfast? Waffles

14. What is your favorite lunch? Ramen

15. What is your favorite dinner? Fancy Ramen

16. What is your favorite game? Spicy Uno

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Eating popsicles and creepily watching passing cars

18. What is your favorite holiday? Halloween

19. What do you sleep with at night? Rhinoceros, the elephant

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Rich

18 1/2

1. What is your favorite color? black

2. What is your favorite toy? eyeliner??

3. What is your favorite fruit? bananas 

4. What is your favorite tv show? stranger things

5. What is your favorite movie? perks of being a wallflower or dead poets society 

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? band ts 

7. What is your favorite animal? cats

8. What is your favorite song? boys don’t cry-the cure 

9. What is your favorite book? perks of being a wallflower or dear even hansen

10. Who is your best friend? the dog

11. What is your favorite snack? hot chips 

12. What is your favorite drink? iced coffee 

13. What is your favorite breakfast? coffee cake 

14. What is your favorite lunch? grilled cheese and tomato soup 

15. What is your favorite dinner? chili fries? and salad.

16. What is your favorite game? ping pong 

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? how long can i sit down before a kid gets hurt and i need to go help them.

18. What is your favorite holiday? halloween 

19. What do you sleep with at night? rain noise in the background 

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? happy. 

10 1/2

1. What is your favorite color? Blue

2. What is your favorite toy? Gymnastics mat 

3. What is your favorite fruit? Mango

4. What is your favorite tv show? Psych

5. What is your favorite movie? National Treasure

6. What is your favorite thing to wear? Light jeans with a white button down

7. What is your favorite animal? Bunny

8. What is your favorite song? "Overcompensate”

9. What is your favorite book? Keeper of the Lost Cities: Loadstar 

10. Who is your best friend? Chloe

11. What is your favorite snack? Cheese

12. What is your favorite drink? Dr. Pepper 

13. What is your favorite breakfast? Blueberry muffins

14. What is your favorite lunch? Meat and cheese sandwiches with ‘healthy Doritos’ (Aldi)

15. What is your favorite dinner? Spaghetti

16. What is your favorite game? Apples to Apples

17. What is your favorite thing to play outside? Climb the tree

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas—presents and Jesus was born

19. What do you sleep with at night? Blankets—I don’t really sleep with stuffed animals

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? A nail technician

Chickies

One of the draws to moving out of the city was to do minor homesteading.  We’ve been promising the kids chickens the whole time, and now is when it’s easy to get baby chicks, so it was time.

Ellie went along with me.  We got 4 Isa Browns and planned to get 4 Americunas, but some how got home with five—the fellow at the store who picked them out for us must have made a mistake!

The little fuzz balls like the brooder plate.  We had them in the garage with a space heater nearby and a thermometer to monitor the temperature during the day, but we pulled them in to the laundry room at night so we didn’t need to keep checking to be sure they were warm enough.

Spring Break

We had great big plans to accomplish *all the things* over spring break.

Then the septic pump died.  And Nate got sick (while the septic was out).  And things take longer than one might expect.

So we didn’t do all the things, but we did do *some of the things.*

Katie started working at a little local daycare.

Gabby started working at a gelato shop.

Ellie went to gymnastics.  And helped me do dishes, Little House on the Prairie style.

Nate and Ellie played Monopoly.

And Lucy napped.

There was AHG, Trail Life, youth group, and small group (poor Nate missed it all).

There was chicken coop building, while not finished, a solid start.

They got a bougie floor to make it easier to clean.

Nate was recuperated enough to make it to piano and a Trail Life campout, in the rain, always in the rain.  Thankfully it was less rain than predicted.

AHG held a Mother-Daughter potluck/game/flashlight tag event.

And just like that, it’s back to normal!

Aesthetics Graduation

Some students formed a tunnel

Her teacher talked about her dedication

She won a prize for her final project

Officially finished with her hours

Matching sisters

Final clock out

Her cheerleading crew—Gabby was at work and Justin was home with a fever

Celebratory cupcakes

Gabby’s Stars & Stripes

We celebrated Gabby’s Stars & Stripes Award just over a week ago. We had people from both our current church and our previous one, as well as friends from three troops (our old, new, and even one we met at camp), and my parents came down from Kentucky.

Some of her memories—her Tenderheart vest was made into a bag many years ago, her letter from Patti Garibay, congratulating her, photos, and SWAPS

Katie issued the challenge, and some dear friends and leaders spoke.  They shared sweet memories and funny ones too—staying up chatting at camp, the fellow at the Space and Rocket center in the scuba tank who was teasing the girls, and all of her accomplishments, from badges to hours serving.

Gabby had the opportunity to thank those who have taught her and supported her over the past ten years

Her siblings had the honor to support her too

And these two are forever silly together

Congratulations Gabriella!!

Since her project was to help an organization that is all about getting books into children’s hands her reception was storybook themed:

Cake—chocolate base cake with vanilla book cake

Left to right: True Love Kiss (Hershey’s kisses), Fairy Godmother’s Wands (pretzel sticks), Just Right popcorn (sweet on the left, salty on the right, and mixed ‘just right’ in the middle, Snow White’s Apple (fruit tray), Three Little Pigs in a blanket, Story Book Cake, The Little Mermaid’s Water (salt removed), and punch