on our last March weekend

We went city exploring... to a park we visited long ago and on some new pathways around the south side of town.

April is our best month - and the tail end of March did a great job whetting our appetites!  So many blue sky days and the temperatures steadily climbing!

This afternoon was an impromptu decision at the end of church - we knew it was too beautiful to head inside, so we grabbed a quick lunch and determined to stay outdoors.

and we did put many miles under our feet too.  These are city kids and we do lots of walking.  And Matt and I do lots of hand holding while everyone else tramps behind or ahead :). It's a win for everyone!

And then late afternoon Isaac had soccer practice and the rest of us ate dinner nearby while we waited for him to finish and then, finally....

best way to end a day.

Friday afternoon cards

We play a lot of games.  Some are not at the top of my list but I am a boy mom and so there is much knee hockey and tackle football and and soccer practice and basketball PIG - yes, all in the living room.  sigh.  Errant hockey pucks (hard foam, thank goodness) fly through the kitchen during dinner prep, and we've had mis-thrown balls make a mess of what used to be on the kitchen counter.  But mostly it's, well..... it's a lot of boys with no backyard is what it is.  And we make it work.

But we also play a lot of games that are kinder to the mama, at least in the rough and tumble how wild can we get before someone gets seriously injured showdown. Like Rummy :)

Although the scorecard is not always so kind to mama :) My dad taught these guys a mean game of Rummy and they play to win.  And win big.

I like to think this also counts as a bit of homeschool math and I'm convinced the reason Luke knows how to count by 5s and add 90 to 135 is because he is determined to not loose points based on math miscalculation.

So we will keep playing cards.  And I just sent the indoor football game boys outdoors ... where, alas, they can't play tackle football - oh the irony!  with no grassy field the best place for tackle football is the living room carpet? Regardless, the house is quiet and they will find other ways to burn their energy outdoors, where we are so grateful for big open spaces to roam, even if it is concrete!  We do have the best rollerblading in town, I'm convinced!

homeschool break for cake

We ended up with an extra cake for Luke's birthday! Sounds like a fun problem to have, huh?  And while we briefly entertained the idea of waiting for Daddy to get back in town before we dug in, Luke wasn't much into waiting (although he does adore his daddy).  

So on Thursday mid morning we called "break for cake" and I will say that stopping for a slice of birthday cake adds a little oomph to a school day! 

The extra cake was because the kids usually get a "family party" cake that we eat the day of their birthday, and a "birthday party" cake that we eat during their party with friends, but for Luke we did it all in one day and - yum! but how much cake can one really eat before the enjoyment and excitement wears off?  (and usually I can stretch one box mix- Luke had cupcakes for friends and the remainder of the batter in a round cake pan for the family)

Well, it was way worth delaying because on Thursday people were ecstatic, and not just the birthday boy, and I now have 5 students who think we should make "break for cake" a regular deal.  We've settled on every-other-Thursday :). And they did clarify that any treat will suffice, though cake is a favorite.  [unfortunately imported cake mix is pricey and often hard to find, so I'm thinking it'll be something homemade most of the time!]

Yes, Luke has a highlighter mustache across his upper lip - it's a school thing.  He loves the way his highlighter smells, so he traces a line across his top lip.  Every day.  I wish I was joking.

But highlighter mustache and all, this boy is worth "break for cake", and we will all owe him a big thank you for as long as this silly little tradition-to-be hangs around :) 

how much can you cram into one weekend anyways?

Just in case our birthday weekend wasn't full enough - you know....

Isaac's birthday Friday

Isaac's birthday party Saturday

Luke's birthday and party Sunday

Isaac soccer game Sunday evening

We decided to throw in a little something extra and signed a contract on a new apartment Sunday night.  Matt was leaving the next day to go out of town and it was the only time to do it!  

So as of Sunday at about 8:00pm we were holding the keys to an apartment six floors above our current home!  We are still so bummed to be moving.  And we have so much work to do on our new place.  

But it's going to be a great spot for us and we cannot believe that God provided something in our building! Rentals are very hard to find in our apartment complex (it's almost all lived in by owner) and in the 5 years we have lived here we have not known of one other unit in our building (total of 36 units) that was available for rent.  Until last Wednesday when #802 was listed - and we looked at it that evening, entered negotiations, and signed the contract four days later!

But it does need some work!  a LOT of work!  Like a kitchen, and bathrooms and flooring and lighting and .... well, we hired a contractor!

The rom below is a bathroom-to-be!

It's almost exactly the same size as our current home but laid out a little differently (although the hallway and bedrooms and identical, just mirrored, of our current home).  I'm so thrilled that we can add a school room off the dining room and the workmen came this week to remove a few walls and now there are new ones to build and we hope to move in by the end of May! whew!

We have worked with this contractor before and are grateful to have someone we trust helping us.  And I'm not looking forward to the move, or all the leaky pipes that will need fixing and the myriad of other problems that will undoubtably show up (every Asian move has left me pulling my hair out in frustration at the shoddy construction quality and I am sure this one will be equally frustrating but), we can't stay here and if I had to go anywhere I would want to stay in this building!  so here we go :) 

a 6 year old Luke

I'm not quite sure how this happened, but the baby of our family is 6!  SIX?!?!

He went to bed the night before proclaiming that "tomorrow is the best day in the whole world" and he woke ready to party!  It was a party-full house (with Isaac and his sleepover friends playing Pandemic in the background) but his breakfast pick (French toast and bacon) can feed a crowd so we set off on another day of birthday fun!

[Honestly it works better when their birthdays - only two days apart - fall during the middle of the week and we can do one celebration the weekend before and one the weekend after but this year it was a Friday/Sunday duo and what's a mama to do?  And it's special this way because the dates fell the exact same way in 2012.... celebrated Isaac's 3rd birthday on Friday and welcomed Luke Sunday morning!]

He might be getting bigger but he is still definitely the baby and he knows it.  We all know it!  He was delighted with his gift from the big 3 - rainbow loom gear!  He's big into making and selling and it's a great way to keep his hands busy during afternoon read-aloud too :)

And these two, always up to something.  Often needing a good deal of adult oversight :) ha!

We devoured our French toast feast and head out to church for the morning.  Then it was off to lunch (jiaozi, one of his favorites) and we brought along a few of his party friends too.  And back home for the party.

We played a long round of Minute to Win-It games and these kids were so awesome to watch!

Dice towers.

Marble-in-the-spoon transport

and a host of others.  My favorite might have been the 'move the M&Ms with the straw' challenge

This was a really fun party and everyone got super involved, even the older kids (who weren't technically allowed to compete!)  I feel like I got a glimpse of what these guys will be like in middle school youth group :)

It was a gorgeous day so we headed outside for more play and cupcake eating!

And it was an All-In-One party day for my boy!

And a big weekend for the whole family!  I cannot imagine our family without Luke.  Each person plays such a unique role and he is no different.  Grateful for this little guy, especially on his big day!

Luke's birthday lunch date with Matt

Can't miss these two precious pictures of my man and his youngest son!

He went to Ikea last year and loved it so much he chose it again for birthday #6. 

Hotdog and soda.  It's an easy win.  And each of the kids love and treasure these moments, and their daddy does too. 

a challenge race birthday party

A few weeks ago Julianna attended a birthday party that was like a mini Amazing Race.  Those 12, 13 and 14 year old girls were all over the city - riding buses and subways - chasing victory (they are city savvy kids, but each team also had a college age friend along!)

Julianna had a blast and I got an idea.  Hmmmm.  Could we do something similar, but within the confines of our apartment complex, for my boy?  So one Saturday morning Matt and I sat down to create a series of challenges, shaped into a race, for my boy and his birthday party friends.  Y'all.  It was so fun.  

Two teams of boys, competing the same 9 challenges but in different orders.  Darts.  Nerf guns.  Soccer.  Basketball.  Running.  Stair-climbing!  

We explained the rules, passed out the lists, and ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO!!!

They were all over the complex 

and these two were shocked and thrilled when they won!

The challenges were the same, but arranged in different orders for each team, and they thought they were behind the other team - but victory is even sweeter when it's unexpected :) 

We came inside for pizza and cake and a movie and sleepover.  Whew. 

{Julianna left in the middle of the party for youth group, so Lydia and I were severely outnumbered in the girls vs. boys category!}

and the next morning, everyone was awake and ready for a game of Pandemic before breakfast!

Isaac's birthday

Friday morning Isaac woke to the happy news that he was already 9 years old!  He was my earliest arriving baby - right after 5am on March 16th!

We love Isaac and we loved celebrating his special day!

His breakfast request was roll-up pancakes with strawberries and bananas.  It looks like a breakfast taco (and tacos was his dinner request!)

Mid-morning the girls snuck out of the house to go purchase this gift!  They were so excited to be giving this turtle and had been eager to bring one home but I convinced them to wait until the last minute.  "Girls, where are you going to hide a turtle anyways??"  Isaac was thrilled!  The yet-to-be-named turtle has taken up residence on Isaac's school desk ;)

We also squeezed a little cake baking into our morning routine - green batter, black and green icing.  He is still a UND fan, even from afar!

After dinner cupcakes and candles with our oldest son, who brings much joy!

And wow was he excited to receive this game - so we cleaned up the table and started playing :)

I had an evening meeting to run off to, so left Matt home with the kiddos engrossed in Pandemic!  And the birthday lunch date with Dad got moved to Saturday but these two are so fun to watch as they leave on their bikes for a manly lunch - ribs!

shucks. wrong S. oh well.

So this evening everyone is happily scrambling.... wrapping gifts for the birthday boys (Isaac turns 9 tomorrow, Luke turns 6 on Sunday).  It's a bit chaotic, with plenty of "no one come in this room!" and "who has the tape now?" and loudly whispered secrets from one sibling to another.  I love it (and maybe I love it a bit more when Matt is here but he's on a train and will be home late and ready to wake up and party in the morning so yay for that!)

And Luke is at the kitchen bar labeling his gift with a marker when I hear, "Shucks.  Wrong S.  Oh well."

The "To: Isaac" line is a little tricky to decipher when the S looks like a backwards 3 but man at that moment I was just so thankful for a laid back little boy who kept on writing :)

and who stays busy gathering packages!  It's been a week full of present talk and it brings much joy to see them choosing how to best bless their siblings.  Lydia and Julianna have quite the gift picked out for Isaac and I can't wait to see him open it!

Last Friday (before I headed out of town) a friend and I met at the Provincial Science Museum downtown.  A few years ago we visited somewhat regularly but then the museum closed for a complete remodel and neither of us had been back.  And it's newly re-opened and wow did they do an amazing job!  It's gorgeous!

We covered only a bit of the territory and already have plans to head back again.  The space and flight exhibits and pretty cool.

and they have a neat little "headless magic" too ;)

My trip was a delight - just a treat to see friends and engage with them in my world.  And I enjoyed a pretty amazing sunset on the flight home.

I also picked up a pretty amazing flag for my Lydia.  She won 2nd place in a writing contest that she entered while we were living in North Dakota and the prize was a US flag that has been flown over the Capitol Building in Washington DC.

It is really really cool.  And we are so proud of our daughter.

So tomorrow the birthday celebrating begins.  woohoo!

another week in the rear view mirror

So we are loving Geography.  Just loving it.

This is turning out to be really fun and I'm so thankful I bought a set of maps for the little boys.  Their maps don't look quite like the big kids, but it's definitely engaging for them and maybe if anything they will learn to love maps like their mama ;)

The older kids are filling in the details so nicely and I'm eager to see the finished product, though we are weeks away from that!

And another school photo - that's all I seem to be taking these days, but it's where I spend my mornings so that's that :)  I travel this weekend and Matt will be handling the schooling on Monday so the little boys wanted me to take this photo to show him what they "look like" when they are at school!  Except they are never still (like this photo suggests) - I guess Matt will figure that one out for himself on Monday!!

And one last fun shot from today - the girls (especially Julianna) have large collections of foreign currency (that they have collected themselves or traded with others).  They both bought coin collecting notebooks and spent much of the afternoon and evening organizing coins and bills.  There is lots of labeling and organizing left to be done, but they are off to a good start and it's fun to watch them enjoy this hobby!

Matt's birthday

These weeks are just intense.  It's full - of really good stuff, and really hard stuff (we are definitely moving, need to be out of here by June 4th and have exactly zero leads on other potential housing options).

But in the midst of all that is swirling around us we've had some incredibly sweet days.  School is rolling along (mostly) beautifully and I'm loving this new little season.  And last week we celebrated Matt's birthday with a juice bar - it was really fun!  

First up? An afternoon trip to the market to prepare.

John Paul kept a close eye on the pineapple he purchased.  Yay for fruit sellers who do amazing work prepping fruit to be served!

Then we headed home to put the finishing touches on our gifts (almost everyone gave fruit - different but super super fun!).  Isaac was dead set on gifting this dart board.  Magnetic.  obviously.

After dinner we got out our juicer and set to work.  It was awesome.  New tradition? Maybe!

One more birthday in the books for my favorite man.  And one more celebration for our little family.  We do love birthdays and I'm not sure what's more special - all the talk and discussion in the days before, or the actual celebration itself.  We've got two more birthdays coming our way quickly (as the birthday boys are quick to remind us, daily!)