The First Week of June

This year we got our biggest crop of cherries yet:

Most of the crop filled up my biggest silver bowl.

After a long pitting session, the girls and I made...

...cherry jam!

And a cherry pie.

It was good!

We have a bunch of wild mulberry trees near the pond and off into our woodsy area.  I told the kids that if they picked enough mulberries, I would make them some mulberry jam.

And here it is.

We also made some mulberry muffins, which did not last long.

From Monday through Thursday, Dominic and Joseph attended a basketball clinic at the YMCA for 2 hours every afternoon.  They liked having a chance to work on their skills.  While they were at the clinic, I took the rest of the kids to the outside pool each day.

Joseph 

Dominic went for the shot.

At the end of the week, Dan began making batches of homemade silly putty/goop for the kids.  They had a lot of fun with it.

Catherine was able to blow a giant bubble with hers.

They all came to see.

Pop! There it goes!

We began to get a lot of snow peas:

Bucket is full!

That weekend was warm, so the kids played in the sprinkler one afternoon:

Anthony, Joseph, and Anne cooled off.

Head in!

The First Half of April

The new chicks kept growing and growing:

The kids always love the chicks when they are little!

Still little enough to hold in one hand.

Anne

Anthony got really good at riding his bike in April.  He just kept practicing until he got it down:

Ready!

Set!

Go!

Of course, there was some of this in the process.  :)

Here is Anthony, riding away:

And finally, a short video of Joseph, showing me how he saves the ball:

Basketball for Dominic

Dominic had been asking to play basketball, and we had seen him practicing outside, shooting baskets by the hour, day after day, for a long time.  So I signed him up for the winter session at the YMCA.  I was a little apprehensive for him, as he was 9, playing for the first time.  He was good at shooting baskets, but learning how to play the game is a different story. 

It was so much better than I expected.  First of all, he got put on a team with a coach who was more concerned with teaching the boys how to play and making sure they enjoyed it than he was with winning.  Secondly, the boys on his team were good kids, nice and fun to be around.  Even though they had all played together for a couple of years, they readily accepted Dominic as one of them.  One interesting thing was that there were three brothers on his team who were part of a set of quadruplets!

It took Dominic a couple of games to get the hang of it, and then he improved greatly over the course of the season.  He practiced constantly, on his own and with Daddy, and then once a week with his team.  His team won a few games, Dominic learned lots of new skills, and he had a great time.  I call the experience a success!

Ready to play, Dominic was #20 in white.

Under the basket, ready for the rebound.

Getting instruction from the coach.

Dominic in center of picture, waiting for his teammate to bring the ball down.

Dominic and his team.

What a Season for the Shockers!

As we all know, the WSU Shockers went on a historic 35 game winning streak this year.  What a season!  Dominic and Joseph got lucky because Dan was able to get tickets to another game in February (while they were still in budget range!).  They loved the experience, and this whole season has spurred a lot of basketball practice at our house.  Dominic goes out by the garage for hours, shooting baskets and practicing layups.  Joseph joins in often.

Ready to cheer on the team.

Two little fans watched the team warm up.

The excitement was building.

The arena was full, and the game began! (Of course, they won!)

Pictures From June

In mid-June, there was a day when the Schwan's truck stopped at our house.  The driver was lucky that Dan was already home, because I probably would have just sent him on his way, especially as it was just about time for dinner.  Dan has fond memories of Schwan's from his childhood, so the kids were excited when he got a box of ice cream treats.

Orange sherbet push-ems!

Also in the middle of June, the twins had their regular dentist cleaning and checkup.  Joseph was very upset because it wasn't his turn.

The protest.

By that time in June, we had had our dog, Biscuit for a couple of months.

Anthony and Biscuit.

Anne giving Biscuit some attention.

Time for basketball:

Joseph took a shot.

Dominic studied the basket.

And the shot went in! 

Does this look safe?

Much better.

It is amazing how killdeer birds will make their nests on the ground, then when something or someone approaches, the mama bird will start making noise and dragging her "broken" wing on the ground trying to lure the threat away from the nest.  The kids liked seeing that in action.

One crazy bird made a nest right in our driveway!  See the egg?  Eventually there were three.

A few garden pictures from the second half of June:

Catherine watering the cucumber plants.

The garden looking all fresh and new!

Rows of corn.

Final Four Excitement!

Throughout March Madness this year, we watched (or, in the early games, listened, since we don't have cable) to the Wichita State Shockers beat one team after another.  Dan is an alumnus of WSU, so it was rather exciting to be in the midst of all the excitement of a winning team that was not expected to do very well this year.  Then they made it into the Final Four, which had not happened for almost 50 years!  So Dan got a T-shirt and taught the kids how to make the W:

Helping the kids get it right.

Everyone got it?

Except Anthony.

We were ready for the big game on TV!

It was an exciting run Shockers!

The New Craze: Basketball!

Earlier in the month, our new basketball goal arrived and Dan put it together, with some assistance.  Notice where Anthony is standing!

The hole is dug and ready to be filled.

"Here, Daddy, I've got the one you need!"

After pouring the concrete, Daddy smoothed it out, while carefully levelling the base of the basketball goal.  

The goal is up, and the final touch is added:  the net!

Joseph and Catherine tested it out.  We had but one basketball (flat) at the time, so they had to use what balls they could find.

Dominic shoots while Anne watches.  Did he make the shot?