A Sum Up of September

Our mama cat had another litter of kittens in August, but this time just two kittens, both of whom have so far survived.  I finally got around to taking pictures in early September. 

Catherine with Smoky, Anne with Velvet.

They are awfully cute!

The twins with Smoky.

Anthony carrying Velvet in his hat.

We picked a ton of tomatoes in September:

Here are a few of them.

Dan solved our desk dilemma by custom building two desks, one for Dominic and one for Joseph.  He built them in one weekend, I might add!  Each one is mounted to the wall and has a shelf.  They love having their own space!

Dominic is proud of his new desk.

 Notice the boys are separated by a bookshelf.  That has worked wonders to minimize distractions, as has facing the wall!

Catherine still has the same desk, but is in a new location.  I don't have a picture, but Anne and Anthony now share a long table.

 Towards the end of September, my brother, a priest and chaplain in the Air Force, came to our house one evening for dinner and visiting.  He is currently stationed at an Air Force base in Germany, but came back to the United States for a Convocation with his fellow Kansas City diocesan priests.  The Convocation was held in Wichita, lucky for us! 

The kids were excited to see Uncle Father Brian.

I was glad they got to spend some time with him.

I think they wore him out!

Later that week, Catherine did a science project which involved dissection. 

Dissection of flowers!

Our mini-van hit 100,000 miles in September!

The kids got to use their free ice cream cone coupons from the summer reading program at the library.

Yummy!

My aunt and godmother died in September and I was able to make it to Kansas City for her funeral.  I will always remember the picture I saw of my Aunt Barbara standing triumphantly at the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro, at the age of 68!!  After the funeral I spent some time visiting with lots of relatives.

My dad, third from the left, with two of his brothers and his remaining sister.

Later in May

One Saturday, I gave everyone a haircut.  While using the razor on the boys for their short summer haircuts, I decided to have some fun.

Too funny!

Almost got the monk look.

This one really cracks me up!

Anne checked out her big pile of hair.

Catherine with her shorter hair.

Anne modeled her haircut.

A cool tree on the west side of our house:

The twin tree.

A harvest of radishes:

Oops, someone is trying to swipe one.

Joseph with the haul.

Dan made a ramp for the kids to use with their bicycles.  No ER trips were made as a result.

Go, Dominic!

I took some pictures of our grotto with the roses and irises in bloom.

Beautiful flowers to enhance the beauty of the grotto.

Joseph at the grotto.

At the very end of school, Catherine made a representation of the State of Kansas out of rice crispy treats and all kinds of candy and toys.  All the kids really enjoyed this project!

Catherine put on the finishing touches.

Catherine showed off her final project.

She practiced her state presentation, which she later gave to Daddy.  After that, we ate Kansas!

April Stuff

We decided to try planting strawberries again this year, and we debated the best location for them.  They did not do well in the garden because of the heat and the wind.  We finally settled on a spot near our deck which would provide partial shade and some protection from the nearly-always-present wind.

One Saturday in April, Dan started work on the new strawberry bed.

In progress.

Newly planted strawberries!

Pretty wildflowers growing in our yard.

 We went out to eat at Las Palmas, a really good Mexican restaurant in Andover, for my birthday.

Anthony and Mommy ate chips and salsa, both homemade.

The big kids at their colorful booth.

Dan ordered this huge beer with his dinner.  Of course, when I tried it, he took a picture.

Pretty tree in spring!

The chicks keep growing.  This was one of their first times to be out in the big yard.

A big hen came over to check out the chicks.

We went to a Confirmation for Dan's nephew, Joseph, and niece, Bianca.

Pizza party afterwards!

Working on the Greenhouse

In the middle of January, Dan and the kids worked on the new greenhouse.  Obviously, it was a warm day for January, since no one had on even a jacket!

Greenhouse, complete with door and window.

Who was handling that power drill?

Catherine!

Anthony and Catherine sat on the finished shelf.  It was built strong!

Dominic looked in through the window.

Joseph and one of the cats looked in through the clear wall.

The greenhouse, almost finished!

Miscellaneous November

In early November, Dan started building a greenhouse between the big shed and the garden.

The boys watched Daddy dig the holes.

These posts used to be crossbars on telephone poles!

The kids practiced archery.

Dominic can shoot those arrows a long way!

Joseph agrees.

Also in early November, I took my oldest three and two of their cousins to the Young People's Concert at Century II.  We first listened to Vivaldi, then Peter and The Wolf, the story of which was acted out by a small dance troupe while the orchestra played.  The kids really liked it.  I did too!

They enjoyed the concert.

Dominic, Anne, Isabella, Catherine, and Seth.

One day I snapped a couple of pictures of Anne reading to Anthony:

I love it when the older kids read to the younger ones.

He had to get a closer look at the pictures.

Joseph with a cornucopia creation.

One day when it was really cold outside, we had painting time.

Art, art, art!