Shedding a Winter's Worth of Hair

 Mauly was in need of a major spa treatment last week.  She looked scraggly and dirty, so she got the royal treatment from the girls.  They brushed her til the cows came home.  They were so proud of all the hair they brushed out of her, they kept it in a cup until the cup was over flowing.  You can see most of the hair they brushed out in Lily's hand.  There was lots floating around the yard for a few days too.  Needless to say, Mauly looked great and actually looked a few pounds lighter by and by.

Quite a Haul!!

After a GREAT spring of antler hunting, here is what it all boils down to -- a truck full of antlers a friend of Matt's buys to make beautiful antler handled knives.  What do we get?  $1600 for our new addition.  A great deal if you ask me!

A Half Caught Fish

  

Can you only catch a fish half way?  Nora can!

The girls and the fish

Here are all the fish the girls caught.  Mori had a friend, Braylie Spratling with her and Braylie caught the biggest fish.  Each of the girls caught at least three fish and some got away before we could get them on the bank, otherwise we would have had more fish to fry.  It was a fun day for us all and we will definitely be doing it again soon!

Daddy-Daughter Fun

After a week at outdoor school, the girls and I met Matt at the Kiwanas Cabins to do a bit of fishing in the newly stocked pond.  We did it last year and had so much fun, we decided to do it again this year.  Nora hasn't been fishing much that she remembers, so this was a memorable experience for her.  She held her first fish (mind you, she had to touch the ones in the bucket first a few times to make sure it was all going to be okay) and caught quite a few too.  She is usually a mama's girls, but when it came to someone casting the pole or helping her reel in the fish, daddy was her one and only side-kick.  She even snagged one on its tummy and brought it in.  We have been told that is illegal, but I am not convinced she did it maliciously, so we are not going to turn her in (ha-ha).  She and her daddy make a pretty good fishing team.  We just can't wait for the next fishing trip!

Lily just finished her first "Round-Up City Racers" track season.  She had a lot of fun.  She loves the field events more than the running.  She always chose to do the shot-put, the javelin and the long jump.  When she made the 4x100 relay she loved that too, but she was a 7 year-old in a 7 & 8 year old group, so she was usually beat out of the relay by the 8 year-olds.  When she couldn't do the relay, she did the 50 meter dash.  I think she will chose to do it this next year, but she is also interested in trying softball.  In her final track meet, she did well and had a lot of fun.  It was a regional track meet against all the city league track teams in Umatilla county.  She was one of 350 participants and just had a fun time!

Who's that pitching? or is she on third base?

That's Mori on third base and pitching.  She is playing her second year of softball and is having the time of her life.  She started pitching on a whim, thinking it would be fun to try and we are now considering pitching lessons during the summer if we can fit it in.  Mori actually had a game tonight and she played very well.  She hit 3 times and got on each time.  She also pitched an inning and then played first base the rest of the game.  Her team won 12-11.  They have actually only lost one game so far.  They are a fairly young team, but work well together.  Mori will definitely continue to play as she gets older.  We actually can't get her to stop practicing her pitching technique, no matter where we go -- in the store, on walks, in the house, pretty much everywhere she goes.

Farmers in the making

We planted our garden a week and a half ago.  We are SO excited to have all the yummy foods from it.  We planted 3 types of tomatoes, 2 types of zucchini, bush beans, peas, carrots, beets, cilantro, pumpkins, and a few other things.  We will also have a nice stock or raspberries to eat.  The girls love to plant the garden and to help tend it.  All three girls are such good helpers with pulling weeds and watering the garden.  They also LOVE to get dirty in the mud.  With the big hole in our backyard and the garden spot, we have LOTS of dirt to worry about tracking in the house now.  We will share our spoils with anyone interested in coming to get it too.  We would love visitors this summer!!!

Baby Update -- Week 38ish

Well, I have 2 weeks and 2 days til I am due but I am crossing my fingers for sooner!  This baby is a mover and I think my ribs have been stretched to capacity enough for now.  I am not sleeping well.  Everyone says the baby is training me for when he/she is born, but I just think it is my stressed out mind going over my end of the year at school, our new house construction and whether we are having a boy or a girl.  We still haven't figured out a name.  We have always gone to the hospital with a definite name for both sexes and this time we can't decide on a single one.

I am still dilated to a 2 1/2 and am 50% effaced -- no change whatsoever.  I was a bit bummed, but I am thinking Heavenly Father has a time line and I need to stick to it and not my own.  So I will hopefully learn a bit of patience in the process and get everything ready for my sub in my classroom.  But cross your fingers -- I wouldn't mind sooner than later!

Learning to Swim

The girls love to swim!  They have been taking swimming lessons from a girl at the Round-Up Athletic Club.  They just finished for the time being but will start again at the end of June.  They have all come a long ways this year.  Mori has learned all the strokes, Lily has learned two strokes and Nora will finally put her face in the water consistently.  They will be missing swimming for the next few weeks, but I need a break.  We are going non-stop right now with end of the school year stuff.  What a relief to have another thing off the list!