1/2 Birthday

6 1/2

Yesterday was Nolan's half birthday.  We celebrated by him staying home from school...yes really!  Ok, not really.  He came down with a cold over the weekend (thanks in part to the lovely rainy weather we have been having) and really didn't feel good on Tuesday.  So, he stayed home to rest.  Good thing, he has a busy rest of the week ahead of him!  He choose green frosting as he is really into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles these days.  Funny how kids toys have a way of coming back, huh?

We celebrated by some playing in the park while Eryn was at Girl Scouts, then home to enjoy the sunshine and warmer weather.  We had a late supper, chosen by Nolan, of pancakes and sausage.  Even though he had it for lunch, he was more than happy to eat it again for supper:)  We topped it off with cake and ice cream.

So, as it's another rainy, stormy night in Spillville we are getting backpacks unpacked each night, chock full of locker items that I didn't think we'd see again (stocking hats, scarves, sweatshirts) and TONS of papers.  I'm glad they are bringing home a little each day or this mama would be a bit overwhelmed with all the "stuff". 

Stay tuned we've got some fun things planned for the last day of school on Friday!!

Rain Rain GO AWAY!

Silly Kids!!

Well, it's been a crazy weekend....  Not really, I guess.  It's been pretty low key thanks to lots of rain and cold temps.  As I've mentioned before I am SO READY for summer!! Bring it on!

 Saturday we went to mom and dad's to visit, had a quick lunch and then went to see The Croods in Sumner.  It was a cute movie!  Then back home to hunker down in the living room and watch a movie (an adult one for a change!).  I still had three kids hanging on me, but I finally got to watch Safe Haven,  excellent movie!!

Sunday we took a little road trip in the morning and got lunch from Klunder's and took it to Randy's parents, and visited with them for awhile.  We need to get going on our landscaping, and Randy's parents are looking at making some changes to their landscape as well.  Then it was back home to finish laundry and watch the race that night.  We made "beer in the rear" chicken in the oven since it wasn't so nice outside. It turned out pretty good!

Today I got out for a run just before it started to rain.  As you can see from the previous post we missed out on the parade, but I am sure there will be many more this summer!  I tried to make the most of the day by doing some cleaning of the freezers and fridge, making some cut out cookies for the end of the school year later this week, and making Nolan's half birthday cake (for tomorrow).

The kids and I made the shirts in the picture above a week ago or so.  I got the idea on Pinterest and thought it would be way more fun to make our own rather than buy patriotic tshirts like we do most years.  Derek loved getting his hands in the paint, hence the several handprints on his shirt!

The two older kids and I have also been working on another Pinterest project for the teachers for the last day of school.  Stay tuned for pictures on that!

Well, it's off to get more things prepped for the week.  It's a short one!  Hoping for better weather next weekend, and this rain to STOP!  Praying for no flooding, especially for my friends and family who live south of us!!

Our Brownie

This morning Eryn was all geared up to walk in her first parade as a Brownie for Girl Scouts.  Unfortunately the weather had other plans and half way to Ossian we got a  call that the parade was cancelled. She is finishing up her first year as a girl scout and will be bridging to the next step next school year.  Yesterday we worked on her sash, and she will have many more badges to add to it!  I thought that the ironing on alone was worth a badge since it took us so long to figure out how to peel off the badges from the paper, but oh well!  It turned out just fine.

Now, to find some projects to do on another rainy dreary day!

Where is summer?

Vrrrrrommmm Vrrrrooomm

This kid's imagination never ceases to amaze me!  This is the project he was working on after school this week, love it!  It's a race car, fully equipped with drink and food holders, and a flag with his name:)

Garden Project

We had such beautiful weather yesterday we took advantage of every minute!  In the morning we made our annual trip to the Mennonite's by Alta Vista for flowers.  They were all so pretty, it was hard to choose!  We also picked up some veggie plants to supplement what we had already been growing for the garden. 

 

After a quick lunch, we were back outside to get the flowers potted and set in the yard.  I didn't get pics of them yet, and it's raining this morning so watch for them later:)  The kids loved getting in the dirt, and this was just the beginning!  After that work was done we headed to the garden to get things planted.  This year we are trying some new plants and I can't wait to see how they turn out!  One is sweet potatoes, and I am hoping to also get some spaghetti squash in.  We had lots of little hands helping as you can see, and they had a great time!  Not to mention they each had their fair share of popciciles to get them through all the hard work!

 

When the work was done it was time for some 'play.'  4-wheeler rides in the park, playing frisbee, and "washing off" in the big cooler.  Of course I had forgotten my phone by then and didn't get any pics, but the kids took it upon themselves to wash the car, and themselves in the process!  They had a great time playing with our friends' kids, grilling out and enjoying the weather.

 

On the downside, Nolan's allergies are NOT liking the weather and by about 730, he had enough.  His eyes were itchy and he just needed to get out of the grass, trees, and pollen.  We made our way home, got cleaned up and watched Cars2 to end the day.  As of right now I think Nolan and Eryn are both still sleeping (it's almost 8 am) and that is a rarity.

 

What a great start to the warm weather season!  Looking foward to many more days like this! 

Derek took a break in the shade sitting on his favorite thing the 4-wheeler--it was a warm day!

Eryn had the task of rolling out the fence to keep the rabbits out!

Nolan was a great helper, working on building up his muscles!

Weekend Away!

This weekend we traveled south to attend the wedding of Randy's cousin Melissa.  It was a great little getaway and good to see family.  The kids enjoyed the hotel pool after the wedding, and crashed by 10:00.  Luckily, they all slept very well, and even later than usual on Sunday morning!

 

We celebrated Mother's Day a little early by visiting my parents on Wednesday and having supper with them.  As a farm family, this time of year gets busy and they were picking rock getting ready to plant so we didn't have too much time to visit, but nonetheless it was nice to visit them.  We are very blessed to have wonderful mother's in our lives!!

 

This week I think spring finally has arrived and the kids are excited to wear shorts and tank tops.  Counting down the days of school left!!

Suprisingly, the boys slept like a rock!

Sleeping beauty was the first one up Sunday morning!

Yep, that's a battle wound on Derek's face.  Face first down the slide into the sand...ouch!

Got the kids to pose for one good picture!

New Traditions

Today we started a new tradition in the Sabelka household....celebrating half birthdays.  First up....Derek!  Hard to believe he is 2 1/2 already!  We celebrated with homemade pizza for supper (his choice) and half of a birthday cake (with blue icing, also his choice).  It' s fun to have the kids choose their cake and birthday supper not once, but twice a year!  Kids love birthdays, and it makes me smile inside to see them so happy and look forward to this mini celebration!  Now, if Randy and I could just be half that excited to celebrate our birthdays:)

Half of a birthday cake.....trying to blow out the candle.  He needed some help from mom:)



a small gift of his own bat and ball for outside play...but needed to take just one practice swing.

And something we DIDN'T order....snow on May 2nd!  REALLY????