Busy Living

End of year performances, traveling to a conference, finishing school, starting summer, getting a puppy, getting caught up on all kinds of Dr. appointments, and praying hard for friends. My dad would call that burning the candle at both ends, and we are feeling it. But thankfully difficulties often birth joys. 

Rhianwen had a very cute observation day in jazz. She has come a long way!

"You've got that one thing."

My fave part, when Ms. Kirstie had all of the dads dance with the girls and taught them a little routine. I was thanking the Lord that I am a mom b/c I would NOT have been comfortable doing this :)

Ballet. I just love it. So pretty. Grandmama was able to come to this one. 

So sweet.

I was very disappointed that I hadn't completely figured out my camera, so I don't have any good video clips from this!!!

Nature walks almost always happen in our backyard. They were drawing pictures of the baby cardinals in their nest. Do you like Corwin's technique?

Nanny Kim, Grandpa, and Uncle Skipper all came to watch the kids while we went to a homeschool conference. Our favorite thing is just getting away, the 2 of us, free to feel like we're back to normal relational life.

And then I was insane enough to want a puppy, and Wally was insane enough to say yes. His name is Pippin and his theme song is Zippity-do-dah except it's Pippity-do-dah. His arch nemesis is Alden's batman cup. If it's on the floor, it's lights out for it. He also likes to eat my rug...any suggestions to stop this behavior? Yes, my girl has shorts on, no, she's not quite got the lady-like thing down yet. She likes to ride the dirt track in skirts.

Dirt track????

Uh-huh. Thanks to Wally. Sometimes I wish I could see his thought process...wakes up in the morning, yawns, stretches, makes breakfast, wanders outside, thinks, "I think I'll make a dirt track today." Done.

Except, Wally thinks the track is the perfect size for Corwin's Strider bike, so it may NOT be done, quite. Guess who got a BMX off of Craigslist? No, not me!

Some of the fun sans Wally who was taking the video.

This summer some things I've decided to do are a little bit of Five in a Row, cooking with Rhianwen, art, and maintaining some knowledge of math facts. Since it's Wally's job to cook breakfast, he helped her make Eggs in a Frame (I call it Eggs in a Basket). Grandmama gave her a Betty Crocker Cookbook for Boys and Girls which she is using. Tuesdays are her day to cook. Alden and Corwin now whine and feel left out. I told them if they wanted to pick out a recipe, we could do it. So far, they haven't.

Happy birthday dear daddy! I'm still trying to figure out my camera, as you can tell. But I am enjoying it! Can you tell that Alden just absolutely adores Wally? He wants to be just like him when he grows up. I tell him that is a great aspiration. We finally gave Wally the particular frames he wants for his office desk. So now he can put some updated pictures of his family on it along with the ones that are 13 years old. 

Watching World Cup. Usually Pippin is way too excited to see Corwin, but this was at the end of a long day of playing, so he's calm and sleepy. I've been told this breed will become couch potatoes once they become adults/they are happy with lots of activity or little, so we'll see!

Corwin was singing a song that Grandpa had sung the week he was here. He's a little unsure in this video clip, but, previously, he was belting it out on the swing, in the car, all over the place :)

Corwin has been making up fantastic stories. I love that stage when they can start being creative with their words! 

Some funny moments: 

Me: "Corwin, if you spill water on the floor, you need to clean it up."

Corwin: "That wasn't me. It was the pee."

Corwin: "I born right now."

Alden: "Of course you are. You are way way borner now!"

Corwin (on being told that Daddy was at the dentist): "Aftah he get his teef paint, he get a bouncy ball!".

If only it were as fun as their visits!

Yeah. Lots of Corwin, but my older 2 provide many fun conversations too. They are just often way too complicated to write down. :)

Celebrations

May is full of birthdays on the Tinsley side of the family. Celebrating Mother's Day gets tucked in neatly along with it. So, May is a favorite month of mine :0) My sweet husband gave me a new camera, so I am learning how to use it. Here are some of the first pics from it.

Talking with Farmer Bob while looking for the queen bee at the Bush-N-Vine in York, SC. If you are ever in the Rock-Hill area, this is a fun farm to visit, and my husband worked there growing up.

Feelin' right at home on the farm. Wally says his memories here are tied to crop rotation.

Fun in the tunnel.

If you are wondering where Rhianwen was, she was back at the homestead fixin' up some vittles with Grandmama which has been a wish of Rhi's for quite some time. She says Grandmama is the best cook in the world and has wanted to cook with her.

It was delicious! 

Then it was off to Greenville for my niece's, Kallie's, birthday celebration. Despite the fact that there was an awesome playground 5 feet in front of them, the cousins decided to monkey around in the bushes for a while. 

They got to go on a little train ride. This was after the tunnel with lots of high pitched happy screaming from Benj. Corwin is now assuring him that there are no monsters.

"Smiley" aka the birthday girl aka Kallie with her awesome mommy.

Sharing the joys of cupcakes.

Enjoying the birthday girl and Uncle Robeson.

Back in York for Mother's Day. We got to see Mary Ruth and her sweet mama and daddy. We had so much fun visiting with them!

Happy Mother's Day, Grandmama!

So thankful to be part of such a sweet, kind, wise family. I'm so thankful for Ruth's mothering to my husband and for always being available and valuing our relationship.

Risen and Camping

Although I am playing catch-up, we still have our "He is Risen" banner up in our dining room! The kids keep asking when we will take it down. Soon, soon. But we are glad the fact is there to stay.

Dyeing Easter Eggs. I had to donate one of mine to the little boy b/c he was so enthralled with this activity. 

Resurrection cookies: sealing the "tomb".

Adding the last picture to the Easter road.

Easter baskets! I felt like I had to especially tell Rhianwen that today was NOT about Frozen. She did a good job being excited and then shifting her focus back to Easter and worship.

Squinty, tired, ready for lunch after a long but good morning at church.

Oh, you didn't find a strawberry, but an egg?

Enjoying their "tiny-one jellybeans" as Corwin dubbed them.

Engrossed in egg peeling. 

Alden went off on his first camping trip with Daddy and a group of boys who are joining Trail Life USA. He was SO excited. Corwin was very sad, and kept insisting that he wanted to go. Once he found out that you had to be 5 to go, he said, "I not three! I five!....Yes, I am! I five!". As you may have guessed, he was stuck watching Frozen and eating pizza with the girls, but the highlight was that he got to sleep in Alden's loft while he was gone.

Alden's list of essential camping gear.

Throwing rocks in the lake.

Reading how to cook eggs in a bag for the next morning...it actually worked!

See?

Putting up a tent, taking it down, and repacking. They also lit a fire using matches. Guess who got burned? Yes, this stuff is for men...not mommies.

On a hike, in a tree, watching an osprey. Bonus points!

We are really excited about this. As you can tell, Alden felt so special and like a true adventurer doing this with his daddy and other guys. We hope there will be many more experiences like this for them.

Back at home, Corwin cut this almost all by himself, and he glued everything on with the correct orientation completely on his own. I was amazed, but maybe that's b/c I still think of him as my baby most days.

Cardinal eggs in our backyard. I love spring!

Duke Gardens, here we come. There were 9 little ducklings following their mommy around. You can see 3 in this picture. Yes, Alden likes to live on the edge.

Koi!

My sweet kids. 

Picnicking in a quiet spot. 

"You are very funny. Even funnier than me." ~Alden

Corwin's first man drawing. Don't you love the man's expression? Looks like how I've felt about this last month: "Meh."

"En guard you happy guy, you."

Kid's drawings just make me happy, you know?

"We're off to see the wizard...." Oh wait, Dorothy got saved and stayed in Kansas. (This is Rhi's drawing, and there is a spider under the flap in the tornado, and I forget what was under the flap in the sky).

Love my family.

Preparing for their Greek comedy.

Their Greek play. Yes, I shouldn't have said they were dumb, but they knew they were being silly which is what I was trying to say...welcome to the imperfect homeschool. It was pretty funny, don't you think?


Using the paint over wax technique which the Greeks used to paint their vases. I really loved Corwin's and have thought of framing his. It reminds me of freedom, innocence, and being in the moment when I look at it.

Front

Back (Do you think Rhianwen convensed aka convinced daddy?).

Testing the Pythagorean's triangular numbers.


Boxing, his socks are his boxing gloves, duh!


You are in the presence of a master builder. Oh, yeah.


Finally, the MOSS robot has arrived! It is a set that allows you to construct various robots and was a long awaited Christmas gift for Alden and daddy. They are having a lot of fun with it.

Sorry about the woppee-jawed effect, my photo-storage site changed, and I didn't feel like figuring it out tonight.

Some good things that have happened:
-Rhi did great on her first year of standardized testing. We chose the Woodcock Johnson test because I felt like it was the best fit for her personality, and I don't regret it. She had a great experience and felt very affirmed as a result.

-Warm weather and beautiful colors.

-Visits from friends

-End of Homeschool year 2 in sight! Unbelievable to me.

Alden has been really pushing me in math by not being careful with his counting. He often just wants to look at a group of objects and count in his head or estimate. I finally sat down and had a "real-world" talk about how if he did that as an anesthesiologist or engineer etc., that he could kill someone...yeah...maybe it was a little overkill, but it seemed to be a motivator.

Silly Corwin convos:

Daddy: I smell something stinky. (looks pointedly at Corwin)
Corwin: It's you. You fotted.
....

Corwin: I love you, mom.
Mommy: I love you too!
Corwin: Me too.
....

Mommy: Why did daddy get that wood?
Corwin: He wanted it for his nails.

...
Corwin: My hot not broken.

We have had a rough month of sickness, but I think we are over the worst and hope that we'll all be able to celebrate Easter together at church!