Camping

This kid spent his first night away from home.  He went camping with his youth group.  Joel stayed long enough to help him set up his tent and then Little Man was on his own.  I thought he would struggle with being around all the boys without alone time, but Covid regulations actually helped him.  He was required to sleep in his own tent.  He biked 10 miles in the morning.  His only comment was, "It was long."  They're trying to work up to 50 miles for their high adventure trip that takes place in June.  I was pleasantly surprised he enjoyed himself.  

Hashtags

 The April/May blocks for do.Good Stitches were Hashtags.  They're big blocks (20"), and a lot of fun to make.  One needed to be a light hashtag with dark background, and the other needed to be a dark hashtag with a light background.  

Running For It

 Little Man has two track meets a week.  He's been progressively trying all of the races.  He kept doing the 100 meters and has been whittling down his time, but he branched out to try to the Discus for fun.  He quickly realized that's not his thing, so he went back to the running.  

He ran the 800 meters and came in 3rd place.  The following meet he tried the 400 meters and came in 2nd place.  He thought he was terrible, but we keep having to remind him that's he's a small 6th grader competing against large 7th graders.  The picture is blurry, but this gives you a good idea for sizes.  This picture was taken coming around the first bend of the track for the 400 meter race.  Little Man literally barely comes up to the kids shoulders and their leg span is completely different.  Little Man still ended up beating this boy by over 5 seconds.  He wasn't very satisfied though, because the 1st place runner beat him by quite a bit.  

His Cross Country coach had encouraged him to participate in the 1600 meters, but Little Man kept saying he didn't have the stamina to do it.  He said he couldn't breathe.  After running the 800 meters, Joel was with him when Little Man had an asthma attack.  We realized that what Little Man had been talking about was Sports Induced Asthma - he just didn't realize it.  When we got him an inhaler it improved things quite a bit, so he decided to just try the 1600 meters.  He wasn't sure he could run the whole thing, but he did, and he actually beat an 8th grader.  The season is almost over, but I think it was a good season of experimentation and deciding which events he really likes and dislikes. 

May the 4th Be With You

 

(Little Guy wore Yoda socks with a Batman cape.  It makes sense to me.)

Slackers for Parents

If you had asked us a week ago how many kids could ride a bike in our house the answer would have been one out of four.  Several years ago Little Lady had a panic attack when Joel was trying to help her learn to ride, and it didn't go well.  The bike was slightly too big, and she's afraid of heights, so it made the situation worse.  After several attempts we gave up, and BB quickly grew larger than his training bike that we never replaced.  A friend suggested a balance bike.  It helped all of her boys learn to ride a bike easily.  We bought a balance bike last Summer, and all the kiddos loved it from the start.  BB in particular enjoyed it, but really got around to deal with actual bikes. 

Joel and I had a conversation the other day about how he had really slacked on this particular thing.  Little Lady is 10 - she's needs to be able to ride a bike.  Since she and BB could both balance easily on the balance bike we knew they could ride a bike if they would try.  BB was up and running quickly with Little Man's old bike.  He absolutely LOVES it!  Little Lady took more persuading, but Joel finally got her up on Little Man's bike.  Wouldn't you know - she pretty much had it on her first try.  She admits she really enjoys it and is glad Dad pushed her to do it.  Now we just need to get her a bike of her own. 

Little Guy is thrilled with his training wheels for now, but I have a feeling it won't be long before he's off and running on a bike as well. 

Spring Cleaning

I feel like every time I blink the kiddos have move up another clothing size.  They don't have my permission to keep growing!  Stop!  It was Little Guy's turn to go through all of this clothes and take out all of the clothing that looks like high waters and belly shirts out of his drawers.  He was absolutely thrilled when we pulled out a box of his brother's old clothing that finally fits him.  He's been eyeing this Batman shirt for a while now.  He also got a Snitch shirt that he absolutely loves even though he's never read Harry Potter.  That's what happens when you're the youngest and everyone around you is obsessed.  (I think Little Lady is on her third read through of the series at this point).

While we were at it we cleaned out the boys' closet.  Holy Moly!  Where does all that junk come from?!  We ended up with a garbage bag full of trash.  Jeesh.  I'm sure it'll be dirty in a day, but it feels good to have it look decent for the time being.  We found missing library books, and some other goodies in the depths of that closet. 

Sports, Sports, and More Sports

It's hard to juggle all the sports practices and games, but it's a lot of fun to watch the kiddos grow.  Little Lady is her 3 season with the same team, and they seem to be hitting their stride.  Her coach is really trying to get them to set and overhand serve even if it means losing the games.  They've been hitting hard the concept of calling for the ball and moving to it.  The amazing thing is that they've actually been winning set after set.  They are currently ranked first in their division.  Their toughest games come at the end of the season playing the 2nd and 3rd ranked teams which will be a wonderful challenge for them.  Little Lady has improved quite a bit this season.  She is moving to the ball, and she's actually scoring with her overhand serve now.  Joel put a chalk line the height of the net on the side of our house, and she's been practicing at home quite a bit.  

I got to take BB to an eight in the morning soccer game, and it was oddly very delightful weather.  He is also in his third season with the same team.  He was all hustle this game, and I love when that happens.  He played mid field and ended up with the winning goal two minutes left in the game.  He was thrilled.  

Spicy Banana Bread

BB recently has updated his goals, and he wanted to learn how to bake something.  He chose banana bread as the first thing he wanted to learn.  We used my Grammy's recipe for spiced banana bread.

Spicy Banana Bread:  

1/2 cup butter                         ½ tsp. nutmeg

1 cup packed brown sugar     ½ tsp. mace

1 egg                                      2 ½ tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. vanilla                         ½ tsp. cloves

½ tsp. salt                             2 Tbs. milk

¾ tsp. cinnamon                 ¼ cup chopped walnuts

¾ cup whole wheat flour     1 ½ cup mashed bananas


Place butter and sugar in large bowl. Mix well. Add egg and vanilla; cream until light and fluffy. Blend flour and remaining dry ingredients, then add alternately with bananas and milk.  Spoon into greased 9x5 inch loaf pan. Sprinkle nuts on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool and then remove from pan.

 

We went over all the basics about baking as we made the bread.  He's a quick study.  BB has decided he really enjoys baking when he's doing it alone with me.  He chose to leave out the walnuts, and we didn't have any mase, but it was still very delicious.  He's excited to try it again soon.