Maple Syrup!!!

Some fantastic friends invited us over on Saturday for a little tree-tapping, sap-collecting fun! Here is the crew, ready to head into the timber to collect sap. No walking for us...we had the luxury of riding this trailer!

Riding through the timber was fun in itself!

Ainsley is checking out one of the lines running from where the silver maple was tapped, down to the bucket.

Happy little kids, tasting some sap on their fingers.

Dad and Ainsley posed by the old tractor that hauled us to the timber.

Ed and Mary taught us all about tapping the trees, collecting sap and making maple syrup. Here, Ed is telling us about the boiler.

Mary made some maple sugar candy for us to sample. It was super sweet and delicious!

While the sap boiled, we couldn't help but enjoy what we hope is the last snowfall of the year. We learned that the dads in the bunch are really good at making LARGE snowballs. The one pictured is not even the biggest one they made!

The kids worked hard to create this, um, what is it? I was told it was a horse pulling a stagecoach. Sounds good to me!

Road Trip!

It was spring break week for us, so we took a little road trip with Grandma D. on Thursday! We enjoyed a fun museum and some shopping. Notice, I didn't say "fun" shopping. Shopping is not fun for the girls, but they tolerated it as part of the trip. Below are some museum highlights... Shopping is only fun if it's at a miniature store. Ainsley loved buying groceries at this tiny market! You see healthy pineapple and milk in her cart, but don't be fooled. Behind it she had lots of cookies and cake mixes. She's our junk food junkie, for sure!

Purchasing goods. What a friendly and helpful cashier!

The museum also has a tiny pizzeria, television station, bank, post office and hospital. Ainsley was a big fan of the maternity ward. Here she is, examining the reflexes of a newborn.

Ooooh, creepy x-ray!

Bennett tried her skills as a dentist. Ainsley observed...notice she still has that baby!

The girls also enjoyed dressing up as postal workers. Bennett weighed Grandma D's purse. Oh dear! It measured off the scale, you can't even see the needle because it's so far over to the side! Grandma, what is in that thing?!?!

There was an exhibit about flight. The girls really enjoyed the air traffic control tower-slide!

They got to climb inside a real hot air balloon basket.

Bennett and Ainsley also put on bomber jackets and "flew" in a Cessna plane. Pretty cool!

The museum had a small climbing wall. Bennett gave it a try, but she was quick to tell this boy next to her that she had simply failed to wear appropriate footwear. I overheard her say to him, "Now these are just not working. I should have brought my climbing shoes." I'm thinking, "What climbing shoes?"

Ainsley enjoyed making a fish in the museum art room.

Random Photos

There is not much excitement happening at our house. We are just patiently awaiting the arrival of spring. Here are a few random photos we've taken as we twiddle our thumbs. We ate at a local food establishment, where Ainsley landed this impressive curly fry!

Bennett also had a curly fry for the books! Silly girl.

Another man? Could it be? Ainsley was dress for "the ball" at Grandpa and Grandma's. She was ready to go with her date, Mr. Snowman. "What about Brian, your husband?" I asked her. "What will he think if he finds out? "I won't let him know," Ainsley said. Ummm, need we have a discussion about faithfulness in marriage? I hope not! Ainsley ended up deciding that Mr. Snowman was just her brother going to the ball with her. That's a good girl!

Ainsley has been asking for scissors, paper and glue quite often lately for some...kite making! Bennett showed her how to make a paper kite, and she's been flying these beauties around the house a lot lately. I think she's in desperate need of some spring!

Mr. Wonderful

On occasion, Dad brings large pieces of cardboard home from work for the girls to play with. Usually they make a house or fort with them. We've had a spaceship and a port-a-potty, as well as various signs and flags made from cardboard. The most recent piece of cardboard came home over the weekend, and Ainsley knew exactly what she wanted it to become...a husband! Oh, she is such a romantic! Create your own husband...what could be better, ladies?!?! Here is Ainsley, coloring her husband, Brian.

Ainsley was THRILLED to have found Mr. Right! Brian is also ecstactic, as he realizes that Ainsley is a real catch!

Oh, how sweet...the couple's first photo together! Let me tell you a little bit about Brian, according to his wife. He is 28 years old, and he raises baby chicks on the family farm. He and Ainsley have an infant daughter named Rose. It also appears that Brian might be a wee bit on the vain side, as it seems he has a spray-on tan. He looks a bit orange-yellow. Well, we all have our character flaws, I guess. Anyway, congrats to Ainsley on finding her very own "Mr. Wonderful!"

Signs of Spring!

Ahhh...spring will be here soon! One of the very first signs of spring for us is baby chicks! This morning we saw a sign at a local farm supply store that said "Chick Days Are Here." We made immediate plans to check out the chicks right after school! Ainsley and Cousin M. were thrilled to see these sweet little babies! They loved hearing their little cheeping sound!

Bennett was equally pleased with the baby chicks. In the car she said, "You know, no offense to ducks, but chicks are just a bit cuter than ducklings." I don't know Bennett. Ducklings are pretty cute. Chicks do have a lot going for them in cuteness though!

We are so looking forward to spring and being outdoors! But I must say, these long winter days have held many opportunities for the girls' imaginations to be in full swing. They are crazy little things! Here are some recent "glimpses" into their world of make-believe... I noticed Bennett was "flying" some contraption around the house last weekend. I had her stop so I could take a look. Well, it was none other than a love-struck hamster, flying around in an American Girl bicycle helmet! I should have known! The hamster was towing a penguin, a cat and some teeny tiny babies around in a tea-cup turned wagon of sorts. The hamster took off before I had the chance to ask any more questions. One can only guess what was going on with that!

Early out from school = watching a documentary about lizards on Netflix! I'm not sure who enjoyed the show about monitor lizards more...Bennett or her reptilian friends.

What to do after school? Play school! Here Bennett is creating a PWIM chart for her "students." Webkinz, American Girls and a little sister...what a fine group of learners.

Bennett and Ainsley brought this girl to there dad the other evening. She was in a laundry basket-bed with her arm and let wrapped in crocheted doilies. They were quite worked up about her condition, explaining to Dad that she was very sick. As the doctor, he was to treat her condition. He quickly whipped out two quarters, placed them on her eyes, put one doily on her head and said, "Thank you for coming today." For those of you who don't know, he was being Nacho from the movie Nacho Libre, which the girls have seen. Though this was not exactly what they were expecting him to do, they thought this was HILARIOUS! We all got quite a laugh. Nice one, Dad!

Weekend Recap

We had a fun weekend, despite lots of coughing! Here are some highlights... Bennett and Ainsley were able to celebrate cousin S's 1st birthday with him for a little while. Here they are posing with him before eating some of his tasty birthday cake.

They got to see Grandma E. at the party as well!

One of the favors Ainsley received at the "farm" birthday party was a new bandana. Here she is modeling it for me! Nice smile...


Other little cousins were visiting and the girls were thrilled. They went swimming in Grandpa C and Grandma D's basement together. Here they are taking a break after a dip in the pool.

While the kids swam, some of the grown-up "kids" had a ping-pong tournament. It was a lot of fun, especially since we had an old Milli Vanilli cassette to rock out to during the games.

Last but not least, Bennett's silly tooth FINALLY came out! She'd been wiggling it since the beginning of December and it had turned gray and then pink. It just would not come out, but finally, after praying about it, the tooth loosened up and popped out! God does answer prayer, even simple things! The tooth fairy at our house, however, failed to show up and forgot to swap the tooth for some cash. I'm glad that Bennett believes in God and not the tooth fairy. She was cool with it when I just aplogized and gave her the money. Anyway, congrats to Bennett!

V-Day

The girls had a great Valentine's weekend, even though Dad was out of town and Bennett was battling a cough. Here are just a few highlights... We enjoyed dressing up for a fancy lunch at an area tea room. The girls were very lady-like, but poor Bennett coughed and coughed. She still had a nice time. Grandma D., Grandma E. and Aunt B. went with us.

Bennett and Ainsley were showered with cards, gifts and treats from many aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends. Here is Bennett with a bag of goodies from Grandpa C. and Grandma D.

Every year we make Dad a homemade Valentine. This year we made him a love robot.

Since Dad was gone and Bennett was sick on Valentine's Day, the annual father-daughter date had to be postponed a few days. Midweek, the girls got all dolled up and enjoyed an evening out with their special guy!

Bedroom Remodel...It's About Time!!!

I bought some bedding on 75% off clearance for Bennett a year and a half ago. It wasn't until this week that I finally got around to getting it out. Dad was out of town for a few days and that left me with some spare time, so I decided it was time to repaint and redo Bennett's room. She had never liked the lavender walls (I can't blame her) and so she was thrilled that we were finally going to get rid of them! Bennett's walls are now "wading pool" blue. She has a tropical quilt and a grass bedskirt. We framed and hung some of her artwork from school. It is a drawing/painting of various suns, each with a different facial expression. The photo doesn't do it justice...it's really cute and well-done in person!

Long, long ago, Dad also designed a metal surfboard to hang on her wall, once the bedding was on. We painted it a bright orange, like the orange in her bedding, and hung it right away. She just loves it! It's pretty cool. Good job, Dad!

Ainsley's Art

Ainsley has been drawing quite a bit lately, and the practice is paying off!

Her drawings are getting more advanced...

This bottom is a self-portrait, I'm told. I LOVE the eyelashes and the flower in the hair!