Living in Dagobah

Okay, so our little patch of this earth is not quite Dagobah, despite sometimes (especially during mud season) when it may seem like that, but it is full of life and outdoor adventure and I can definitely appreciate Yoda's desire to be connected with nature - even with the inescapable bug-bites.

She'll probably use this picture as evidence to call 1-800-childabuse when she's older but she was the one begging to try and use it... actually she even got Ryan in on trying to help her, if only she were a few inches taller she could probably really do it.


Alicia decided to plant some broccoli. This was all her, she grabbed the seeds and pot, filled it with dirt, planted them and watered them. She checks on it almost every day. She's trying to work out a deal where if she can get it to grow and shows that she can take care of it she'll get a pet fish.


This is some of my zucchini, we also have pumpkins, beans, lettuce, corn, tomatoes, peppers, spinach, and even watermelon started. There will be more once planting season really starts. It is one of the main gripes about VT though that the growing season is so short.

A blossom on one of our apple trees. It doesn't look like we'll have many apples this year though, which is okay really, they're fun, but don't have much taste, pretty much only good for deer food.


Blossoms on our lilac bushes. Okay, so I don't know if they're really considered a bush or a tree but they're so pretty to look at and smell so sweet I love to sit out with them.

We've also been working on clearing out some of the ditches and getting the drain fixed in the pond so the water level will be where it should again. Hopefully that will help keep the little people out of it and then Zach's been talking about stocking it up with some fish. Either way, it's been fun and quite the family adventure.

It's so pretty here at this time of year. The Earth is bursting with life and color everywhere. The blossoms are beautiful and even the leaves on the trees are a sight to behold -I never knew there were so many shades of green. I think I like the idea from A Beautiful Mind that God must be an artist because He used so many beautiful colors when He created the world.

Spring Has Sprung

Okay so it's a little late and quite a bit cliche but I'm so excited. The weather's been really wonderful and we've been spending lots of time outside, something that we were all in desperate need of after the confines of winter. Here's just a few of the pics I've taken....

Out on the Toonerville Trail:

Mark and Ryan... walking while Ryan looks for "wibbits"

Alicia riding so she can draw the trees...

Around the house...

Ryan taking over the responsibility from Alicia of filling in the pond one rock at a time... this was actually only a few minutes before Alicia joined him and they both tried to climb down the bank for better access... we've also had to rescue an assorted variety of objects including hats, shoes, and bubble wands that went in as well.

Alicia and Ryan on the play-set. Sometimes they surprise me with how well they do on their own.

Assorted Springiness...

A Whirlwind of a Week

These past two weeks been a bit crazy... lots of good things... but craziness indeed.
First of all - My mom and Aunt Dorothy arrived about a week and a half ago for a week long visit. It was a fairly low-key visit aside from the fact that they got to experience first hand the wild animals that I claim sometimes as children... Their arrival immediately prompted a few rounds of "bump bump" riding around on the back of Grandma's wheelchair over doorstops etc.


The day after they arrived Uncle Matt came for a visit as well. They had the attention of 5 grown ups and lots of presents - they were spoiled rotten and loved it. While Matt was here we all got to use the pool and fitness center where Mom and Aunt Dorothy were staying both kids gave me some scares in the water but it was really fun.

Tuesday night I finished up my papers and such for school this term! It felt so good, I'm actually trying to convince myself that I should still take the one course through the summer.

Thursday I left Ryan with Mom and Aunt Dorothy and took Alicia over to the school for a chance to look around and get a feel for the place. She got to meet both of the Kindergarten teachers, we won't know for a little while whose class she'll actually be in but she liked both of them and already found some of the big kids that were practicing for a production of Little Mermaid that thought she was adorable. I actually had to fight with her to get her out of the place because she was sure that she hadn't seen everything yet - possibly because I refused to let her go play on their outdoor play set.

Friday Morning Mom and Aunt Dorothy hit the road again back to TN and FL. The kids were pretty exhausted. Not that I should be surprised after the vast quantities of energy that they had exploited during the week.

Unfortunately, I was too busy to remember to take more pictures or when I did remember the kids were moving around and they came out blurry. I think Mark got some video, so we'll have to see how that turned out.

Happy 5th Birthday Alicia

All Alicia

Nicknames: Allie, Leasha, Leasha-beesha, Beesha, Snugglebug, Princess, Sissy
Favorite Foods: Kraft Mac & Cheese, french-fries, fruit, toast, candy, and cookies
Favorite Books: Berenstain Bears, If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, Henry Hikes to Fitchberg
Favorite Toys: Trains, Princess Dolls, Animals
Favorite Things To Do: draw, play with her friends, run, climb, jump, explore, play hide and seek, play PBS Kids.org, watch a movie
Big Excitements: learning to read, spring, getting ready for kindergarten

The Big Day

Don't let her fool you... the only reason she woke up smiling is because it was her birthday.

One of the many faces of Alicia... you would never know that we were too sick to even go to church... she even insisted that she wear a dress, stockings, and CTR ring for the day.

Alicia and her dinner of choice... Kraft Mac&Cheese, french fries, and broccoli

The Ostrom Traditional RiceKrispy Treat Birthday Cake

Alicia's evening amusement - "Mommy, I'm not the princess, I'm the Queen and I'm going to a ball!"

Overall Favorite Alicia Moment of the Day:
(while eating breakfast)
Alicia: "Mommy do you see this tear coming from my eye?"
Deb: "Umm... sure hun?"
Alicia: "It's a sign to you and Daddy and Ryan of how happy I am, sometimes people cry when they're happy. This is the bestest birthday ever."

Happy 2nd Birthday Ryan

Ryan's Rundown
Nick-names - Mr. Ry, Baby Ryan, Ry-Ry, Little Man, Goober, Stinkerdoodle,
Favorite Food - pretty much any kind of fruit, most especially strawberries and bananas
Least Favorite Food - most kinds of meat
Favorite Phrases - "socks and shoes", "up and down", "I want it"
Favorite Songs - The Wheels on the Bus, Twinkle Twinkle
Favorite Things - balls, trains, trucks, babies
Favorite Things To Do - dance, jump, slide, swing, screech, and in general copy-cat whatever Alicia is doing
Random Obsessions - running from the vacuum cleaner, sucking the first two fingers of his right hand, playing with hair, trying on everyone's shoes, "BackPack" from Dora (we're still trying to figure that one out)
Sleep Schedule - 9P.M. - 6:30A.M. pretty much like clockwork and a nap in the afternoon


Pictures from the Big Day

So Ryan woke up and was subjected to the usual birthday pictures... he's perfected the look of pitiful agony.

He didn't want to sit still unless Sissy joined in the fun... which she was more than happy to do.

The big b-day dinner... Alicia's choice of corn-dogs and tater-tots.

Just too much birthday fun...

The Yellow Zone

As pictured previously the thermometer that we have outside on the garden shed has different colors for different temperature ranges. A day or two ago I made the mistake of teaching this to Alicia. I explained that the best time to go outside was when it was in the yellow or orange zone - so far we've been mostly yellow which is hovering probably somewhere between 55-65. When ever the chill of the morning wears off and she sees it slowly climbing out of the green zone she gets all excited - MOMMY IT'S YELLOW!!! Followed shortly by - LET'S GO PLAY!!!!



They had quite a bit of fun attacking the last patch of snow that had the audacity not to have melted yet.






They also enjoyed pulling out the stroller from the garage and taking turns playing baby in it. Watching Ryan trying to push Alicia was actually quite humorous. Then they decided to climb in together and Mommy took them around for a ride.

April Arrived

I've been meaning to post now for a few days but haven't had the chance so here goes...

First of all it's April - YAY!!!! April's a pretty crazy month around here. Already we had a wonderful General Conference weekend and the first two of eight birthdays between family and friends. Still we've got Easter, Alicia and Ryan's birthday parties, gardens to work on, spring to enjoy and the last month of the school semester for Mark and me (the final overall for Mark before his B.A.!!!)

So far the weather's been fairly warm and we've been getting out more. Not sure if it's helped much considering the vast amounts of pent up energy the kids have from the winter. Our crocus are up, our jonquils are trying to bloom. So far I haven't spotted any buds or blooms on trees yet but it'll happen any day now I'm guessing. Lots of opportunities for prettiness. So far the only damper has been the rain. I love rain, but this is still a little too cold to be out in for long and everything has been really muddy for over a month now. (not complaining - just describing) It's helped the grass though and the lawn is starting to look green again. Lots of little creatures are out again. The other day I spotted about five deer up in our woods. Unfortunatly as soon as I saw them they saw me and ran for it.

I guess that's pretty much it for now lots to keep us busy and look foward to.