What We Did in April 2017

We kept fairly busy in April.  Here is a review of some of the things we did.

This was a project I undertook.  I made up two "conversation jars," one to keep and one for a friend.  The kids have enjoyed this. We don't take a strip every day.  We still have a few strips in the jar today.  Some of the questions are not so fun, but others are.

Another day, which was a day Bianca was here, I took the kids to a couple different stores and gave them each ten dollars, and I had them draw names.  It was to be a secret as to who got whose name (I helped Elizabeth), but they figured it out.  The girls stayed with me, and I let the older kids go off on their own.  Then we got home, and they each wrapped their gifts and afterward exchanged the and opened them.  It was loud and exciting. 

I subscribed Elizabeth to two months of sensory boxes. She paid for them with her own money.  This was the first box of treasures.  

Below, she and I are playing the rabbit game.  This activity helps her with gripping.

William built and painted this bedside table all himself.  I think it looks very lovely.  It matches his room well.  I don't think I ever posted pictures last fall of the kids' newly painted bedroom walls.  He repainted his and Trusten's room a beautiful blue color. I painted the girls' room a purple to match the purple wallpaper that is on Elizabeth's dinosaur-decorated wall.  (Liv's is My Little Pony.) Note: The shining below the table is the edge of their black trash can.

We all six took an enjoyable nature drive one day, and we ended up in Eureka Springs where we ate at this Rowdy Beaver restaurant.  I ate a barbecue brisket sandwich with jalapeños.  Nathan and I think William and Trusten ate the same.  I think the girls ate burgers.

Another grilling day.  Nathan grilled filet mignon and beef ribs.  I don't think I ate my rib that day; I ate it the next.  I made a red wine demi glace, lemon butter rice, and asparagus.  It was soooo good.

 Strawberry thumbprint cookies before going in the oven

I've really been enjoying tacos lately.  I usually don't eat the tomatoes, anymore, but two or three times this year I have.  I definitely took a DAO capsule (enzyme to break down histamine) before I ate this meal, especially since I drank a root beer with it.  Root beer will also sometimes cause allergic-like symptoms because of the high histamine content. 

 Hoary puccoon (Lithospermum canascens)

Here is my sweet baby girl posing beside our purple irises and willow that Nathan planted a few years ago for me.

I don't remember what I walked out here to see upon arriving home one day, but it looks like in this picture that we just got home from grocery shopping, because there is William getting groceries out of the back. I love beautiful spring days.  :-)

This was sad. Olivia found this baby bird on the ground.  She tried saving it.  She or William put it back in its nest, but it fell, or was pushed, out again.  William said the nest had too many birds in it. I think they said it was a robin's nest.  This was at Tanya's house, if I'm remembering the correct bird discovery.  


It flooded quite badly this April, and here are just a few of the pictures.  I took videos, too.  I think it was the second worst since we've lived up here.  We couldn't get out for an entire day.

Until next time...