The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. "Life isn't about how to survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain."
Do what you like ~ Like what you do ~ Optimism can take you anywhere!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Birthday Celebration
We met the little people and their parents at the Two Rivers Restaurant at General Butler State Park for a birthday breakfast buffet.
Noah and K.K. with Grandpa and the traditional birthday pumpkin pie.
Mmmm-mmmm!
The staff graciously provided us with additional plates and silverware.
And Little Miss El in the arms of her mother.
No pie for you, Little Miss El. I'll make a pumpkin pie for you and me to eat the next time I come down!
This box was delivered to our house in February. What could it be?
It doesn't look too big, but the delivery man cautioned me that it was heavy!
It was heavy!
We had been to the Farm Machinery Show in Louisville. One particular vendor, Worthington AG Parts out of Minnesota, not only had rebuilt starters for John Deere 3010 D tractors, but had them at a reasonable price. Think about the face of a small boy on Christmas morning seeing presents under the tree...
Shortly after K.K. was born, we were perusing a flea market, just to see what was there. One vendor had made small children's chairs using PVC pipe and fabric from major football/baseball leagues.
We made K.K. a small chair with PVC pipe and John Deere fabric. She was just learning to walk and she pushed that chair all over! When she got tired, she just sat down to rest!
When Noah was born, we made him a small chair using fabric with trucks and cars. He uses his chair with his 'desk.'
Now, it's Little Miss El's turn for a chair.
I found no fabric that I liked in my favorite fabric stores, so we took a trip up to Waynesville to search for fabric. This bright, cheery fabric is covered with ladybugs...
I took a little trip to visit with the 'little people.'
Imagine my surprise to see the daffodils in blossom!
Little Miss El is not crazy about 'tummy time.'
The first time I put Miss El on her tummy, she collapsed her little arms, put her head on the floor and cried little alligator tears. The second time, she yelled at me and pushed herself right up! Way to go, Little Miss El!
Soon she will be rolling over. "Try again, Little Miss El!"
Noah is drawing at his 'desk.' Check out his little chair.
Thank you, Grandpa, for making my chair.
Noah brought home a seascape with assorted fishes glued onto a blue/green background. After he named all the fishes, I asked him, "Which fish do you like the best?" "The whale," he replied. "Why?" I asked. "Because it is the biggest," he replied. "I like the octopus," I said, "because it has eight legs. What other animal has eight legs, Noah?" Without skipping a beat, Noah replied, "Spiders."
K.K. modeling her Brownie vest, complete with patches.
I returned home and washed Miss El's fingerprints off my glasses, the memories remain in my heart!
We took a little walk out back yesterday looking for signs of spring. We found a patch of yellow flowers in amongst the trees. We were also surprised to find a deer carcass in the middle of a small meadow. Somebody had a tasty meal! One less deer to eat the tomato plants this summer!
We took our bikes up to Hueston Woods State Park this morning for the traditional 'pancake breakfast'. Since the temperatures today were to reach the mid-seventies, we thought we would ride our bikes around the park and down to the sugar bush to watch the making of maple syrup. Check out the flags above the truck...did I mention the wind was blowing?
Traditional methods of making maple syrup.
Traditional ways of tapping the trees. I suspect now that the raw sap is tapped and transported through plastic tubing leading to catch containers, keeping out contaminants. The raw sap then goes to the evaporator. Sap is 97% water; the rest is natural sugar and nutrients. Forty gallons of sap are needed to make one gallon of maple syrup.
We rode a nice twelve miles around the park. Had a few short steep hills. Wind. Traffic. It was nice to be outside riding!
Did I tell you the best part? We were down at the sugar bush, I had gotten my pictures. It was time for a very steep, gravelly climb back to the top. The hay wagon was waiting for visitors to climb aboard to take them back to the parking lot. Three visitors were on the wagon...plenty of room remained for two bikes and two passengers. We climbed aboard and rode up that hill!
