Strawberry Picking

Two weekends ago we with some neighbors went to go pick strawberries. It was supposed to be a neighborhood event but at the last minute most people cancelled. While their cancellation was regrettable the other family (Cris and Cory) that joined us is our favorite family in the neighborhood.

The Eckert's farm is a fully working farm. I'm sure they make a lot of money out of growing food the conventional large farm way. However, they've also perfected the small farm experience. During the year they have all manner of crops available for people to come and pick their own; strawberries, peaches, apples, and pumpkins to name a few. To get to the fields you take a tractor ride which pretty much made Alyce's day. On top of picking as much as you want you can also eat as many berries as you want while out in the field. A first I was a bit skeptical but looking at the vastness of the fields there are more berries going bad on the vine in a day than they'd lose from people eating their fill.

Picking the strawberries wasn't easy work. It was really hot and dry out in the fields. Alyce withered first. After 10 minutes she said she was ready to go. I don't think she was too hot, I think she wanted to get back to the farm house where a bounce house was setup. Mom and I picked over a flat of strawberries. However we made it back to the farm house with a single flat. The reason for that is another story.

I really enjoyed picking strawberries with my family. I think it is one of those unique family events that can turn into a tradition. I'm not sure the kids got as much out of it as I did but stuff like this has a way coming back around when you least expect it.

Alyce's Dance Outfit

Alyce picked up her costume for her upcoming dance recital. Her dance this year is to Rockin' Robin. Half of the girls in her class are wearing pink and the other half is wearing pink. Alyce happily is wearing pink. It's not purple like last year but it's still pretty cool.

End of the Year Party

At the end of Alyce's school year the district put on a little carnival for the kids. It was a fairly simple affair in that there were just games and artsy things to do but no rides.  Alyce and Luke went to all the different stations and played all the games. They also took a few turns in a bounce house. Balloon animals being made were also a big hit; Alyce with a unicorn and Luke a horse.

After the games we took a trip down the hall to the art area and each kid made a picture. The crafts provided were plates full of paint and circle stamps. By dipping the stamps into the paint and then onto the page you could make pictures out of circles. Luke's picture was pretty random. Alyce's was a very happy caterpillar.

Father Daughter Baseball

Last night Alyce and I had a father daughter moment. We played baseball together. I guess it wasn't really baseball as we were just throwing the ball to each other and swinging at it with the bat. I did get to show Alyce how to hold a bat and the path the bat is supposed to take when swinging. Surprisingly Alyce bats left handed and throws right. Between my poor pitching and her mediocre swings we didn't have a lot of success driving the ball over the fence but we did have fun. Alyce did knock a ball pretty good; right into my head. The ball and bat were so squishy I barely felt anything. Luke was out with us but wasn't interested in swinging the bat. However, he sure wanted to throw the ball around. Mom gave him one of his own but on occasion he'd steal the ball from us.

Spring Flowers

Alyce picked these beautiful flowers for Mom.


I don't have it in my heart to tell her it's a weed.

Lost 2nd Tooth

Alyce lost her second tooth last week! Unfortunately we don't have any evidence; Alyce swallowed it. It had been loose for days but still too attached to pull it out. During breakfast one morning it was gone.

Naturally Alyce was saddened by this. I think she was afraid the Tooth Fairy wouldn't come. Mom had a good idea about this predicament. She suggested that
Alyce write a letter to the Tooth Fairy and leave that under her pillow instead.


One picture later we were in the clear. I thought her picture of the Tooth Fairy was great. However we can't pull it out until both she and Luke are older. It's currently on my wall at work.

No Longer Needs Night Lights

This is old news but Alyce no longer needs night lights. However she still needs a night light. Confused? It used to be that Alyce needed three night lights to go to sleep. Two plugged into the wall and a Cinderella night light in her bed.

Starting in January she no longer wanted one of the wall ones but kept Cinderella and the other. A few weeks after that she said that Cinderella was too bright and that she didn't want her on. We couldn't have been happier. Cinderella liked to tear through batteries. The only light remaining is an LED light we gave her for Christmas. At its lowest setting is provides pale pink light for the room. Enough light to find the door in the minefield that is her room but not enough to keep her up.

Parents As Teachers Balloons

A few weeks ago we had a visit from our Parents As Teachers person. I've discussed them in length in other posts. Alyce has graduated from that program now that she is in preschool and and soon to be kindergarten. That doesn't mean she doesn't have anything to offer our big girl.

The visit with her about Luke went just fine. Luke seems to be progressing just about right for his age. We don't have any concerns about him. She gave Mom some ideas on how to help with some motor control skills. Skills such as hitting something with a racket or bat or throwing and catching a ball.

For the former she set us up with two balloons on strings. The kids are supposed to use either their hands or a racket to keep the balloons aloft. They've been a huge hit. So big a hit that they were taking up room in our living room for a few weeks. After a while the tape holding them gave way and we disposed of them while the kids weren't watching. For the later she gave Mom instructions to create yarn balls for the kids. They are pretty simple affairs. The balls are easy to catch and easy to throw. Since they are made out of yarn they don't do any damage if thrown in the house.

St. Patrick's Day

Last Saturday we took to the kids to the St. Patrick's Day Parade. This is our third year attending and probably the best weather we've ever had. The kids are big enough now that they could walk from the parking lot to the parade route; a trek of about 6 or 7 city blocks.

Our friends Ted and Molly carve out a little section of the parade route to create our own little party zone. Even though attendance was greater than expected we had plenty of room to move, cook, and converse. The kids took up location on the curb to get the occasional bit of candy or string of beads that would come our way. 

About halfway through the parade a group of bigger boys joined our group. They were welcome guests of Ted and Molly's but still they succeeded in pushing our kids out of the way a bit. Alyce seemed a bit disappointed in the additional competition for the goodies but she had enough and didn't need anymore junk cluttering up our house.

Luke seemed to be enjoying himself. He spent some time sitting in our laps and on the curb. He got a few pieces of candy but didn't compete for much of anything else. Rather than fighting for the scraps Luke attacked the main course the snack table. On multiple occasions he pulled me over to the table and pointed at crackers, pretzels, or cookies for consumption.

As the parade was winding down some weather was moving in. We decided to pack it in to avoid walking in the rain. The kids again traveled to the car without any fuss. Their maturity was awesome.

Well Behaved Kids

Today we took Alyce and Luke to the movies. We saw The Gruffalo. A short movie based on a book of the same name.


We also went with a lot of neighbors from the neighborhood with their kids. All the kids behaved fairly well. About as good as you would expect 5 year olds to behave. But Alyce and Luke both are perfect. They didn't get up, make noise, Or need to be disciplined. In almost any situation in public our kids are the best behaved.

I have no idea why they are so good. We don't raise them very strictly or let them get away with everything. Maybe being in the middle plus them being predisposed to be good is all we need. In any case I was real proud of them.