I didn't post last week because sorting through photos took too long and I just wanted to get to bed. But now I still have just as many photos, and a whole additional week besides. Plus, I still just want to go to bed. What was I thinking?
Anyway. Let's fly through the news.
Two weekends ago, we celebrated Belated Chinese New Year with my side of the family. A couple years ago when I was pregnant with the twins, I was craving my mom's wontons SO BAD. No one makes wontons like my mom's - it's not like I could just order them for delivery or something, and they're pretty labor-intensive so they're best to make with help. So we decided to have a Chinese food party, where we all got together to roll egg rolls and wrap wontons and gorge ourselves on fried food and stir fry. And the tradition has stuck for the last few years!
Super Cousin Fun Time!
Chats with Aunt Lauren
Chats with Ya Ya.
Chats with Austin.
I promise we all did stop yapping and get around to eating eventually.
This is the good stuff right here.
Lolo took the opportunity to write a book. NBD.
After we ate, Finneas opened birthday presents.
Lolo is so ticklish!
Eulalie was hovering next to every single kid while they got their feet washed. She was fascinated. You could tell she thought it was so cool.
Then Eulalie crawled right up for her turn. She was so excited.
Knox, in observation mode.
"I guess I'll try it."
"This isn't so bad, I guess."
"I'm just going to lean back and completely enjoy my foot massage."
Then Lalie got up for a second turn. That's how much she loved it.
On Good Friday, Todd took the day off work and he took a few of the kids up to help with the annual pig butcher day. A family at church raises hogs, and if you go and help butcher them, you get your meat at-cost. It's a pretty nice arrangement! We know how our meat is raised and killed, the kids gain practical skills, they spend the day working alongside our church family, and we get a great deal on meat. Win-win-win-win.
Atticus and Finneas each got a clean kill-shot the first try, which I had prayed about and was glad for.
On the first day, there wasn't a whole lot for the younger kids to do.
Though it looks like Lolo found something messy to put her hand to.
Then, totally switching gears, we had a cheeseboard for Good Friday dinner. After the younger kids and I were in bed, Todd and the teenagers watched The Passion of the Christ.
We got a whole pig, and a part of a second pig. We got over a hundred pounds of ground pork, a side of ribs, some bacon, and plenty of lard and bones. Glad it's all in the freezer!
The next morning was Easter morning! Some families from church met down by the river to sing Psalms at sunrise. The babies and I stayed home, but Todd got the rest of the kids up and out the door in time to be there at 6:30.
He is risen!
He is risen indeed!
We had bagels and lox for breakfast and then got dolled up in our best for church.
Lalie got her first ponytail!
What's fancier than wearing a bowtie? Having your personal twinsistant straighten it for you.
He looks like an old timey Southern lawyer who's just gotten a call to come get the mayor's boy out of a legal pickle. Not again. He puts down his glass of sweet tea, folds up the paper, and hoists himself out of his porch chair...
After church, we had a cheeseboard for lunch.
Penelope organized a surprise Easter egg hunt while I put the cheeseboard together.
Oey found the golden egg! All that means around here is she found the only egg stuffed to the brim with jelly beans.
Setting the table for dinner.
And that was it for our very busy weekend! This past week was just full of school work and a big grocery trip. We are one week away from a school break, and then we only have three or four weeks after that - we are getting so close to the end of the school year!
When I got back from grocery shopping, I discovered the kids out in the garden with our neighbor, Chuck. He and his sister Paula have lived here since they were born seventy-odd years ago! Our lot used to be part of their farmland, which has all been developed now, so our neighborhood has grown up around their house. They own the grassy lot behind our house and they always let the kids play back there whenever they want, which has been a huge blessing, and this year they asked if the kids would want to help them grow a big garden! So that should be a really fun summer activity.
They planted radishes and beets on Wednesday, and it rained last night, so I'm guessing they'll start to see some little seedlings here in a couple of days, since radishes germinate so quickly. We'll see how straight their planting lines ended up.
And that was allllllll the news!
