Emily's Big Day!

Somebody is officially a high schooler now!



From the reception (because it wouldn't be a blog post by Colleen without mention of food):

A group photo:

My Confirmation

Yes, I was Confirmed last week. The ceremony was very nice, and it was a good day.

Today, I played with water guns (with Maddy, John, Lydia, and Clare), and we also went in the sprinkler. My hair got extremely wet!

Some New Photos

I posted a few new photos on the Photo page. These include some pictures from the day of Emily's Confirmation (congratulations, Emily!) and some pictures from our family picnic/walk at the Transfiguration Center near Troy, Ohio.

Catching Up: Easter

Happy Easter!

Here are the children, in their Easter finery:



John received his First Communion at the Easter Vigil.

Easter day was lovely. We went for a walk in the woods and it wasn't too muddy.

I'll resist the urge to talk about what we ate. Surely, you will all be convinced that food is all I think about! Just one food story, I promise!

The special treat in the Easter baskets was British candy. Steve and I purchased the sweets from a local British food importer -- the sweet that was each person's favorite while we were living there. Not that Lydia remembered; not that Clare lived there.

Here's the joke from Lydia's Buttons package:

Q: Why did the Button cross the road?

A: He wanted to see his flat mate!

Not a joke I would have appreciated, if I hadn't been exposed to British culture!

Lovely Day

It is a glorious spring day today. I did some weeding in the garden and was pleased to see all sorts of our perennials, beginning to wake up for the season. The next two days are meant to be rainy, then some sun and warmth. Perfect for the garden. I have a few photos, eventually to be posted.

But, for now, here are some photos, snapped by Madeleine!

Last spring, Steve bought a baby swing for Clare. She liked it the first time and hated it ever after. This spring, we gave it another try; she still hated it. So, Steve put back the swinging bar that came with the swingset.

As you can see, she loves this! And never stops hanging from it.





Madeleine felt the need to capture these moments, too:

Lydia took her turn on the swing and Clare wasn't happy.

And when Clare fought back, Lydia wasn't happy, either!

St. Patrick's Day, Part Two

Most of the photos from the St. Patrick's Day run didn't turn out well. Too dark, Steve was too far away, etc. Here's the clearest, even if Emily's not dancing:

We had our St. Patrick's Day dinner on Wednesday, because of Tuesday's hectic schedule: Irish stew, potato soup, and soda bread. Oh, and brownies with Bailey's-flavored frosting.

While Emily, Madeleine and Steve were doing the dancing thing that day, I took the youngest kids to a park district class about moss. Lydia loves moss. It's because of a storybook she loves.

We learned new things about moss and John was given permission, nay encouraged, by a bona fide, park-employed naturalist to roll over logs during treks through the woods, as long as he rolls them back after inspecting what's living underneath. After the class, he did just that. And found a centipede. As he was bringing it to me (because, surely, Mom wants to see a centipede up close), he jerked his hand away, as it appeared the bug was going to bite him. I guess it is a good thing he dropped it! According to a Texas A&M entomologist, one should never handle centipedes. Poisonous venom. Lovely.

St. Patrick's Day!

Yesterday, I went around Dayton performing with some of the other dancers from Celtic Academy.

We went to four different schools, which was a lot of fun. We also performed at the Dayton Convention Center for a Democrat fundraiser, the Dublin Pub, and the Irish Club.

I woke up at six and didn't get home until around 9:30, but it was really fun!

(If I can find photos of me online I will post them)