Smith Kids MSU Tailgate

Smith Kids MSU Tailgate
Dominica, Veronica, Rebel and Miranda

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

From Rocky to rocks

From Rocky to rocks life is such a tremendous gift.  While I enjoyed watching Rocky a few weeks ago, I am glad to be back to (mostly) tv-free life. We have been enjoying the glorious weather that God has provided recently by pretty much living outdoors.  We haven't even eaten indoors for over a week.  And even this week with slightly cooler temperatures, it still seems pretty great for March. Being outdoors has led us to do some new cool things the past couple of weeks. 

We adopted a tree!  Our old friend Mr. Oak Tree has been officially adopted by us.  We are at the library getting books about oak trees right now and Friday we plan to do bark rubs and take him a treat!

Kara has started a rock collection and she absolutely loves looking for new rocks.  She is now working to list them all complete with names and thorough descriptions.  Jeff is working to teach her about different types of rocks since he is a geologist after all.  I figure not only is it good to get outdoors and search for rocks, writing all of this stuff is great for her reading and writing skills.  Maybe someday she will follow in my footsteps and take up writing!

We have already walked several miles out back and I've run several more on the Brainy Day loop and usually this time of year it is way too muddy for such adventures so we are loving it!  I am thinking we may start a rock garden to go with my AWESOME new herb garden compliments of Miranda and Mark (thanks guys).  That will be another way to put our rocks to good use and I think the kids will enjoy it!  Maybe we'll make rock pets too.  Man the possibilities are endless no wonder Jeff studied rocks for so long!

Aven has been busy playing with his dinosaurs and new tow truck that his Grandma S. gave him.  He sure is active these days getting him to take a nap is no longer an issue because by two he is worn out and ready to sleep!

Hazel is still busy creating messes and table dancing at the library.  Not much has changed with her.

We had been watching Dinosaur Train for a half hour of tv each day, but this week no one has asked for it so the telly has been off! Yippee! 

I think we will make a big pot of stone soup to tie into the whole rock theme next week.  We have done this before and the kids LOVE it.  Just add a fairly clean stone to your average rice and whatever soup and the kids will eat it up!

Vern Out

Friday, March 16, 2012

Coaching

I met with a coach yesterday and much to everyone's surprise it wasn't a running coach.  As addicted to running as I am, I actually met with a writing coach.  It seems kind of silly to me to have a writing coach; I mean it's not like I typically break a sweat while writing. But I guess like any skill writing takes practice and who better to help you practice than a coach!  It was an extremely helpful meeting and I have all kinds of ideas for writing my book and now I feel like maybe I really can do it! 

On the television front, our TV has pretty much been on non stop for the past ten days.  Unfortunately, I am serious.  We've been watching PBS kids like it's going off the air and will never be shown again. Not ever.  And at night we've been watching movies and all kinds of low quality night time television programming.  This is all true because our kids have all been sick with a nasty cold, flu like bug and I am going crazy having to care for them and listen to them whine and clean up their nasty germ riden messes and be a mom.  I guess you win some, you lose some. 

I would be remise if I didn't mention March Madness.  Even if you aren't a sports nut, it's kind of a big deal.  The past two nights basketball has been filling the house with all kinds of excitement. Tonight more so than last night.  I can't believe Lehigh just won; I can't believe Duke just lost!  Since my husband is a Duke hater (and I try to be a supportive wife) I am a very happy lady right now despite the ridiculous amount of television that we have been watching the past several days.  Tomorrow my goals in life are simple.  I am going to go for a run and I am finally going to enjoy the incredible weather that has been going on around here.  I don't care if it means I have to drag sick kids along with me.  So be it. I will be outdoors not inside watching the telly.

Vern Out

Monday, March 5, 2012

Rocky

It finally happened!  Last night we watched Rocky!  It was pretty good too.  I can see why it won awards and has become a classic.  The one shocking thing is that he never actually ran through the snow carrying fallen trees like I had been visualizing during my late night runs out back.  Jeff thinks that might happen in part two or three and I am not committed enough to searching through multiple movies trying to find it. I've heard the others are not as good anyways so I am happy just to have seen Rocky and to have the visual picture of him running through snow with trees over his back in my mind even if they are fabricated images that I have created on my own.  It still motivates me to run when it's cold and snowy and that is what matters most.  His training outfits were very similar to what I run in when I go out back too so that cracked me up.  That I run in clothes that look like they are straight out of the 70's is pretty funny to me.

Other than that we had an action packed weekend. Jeff and I celebrated our 8th anniversary at Hearthstone in Muskegon Friday.  The kids and I went to visit my sister and her family saturday and Sunday we brought my nephew home with us for a super cool sleepover.  Now we are making the most of our time left together.  He goes home this afternoon and then we head directly to our nightly MOPS meeting from the rendezvous location in Grand Rapids!  Other than Rocky and the MSU basketball game I had a television free weekend.  I still say GO GREEN even though they didn't look so good yesterday.  I guess they are saving their best ball for March Madness and the Big Ten Tournament this week!

Vern Out