Birthdays and Fun Stuff

This is such a fantastic time of year. It's always a race to see who wins--if the weather stays nice I can get a jump on the weeds, or the weather is soggy and the weeds grow 4 inches a day and by the time it dries out they are above my waist. 

This year I want to do Square Foot Gardening. I got so excited when I read it last September and I can hardly wait to have a big garden this year. Big. Lots of stuff and a fall garden and then a winter garden.  Huge garden. Everything but the kitchen sink. 

The Iditarod is going on and we are following it again this year, although it is much harder to follow this time. Last year they had experimented with the top runners having GPS devices so you could follow them along the entire race. This year they charge for the service and it is way more difficult and not nearly as fun to watch. I can't find the screens for some of our favorite ways to follow. I'll try another day and then find someone who might be able to either show me how to access the rest or lodge a polite disgruntlement.

Never mind. Everyone is having trouble. Oh well. 

Jaime has started a blog. She loves to write and will write for hours. This bolts right on for her. Plus it's a great excuse not to be doing schoolwork. Hmm...

We are going to do our Moroccan night on Wednesday. We've been reading lots of books on Morocco and after Awana tomorrow our friends are coming over to spend the night so we can cook the baklava, couscous and lamb, yogurt and cucumber stuff (sorry, forget the name) and hummus and pita. They will all show their notebooks and tell what they've learned, then we'll eat on the low tables while sitting on the floor on pillows in a room they've decorated. It won't be entirely authentic, but it should be fun and we've learned a lot. 

And really? We chose Morocco because we love the food. 

Jason is going for his first overnight at the grandparents on Friday. He's so looking forward to it. I hope he has a wonderful time.

We just celebrated two of the four birthdays we have in this two week span. Kimberly is 22 and Tristan just turned 16. Happy Birthday, lovely children!

Also. The neighbors loaned Tristan a big set of drums to go with the electric guitar he got. I've had a talk with everyone about the difference between "noise" and "music". Practice and bobbles may be disharmonious but expected while learning. Standing outside your bedroom in the hall with the amp turned *way* up and making LOUD screeching and screaming guitar sounds that have nothing to do with any music on this earth is considered "noise" and will be treated with severity.  

That's all for now. Carry on, troops.