The Talens' Tales

Some random photos of life lately.  Mataya's preschool had an end of the year party and she got a pretty rainbow on her face.  The rhubarb plant in the garden is doing quite well this year. Mataya used this leaf as an umbrella...  And she could also use it as a shirt.  Gideon and I went to a park one day while the others were in school. He was fond of the tunnel.  The older two had fun with clothespins at Oma's house the other day. Summer is here on the Island and we are loving it!

So I have been really bad at blogging lately. Anyway, here are some highlights from the last little bit. We are pirates with a treasure map. Everyone likes to colour. "Let's pile on top of the cow named Hazel." And the biggest news is that Joash's other front tooth fell out. He was pretty excited about this and now has a pretty big hole in his mouth.

Joash and Wilbert worked very hard a few weeks ago on a little project. For months Joash had been talking about how he wanted a chest with a lock on it to put things in. Wilbert said it would need to wait until after corn silage was done. So, finally they made it. I don't think Wilbert knew at the beginning that Joash wanted a chest that looked like a pirate treasure chest with a curved top and everything. But, it turned out very well, I must say.

Some how, the kids got the idea in their head that it would really fun to sleep in the tent in our yard one night. We agreed, as long as it was a night where we didn't have any big plans for the next day (just in case everyone was really grumpy). So a few nights ago was the night! While in their bath, I was talking to the kids about noises they  might hear and what to do if they got scared. This prep talk scared Mataya, so she decided just to sleep in her bed. Joash was very excited and went to bed just fine. And that night it rained, for the first time in a long time (it is very dry here). When Wilbert put up the tent, he figured the rain fly would just make the tent hot, so he didn't put it on. So, Joash got a bit wet, but still spent most of the night in the tent. Mataya felt brave the next morning, and with a little coaching and reassurance from Joash, decided to spend that night in the tent. We dried everything up and put the rain fly on and both kids went to sleep i...

While I was in the hospital and then recovering from my surgery at home, Wilbert and the in-laws kept the kids quite busy. The kids went to parks with Oma and Tante Reina. And then once I was home, Wilbert took the kids to parks few afternoons as well.  Joash has a fascination with Chinese Lanterns and so he and Wilbert have been doing lots of experimenting with different shapes, fuels and other things.  Wilbert and Joash also constructed this nice seat for the back of skelter so Gideon and Mataya can for a ride. So far Joash has been really willing to drive them around. They also made a different hitch for a small wagon so it will hook up to the skelter as well. It has been to see some of ideas of kids come to life. And I think Wilbert enjoys doing it too.

Our 11th anniversary was last week and Wilbert and I were able to spend a good chunk of the day together away from the farm and it was wonderful. We decided to head to Point Prim to have lunch at the Point Prim Chowder House . But, our meandering back road trip we over shot the point, but ended up at Roma at Three Rivers instead, which was just as nice. It is a nice historical site with a lovely view on the water front and a nice little cafe with soup and bread. So we had lunch there instead and had the tour of the historic site. On the beach at Roma at Three Rivers Costumes was part the tour. It was a very warm day and these clothes were very hot. So we were thankful we don't have to wear things like this any more.  After our lunch and tour of Roma at Three Rivers, we did head to Point Prim and climb to the top of the lighthouse. A great view and a nice climb. We also stopped at Hannah's Bottle Village on the Point Prim Road. We decided we will come back a...

Do we dare say it? Is spring here? We have been having a few lovely days the last few days. Yesterday Mataya and I found the first crocus blooms  Gideon loved being outside! He got to take a walk around the yard in the stroller.  And later, after sitting on a blanket for a bit, he took off exploring the yard. I was impressed with how crawling on the dry, prickly grass bother him.  We are all looking forward to the warmer days of spring and summer to come.

I don't fully understand how this happens, but Gideon already loves the tractor. If he is in the kitchen or the living room and he hears the sound of the tractor, he crawls to the closest window and has a look outside. When he sees it, he often starts drumming on the window sill, so excited. He repeats a little "T" sound, like he is trying to say tractor. He hasn't actually gone for a ride in the tractor, yet. But I think he will be pretty excited to that some day soon.

Winter has arrived on the Island. And from the looks of the forecast, it is here to stay. Yesterday was actually a snow day. We had lots of snow, but it was quite mild out, so the kids and I had a great time playing outside. It fell as "Michigan Snow" as we like to call it. Big fluffy flakes falling quite gently from the sky. The kids had lots of fun making slides on the piles of snow that fall from our roof. We played while Gideon  has his morning nap. Soon, we will have to get him out for his first taste of snow.

Joash has really started to like making things. His creations are quite varied and very interesting. I am always surprised with what he comes up with. He still really enjoys Lego. He got the little Mixel set to make the crab on the left from a friend at school. The crab sort of has a treasure chest for a mouth. Joash decided to make a treasure chest of his own. It has a hinged top and full of Lego "jewels" *i.e. the things that are often used as lights on Lego vehicles). Last Sunday as I was getting ready for church, Joash asked if he could have glue and scissors because he was going to make a cow. I said, "Okay." And this is the finished product. Note the word bubble coming out of the mouth. It says "Moo." He has since added an udder to the cow as well. Today Joash made an old map. He wrote 2001 on it because that is when it was used by the pirates. Apparently that is a really long time ago. He informed me that old maps are often brown and t...

Mataya got to go with her daddy to check on the corn. It will be ready to harvest soon! They decided to take some pictures. Mataya was so excited, she forgot to let daddy be in the picture. There we go. I thought this was sweet picture of a girl and her daddy.

Joash has really been enjoying summer. He has enjoyed the attention from visitors and he loves being outside. He goes as soon as he can almost every morning.  Some other interesting things Joash has been doing is working with this solar power kit that we found at the local dollar store. He was so excited when we built the first thing and set it in the sun and it worked! (And so was I.) He has also grown tall enough that he can pedal the Dutch skelter around the farm. He drives this all over the farm and in and out of the barn. Today he even went to get the mail with it. It is hard to believe he will be back in school in about a month. He does enjoy being at home, but I know he misses school too.

Not only did Emil and Karisa and Thomas and Reina come back for a visit last week, but Karisa's family from New Jersey also came for a visit. The farm boys fit right in. The go-kart came out.  and needed to be worked on. The ladies watched... and had a fun morning in Victoria by the Sea. Yum chocolates ! We had a meal at Fisherman's Wharf . Most everyone went deep sea fishing . Joash even got to drive the boat. Mataya caught quite the fish! That evening we enjoyed the days catch at Harrie and Geesje's house. The kids and friend Tina enjoyed playing with Oom Emil. The kids also enjoyed having extra people to play with like Karisa's brother Tim and Corey. Thanks for visiting everyone! We had a really nice time. Come again soon!

Summer is here, so it was time for summer haircuts for the guys. I did Joash's and Wilbert thought it would be fun to have Joash give him his haircut. Joash agreed Joash did a pretty good job over all. I did finish it up for him and now the boys are ready for the summer weather!

 My parents were here for a visit last week. We had a great time with them and were really glad since they brought the summer weather with them. We picked Joash up from school so my parents could see it and then went out for lunch to celebrate Joash's first year at school. Gideon was baptized on Sunday. I am so thankful that my parents were here for that. Gideon was not a fan of picture time.  We did lots of things around the house.  Since we finally had nice weather, the first cut of silage needed to be done. My dad was recruited to help and I don't think he minded one bit.  We also visited Kings Castle Park near Murray River. It was great park and one that we plan to return to. They had a nice beach area on the river.  And some great play structures, both new and old. And a little trail with different storybook character statues on it.  We had a such a great time. But Mataya learned that a week of fun with Grandpa and Grand...