Playmate Fun

Yesterday, Owen and I went to the Curnow's house for a playdate. Emily is Owen's age, and Andrew is her little brother. They had a blast on the new fort/swingset and in the sandbox. Michelle and I had fun taking pictures, and pushing the little ones on the swing. Equally exciting was the popsickles we had as a snack! What a fun time!

Finished Pincushion!

Somehow, in this photo, it looks more like a cupcake. :)

Historic Charlton Park

Today, Owen and I spent all day at Historic Charlton Park Village in Hastings, MI. The Mission of Charlton Park is to provide educational and recreational opportunities, through the collection, preservation, and demonstration of early rural Michigan life, artifacts and buildings, and the maintenance of natural and recreation areas. We had a ton of fun!
These first pictures are of us in a home, just preparing soup in the kitchen. We later ate the vegetable soup. It was really good. So we chopped vegetables, washed dishes, and churned butter for our bread later.




Then it was time to experience what it would be like to go to school in a one room school house. Children had to stand to answer some questions. And they had lessons on the board for their grade level. If a child showed misconduct, they could be sat in front on a chair with a dunce cap on, be sent to the corner, have their nose put to the blackboard, have their hand slapped with a wooden ruler, or even have to stand on tip toes with back to board and hair pinned up so that they would learn their lessons. So glad some things change. lol Owen got to play at "recess" with the hoop and stick, where they try and keep it rolling down the road.




Then we went to the Hall, and made homemade candles. You can see that Owen was going around a table. On one end was a can full of wax, and the other end of the table was a can of cool water. They walked around with their string, dipping in wax and then water until the desired thickness. The other candle you see is for when youths started to date. When a boy came to call on someone's daughter, the father would twist the candle higher or lower, to allow for the right amount of time the young suitor could stay. If the dad didn't like the young man...then he would only twist it up so far, so going home would be earlier.



Some other things we saw. How a bed was constructed, for example. "Don't let the bed bugs bite," referred to the straw/twig mattress that had bugs in it, sometimes. But, also you had to make sure the rope under the mattress was pulled tight over the pegs, or you might end up on the floor in the night.

A washing machine???

Wood burning stoves. There were plenty of these on site, lit and hot, in all the buildings.

Cute Picture of Grandma and Grandpa Andrews :)

Mom and Dad put up with a lot, with all the kiddos there. They made a yummy Easter lunch for us all, with ham, beef roast, mashed potatos, etc. And then they had candy galore. I know they were "pooped," when the day was done. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Looking for Eggs....

Owen had fun looking for eggs with his cousins. And daddy found a bird nest too. That was really interesting.

Easter with Mommy and Daddy

We had our own Easter egg hunt and Easter basket at the grandparent's house. Just for Owen. :) Here he is in his new outfit that Charlie picked out for him one day. I think he did a good job!

Exciting Easter...

Well, I suppose most of you slept through the night, and then Easter rolled in. Not us....NO....we can't have a normal weekend. LOL. Upon our bedtime, around 10pm, Charlie says, "I'm having lots of pain, and I can't get comfortable no matter what way I lay. I think I'm having another kidney stone. I'm going to have to go to the ER." So, because we are in Saginaw with family, NOT Grand Rapids, I have to ask Charlie's Dad to drive us to the ER. Around 2am, TODAY, we got home. YUP, he had a kidney stone, but it was just passed out. So, the good news is that it's gone, but the bad news is that he was in intense pain. Nothing Vicodin can't help. He took some around 3am. He says that he feels much better today, and that maybe we can share the drive home. Can I just say that I'm very, very, tired? Hopefully, the celebrations today will go fine, and we can get rested up before the big drive.

Owen Reading....Summer of 2008

With the new updates on our computer, I finally am able to share with you, Owen's first book on video. He loved this book, but you can see that he really WAS reading it too. :) This was taken a year ago.

Frustrating Day...

No pictures today. First of all, I went to download my photos of Owen with his palm tree branch from church, of the cards I just made, of him wrestling with friends, etc. Apparently, Picassa was "full" and wouldn't take more pictures. "Sigh." Then I get a message on my camera that the batteries need to be changed. So, I do. Then, in the middle of taking pictures at the library "Curious George" water event, my camera says that I need to reformat the chip. Well, according to my husband, that meant that I had lost ALL those pictures. So, NOT a good day. I'm completely bummed.

Knitting Lesson #1 : A Pin Cushion

I remember learning a tiny bit to knit when I was a young girl. However, I never really took it up. But, today, I decided to take up the local library's invitation to learn how again. They meet on every other Saturday, and the other "every other" Friday. It all came back to me, and my first goal is making a pin cushion. Then, with the same easy stitches, I'll work on pot-holders, washclothes, blankets, scarves,etc. Some of the ladies there were making their own socks!!!! They looked so fine and not at all "homemade" looking. They even wore them there, so I know they fit inside the shoe for real. lol. It was just fun to sit and learn from these "seasoned" ladies. I quite enjoyed it.

Home Depot #11: Window Birdhouse

I hope a little bird decides to make a nest in this house this year. It will be really cool for Owen to see from inside his bedroom!

He Did It!

YAY! Owen! He earned enough quarters to go to Playworld again! He got them by lots of self-control behaviors, answering questions at his church programs, and by mostly staying DRY at night. He is not fully trained yet at night, but we've come a long way. Great Job, Owen! :)