Gardening in March

In early March, Shannon had to dig through part of the garden to wire the lamppost light.

He chopped into some horseradish root that was growing near the base of the pole. I replanted some, but kept a few roots to shred and try. Chewing a raw sliver cleared my sinuses rapidly!

Tulips and other mysterious bulbs are poking through the soil in front of the porch. I mulched with compost from our pile.A friend gave me three different colors of bulbs she and her husband had gotten last spring from Botanica: The Wichita Gardens. Fresh green brightening the landscape is a beautiful thing!

Another Seed Swap!

I skipped a year and waited a little later in the season, but a handful of ladies came over to chat all things garden. One shared her mother-in-law's tomato & rose fertilizer recipe, another shared her canned salsa recipe, others brought chive starts, vegetable & flower seeds, and decorative red tree prunings!

My girls helped make some garden-themed refreshments...

...and I was encouraged to get some seeds started indoors!

This picture is NOT out of order; we really had a lovely snowfall near the end of March. It showed up overnight and melted away by afternoon. Perfect for the Ohio cousins that were visiting to enjoy both extremes.

We took advantage of the older Ohio visitors to build a windbreak garden fence. Stop that sand from stinging my legs!

There wasn't much going on in our Kansas garden in March, but getting some preparatory jobs checked off the To Do List is a great feeling!

Another Girl's Bedroom

We had a funny little schoolroom tucked in a corner. There was a funny little closet that held our books and games. The closet had round shelves all the way to the ceiling and turned like a giant "lazy susan". It sure was fun to spin, but sure not fun to pick up the items that slung off the shelves in the process.

This picture shows the room without that handy little closet (notice the unpainted wall waaay back?) after it was torn out, prepping for a small remodel project.

The studs in the this exposed wall were originally an outside house wall. Shannon enclosed a small inverted triangle of wasted outside space and knocked out the existing wall (very confusing ,I know! Just pop over sometime and we'll tell you all about it) to add a wee bit of footage to our minimum housing.

Here is that extra space, perfect for a bed and desk and adolescent privacy.

We wrapped up the painting and carpet while Annie was away for 2 weeks to surprise her on her homecoming. The closet was my favorite part to set up and organize.

Here she is peeking at the surprise!

I think she likes it!

After A decided on an exact teal color, we painted an accent wall to brighten the room.

Curtain material from Walmart and furniture from Ikea...viola! Another girl bedroom.
Because 4 girls in twin bunk beds in one room gets tight when the ladies grow up.

Violin and Fiddle

Caroline participated in two fun events this year with her fiddle-lesson teacher and classmates.

One was in Wichita -at the Mariott- for a children's showcase during the Kansas Bluegrass Association's Winterfest.

 

The second event, an Irish concert, was a month later, at Chief Theatre in Coldwater, Kansas.

Both times she played the same tunes, including: Shady Grove, Liza Jane, Old Joe Clark, and Bile Them Cabbage Down.

Thunder Basketball ~ Part 2

Team 1: The dads (plus a few extras)

BOYS vs DADS Scrimmage

What a great way to end the season before tournament weekend.

Team 2: The boys

Shannon started while Riley sat the bench. But as the game wore on, they ended up playing together and guarding each other.

The final score: 49 to 50. BOYS win!

Riley made 4 points; his dad shot a two. 

(Well, he shot a lot more, but that's the one that went in!)

Good game ya'll!

End of year finale: ND2CHA (National Division 2 Christian Homeschoolers Association)

Six states were represented by 72 teams playing 108 games in three days.

Game 1

The majority of the Thunder players' families stayed at one motel where we gathered for a pizza party, pep rally, and games one evening. 

There were 17 families with ball-players this year.

Game 2

Game 3

I'm not even sure how the High School boys team placed...I think 4th.
The friendships and good memories are forefront in our minds!

Have you an arm like God? Or can you thunder with a voice like His? Job 40:9