We Are Going on A Bear Hunt...

Yesterday we watched Noah and Seth so that Adam and Emily could go out for some dinner with friends. We had a great time with them. They are always so fun and adventurous. Very much 'boys boys'. We took them to Saint Joseph Seminary across the street to play ball in the field. When they were done kicking and running we decided to go on a Bear Hunt with some of our time together.
We began walking through the strip of woods that surrounds the acreage of the Seminary. We could see the street at all times, of course, but to the kids we were deep in the woods looking for bears. Seth and Noah 'climbed' a tree to see if they could see any signs of bears anywhere (we saw lots of signs of very large dogs)... no bear.
Anna and Owen decided to give it a try. They were not able to locate a bear either.
We continued to look and seek. We saw a lot of places where the neighborhood skunks and opossum live- but no bears.
Anna found a bright orange stick that she was able to poke and prod with in her search for wild-life.
Owen thought that he found a bear, but alas, it was just an old Jack Daniels bottle that had been heaved over the fence into the woods.
The woods got thick in some places. Lydia and I were not able to make it into some of the smaller areas, but with Owen at the charge, the kids were sure to find their way through.
Noah decided to take the lead for awhile and lead the kids towards the killing of a giant black bear.
There was no bear this time. I am sure that we will have plenty of time to go on other bear hunts. We walked back to our home and had some cookies that Emily made and some nice water to wash it down.
What a group of hunters!
* * * If you do not have the book that is linked above- our children LOVE it!

Birthday Wishes

I purchased a really great woven pith for Owen for his 2nd birthday. What little boy does not need a pith for exploration?

I was really happy with this pith and was very excited to have him wear it places. I was even considering getting myself one for gardening. Nothing says gardener like an adventurous pith!

But, the story goes, it seems as though a certain dog that was brought into this marriage does not like pith helmets. This dog prefers to eat non-food items despite his age. Owen still may be getting a pith for his birthday, but I will have to go buy a replacement- and keep it high enough to avoid being shred all over our second story floors.

Nothin' Says Fun...

Nothing says fun like letting your kids play with a room full of lead paint!

Have fun kids! I hear that if you get enough of that lead running through your blood then the trains will actually talk to you. Toot! Toot!

Wedgits

The Mother of All Jurries told Lydia about Wedgits as something that she uses for homeschooling. Lydia purchased a couple of sets and the children LOVE them! They have been playing with them for a couple of hours straight today. Get some.

On another note: Lydia had a doctor appointment for the baby. When she got home Anna asked her if the doctor took the baby out.

Congratulations Stuart Mark Birn

Congratulations to Stuart Mark Birn on his baptism yesterday. It is always a blessing to see children brought into the covenant of grace by the sign of baptism.

He was a trooper as well. We were telling Steve and Janna how Anna smiled as the water ran down her face, but Owen cried when Rev. Lanning was baptizing him. It seems as though he did not want to be a member of the church!

May Stuart grow up to love the Lord Jesus above all things and without compromise.

(Thanks e-Chuck for the stolen photo as well.)

Our Little Chicago Trip For Lydia's Birthday

We took a little trip to Chicago this week for Lydia's birthday. We had a great time visiting the Shedd as well as her family. Here is a little picture of the the skyline taken from the toll road leading into Chicago. I cannot believe that a city can charge $2.50 just to ride in on the quickest route to downtown. Amazing!

Here is the Sears tower. I have nothing more to say about that.
We got to the Shedd and went right to the dolphin show. It was not very exciting, but the kids thought that it was something fun. I cannot believe that someone would want to get paid money for teaching giant fish-like things to jump and look cute. Not my idea of a calling.
Here are the things flipping around in the oceanarium. Notice Lake Michigan right outside of the windows. I was more amazed with the number of tall ships that moved along the lake. I am also amazed that there are no notable cities on OUR side of Lake Michigan.
Here is the birthday girl with her two little ones.
Here is Anna and Owen looking at the Coral reef. There are some AMAZING fish in this area.
Here we posed in front of the super classy fountain that welcomes visitors from around the world to the Shedd. They call it 'the world's aquarium'.
We went to Lydia's parents house to meet them for dinner. We went to a Bohemian restaurant and I had Moravian duck. We had a great discussion about Jan Hus, the Reformer from Prague. He is still a national hero there.

When we left we took Peaches the family bird of 14 years. Our little friend Sydney B. has been saving her money for a bird and we knew that Peaches would be happy with her.

Some more notable things:

• Today is Lydia's birthday.
• We have not done much to celebrate.
• Justin and Marion are liars.
• Little Stuart is being baptized this Lord's Day.
• People keep asking Lydia if she is having twins and commenting on her ginormous belly.
  

Anna's Creepy Art Work

As you may know, artsy-farsty is in the blood of Union Avenue. I am not sure from whence it came, but it is here and it effects the way that my mind works. Unka Shawn and I talked about this as we were cruising through the Catskills last week. We decided that the tension is good as long as logic is used as well.

I believe that this syndrome has been passed to both of our children. Owen walks around all day singing and seems to be obsessed with music. I am not sure if Anna is as musical as Owen may prove to be, but she does have the tendencies for artsy-farstiness.

Today, while moving pictures onto CDs I found these two portraits that she took of her Barbies. If these were in the Detroit Institute of Art people would label them quality post-modern art.