Eckenrode Family

Spring Break

So far the kids' spring break has consisted of snow, bitter winds, hats and gloves. We did manage to have some fun beneath all of those layers even if  this isn't what we pictured when we were making those reservations for a cabin a month ago. There are 6 boy cousins and most of them are very close in age so they always have a lot of fun.


He has finally gotten over me taking his photo. Yay! He asked to have his picture taken in front of this tractor.
And this one.
Kids rode a sweet horse.

I fell in love with this place and it's view. Built in 1790, it is amazing to think about the effort it took to build it.
The view from the rocking chair on the front porch.

First Day of Spring

Well the calendar says so anyway. It sure doesn't feel that way outside though. The bits of sunshine here and there are helping but I'm bored with my winter boots and coat. I'm ready to move on to Spring. One way I am ushering in spring even if the weather isn't cooperating is by putting cut flowers near my kitchen sink. Typically I put cut flowers on the table, but keeping them by the sink ensures I get a close up of them several times a day and in this gloomy, cold weather I've needed them. I got this bunch at Trader Joe's for $2.99!
With this colder weather sticking around I came up with a way to make my wardrobe a bit more cozy with some homemade jersey knit scarves. I have a few tshirts that I love but that I never wore because they were either too tight or just didn't fit right so after looking online for a way to recycle them, I made them into scarves. I have been wearing one ever since. Miles even wore one to school today.
This one already had an assymetrical hemline so it lent itself well to a scarf.

It takes about 30 seconds to make one. You just cut the top of the shirt off under the armpits and the bottom hem off. You may need to stretch it out a bit and that's it! I think it would work even better if you had a men's extra large tshirt because then, after stretching it out a bit you may be able to wrap it around your neck a few times.

We wrapped up the hockey season last weekend and are ready to say goodbye to those early morning games. Miles was so sad that the season was over that he cried after the last game. That boys does love hockey.
Now we're gearing up for lacrosse and baseball season with Miles and Ben is doing soccer and an art class. Our lives are about to get a bit busier.

Spelling at 6

One of my favorite things about the process of my kids learning to read and write are the wonderful ways that they spell words phonetically. Here is the latest example from Ben. Words spelled phonetically seem so much more sincere and lovely:

To Mommy From Ben
Hi Mommy, how are you? Are you doing anything interesting? We should get together soon.

Space Monkey

When Miles becomes passionate about a topic he jumps in with both feet and it oozes from his pores. He is learning about space in school right now and after endless questions that I couldn't answer without saying, "Hmm, I don't know where going to have to look that up," I thought of something I did know about space that I thought he would like.

"You know, I think the Russians once sent a monkey into space. Yeah, I think there was a monkey astronaut." And because Tim is also a fan of John Prine and had heard the same song from which I was getting my information, he backed me up.

Miles was completely fascinated and I had no idea the excitement and entertainment that this one topic would lend itself to in our house. Miles went the next day to school and asked his teacher about it. While he was at school I thought I should probably do a bit more research on it than the song provided and so by the time I picked him up from school we both knew that there was not just one monkey but 32. We also learned that Iran is now planning on sending up a monkey within the month. He spent some time on Wikipedia and wrote out some facts and with the help of his brother they printed some pictures. Miles is determined to go to school today and present the facts that he learned to his class. You see, this is something I find so endearing and beautiful about this kid. He can be so shy and is usually very soft spoken at school and around his hockey team, yet when he has passion for something he's willing to step right through that shyness and get up in front of his class and give a presentation without being asked. It's like how he stood in front of his class in 1st grade and sang the Star Spangled Banner because he was the only student that knew the words and one of the kids asked him to. I admire his bravery.

The Snow Family

Coming outside without a coat on to check on the boys Ben says to me, "Mom will you go get your stuff on so we can go down the hill to see the snowmen?"

Me: "Sure. I'll be right back."

Ben: "Your gloves too."

Me: "Why do I need my gloves?"

Ben: "Cause you're going to hug the snowman."

 

2012: Looking Back

January
snow = happiness

This picture just made me laugh out loud. The picture just before this one looked like this:
I could look at these two pictures all day and still it makes me laugh. You can see the hen's claw digging into Miles' thigh in the picture above which is why he's making that face. Priceless...

february
valentines

march

We tagged along on a work trip with Tim to Indianapolis and the boys had such a great time. They were such good buddies on this trip. We are at the Children's Museum here.

april
he would spend a lot of time just hanging in the tub while his brother was at school.

may

june


hatching our first chicks was so exciting.

first family pictures in 3 years.

july
39

august
road trip

september
We learned to NEVER to take our friends for granted again. I learned just how valuable those people are with which our children have made connections.

october

6

November
first airplane ride

december

Snowy Saturday

The boys in their igloo. See their faces peeking out?
With no wind today the snow stayed right where it fell.
My constant companion. He is always there, right behind me. A lot of times I forget he's even there. He's such a good boy.
Me and my buddy.
This hen... I can't stop taking her picture. Isn't she something?
Chief and all of his beautfiul colors.

DPP: Day 25

Snow

December Photo Project: Catching Up

My house decked out to celebrate a friend and the new life she's bringing into the world.
Over the weekend Tim and the boys built a stage in the basement to go along with the microphone and amp Miles got for his birthday.These are the audience chairs the boys set up. The animals in the chairs were explained to me this way: "We filled the seats with the animals in case they were empty. We can't have any empty seats cause we're awesome."

Today on the first day of winter break they decked out the stage with lights for a variety show they put together. This included a solo, a puppet show, a duet and some interpretive dancing with costumes.