Coffee With Elly

Tax season ended promptly on April 15, as it does most years (unless April 15 is on a holiday or weekend). Hooray! To celebrate, we took a day off of school and headed to the beach on Thursday afternoon. We stayed in Seaside, but spent an afternoon in Astoria. An old fashioned arcade in Astoria had a special treat for Doctor Who fans! Judah enjoys roughhousing with his younger siblings! Phinehas rides in a bumper car on "The Boardwalk" in Seaside! Vacation madness caught us and we rented 6-seaters to drive around Seaside. What a blast! Michael said he had to keep telling himself, "It's cheaper than Disneyland.." Elena enjoyed playing in the sand. Phinehas and I built a sand castle! Phinehas tried to help Ella shoot a toy bow and arrow. After attending church in Seaside, we had a picnic lunch in the shelter of a dune by the beach. x Carousel ride in the little Seaside mall. Smile! Phinehas loved...

Easter Lilies for the girls: I think this might be the first year I’ve done Easter Décor. I love the origami eggs that my mom passed on to me. I remember getting them from relatives in Europe when I was a kid. Also, we usually dye eggs at Grandma’s house, but this year they had kind of a lot going on, so I had to step  up and do it myself. Surprise! It was actually kind of fun! Monica did hers, then helped the younger kids with theirs! And yes, the apron was too little, too  late. Phinehas had a great time! Glitter eggs! What will they think of next? Grandma DID get Easter presents for the kids, as she does every year: And finally, all decked out for Easter morning church! Lest anyone forget, I made Elena’s Easter dress. For Monica before she was born! It was my first and last ribbon embroidery project. But every time the girls wear it, I’m so glad I actually accomplished it! Phinehas was really excited about his new spiffy Easter clothes. He gets a lot of han...

When we went to Winco the other day, the kids split off from me for a while to find things to spend their earnings on. Judah bought a six pack of muffins, Ezra bought his own loaf of garlic bread, Monica selected a donut and Phinehas was utterly delighted with his purchase of his own bottle of orange pop.