{the tornado...}

This afternoon the tornado sirens went off in town, I headed the kids to the neighbors' basement, after a bit, the neighbor and I went out to check what seemed to be happening because it was evident there was not a tornado overhead at that point.

When she came home from work, their were storm chasers everywhere, we soon realized there was one in our alley all set up and videoing to the NW. We noticed that there was a definite rotation in the clouds in that direction so kept watching.

Below is the series of photos I took...

 Originally, it looked like 1 large funnel would form, but then it began to split  and eventually there were 3 separate funnels that came out of it though we could only see one that came to the ground in our view. It was crazy to be able to see the rotation...

 The funnel really started to form, it moved up and down a bit then came down to stay.

on the ground...

 Once on the ground, we watched it get bigger, then it started to move out of sight...

 It ended up being on the ground a long time after this.

 We were on the edge a few more time this evening with crazy wind but the rain & hail missed us!

{Weekends are for... Floor refinishing & Baseball}

Mid week last week, I looked at our calendar and was amazed that our weekend ahead looked open for the most part! We have been on the run some much lately that heading into summer, it was nice to think about a little break!

Let's just say, that changed rapidly, but in a good way! First, we spent a lot of hours last week helping friends redo hard wood floors in a house they just bought. Mid- week, Shawn mentioned that since the sander was rented for the week, what if we lightly sanded our wood floors under the dining table and added an extra coat because we had a spot that must have gotten a little too hot when we did them almost 6 year ago and the finish had peeled a bit... thus began the craziness of the coming weekend! 

We moved everything into the kitchen from the living room & dining room and went to work!

At baseball practice on Thursday night, another dad ask Shawn if our boys would be interested in playing in a local tournament this weekend on a traveling team that was short players...

after some thought, we said, "Yes." The floors needed to dry & cure anyway!

Off we went to baseball!

The boys played 4 games this weekend with the team, it was a great learning experience and they had fun!

{This Mama's Daybook}

This is actually my "month book" I think...

Just some moments I don't want to forget from May 2016 so far!

Nate working on his pillowcases!

I am clearing out all my fabric from my quilting days. We cut all my fabric into pillowcases and crayon rolls that the kids are sewing for 4-H. The pillowcases we are donating to the local hospital, to the Ronald McDonald House we stay in for doctor appointments and to Butterfly Hospice in Wesley's orphanage in China. We are also making Crayon Rolls, these will go into the Operation Christmas Child boxes we do at our church each year.

Clara found this heart radish in the garden!

We have been enjoying the radishes in Korean Radish Soup lately!

Can't wait for these to start turning red!

It has been a beautiful spring to garden!

The wet weather has brought out the toads and tree frogs making our yard a boy's dream!

Summer break seems to rolling this way rapidly!

Baseball practice has started, gym hours will change, camp registrations are paid and days are being counted until kids head off to those...

What does your summer hold?

District AAU CHampionship- Last meet of the season!

In early May, the girls had their last meet of the season!

I must admit, I was ready for gymnastics season to be over and I think the girls were too!

They will continue to practice and they are looking forward to working on new skills and beginning to think about goals for levels next year.

All three girls and their teams had a great meet!

Love this pictures, it is Clara's coach telling her she just scored a 9.9 on her Level 1 floor routine, best of her season!

Thanks Grandma, for coming to watch!

Abigayl ready to go...

Lenna was the last session of the weekend...

 

The girls and their coach had a competition of their own going...

the girls were 2 short of scores they needed to "win" and Lenna was our last team member to go at the meet, the weight of winning the challenge was on her shoulders!

Lenna's bar routine brought them with in one- this was after beam, her score was .05 points away from the score needed to win the challenge!

 

This routine got the final score that the girls needed to win the challenge from their coach!

Yeah to a great season final!

A huge thanks to coaches and teammates for making it wonderful for the girls!

Hard work pays off!

Yum!

This school year, I have been working with a couple of AFS students (exchange students) who are living with families in our community. Marta is from Italy and Marie is from Austria.

Saturday afternoon, they spent the day with our big crazy family and made us supper, some of their favorite foods from home!

After we went grocery shopping, they went to work in the kitchen with Lenna & Abigayl for make everything!

It was wonderful, our family is always up to try something new!

These were yummy fried potatoes and red peppers that are dish from the area of Italy that Marta is from.

 Nate introduced Marta to one of the toads that lives in our yard!

Thanks ladies for sharing the day with our family!