Year 2, Day 103: Good Friday 2017

Wow, it's been a roller coaster day.  It started out with a very heart wrenching discussion about housing options.  Then we focused on getting the kids ready for vacation and seeing what our clothing gaps were.  They were also able to finish up most of their homework!  Yeah!  Then we left around 5pm to have a little fun with some horses and their mama, Julie, ate supper at Chick Fil A and finished up shopping for the trip at Meijer.  And I would like to say, between myself and 3 other moms and grandmas, the summer 2017 shopping is DONE!  Just like that!  Shoes and clothes!  For at least the 3 youngest!  Ok, so the boys just needed to make sure their sandals fit or buy new ones.  It was really Keturah who had nothing to wear.  But now, she's all set!  Thanks, friends and family, for the help!  So, the day ended well.  But remind me never to schedule a vacation to start ON EASTER ever again.  And on the same weekend as deciding on bidding on a house or not.  It's gotten in the way of reflective time before Easter and our Easter traditions of Jell-O eggs and colored eggs.  We will have to do that the following week.  Oh well.  So no, we didn't go to a Maundy Thursday or Good Friday service.  And no, I have no idea what I'll wear for Easter either.  Oh well.  Not sure it matters anyway.  But if Gary can deliver 11 messages over 4 days, I'll live, too.  He's going to need that vacation after that marathon!  And Benaiah's hanging around for all of them as well by being part of the tech crew for most of it.  Phew!

It was a beautiful day!  I let the kids kind of roam around this morning while I checked Keturah's clothes and they puttered with some homework.  But Abishai got to spend some time on the porch with his big bucket of cars that Keturah dragged out there for him.  Daddy came home early, so he joined in on the fun.  I love that Abishai is just in a t-shirt and cloth diaper!

Water table? Sand table? or Car ramp?

"Neigh, Neigh" time!  Spanky on the left, who turns 1 year this week and still acts like a teething baby!  Loads of trouble nibbling on everything.

Spanky and a pinto colored barn mate.

The long waited for baby miniature donkey!  It's definitely too small to be something that carried Jesus on Palm Sunday.  But Ruby is very friendly, no nibbling, and very soft.  She does do small bunny hops though, typically of donkeys.  Momma is behind her and doesn't mind others touching her baby.  Rube is a couple of months old now.  Hee haw!

Tipsy!

Awww, just a baby!  And Julie showed us how the black stripes on the back and sides of the donkey looks like a cross.

Jared was trying to show Abishai it's ok to ride the horsy.  Good for him!  Not his first rodeo though.

A sure sign it's spring!  Shedding season!

Brushing away on Patches, who we could have ridden but Julie couldn't find the right saddle/girth combo to make it right.

Goats!  Abishai wanted to chase the goats the most because they were more his size!  But, they are able to squeeze through fencing in a blink of an eye.

Justin didn't want to ride either, but he proved he can sit on a fence.

Abishai did try to come back into the barn area, but was still unsure of the animals (full story below).

Look!  Gary's on Facebook!  Ok, ok, it's just an "ad" for the Creek's multiple services this weekend.  But, there he is!

Chick Fil A!  Abishai tried following Keturah up the slide.

Not quite big enough to go all the way up yet, but that doesn't stop Abishai from trying!

Abishai tried putting his shoes back on because he thought he needed to when he left the play area.  We hadn't eaten yet, so we didn't make him put his shoes back on because we knew he would be back in the playspace later.

Aw, Abishai got nibbled on by Daisy Mae, one of the miniature horses!  She and Spanky were getting into a bucket of brushes and Abishai wanted a turn.  He simply got in the way between Daisy and the bucket so she nibbled him instead of a brush.  Whoops!  There's always a huge risk when you are in and around animals and a great animal owner like Julie, knows it, puts up signs, makes kids sign waivers, etc.  And as parents, we know the risks as well, even without paperwork.  Thus, Abishai did NOT want to ride the horses or touch them for most of the time there.  But we did try to "get back in the saddle" and get a little closer to the animals before we left.  Always be careful around animals, always.

A little bit of nibbles on the scalp, too.  Poor little guy.

But a juice box, Chick Fil A chicken nuggets, honey mustard, and dirty bare feet make up for it.  And he's sitting like a big boy in the booth!

Abishai would not ride "Sandy" until Babe and Sissy did and made sure it was safe to get on it.  Awwww....But he will tell you, "Daddy Neigh Neigh!" which means, "Daddy rode the horse!"  And he'll cluck like the hen, and bleat like the goats.  Plus he got to see all the yellow buses at the Franklin Township Middle School parking lot.  There's like 60 buses there!  Crazy!

Everyone was stir crazy, and I had to put the 11 year old in a time out like a 2 year old.  He purposefully continued his bad behavior by slouching.

And Justin continued his antics by making weird faces for the camera.

I had left blankie at home with paci, and Abishai asked for it on the drive home!  Whoops!  So as soon as we got in the house and unloaded, he got his blankie and paci and asked for the blankie to be wrapped around his neck so he could hug it like an old friend.  Then he decided to it on the car during read aloud time.  Well, he was a bit too far away from me and had to keep getting up to point to certain things we point out in our books or do certain motions.  I finally had to say, enough is enough, Daddy needs to put this crazy beast to bed!  It was late, too.

Tomorrow's agenda: final packing for trip, showers, and Easter service at 5:30 pm.  Oh, and finishing up the last few pages of "Julie of the Wolves" too.  Woot! Woot!