family fun days, day #1

Well hello again! It's me, Alden! I have much to share from the two packed days my family kept calling Family Fun Days. They have been on the calendar for a while and greatly anticipated by everyone. You will simply be amazed at how much Mom and Dad decided to pack into these two days. In fact, they would probably say it was a leeetle bit too much. But all in the name of family fun. First, we went to the Minnesota Zoo.

Did you know this is my mom's favorite part of the whole zoo? It's just this little exhibit in Discovery Bay where they have the sea horses, jelly fish, twig fish and things that don't even look like they're alive, but they are. She freaks out about the twig fish every time. Have you seen those before? They're incredible!

Then we walked the tropics trail. Hattie seemed to be very taken by the flamingos and ducks. She just loved watching them down in the water. Dad told us we are going to order a few ducklings with our baby chick order this year, which should be a good time. Ivar asked why we would get ducks and Dad said, "to eat!" So that's exciting.

We spent a lot of time watching the fish, and even saw the scuba guy feeding the fish. I just couldn't believe the different designs on each fish. It looked like a group of children had taken turns coloring each one, some with polka dots, some with stripes, some with both. Mom got inspired for an art project with the big kids...

Then we ate a lunch Mom packed. We were trying to do this trip on a budget and this was a great way to save money, though no one was actually hungry for their sandwiches because a big bag of chips had been consumed on the tropics trail...

And now this is so fun. It turns out my dad is really great at stir stick sculptures! No one knew of this special gift! He just whipped these fancy things up and wowed the whole family. (As well as the lady who was waiting to dump her tray into the trash while we took this picture.)

And then we got to the hotel. We stayed at the Country Inn and Suites across from the Mall of America, right across from the Radisson Blu. It was so great! We loved this place! We got an early check in and Dad took the big kids swimming, while Mom tried to put me and Hattie down for naps. And let's be honest, Dad definitely got the better gig, because Hattie and I were like, "wha? you want us to just lay down in this new room? Lady, you crazy." But mom is really persistent. And I do love a good nap, so eventually, I just gave in. Hattie took a little more convincing, but Dad came back and was able to get her to settle down too. Then we woke up and it was time to head to the Mall! Hattie was sort of crabby, so she got a cookie. But I was just so thrilled!

We walked across the parking lot, across the frontage road, up the elevator to the sky way, through a parking garage, by the Blu, through another parking garage and right into Lego Land (with a quick detour to the Local Honey shop..which nearly killed my brother Ivar...)

But then Ivar and Elsie got right down to business. This destination had been discussed at length, what they were going to purchase, what they were going to build. My brother Ivar has just been introduced to Stop Motion Animation and is super into writing scenes for his legos.

And while everyone played with Legos, I worked on my stretches and tried to increase my overall flexibility.

Then we were off to the rides. Elsie chose to go on the Carousel with mom, and really wanted the white horse with the roses.

And Ivar chose to go on the roller coaster for his ride. I don't think he had thought through the whole thing fully. Dad said he was laughing and hooting for the first part and then the ride got very intense and he looked over and Ivar was completely still. Dad said, "are you okay?" And Ivar said, "too. much."

But then it settled down again and by the time the ride ended Ivar said he loved it and gave Mom a long, tight hug to prove it.

We went and ate at the food court, followed by dippin' dots and then went back to the hotel so the whole family could swim. I just stayed in the stroller and kept working on my flexibility, but Hattie hung out on the stairs and Mom played with Ivar and Elsie, but mostly a 5-year-old whose grandpa was talking to my dad about karate. Her name was Ellie and she'd jump into the pool, right by Mom, and pop up to blurt, "I can't swim!" So mom would help her to the wall, where she'd monkey around to the ladder and position herself wherever Mom was, jump back in, pop up and yell again, "I can't swim!" Over and over and over. It was kind of a riot, and kind of patience-inducing.

Needless to say we all went to bed pretty easily that night. We were tuckered! And we had to get our sleep for another full day of family fun ahead...

John Deere Groves, welcome to the farmily

Last Monday I found a John Deere on Craigslist that was from the 50's, a 620. Rory went to check it out and that was the same day I called my Uncle Jake to ask his thoughts. Later that night Rory and Uncle Jake talked and Rory said, "what would you put a guy like me in?" And Uncle Jake said, "A 3020." That was exciting to us because moments earlier, my brother-in-law Jedd had texted Rory, "You need to look for a late 60's John Deere 3020."

Two trusted farmers agreed. We felt so grateful to have our ship pointed in the right direction! That was all on Monday night. Wednesday afternoon a new listing popped up, a John Deere 3020 from 1969, wide front and runs on gasoline. We were floored, because the price was right, the location was 90 minutes away and after months of combing Craigslist, this was the first I saw of it's kind.

Thursday morning Rory drove up and met Myron, drove the tractor and met Myron's HUGE Scottish cows with sharp horns and hair in their eyes. And he bought the tractor. We are just so thrilled at the thought of all we will be able to do in our field because of this tractor!

Today Myron delivered the tractor and parked it in the barn. It started up beautifully. And as he drove it into the barn I said, "we have so much red around here. It really had to be yellow and green."

the brothers and the sisters

These kids are my constant companions and I love them with my whole, entire heart. We are celebrating this week because we all are healthy for the first time in 2018! This is an age and stage where toddlers sneeze on babies, babies stick everything in their mouth, and when germs pass easily from one to another. So we hunker down, read lots of books and snuggle. And ice skate on plates on the tile. I found the girls skating like this after we watched the German ice dancers on youtube. (The only five minutes of the Olympics I have seen! Crazy!)

hattie joy for a monday morning

Hattie got this darling little sweater set from her big cousin Madi. It is just on loan, and mostly just for this photo shoot because I don't believe I want to be the one who gets a stain on this super adorable ensemble! So the two of us went out on this glorious afternoon and took some pictures with the assistance of the cat.

Tonight at dinner we did our usual family check-in, "Hey, hey, what do you say? What was your favorite part of the day today, Hattie?" And she answered, "Anah. Mom." Anah means outside so we all knew that her favorite part was this special time together. Me too, Hattie Joy.

hattie at worship

hattie worship from Becca Groves on Vimeo.

I was raised in a church where we did not raise our hands during singing. So it took me a while to get used to being in churches where they do this freely. It felt funny for a season, but now I really appreciate this part of Sunday worship. It feels right to me. That said, I have a lot of friends at this same church who sit quietly during the songs, many who don't raise hands, and others who flat out dance. What I like about this church is that the body is free to worship how they are most comfortable...and that is going to be different for everyone.

So I'm a hand raiser. And Hattie is starting to raise her hands too. Every Sunday she wants to be held like this, with her feet standing on the chair in front of us, swaying from foot to foot to each song. Watch her hands during this quick video. Rory showed this to me after service and I was so grateful he captured it. It is a very sweet and incredible feeling to watch your kids worship the Lord.

Elsie sort of twists her skirt from side to side during each song with her hands held palms up right in front of her. It's cool to watch them come into their own. And then it's so fun to all be singing the same songs at home, all day long, because the same ones are replaying in all of our heads from a great morning of worshiping together.

learning to speak tractor

I am picking up a new language lately. I'm learning to speak Tractor. Except there is no Rosetta Stone for this language. So I'm learning by immersion and dropping myself into the land where others speak this language fluently.

I've been following tractor sales on Craigslist and finally found a few that I thought looked good. They fit the horsepower we need and were in our price range. So I called my Uncle Jake to ask him what he thought of the ones that caught my eye. And lucky for me, he was with his brother out in Colorado, so I got two born and raised farmers on speaker phone as I told them about the tractors I was looking at. It was going well for a while, but then they started asking me questions.

"Becca, does the tractor that you have now have PTO?"
PTO, PTO what could that stand for...it can't be Paid Time Off. Farmers definitely do not get Paid Time Off. "Oh man, I'm sorry you guys, I'm not fluent in the acronyms at all. What is PTO?
"Power Take Off"
"Oh. Right. Yeah... I have no idea."
"That's okay. But do you know what horsepower your kubota tractor is?"
"Hmmmm. No. Not a clue. It's a cute little tractor though..."
"And tell us about the baler you have. What kind did you get."
"Oh man. I am so sorry to sound like such an idiot. I don't know. Oh wait! I have a picture of it on my wall calendar. Here. Well Elsie is blocking the front part of the word and Rory the back part, but I can read CORM. So maybe McCormick or something like that? It's red."
"International."
"Sounds about right. I'm so sorry guys. But I will remind you that I was raised in Apple Valley and this is all new to me. But I am trying, and I thank you for trying to help me..."

I hope they found it a little bit hilarious. It is humbling to be learning so many things from the ground up. I would say pride is probably the number one thing you have to rid yourself of while trying on a new lifestyle like this. There's not time. Just be humble, ask questions and be okay with making mistakes. Because it just happens. And sometimes you sound like an idiot. That's okay. I am getting more and more fluent every day. In fact, I just watched six youtube videos on moco's, you know, mower conditioners, the implement that combines cutting and drying in one process? Like a haybine or the new discbine...

Are you impressed our what?!! I'm basically at the fluency equivalent of being able to ask where the bathroom is. And I'm learning more every day. Next I'm heading back to youtube to learn about hay rakes in case we don't want to spend the money on a moco.

one less plant for the plant lady

Well, it was only a matter of time. Or, I should say thyme, because it was actually the pot with the thyme seeds that was used as the weight for the blanket fort. I wouldn't have advised this plan, but I was told excitedly by two little girls, "mom! there is a huge mess of dirt in the living room!" They were strangely thrilled by the whole thing. I wasn't as much. But I did recognize the photo opportunity.

I hope you had a good Valentine's Day! Yesterday I asked Rory if we had any plans for today and he said, "Yes!" And I got a little excited. "We have to bring the other lamb in to the meat locker!" When I asked the question I was thinking more along the lines of of dinner plans or a trip to the cupcake shop. But he was consumed with his plan of backing the trailer out to the barn and separating the sheep so just the one lamb would climb in the trailer. No cupcakes on his mind.

But we did have a great day. We celebrated as a family with dinner and cards. It was low key and simple. And a good day all around.

toilet paper tube hearts

Look how cute this one is! So simple, straight from pinterest to you. I love how this one turned out. I used a sharp, flat knife to bend the toilet paper tube. It did take some finessing to get it just so, but after you work with it a bit, the heart shape shows up. I love it.

Mostly I just wanted to show you my Christmas cactus, blooming for the second time this winter. I have to tell you, I have become a bit of a plant lady. I didn't see it coming. But I seem to have quite the succulent collection and then this weekend I planted six garden herbs in pots along the window. The trouble is, now we're running out of room on the home school table...

And do you see the amaryllis?!! It grew six inches in three days!!!

a good lookin' graph...

Well, this week has been a big week for graphs: the dow jones industrial, the NASDAQ, the volatility graph...they've gone up and down and up and down. But in all the excitement you may have overlooked the most hopeful graph out there: the amaryllis growth graph. 

Things are looking good for the amaryllis. For weeks we saw hardly any growth and were sort of bored measuring something that seemed like it would never grow. But then one day the kids measured and it had grown A FULL INCH in 24 hours. Suddenly everyone was interested again. 

The kids had to stop measuring with the ruler and now use a tape measure because this thing is getting so tall! Thank you Mom and Dad for giving us this super fun gift at Christmastime. This is one very celebrated amaryllis!

one year ago this weekend...

I was in Seattle celebrating my mom's 70th birthday! And I don't think I ever blogged about it! So since I'm feeling all sentimental and nostalgic, I thought I'd reminisce. First, this is the Harrington Five. Or, The Nuclears, as I like to call us. This trip was so wild because it was the five of us, just like it was the whole first half of my life. Now it's been another 18 years, and we've added three weddings and ten kids to the mix (in this picture I was six months pregnant with Alden). But isn't that a crazy thought? That the kids I am raising right now will only be in this nuclear pack for 20 years. Then the family will grow and grow and grow. How incredible.

I love so much about these pictures, I can't handle it...

And then kabam! 

Five grows to Eighteen. What a wonder.

So Annika and I flew to Seattle together while our folks were flying in from Mesa. When we arrived, Mom was standing at our gate (how fun to have someone at the gate!) and we all screamed because the weekend was finally here. We went to find my brother and he and my dad were way down the sidewalk, walking towards us with the exact. same. walk. Same posture, same gait, same foot forward. It was so amazing to me. They deserved theme music playing behind them. The five of us loaded into his minivan and stopped first at Trader Joe's. My brother had brought a lot of food from his house, but we got some snack food and a few more ingredients and at one point I said, "Mom, can I get this?" and it felt just like the old days...

Then we were off to the ferry to find our rental house on Whidby Island. But before we got on the ferry, I spotted a Teriyaki Restaurant. And my pregnant self was basically beside her pregnant self. If you live out west, please, please do not take these fast-casual, strip-mall restaurants for granted! Rory and I ate so much Teriyaki while on our big road trip back in 2007. And we have yet to find one in the midwest. The chicken is charred a bit, the rice is sticky and the ice burg lettuce has some sort of watered down ranch dressing that is delicious. I swayed the minivan to stop here for lunch and made my whole family believers in the goodness of teriyaki. Just look at that goodness.

And here my dad and I took a selfie on the ferry in front of a bright window. Neither of us often take selfies (maybe never?) so it's worth including. Also, the waves were huge that day and the ferry was a-rockin.

Here I am with my mom and dad. And Alden in the belly. This trip was a good idea. The hope was to get a cozy house where we could hang out and just be with each other. And that's what we did. We played games, snacked, watched huge ships go by, napped, went for walks to collect rocks, visited cute little towns and hung out.

Now I want you to note where my dad is standing here. He's on the deck just outside the bedroom window of the room Annika and I stayed in. We were probably 20 feet from the ocean. And it was a windy, stormy night, with water spraying our window as we slept. Now that could be relaxing, except that I have a bit of tsunami-paranoia.

Here I am trying to climb a Tsunami sign. In an actual tsunami this would not be advised. My fear of tsunami's began after watching the terrifying, but incredibly-based-on-a-true-story The Impossible. Watch that movie only if you, too, want to have cymophobia (the fear of big waves...thank you google). Anyway, as it turns out, this sign in the picture below greeted us when we drove into our neighborhood. That house in the lower left hand is the one we stayed in. Can you believe it?

So all night I listened to the huge waves hit our window and kept waiting for earthquake tremors. I had my tennis shoes right by the bed just in case I needed to make haste. Because as a 6 month pregnant non-runner, my odds of survival were already very, very dicey.

But lo and behold, a tsunami never came. Pheweeeeee.

My kids could  not believe I was going on a trip without them. Ivar made me notes to open whenever I was missing him. Just like he had notes to find all around the house for whenever he was missing me. Grandma Margaret always did that for me when I was little. This one was my favorite:

I actually have barely any pictures from the rest of the weekend. Likely because we were sitting in the living area looking out at this and catching up. One night Mom told us about how she had a safety training in her stained glass shop and in order to demonstrate the protocol for a medical emergency, another glass shop member Betty, faked that she was having a stroke. Annika and I laughed so hard I could hardly breath. Just imagining all of those fine retired folk yelling for someone to call for help, but only mom and Betty knowing it was a drill, hit our funny bones. We were both crying by the end and to this day we just have to mention Betty and we fall to pieces. Good ol' Betty. Pretending she needed medical assistance. Oh man. there is nothing like a good, hard, shake your body, gasp for air, belly laugh. And of course we are glad Betty is okay...

We went to an old military fort that has lined the coast with welcoming cannons. Dad was trying to aim it just so.

And then we had the good pleasure of having Mat's clan join us for the rest of the weekend! I just love these kids so much. I love every single second we have together.

The weekend flew by. I do remember that. It was way too quick. But Annika had to get back to work and I had to get back to my kids. It was fun to celebrate Mom by playing games, enjoying little shops, collecting rocks, making rock art (below), going out to eat and catching up with each other. Family is the best and time together is one great gift.

Our rental house was incredible. I highly recommend it, if you're ever on Whidbey Island. This was my first VRBO experience and it was a really positive one. The couple who own the house were really great and I guess the only surprise was the cleaning fee that is tacked on to the final bill. That's not them, that's just how all VRBO's work. Here's where we stayed, though the price has gone up since we were there. And I don't blame them. They've got a winner location and a glorious home. Just keep your running shoes close by and watch out for tsunami's...

the tale of three heart pillows

First of all, when I told Elsie we were going to make a heart pillow she said, "For my collection!!!" I said, "do you collect pillows?" And she replied a very enthused, "Yes!" So now we know. I commented that she probably loved pillows because she's a lady, and ladies love pillows. I always get swept into the pillow aisle at HomeGoods...

Second of all, I have a story to tell, but Hattie wanted to be sure you knew she understands how to use a pillow. She got in nearly every one of my pictures while I tried to take pics of my pillows. And I think we would all agree that her presence, fake sleeping on these pillows, makes this blog post a billion trillion times better.

So here's the tale. Once upon a time there was a lady who saw a cute pillow on pinterest. She thought she'd give it a go. But it was way trickier than she had imagined. She had to recut her fringe to make the ends longer so she could tie them. And in the end, her heart had a very wonky shape. In fact, it was reshaped for this photo to make it look a bit more like a heart and less like a pink lion's head. But she didn't give up.

Yes, dear children, (literally, my own dear children) I want to you take note right here. When her project didn't turn out as she thought it would she didn't cry or roll around on the floor or go kick her foot at something hard and tell her husband she never, ever wanted to make a pillow again in her life! No, she didn't do that. Instead, she started thinking about how else she might make a heart pillow. That's when she found more felt and decided to try again.

And this heart was way better. She loved the white stitching. The shape was a little crazy once it was filled with fiberfill, so she took note how to cut her next heart. She also thought about how cute it would be to do some stitching on the felt before she sewed it to the back side. And with all these fun ideas in her head, she tried again.

And that was the ticket. Her third heart was darling. She loves it. Wants to make a ton of them. Not sure what for, but she'll figure something clever out.

Now think how sad it would have been if she would have cried and kicked her foot into the cupboard only to make her cry harder because now her toes were hurt, and stopped making that first pillow! What a shame that would have been. So let's learn from this lady with her three heart pillows for her daughter's growing pillow collection and not panic when our art doesn't turn out quite right. Let's keep trying, painting over mistakes, redoing our creations until we think we've made something awesome.

Don't you agree, Hattie?

Oh, look, she dozed off again with her head on that soft heart pillow...