Happy Easter

Happy Easter everyone!
It has been some time since I last posted. Allison and Emily have had busy schedules. First Emily qualified for "Zones" competition with the YMCA swim league. We traveled to Bowling Green State University in Mid March to compete with other wickedly fast swimmers from Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and West Virginia. She competed with her buddies on both the Free Relay and the Medley Relay teams. They competed respectfully. She had a lot of fun and enjoyed the competition. Congratulations Emily.
Next Allison has been competing with the High School Robotics Team. I'm hooked! This is a fantastic team and they learn everything in this competition...programming computers, designing robots, building robots, competing with the robots, then troubleshooting. They are judged not only on the robot and all its functions, but the functions of the team... eg. do they perform community service? what about fundraisers? how do they let the community know about their team? etc.. It is a terrific program and well worth the time and effort. For more about her team go to www.falconrobotics.webs.com Allison has tried out for and made the symphonic band for the high school which is the elite band in the school. Congratulations Allison!
We are winding down now and coasting in both swimming and robotics. This summer we will probably swim for the Firestone Area Swim Team in Columbiana, Ohio. Allison will be busy with the Marching Band and Emily with babysitting. They both will finish some 4H projects (new to us this year).
In Farm News....its onto our garden. Our raspberries (red and black) have come through the winter and are sprouting up everywhere! As far as planting goes, I want to plant more beets as my pickled beets were eaten up quickly this winter. We will also plant peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and lots more. We are looking forward to our bees. They should be arriving in about 2 weeks time. We hope the trees begin to blossom around the same time too! In the meantime Emily and I are attending beginner beekeeping classes and are excited about our latest adventure. I am scheduling in the shearers for the Alpacas...probably in May. Allison continues to "spin" and enjoys her fine Alpaca fiber! Our next big decision will be what to compete in for the Canfield Fair!
So if I forget to post for a while... you'll understand.