Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a whirlwind around here lately; what's new right? So here's an update of what we've been doing.

We participated in a Young Eagles event. (DH is a private pilot.) My kids love these events and fly every time. PinkOne and I helped at the registration desk (picnic table). Scout and DH helped everyone fill out their paperwork and just generally chat with the crowd. You can find more info here: www.youngeagles.org

We visited the zoo with our 4-H Club. What a great time! Everyone researched a different animal and then shared what they had learned at that location. I always enjoy those visits.

Of course all play and no work...so we helped Grandpa unload the last of the hay.

One of the wagons had been sitting in the barn for a week because of weather--read rain. It must have seemed like the perfect spot for Mama Kitten to have her babies because Scout found a nest of 3 kittens among several of the bales. At no more than a week old, they didn't even have their eyes open yet.

I was very thankful they were too young to leave Mama, or I probably would have caved and let one--or three--come home with us.

Once the wagon was unloaded, Scout and Grandma made a new nest of loose hay for them.

PinkOne prayed that night that Mama Kitten would find them quickly and move them. (Predators are a fact of life on the farm.)

We got the update yesterday from Uncle; Mama Kitten moved them to a new location--under the bench in the milk house--and they seem to be doing great.

Since the rain finally gave us a break, we decided to visit The Village with one of our favorite families Monday. It was a beautiful day and we all had a blast. We are hoping for one more trip with our friends before their year membership runs out. Our membership lasts through fall, so we will be visiting several more times.

Tonight is our Youth Picnic. We have been shopping for pop, meat and paper products. I'll be prepping onions, tomatoes, etc. this morning. DH boiled the brats last night so they should cook much faster this year. (Lesson learned.) 150 brats, 90 hamburgers & 60 hot dogs; I pray it's enough to feed all those teenagers and their families.

Eating Bon-Bons and Watching TV

That's what my DH says I'm going to be doing whenever I get some time home alone. RIGHT! Today my family headed for an airshow. While I enjoy the Blue Angels as much as the next Mom, I had things to do here.

My dear friend Dana brought a bucket of cucumbers to MNO (Mom's Nite Out) Thursday. I was so excited! So today I made Bread & Butter pickles with them. This family goes through a ton of these in a year. So I'll have to make another batch--or three. But that's okay, these are special Dana's-Own Homegrown Cucumber Pickles. THANKS, DANA!

That wasn't enough to keep me busy (my pickle recipe calls for the cukes and onions to sit for 3 hours before you process them), so I made a chocolate cake for the family reunion that is tomorrow afternoon. I got the recipe from The Pioneer Woman. Go check her out if you've never visited her before. (www.thepioneerwoman.com) She has some of the best recipes. (And her pictures are way better than mine.) But my The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. looks so yummy! I really wanted to test a piece, but it's not my family's family reunion. It's hubby's family. If it was my family, they'd totally understand the little corner missing. But that probably wouldn't fly so well with DH's family. I'm resisting.

I scored a quart of sour cherries at the Farmer's Market this morning. So once the cake was in the oven, I pitted the cherries.

Not quite enough there for jam--bummer--but definitely enough for Sour Cherry Upside-Down Cake. Yeah! I LOVE this stuff! This recipe is from the Yarn Harlot. (www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/) She has a sour cherry tree outside her home and posted a funny--of course--story about it along with the cherry upside-down cake recipe. I wasn't a huge cherry fan until I tried this recipe.

Now when I flipped the cake out of the pan, a little bit stuck to the bottom. Oh yeah, I definitely scraped the pan clean. Just as a test. It's as good as I remembered it to be. I'll save the rest for my weary family. They will get home eventually. Apparently the traffic leaving the airshow is horrendous. But I'm told they had a great day. So did I.

Catching Up--Science Fair

The kids participated in a Science Fair for the first time this year. Our core homeschooling group held the fair with the criteria that the Human Body be the subject. We had a high school science teacher and an elementary school student teacher be our judges. They had to do the experiment, write a paper, create their presentation board, and present their project and answer questions for the judges. It was a great learning experience for them both.


Scout's question was "Does reaction time very between age groups?" I was impressed with the report Scout wrote. His writing has come a long way this year. He got Second Place by a mere 1.5 points.








PinkOne's question was "In optical illusions do different age groups see different things?". She worked really hard on her presentation board with die cut letters, etc. Her written report was pretty impressive too. In fact, she got First Place with a perfect score. Yep, beat the big brother on that one.

Catching Up--Recital

PinkOne did awesome. Grandparents and Daddy were equally impressed by the growth they saw in her. We all watched the show on Thursday. That weekend Scout and DH had a Boy Scout camping trip, so it was just us girls for her recital on Saturday. I got up, did some weeding in the garden and then woke up PinkOne for a lesiurely pancake and bacon breakfast. I was so wrong!!! I got a call from the other Class Mom on duty that day asking if we were okay at 10:45. I'd gotten the times messed up. PinkOne was scheduled for the 11am recital, NOT the 2pm recital. Her jazz group was the 4th dance in. Yeah, not a lot of time.



Now, it's a real production to get her ready. I grabbed all her costumes and makeup. PinkOne threw on her first costume and her hair in a ponytail. I raced to the high school. PinkOne ran through the doors while I parked. Apparently she made it just in time to run onstage--from the opposite side of the class--into her spot as they started.


Man! I NEVER want to live that one again! PinkOne showed great maturity and grace under pressure. She is growing up into a beautiful young lady.

Catching Up -- Scout's Service Troop Project

Scout had a blast. It was so good for him to do this project. He came back more confident and self-assured. It's so fun to watch him growing into the man he is meant to be.

It was quite the boost for him to spend time with other guys that love what he loves. Guys that are serious about Scouts and about serving others. Guys that take pride in doing so. Guys that love to have fun and be goofy.

I was so impressed watching them all. In fact, that first morning watching them all march off to their stations for the flag raisings I had trouble picking Scout.


We loved our time exploring the island. Scout wants to do the Service Troup again next year, and we want to spend some more time there too. I also had a blast with my new toy--the camera. So here are a couple of my favorite shots. (You knew that was coming.)





From the fort looking down to Main Street. That hill was a killer.




There were tulips everywhere. I must find these to plant this fall in my garden. I love this color!
DH, PinkOne and I toured the fort while Scout was on duty. After being a damp, foggy, cool morning the day turned gorgeous.

Scout on duty at the cannon.

The view from the top of the fort.

Final lowering of the flags for the troop.

It was a great week!

Moving Day

I'm moving over here from my old blog. I'm really frustrated with not being able to post many pictures on my old blog, so here I am. I'm not real tech-savy, but I'm hoping to move everything over here eventually.




PinkOne has been talking about donating her hair to Locks for Love for a while now. Recitals were over and she decided to go for it. Once Miss Patty assured PinkOne it will grow back quickly--about 1 inch a month--she was ready to go.




I think she looks awesome! Yes, I know she looks much older, thank you. I'm enjoying my denial ;-).