MOVING RIGHT ALONG

You would think that once school is wrapped up for the school year

 that things would quiet down a bit. 

 Wouldn't you?  

Ha!  

HaHa!

Nope.  We just have different activities to fill our time.

Here are some things we have been up to lately.

We ordered Painted Lady Butterflies hatch.

(poor pictures, sorry)

They came in the mail as caterpillars, complete with food.

We watched them grow..

 

 And form their chrysalids...this morning we transferred the chrysalids into the "Butterfly Garden."

We are now awaiting the transformation into butterflies.  It should take about a week.  Stay tuned.

We have also had several friends over to play..

This is the only picture I have..even though we've had multiple playdates.

We visited our new cousin.

Missy was thrilled to hold him.

We are seeing a lot of growth from the chicks.

It is amazing how much they have changed in such a short time.

We have been playing outside a lot.

As the kids play, I try to get some weeding and other garden related chores done.

I've given up on the carrots..but I think we may have a teeny tiny pepper plant or two popping up.

Everything else seems to be doing well.

I haven't had any more issues with critters in the garden since the one incident awhile back.

Though--I have noticed a deer hanging around lately.

I threatened her.

Maybe she won't be back.

The kids wrapped up Sunday School with a short program which was followed by a potluck lunch...

We attended a couple graduation parties...

We celebrated Father's Day with a take-out dinner in the park (on Friday) since it was a full weekend..and an air mattress for Daddy for when he goes camping...

We had our last dance class...speaking of which!  I'm a bit disappointed.  There is a very small quantity of tickets allowed per family.  So, pretty much we are the only ones who can attend.  Not cool when you have a large family.  The tickets are also pretty pricey!  Not to worry though, we plan on recording the recital for anyone who wishes to watch Carina in action. 

I'm finalizing my VBS lessons as it is coming up in two weeks or so...

We signed up for summer reading...

We attended a magic show....

Carina got her own library card...

I'm mentally preparing for potty training after that is done as well as mentally preparing to start school prep in the near future...

AND..we're nearly halfway there in this pregnancy already.  Tomorrow will be 20 weeks!  Is it just me or is this one flying by?!!  I guess it could be partly because we waited till almost 4 months along to visit our healthcare providers.  I've only had two visits with them so far.  So far so good.  

Yes, we hope to find out whether or not #5 is a brother or sister.

We'll see if we share it on here.  You might have to convince me.

I don't tell names.  

Don't bother wasting your time trying to convince me of that.

Won't happen.

You also won't see any belly pics from me.

Sorry.

I'm probably missing some things we've been doing.  You get the gist however.  All this stuff while trying to get the normal household things done..we're busy.

Happy Summer!

REVISITING YESTERDAY

It was hot and humid last week.

We, along with some friends, went to visit Fosterfields Living Historical Farm on Friday.

It was not the hottest day of the week, but I think it was the most humid.

You'll see lots of red cheeks in these pictures.

This milking contraption was not set up last time we were there.

All the kids gave it a go.  

We were hoping to see the real milking, but because of the heat the schedules were a bit off.

Don't ask me how you can reschedule milking!??

There were three new calves.  

One born that morning!

Learning about churning butter.

The mistress of the house had to produce 40 lbs of butter a day back in the day.

Yikes!

Bet they had nice strong forearms.

Can we go see the horse?

These guys got to enjoy a nice bath from the hose after doing some field work.

One of the horses actually only had one eye.

The other eye had been removed due to cancer.

Time for washing!

(playing the water on a hot day..this was probably a highlight!)

That is NOT water making his hair wet.

Too bad my clothesline is not lower, 

I could put some kids to work.

;)

Wash and scrub in the soapy water..

Rinse in the clean water..

Wring out and hang.

We did not take a tour of The Willows estate..it was too hot plus, probably not something the kids would have been interested in.  However, we did take a walk up the driveway..checked out the flower garden and sat in the shade for a little while.

Is that a yawn?

Waiting for the milking..and petting cows.

The milking didn't happen and we also missed out on the egg collecting because they did it earlier...again because of the heat!  

Wish we had been told..oh well, next time.

A break from the heat in the transportation exhibit.

The kids were able to rock this to pretend that the carriage was going.

Everyone had a turn driving.

Hi, Landon!

Even though it was hot and things were slightly off schedule, 

it was still a nice time and a great place to visit.