Wonderland 2

I had so many great pictures of our visit to Wonderland that I had to share more!

Waiting for the scrambler to start.

Is it that boring?

Apparently so.

Zad and dad are having fun!

I guess Jolie and Asher are too!

Asher shooting the chute!
Zad has it conquered!
I love the lights of the carousel!


Thanks for sharing our trip with us!

Wonderland day!

There is a day in our home that we look foward to every year. It is a day when parents and children come together in harmony. It is a day when brother and sister are as one. A day that the struggles we have faced just don't matter anymore. Cause we're going to WONDERLAND!

We always start with the Frog-Hopper. It is a classic and a great warm-up for the big rides. It will be a sad day when my kids' legs start draggin' the ground in the Frog-Hopper.


Next we always go for the Helicopters. You can't beat being able to control the flight path of your own ferocious war-machine!


And of course we love the cars. The round and round ride that lasts oh, about 20 minutes. But you can really feel the wind blowing through your hair on this one.



It's just too scary to watch!


Oh, nevermind. It's just peekaboo.


Somehow, the magic of the day turns my daughter into a gangster.


This is the entrance to the first water ride of the day. THE LOG RIDE! (Always my favorite as a child.)


Wait for it...


Wait for it...


There it is!


And it's good!!!!


I'll have more to share in a future blog.

Beauty in produce

Some updated pics on garden stuff. We have had an unusually cool and wet July so things are ripening slowly. Maybe we will have a huge harvest in September!

Tiny, hairy baby cantaloupe


Tiny, hairy baby watermelon. We planted these VERY late!


Oh baby! Can't wait!


Lettuce going to seed. I thought this was beautiful.


Purple sage all through my brain!


And I found this growing wild in the yard.

A little announcement...

No I am not pregnant. Geez! Can't a girl make an announcement without people jumping to baby conclusions? Anyhow, most of you know that we are not homeschooling this year. Now before everyone exchanges bet money, this may or may not be a permanent decision. We really still believe in homeschooling. We loved so many things about it. It just became apparent towards the end of the year that I was not thriving in the environment. And that means that our kiddos just weren't getting enough schooling (by my standards.) I was very worn out and wasn't motivated to teach anymore. We took a lot of "off" days.

Now, they did learn. Asher is a reader! Jolie made progress on her math. We did lots of neat stuff. I evaluated them based on our state standards and they both did great. I just had very high hopes for my role as teacher. I feel like I failed. It was a bad year for me to enter into this daunting journey. Schooling two kids, (one who had to learn to read) entertaining a 4-year-old, and caring for a baby made for some long days! I know it's possible. Lots of moms do it. I just decided to take a year off, let my baby grow a little and give my kids the desire of their hearts and let them go to school. (I give em a few weeks before they are begging for sleeping in and school in their jammies.)

So I am excited for the new year and have already bought school supplies! I love school supplies. I know that the public school schedule will wear on us all. I know we will miss being together. We will miss having freedom. We might even miss mom being the teacher. I am praying for a growing year. I am praying that God shows us, as a family, what He would have us do next year. We believe in having control over our babies learning and want to have as much time with these little guys as we can. So we will see what next year brings.

Garden Update!!!!

I have not updated on my garden in awhile. We just have so much to share that the garden goes on the back burner. But it's all about her today. She is producing and flowering all over the place. It's the part of gardening I love the most. The fruits of all of that labor come pouring into my kitchen. See...(I apologize in advance to all of my family and friends for the massive amount of squash you will be receiving this year.)



This is a beautiful and perfect tomato blossom.


The garden scene!


Patty-pan squash. Amazing and cute.


Green bean blossoms.


Loaded jalapeno plant!


Clusters of tomato blossoms.


My niece Emma is shorter than my tomato plants!


Cantaloupe blossom. Oh I pray these make fruit. It is such a taste of summer to me.


Basil, I love you. I really do. I hope we can be friends for a long long time. You, me, Parmesan cheese, pine nuts, olive oil and garlic will be there. We'll invite crusty bread too. He's a good guy. I'm going to stop having deep conversations with my food now, thank you.


Finally, our growing chicks are more like small chickens now.

It's my favorite. It just is.

Oh Fourth of July, you are my favorite day of the summer. I love the family, the parades, the food, the kids excitement, the colors and the fire! I love seeing the flag walking down the street and hearing the cheers of the people. One nation, under God. I love seeing the honor we give our vets and the sparkle in the eyes of my son as he shakes a soldier's hand. I see nostalgia and future all in one! Here are some pictures of our day.

Oh my girls! I love them. (My daughter Jolie and my niece Ava Grace)


My sister's babies with my kiddos.


We got our faces painted! (Well, the kids did. Heather and I just got a burrito and a giant pretzel.)


Matt and the kids got distracted by the dunk tank.


Then Asher had to try it. He actually got the guy once! You can see the determination on his face.


Liv baby. I just love your M&M eyes!


Classic. "When is the parade going to start?"


"When is the parade going to start?"


"When is the parade going to start Aunt Chelle?"


"I think I see it!"


"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!"


The best seat in the house.


Our precious town square with Old Glory flying free.


God, you are the one who gives freedom. I pray that we never forget the sacrifices made in your name. We believe in your ultimate authority over our nation and pray that you would turn the hearts of your people to you.