6.9.23 Summer Begins

Memorial day was beautiful this year. Shorts and t-shirt weather very different from last year's sweatshirts and rain. We were able to arrange the various flowers I do love the end results and watching my sisters create. 

Likewise walking through the cemetery with my nieces and nephews was also enjoyable. It's so important to pause and remember. These people and their choices did in fact impact these kids. This is the annual placement of flowers at David's grave site. A solemn reminder to treasure the time with each of these bundles of energy, curiosity, and individuality. 

 And this is summer at our house shoes lots of shoes. Muddy shoes, wet from puddles or rain shoes, hopefully one clean pair for town and or church. They have boots but they sometimes get caught in mud with shoes. Lots of newspaper trying to dry out and keep the correct shape of shoes. 

I feel as frazzled as this monkey. Each week is getting a bit better as we establish order and expectation and experience enough consequence to know where the boundaries are. I pray we make it to the end of the summer in one piece and better for the time together.

Andrea came with me one day while I ran the dike tractor. She did ok on the floor its slow going but I needed to focus and she could not touch the steering wheel. 

The workers getting ready to go uncover corn. 

First harvest radishes. We double plant radish and carrot seed to help the carrots break the dirt surface. This year we added a thick straw layer the mulch really helped hold the water to allow the carrot seeds to germinate. We have a pretty good stand of carrots I'm excited. I even ate a small carrot today. 

A interesting picture Addie shared. 

Lia being a kid. 

Yes I know we should get Andrea off the bottle but its easy and it gets her hydrated and that combination is crucial this summer. We run and we drop. Life is good. 

The annual hay ride was a different route with the same excited kids. 

The big boys waiting for turns to drive and challenges to jump on and off as the ride rolls. 

New friends and new riders. 

The day isn't complete without a hay ride. Thanks papa for making it happen.

6.2.23 Blessed full days

Each year is the same and then very different. This panoramic picture shoes life is green we are just getting started as school wraps up that is about a month later than usual. 

Sunsets are still the best, although we are seeing the sunrise too. We don't sleep much in the summer and it shows. 

The 1-4th grade visited the roller skating rink. These girls figured it out and had a good time. 

Millie and the mature fun 4th graders. 

Learning to balance by the wall. 

Afton having a good time dancing at home. 

Millie had a super special wrap up to the pioneer unit. I was asked to provide rolls for the butter making activity. 

Lia just being cute as always. 

The kids walked from a bus stop complete with a cow. 

Wagon rides were provided by a classmates grandparents. 

The cow was milked by all who dared to try. 

The kids tamped leather and learned about pioneers. I think this is one of the best field trips ever. No mind numbing long bus ride just a back yard experience that was real deal! We are thankful for many talented people. 

Reed had his school play. This was amazingly well cast as well. All the kids did so well and teh parts were perfect. Reed's co-star made him look good. He just had to act piratey. Saying arrr, and fighting. 

A sweet reprieve with little Lia. Addie makes pretty good biscuits that are really great hot. Lie got up early enough to have hot biscuits with her dad. 

While irrigating the new field gophers fled the water in their holes. The boys killed this one after it chased them a bit. Bruce had never seen a gopher up close. He's very interested in the fact that their is money paid for gopher tails. Maybe he will become a good gopher trapper this summer. 

Something ate my plants right up. I was walking the garden and wondered why I had planted flowers but no tomatoes. I looked closer and found something had eaten the tender plant to the ground. I don't know what it was the plants in the cages were unaffected. Thus I put buckets around the tomatoes. 

Maybe this is district track I don't know there were so many. She has a lot of medals at the clsoe of her freshman year. 

Me and my stylish mom. Her hat was a special purchase for a friends funeral. Worked great in the black and white country of the Vikings. You never know where life is going to go so we took a quick picture just cuz. 

At graduation parties you never know what will be the neatest find. This night it was bottle baby goats. The kids enjoyed the kids. The owner offered to send us home with a new pet and a bottle. We politely declined. 

This guy is getting so grown up. He reminds me of his oldest brother though bigger and less is required of him cuz of all the other kids that are older than him. We worked hard all year on homeschool and I hope he remembers some of what he learned. 

Addie's cheering coaching squad watchign her run and work to win district. 

 The track season was truly good to watch and experience. It took a lot of time but with the cool late spring it worked out. Life is good we are blessed with full hands and days. 

5.28.23 Last Week of School

With all the track events the last week of school definitely came as a surprise. I did manage to be at the right place at the right time to see these kiddos gain awards for the year.

Reed getting his name recognition for being a super reader. I think he made 2500 points this year. 

Afton got ixl and iready completion awards and the class award for being a peacemaker.

 Livy at the end got a water bottle for being the student that is most creative. Phew that was a good save so she wasn't totally bummed at earning no others. I have kids who get all the awards I have kids who get no awards. As a mom I get it on both sides. It's honestly hard on both sides. The attention when we are well aware there are others with nothing, and the nothing side wondering why there wasn't one thing that could be celebrated so this water bottle, especially since Afton and Millie had already been given one for different talents, was really special. I appreciate when teachers stretch and make those things happen. 

  Millie got all her math fact mastered, 50 states memorized, and some reading awards. 

Afton's first and second grade class from this year. 

Pictures from district. She is intent. This race was such a bummer a teammate decided they couldn't win and ran her slowest pace of the year. Addie working to make up time was not fast enough to do the job of two. 

Taking off. 

We took plants to my moms to get more garden going. They don't have near the problem with deer so that's one less problem. 

Bruce is also working on taming the chickens. He's so cute and into the animal stuff. 

These two just want to know where mom is all the time. I think that's pretty normal. I'm thankful they don't have any higher expectations or needs right now. I'm wrung out from all the stuff. 

Another year in the books. My level of care ebbs and flows mostly just on autopilot trying to cover all the many bases and remember all the different stuff requested, required, and right now. Life is good we grew a lot, passed some important milestones, and managed. We are blessed.