What's New at the Zoo?

 A lot has been happening on our little wannabe homestead.  Last weekend we had one of our granddaughters visiting for the weekend, and I think we gave her a nice taste of country life.  We are fortunate enough to have my best friend of nearly 35 years and her family living just down the road, and we got to visit their little budding farm to feed baby goats.  It was a lot of fun and really got us excited about the animals that will soon be joining us here.  This weekend will see 20 chicks moving in, and in about a month we plan to add four sheep.  There is talk of goats, but we'll see when they get added to the mix.  It may be later this summer, or possibly next spring.  One thing at a time.  Here are pictures of kids with kids.  Too much cuteness!

There is a lot of work to be done on the homestead.  When we moved here four nearly four years ago the property was very overgrown.  The one animal shelter was so well camouflaged by plant life that it took three visits before we even discovered its existence.  The first order of business is to fence in the area where the sheep will be housed.  Fortunately the hubs had some experienced help, and as a bonus we were able to use existing poles.  Have you ever priced fencing?  Yeah, and there's lots more to put up.

You can see why the hubby wants goats.

Hard at work.

Another thing we've been hard at work on ever since we moved in is establishing some garden beds.  There was no real landscaping here at all, and everything was overgrown.  Each year we've managed to grow some sort of food, last year providing the biggest haul so far.  We actually got to do some canning!  This year we are trying our hand at seed starting.  There are flowers and veggies in there.  We have three beds that need attention.  There are bushes to pull, branches to trim, and plants to move.  Hopefully, we'll see a bigger haul this year.

This is the first time we find ourselves without a canine companion in nearly 20 years.  However, we do have two resident felines.  They do a wonderful job of keeping the rodent population under control, and I'm guessing their presence keeps snakes at bay.  In all the years we've lived here I've yet to see one.  Although, I do know they are present as they've been spotted by others.  Harmony and I have been working on honing our photography skills.  This first picture is Charlie, the alpha male.  He loves to hang out in the woods behind our home.  I was finally able to focus past the branches and capture his little, basking self.

Charlie on a Log

Admiring the kill.

All the little kids chickened out, so Harmony
flung the dead mole into the woods.
I love Kiley's face!

We've been cooking a lot of food from scratch here, and Harmony is really growing in her abilities in the kitchen.  She has been working on perfecting her recipe for Gluten Free Chocoloate Chip Cookies for entry in the 4-H Fair this July.  She's getting pretty good and can now follow the recipe all on her own.  We're still working on completely understanding measurement, but she does it all on her own asking questions as she goes along.  We enjoy being her tasters very much!  Every family should bake chocolate chip cookies once a week!

Harmony baking GF Chocolate Chip Cookies

 I've never been a fan of oatmeal.  A friend from our local homeschool support group was kind enough to share her recipe for Baked Oatmeal.  We absolutely love it.  I'll share the recipe in a future post as well as a few others I've been working on for you.  So, stay tuned!

Martha's Baked Oatmeal

We love to hear what others are doing in their homeschool.  What have you been up to?  What are your plans for the summer months?  Do share!

Just a Peek

I've been wanting to take a moment to travel back through our first month of homeschooling through the pictures I've taken these first three weeks.  I cannot believe next week will usher us into October!  I remember older people telling me how fast time goes by the older you get.  Now, I am one of those older people saying the very same thing, because it is SO true!  That is why it is SO important to take time to just be.  Be present.  Be mindful.  Be observant.  Be reflective.  Be still.  There is no better way to slow time down than by making a conscious effort to NOT be so busy.  It's the business of adulthood that sucks our time away.  So, now is my time for reflection.  I hope you enjoy traveling back with me.

We ended the summer with our one and only trip to the beach.
Weather was a bit cool here in SE Michigan this year.

The hubby got all our wood ready for this year, and hopefully next!

School pictures!  Our new first day tradition.

The first science experiment of the year; a visual in mummification.
The three-year-old was the one with the spot on hypothesis!
 

We started using the busy bags from the trade I participated in the summer.
(A fun idea I highly recommend!)

Bella loves preschool!

Harmony back at her math program.

We still took time to watch things grow and to enjoy the nature around us.
 

Bella LOVES taking pictures of our growing tomatoes!

We all helped in one way or another to
prepare for hunting season.

Finding out what happened to our apple slices in our first experiment.
Annabella needs to taste everything!

Wild grapes grow around our property.
Maybe we'll do something with them next year.

We enjoy the turkey that travel our yard.
Finding their feathers is like discovering treasure.

My favorite stop when we take a nature walk on our land.

Exploring a new local park.

Bella loves to climb!

The kids think the new hearth is a stage.
Guess what movie we watched recently!

We learned about cells.

And, learned that Play-doh can grow mold.  Gross!

An exercise on the importance of our bones.

People without bones.

Learning about the protective fluid around our brain.

Traveling around Africa before the digging of the Suez Canal.

Benefiting from the short cut of the Suez Canal.

As you can see, we've done a lot in September.  Now that fall is here, we will begin a whole new set of adventures.  I love taking pictures of what we do if for no other reason than to see that we really do get a lot accomplished in our time, as fast as it does slip by.  Pictures are a fun way to record our life together, and with today's technology it is easier than ever.  Most of these pictures are unedited, because I just don't have the kind of time I would like to devote to photography at the moment.  Plus, I wanted you to see that it doesn't matter the perceived quality of the photos, rather it's the ease of record keeping that they provide.  We forget things all too quickly, and pictures are a good way to preserve those memories and even record your school year.

Surprise!

This year will see my hubby to 50 years of living.  He's a great man, dedicated to family and helping others.  The kids and I wanted to do something super special for him.  Of course he's one of those dads that always tells you to not worry about his birthday, he doesn't need any gifts, and he would prefer a handmade card.  Coming up with something to buy him is near impossible, but we knew something that would mean more to him than any material gift.  So, we made plans to surround him with all of his children and grandchildren.  It was a challenging task that took six months to plan and tremendous effort to keep under wraps, but we did it.  We pulled off the ultimate surprise without a hitch!  Yep, you read that right.  Something went completely perfect for our family, and it was amazing.

Our youngest daughter and her husband flew in from Missouri, and our Navy son flew in from South Carolina.  Due to the government shutdown, we did not know if the Navy son would be able to take leave until the day before the party!  So glad he was granted leave.  It would not have been the same without him since he was an integral part of the surprise, and who would have helped me clean the house?  We gathered all the children, minus two, and all the grandchildren, minus one, into our home. Vehicles were hidden down the road, finishing touches were made, and pictures were taken.

We prepared a traditional holiday meal, had a photographer do family photos, and we waited.  I knew better than to try and capture the moment myself.  Our family is just too big, and it takes too much effort just to keep the party rolling for me to be in charge of photography.  It just isn't humanly possible.  So, for the really big events that I just don't want to be without pictures I hire out, and I breathe a sigh of relief and enjoy the party.

We wrapped up all the details in plenty of time, and we waited.  I watched out the office window for his car to emerge through the trees, and there it was.  "He's home!", I yelled, and everyone got into place.  It was so awesome to hear everyone yell, "Surprise!", as he walked through the door and see the look of confusion on his face when our son in law was the first person he laid eyes on.  Totally priceless!  He was so touched and enjoyed himself so much that he thanked me for it for days.  Pulling this off for him is sure to remain a high point in my life.  SO AWESOME!

SURPRISE!

Smith Family Part Two; the Third Batch

The Family

All present and accounted for!

Mr. & Mrs.

Happy Birthday to You!

Ultrasound pics of #13

It really was a great time.  We missed the children and the gandchild greatly that were unable to attend.  With eight children and 12 grandchildren it's no wonder we can never seem to get them all in the same place at the same time, but we are a houseful nonetheless.  The cousins always have such a wonderful time together, and I am so happy we find ways to get them together now and then.

It just feeds my husband's soul to have his family around him.  If we could have figured some way to make it work we would have had everyone possible here (siblings, parents, grandparents, cousins, friends, etc.), but it just could not be done.  Guess we'll save the super big bash for when he turns 60.

Photo Credit: 
 https://www.facebook.com/Knixon.DontBlinkPhotography