Visitor...

The kids and I have always said we would like to live on a farm and have some animals...but for the most part, we are just happy visiting the "Michigan Cousins" on their farm.

Imagine our surprise when Uncle Cory and Aunt Crystal dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's and showed up at our door with their goat!  We are familiar with this goat, as it has visited next door before.  It was one of two when it was born a little over a month ago, but it's mother stepped on it's leg, and it has been bottle fed and kept inside ever since.

Anyway...the kids were staying next door for the week, and Cory and Crystal were going out of town and needed to keep the goat somewhere their kids could bottle feed it.  Our front yard, which is fenced in, became the best logical solution!  Nameless Goat, as Noah, Hope, and Faith call it, was very happy in our yard.  It eventually learned to climb on the porch and sleep by the front door under the over hang.  What a funny site for others to see as they drove past our house!

Ft. Wayne Zoo

Grandma and Grandpa Brown had Piper and Logan (from Indianapolis) for the week, and decided to take us to the Ft. Wayne Zoo.  The kids had fun spending the day with their cousins and seeing all the animals.  It seemed like the hottest day of the year though, and most of the animals were just lounging around.  The kids liked to stop where the sprinklers/misters were to cool off, I think the animals could have used those also!  Despite the heat, they enjoyed going on the River Ride, but most of all, they had fun on the Sky Safari (30 feet above the ground).

July 4th

What a great holiday to spend time with family!  All of us gathered next door for swimming, fireworks, and dinner.  The kids had a blast (literally) watching the fireworks, and of course there were all the favorites to eat:  Chicken, Potato Salad, and Strawberry Pretzel Dessert!

Campfire Nights...

This year we finally dug a fire pit...we have wanted one for the past several years! The kids love cooking their supper and dessert over the fire and our outside kitten loves to join us (look closely at our wood pile). Saturday nights we can usually be found gathered around the fire!

Lazy Summer Days

NMC Prarie Camp - Noah

 Two nights at camp...Noah was loving it!  He enjoyed going to Deep River Water park for a day, staying up late at night talking with his friends, and participating in all the activities they had to offer.

Noah's camp counselor for 3 years now

NMC Prarie Camp - Beach East

 Church sleepover camp for the very first time!  The girls were soo excited...we packed their new duffle bags, wrote their name on all their items, and they were off.  They had a blast while staying at camp, and had known some of the things they would be doing.  They loved visiting a public pool with a slide, standing in line for meals at the cafeteria, and staying up late talking with their cabin friends.  They knew some of the girls they bunked with (Brenin K, Julia H, Kira G) and made some new friends as well (Melody or Melanie).

Some drawbacks of camp?  Losing one of their towls, a toothbrush, and sunscreen.  Faith's glasses were also broken after they had fallen out of her counselor's bag.  They had taken showers, and on the way back to the cabin, the glasses had fallen on the ground, but not discovered missing that night.  (After being stepped on and scratched, they were finally found the next day!) 

They can't wait to go back next year!

Soccer Camp

 All 3 kids said they had an interest in playing soccer this year when a form was sent home from school.  The season would start right after baseball ended, and lead right into church quizzing.  We were not sure we wanted to make this commitment, so we compromised. 

A soccer camp was offered by the high school for 1 week, so we signed the kids up to allow them to try soccer and see what they thought.  If they enjoyed playing, we told them we would consider the sport for next year.  Needless to say, they all enjoyed the week and are looking forward to next year.

Strawberry Jam

One of the things I like to do every summer is pick strawberries with the kids.  If I time it just right, they don't mind picking.  I give them each a goal to pick, one container (varies in size by where we are picking).  So while I am answering if this strawberry is ripe enough to pick, or if that one is, I in the mean time usually pick double what they do.  Which is ok, it's the experience we are going for.  This year we picked 17 pounds in a shorter amount of time than last year!  At least they are improving their efforts!

This summer we have tried to stick to a daily schedule with the kids, and on Monday's we have "Cooking Class".  What better to make with all the berries we just picked than Strawberry Jam!  The recipe/package I use is very simple and fast, only needing to add splenda and berries to the packet.  Then we laddle the jam in to containers, let set 30 minutes, and pop them all in the freezer! 

I think our cooking lesson may have been a little too simple for the kids...they couldn't believe that is all it takes to make homemade strawberry jam!

Pool's Open! (Early June)

The official word that summer is here...Grandma and Grandpa Weatherton declare their pool is open!

There is nothing like that first swim of the season!