Wash your hands when you're done, please!!!

What does a kid do for entertainment

when there is nothing electronic to do for entertainment?

Start collecting.......

but what could a three year old collect?

He had a hopping good time finding his collection.

Yet at the end of each day

those lucky enough to survive a day being loved by a three year old were set free

to seek out a new hiding place before the three year old returned in the morning to start a new collection.

We convinced Grant they needed to return to their families for the evening so their parents wouldn't worry about them.

A couple of evenings we could not convince him to let them go. 

He slept with the box of 'ribbies' in bed with him.

Yuck!!

Grant had HOURS of fun looking for and playing with baby frogs.

Some of them were loved a little too hard and stopped hopping.

Grant informed us that they were sleeping and that they would be OK.

Some of them received decent burials. 

Others were simply dropped as another more lively frog would hop into view.

I remember Grace doing this exact thing two years ago.

The little things are everywhere this year just like they were when Grace was three.

Three year olds and frogs......what a great combination.

If you look closely, you can see five of them hopping away for the evening.

See ya tomorrow, 'ribbies'.

John preferred to catch him some 'real' frogs.

Doesn't he look excited?  The frog...... I mean.

 We did a lot of hand washing that week too!
Frogs aren't real cuddly and sweet if you ask me.

Eat your fruits and veggies

The neighbor's horse lives in the pasture across the street from the farm house.

 

By the end of the week's vacation

the horse and its many donkey friends

learned that kids would appear with food to offer if they waited by the fence long enough each evening.

They were there each evening waiting on treats of

carrots, apples and lots of pats and love.

I really couldn't tell you who enjoyed it more, the animals or the kids.

Double bonus, fruits and veggies eaten by four legged creatures meant fewer fruits and veggies to be eaten by two legged creatures.  The kids thought that was an OK deal!

Oh $%^& (literally)

Ten kids going to the pool for a birthday pool party.  Good idea.

get the towels, the passes, the goggles, toys, sunscreen, pizza, drinks and kids.

Ten minutes unloading the car.....

lifeguard announces pool closing.

Poop

In

The

Pool

NOW what do I do for the rest of the evening to entertain this bunch?

Movies anyone?

Granny gets a ride

We started out the week at the farm by collecting a few leaves to start a leaf collection.

With 400 acres ought to be a few varieties to collect.

Granny Clampet Emily hitched a ride in the back of the pickup truck when we went collecting.

Not sure why he did it, but David gave her a rocking chair to sit in.

She seemed to enjoy the view from her new perch.

Looking at the different kinds of trees.

Trying to figure out what we were looking at

I'm curious to see how many varieties we can find over the years and to see if my kids can learn to identify trees better than I can.  Once I get past about a dozen varieties, I am lost.

*******************

Tons of pictures, just no time to sort them....

lots going on around here with vacations, school preparations, parties for kids, work, company in town, on and on.

**************************

One reason we are busy right now is the same reason we were so busy eleven years ago now....

These two, being my first babies, turned eleven yesterday.

Man I love these two.

I am so excited too.  They have now reached the age I taught for ten years.  I love relating to kids at this age.  I think they are so much fun and so interesting as they learn to navigate into a world of more choices and independence.

  I quit teaching when I had them to stay at home and be a mom full time....best decision I could have made as a parent.  The past eleven years have alternately flown by and yet seemed like forever.

Happy birthday, John and Emily.

We love you.

Pressing Matters and Godzilla Meets Ice Age Meets Manhattan

Pressing Matters......

Look who learned to iron while we were at the farm for a week.

No, we don't iron our play clothes, it was the pillowcases for our bed that had been freshly laundered during my cleaning blitz out there a couple weeks back. 

I had never gotten time to iron them.  Plus, I hated to iron at the farm because I never had an ironing board there.  I finally broke down and bought one for $12.  I figured a bad one is better than none in this instance.  I guess that means I have no excuse now for the wrinkled curtains hanging in that house.

Sidenote:  Every window in that house has curtains.....but no neighbors.

This house has curtains on only five windows out of thirty-three....and tons of neighbors.

I used to use lack of time as an excuse for the lack of curtains here.  I guess after ten years living here that excuse no longer is valid, huh?

She really enjoyed ironing (YAH)

Godzilla Rewritten

The toy supply at the farm is pretty limited.  It mostly is composed of the cast off toys from home....toys with missing/broken pieces or toys that went unloved at home.

The limited toy selection makes  for some creative and sometimes quite comical pretend play at the farm.

Here is a wooly mammoth whom they named Manny (from the Ice Age movie)(pretty good naming for my impaired bunch).

Manny, the wooly mammoth, apparently went on a rampage in the city but then turned from bad guy into good guy and climbed up the outside of this tall building.  Then he rescued a lady firefighter from a burning parking garage.  At least that is the way I followed the story line.  I sat and listened to them for quite a while.  They spin some pretty complex tales for two preschoolers.

Manny then stomped off to find his other dinosaur friends.

I enjoy watching these two play together (most of the time anyway).

They give new meaning to the term best friends.

Just for fun

When life has you buried up to your neck in trials

a hug can make it better

when you seem to be headed down one of life's slippery slopes

find a friend who cares

when life leaves you feeling exposed and vulnerable

seek the wisdom of those who have gone before you

when life seems to be flying by a little out of control

or things aren't quite as magical as they first appear

remember family is forever

family is our heritage....it stands the test of time

family is with us as we plow through life

on roads both bumpy and smooth

when life leaves you feeling flattened

family and friends

are the best gift

they're the ones who see us through.

Smile.

I Would Like To Thank My Fans.......

Only kidding!!!

Mommy2four  was kind enough to bestow upon me the honor of  this blogging award.......

Since I'm somewhat of a newbie at the blogging thing I'm not sure what blogging etiquette is in such circumstances, but I will try to follow correct protocol here.

 First, I am supposed to list seven things about myself.  Here goes nothing.  Literally.

1.  I never planned to have four kids.  It just happened.  Well, it didn't 'just happen', but you know what I mean.

2.  Green has replaced yellow as my new favorite color lately.  I am not sure why the shift.

3.  I fold all of my towels exactly the same way.  I don't like when they're turned different directions.  I know.  That is weird.

4.  Blogging is stress relief.

5.  I grew up in a town where bread and gasoline had to be purchased before eight in the evening or you were just out of luck until morning.

6.  I have two older brothers and no sisters (in spite of all the begging I did to get one).  I enjoyed the role of youngest child.  My brothers would concur with that fact.

7.  My dad is my hero. 

Links to other blogs I  am passing this award on to.  True confessions....this is supposed to be a list of fifteen blogs that are my favorite.  Honestly, I only read about four or five regularly and cannot 're-award' the blogs that have already received this honor.  Sorry, too many kids and critters for much blog reading in my life right now.  Maybe someday!

The short list of a couple of my favorites..

Traveling Light

My Thoughts In Color

Williams Family Blog

The Ramer Bunch

And now, here's how to grab this award and pass on a smile to someone else....

1.  Thank and link back to the blogger who passed the award on to you.

2.  List seven things about yourself.

3.  Pass the award along to fifteen bloggers you have recently discovered and enjoy for some reason.

4.  Contact the bloggers you picked and let them know about the award.

5.  (I added this step!) Sit back and relax the rest of the evening....trying not to stress about whether this post was done in correct blogging fashion.  (I've never been known for my social graces nor my fashion sense) (If you know me, you're nodding your head right now!)

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

I love the farm.....

I love pictures.

The two go hand in hand quite nicely, don't you think?

They go together quite well......

no matter what the season.

Yes indeed, my two favorite things.......

Well, right after my five MOST  favorite things......

NOTHING beats this lineup!!