So you know those old Western movies? The ones where things go crazy and at some point there is a runaway stage coach/ wagon that is typically on fire? Yea, well that has been life the past 5 months.
So hold on tight! And grab a fire extinguisher. . .There are lots of photos ahead!
Summer started with Megan turning 8. She had a birthday party at the bowling alley. What a great time!
8 years old means that you can get your ears pierced. (Sorry Ryan, it only applies to the girls)
Then we went and hung out with some cousins.
Gotta love boy cousins!
We then went to Leavenworth. . .
Good thing we have two great navigators.
Then in June two of our cats had kittens.
On Father's Day Phil wanted to go for a hike. . .After we got the truck stuck in the snow, he got that hike. . .14.3 miles to civilization where a sheriff and a couple of relieved In-laws rescued us.
We can come back to that in another post.
We built a fire pit.
Another cute kitten photo
Gotta have smore's at the fire pit.
Oma and Grandpa John arrive at long last! They drove across the country from Connecticut and we were so excited when they finally arrived. They brought fishing poles and Grandpa John spent an afternoon teaching the kids how to cast.
Maybe they were fishing for catfish?
Then came the moment that Ryan has been waiting for for over a year.
Grandpa John sent Ryan this bank from Newfoundland when he went moose hunting. Ryan has been adding money to this bank with the promise that when Grandpa John came they would go shopping. The list was long and varied over the months while Ryan saved and dreamed.
Ryan saved $70 dollars!
They came back with lots of nerf guns, nerf bullets and a pocket knife! I find nerf bullets EVERYWHERE!
We went to the Timberfest on the 4th of July. Lots of sawing, chopping, and grunting.
The rounds that were sawed off were then sprayed with a stencil and given to kids as souvenirs.
Last competition was the log rolling. AWESOME!
Then Grandpa John pulled out Bow and Arrow sets from his seemingly endless trunk of surprises.
A few days later the kids got to try their chops at fishing for real. (There is a picture of Oma. Looking through our pictures I couldn't find many of her. I know I took some of her teaching the girls how to needle felt and some other activities, but I must have used their camera and not mine.)
We saw some salamanders. . .
A crawfish. . .
And just when they were sure that they were never going to catch a fish. . .
Anne caught one!
Hang in there, we are only in July!
We took 6 of the 7 cousins to the beach (#7 is still a baby. . .he will have to wait another year or so)
This is what they looked like on the way home!
Then in early August we added to our farm!
Meet from left to right, Kiku, Destiny, and Meleeka.
They are Shetland sheep that we adopted from a family who could no longer care for them.
They will have to be another post as well.
We made pickles. LOTS of pickles.
We grew some pretty substantial broccoli.
We did not grow the watermelon, it is just there for perspective.
We waited in the cold and dark for the last leg of the Timberline Challenge to finish.
They arrived!
We will talk more about the Timberline challenge at some other time, but if you want more information go to
The fair. Anne brought three rabbits this year. Plans on bringing even more next year.
Yep, giant cotton ball.
The Canby Rodeo. Always a good time.
The Solar Eclipse.
I did what they told you not to. . .I put the glasses over my camera lens and took the photos.
We drove about 12 miles from our house and parked in the parking lot of a gas station/convenience store and watched the eclipse with about 30 other people. We had friends come down from Washington and they slept in the living room and another set of friends came and slept in a tent in the back yard . It was TOTALLY worth it!
Peaches off our tree.
More birthdays. . .Anne is officially a teenager and Katie is quickly following suit.
Another new member of our farm. This is Chip. He is a Netherland Dwarf rabbit. Katie got him as a birthday present and a 4H project.
Quite a contrast. Katie's 2 pound bunny alongside Anne's 10 lb rabbits!
Our first apple harvest. Three years ago we planted 15 trees, and this year we harvested about 40 lbs of apples. We have quite a store of apple sauce and frozen apple pie filling.
And yet another birthday. . .
It got dark before we got to the pinata, so we did it in the living room? It actually turned out better than you would imagine.
Ryan played soccer again this year. He loved to play Goalie! He was so much improved over last year.
All Ryan's buddies played on the Red team. Next year I will plan ahead and request they all be on the same team.
Katie played Soccer for the first time this season, and she was great. After about a month she got the hang of the strategy of the game and she became a leader on the field.
In September Anne and Katie both made the decision to get baptized. Phil was given the honor of baptizing them. It is such a blessing to watch them grow in Jesus.
Back to those sheep. We went to the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival and Anne helped a friend show her sheep. So next year at the fair Anne wants to show sheep and rabbits!
More pictures of ours.
They are super friendly and gentle. . . unless you have a bowl of chopped apples, then they push and shove like linebackers.
Kiku is an attention hog, and a bit of a rascal.
Ok, so I think I have gotten a hold of the reigns, put out the fire and gotten life back to a reasonable trot. School has started and all the produce is packed away in jars or the freezer. The weather is turning cool and yes, the endless rain has started.
So now we can focus on school and home ec projects and getting ready for the holidays. Anne glibly told me last Thursday, "only three weeks from today is Thanksgiving!"
Hopefully it won't be another 5 months till you hear from me.
And besides, I have to tell you the rest of the "stuck in the snow" story.
Comments
Post a Comment