Amazing bravery and courage!

We decided to enjoy the sunny afternoon, and headed to our friend's pool this afternoon. Ben was at a youth activity so it was Kevin and I with all the girls. Harmonie is not afraid of the water so she was very excited to swim! Kemiah and Emily have both gotten better and now enjoy more freedom as their confidence and skills improve. Domonique has always been more afraid and so she was not excited about the new suit-floatie we bought for her. She was ready to sit on the steps and not get in the water. Once she had the suit on she was ready to take it off. I got in the water with the girls and helped her come off the steps. She would immediately get worried and ask to go back to the steps. After a few times she felt more confident and less afraid. It was an amazing transformation to witness. She eventually would come off the steps on her own. She then jumped into the water from the edge. Then she wanted to go to the deep end. It was so thrilling to see her come alive and really enjoy being in the water! Everyone had such a great time. I even had a hard time getting out after doing some laps and treading water. Maybe we need a pool in our backyard.

 

Other Activities

We are enjoying some other activities...

like painting...

coloring...

painting...

learning games...

 

reading...

storytelling and coloring...

games...

playing...

It is so fun to watch them all play nicely together. It's not always that way but we sure enjoy it when it is. I didn't get a picture of the six player Risk game, or swimming, or weeding, or piano practicing, or school stuff, but we are doing it all!

Petting and Feeding the Pigs

Kevin took some leftover cheese out to the pigs to see if they would eat it, and you know what?... They ate it out of his hands. He ran in and told me to get some cheese and come see. It was so funny! They finally came over and were very interested in me. Still a little skittish when I tried to pet them but they were happy to eat my treats.

I then got some of their pellet feed to see if they would eat that out of my hands.... they didn't but the chickens were more than happy to eat it. Sweet birds.

All the girls wanted to have some time feeding and getting to know the pigs. It was fun for everyone.

I'm sure the pigs ended up with belly aches from eating so much - they like to eat the weeds that are growing in our garden.... Maybe now we will weed the garden more regularly so the kids can feed the pigs. Wish we had known that a while ago!

Wilbur comes right up to us and you almost feel like he's going to eat your legs.

Even though Ben is not pictured, he enjoys the pigs as well! It's going to be amazing to watch them get huge! Eventually we may all have to stay out of the yard because they'll knock us down but we shall see.

Harvest Time

It's that time of year - harvest time! Our garden grew pretty well, amazing really!

This year, we bought the baby pepper plants, rather than trying to grow them from seeds and it made a huge difference. The peppers actually look like the ones I get at the grocery store!

 

Unfortunately, the zucchinis got a little too big but they sure look nice, work fine for bread, and the pigs like them.

The plant got really big, too. I guess it's actually two but it's huge.

Lots of cucumbers - which the pigs and chickens also enjoy - and so do we. I love going out and picking something for dinner.

The cucumber plant all of a sudden started to turn brown and die. I guess that's the end of that.

We thought the pumpkin plant was only growing one but we actually have four - and this is one that just grew from old seeds in the ground. It is much organer now.

We planted lots of potatoes and some of them have these seed pods or something growing on them. The kids all thought it might be a new breed of plants - a cross between potatoes and tomatoes...

The really fun part is cooking a meal with all homegrown stuff - fajitas with our peppers, onions, and even the chicken is from one of the birds we raised. Awesome!

And of course, with all those peppers, you have to have stuffed peppers. I figured no one would like them but we all liked them. I did need some of the extra filling because there was just a little too much pepper but it tasted rather good!

Monster zucchini from the garden - it weighed in at 7 pounds! The girls had a good time taking lots of pictures. Just had to show you that it's as long as my thigh.

Our tomatoes are finally turning red, all at the same time, of course. This particular night I made stir fry (without tomatoes) but those peppers are really big.

It has been fun but I'm not looking forward to harvesting and storing all the potatoes. I think I'll can a lot of them to use for soups and stuff through the winter. You just gotta love the harvest!

Funny facial expressions!

This one is my favorite.

She raises her eyebrows and it's just so cute!

She really is just a sweet little thing!

Different kind of hatching.

Kevin saw this guy come out of the "shell" on his tire. The strange thing was that Kevin had only been home for a short time and we all wondered where the bug came from. Had he just crawled up onto the tire or had he made the trip all the way from work on the tire? I'm sure it came from our yard but how strange for it to choose the tire and not the nearby tree. I love the gree on the wings and the body. Too bad it's a bug!

Awesome sleep!

Yes, it's another post about Camdilyn. She's just so cute! She is the second child I have had that likes to stick her fingers through her blanket. I just think it's so cute! Did I already say that? It had to be documented!

Sleepy girl

She was listening to Kevin read a story and just couldn't stay awake. But she didn't lay down or go to bed, she just went to sleep. Silly girl!