Early September

Another big melon haul.

That was one huge cantaloupe!

Watching the farmer bale our hay.

And there's a bale!

Catherine and Grandma at Grandma's house.

Anne at Grandma's.

Daddy and the kids with Grandma.

Another pose.

Watermelon haul was moved to the basement to help them last longer.

The farmer came to get the hay bales.

A big load!

Unpacking the sauerkraut.

Kids ate it right out of the crock.

5+ gallons loaded into the fridge!

We made it to the September homeschool roller skating party.

Go, Anne, go!

Taking a break.

Limbo time.

Of Friends, Kayaking, and Hay Bales

One Saturday in November, our good friends came for a visit.  It was a beautiful day, so much of the afternoon was spent outside.

Catherine and Chiara in the kayak.

Having a good time on the pond.

Anne and Michaela.

The other kids have fun while waiting.

Joseph and Mr. Grumpy Face.

Okay, much better.

Beautiful fall colors.

Dominic and Dimitri.

Friends since they were babies!

No one wanted to stop kayaking...

...until it was time for the wild wagon ride!

Whee!

Off to play on the giant hay bales.

Daring boys.

Girls were more cautious.

All smiles!

Anne got brave at the end!

Fun With Hay Bales

The kids were very excited to ride in the back of Daddy's truck to go pick up the hay bales.  The rule was they had to always sit.  And Daddy drove really slow!

Anthony was more than thrilled to ride on Daddy's lap and help drive out to the big field.

Anthony, in his big boots, showed Daddy where the hay bales were.

This year the field only yielded 30 bales, so Dan kept 10 and the farmer who baled the hay took the rest.

After Daddy tossed the bale in, the kids got to work, pushing the bale to the back of the truck bed.

Catherine's got a seat, now.

Anne and Joseph are ready to go get some more bales!

Sittin' up high!

It was tricky getting Anthony to stay still for a picture, so Dan stuck him in the corner, where he promptly took off for the end of the truck.

A close-up shot.

Anthony was all set to help Daddy unload the bales into the stalls on the side of the shed.  He actually tried to help pull the first bale, grasping only a few pieces of straw.  It was funny.

Anne loves to pose for pictures.

It's a tall stack of hay bales!

Time to sweep out the truck bed.

Hay Bales, Part 2

When the farmer comes to your place to bale some hay, you must get a ride on that cool tractor:


Here comes a bale out of the baler:

When it is not your turn to ride on the tractor, then you can play in the big hole left by the removed post:

Or you can play on hay bales:

Climb, Joseph, climb!

Almost done baling the hay:

Next it was time to pick up the hay bales and load them on a flatbed truck. They used this neat contraption, which picked up each bale as they drove along and brought it up to the farmer and his wife, who stacked them in rows.

Then, they brought our hay bales over to the side of the shed, where the stalls are. The kids were eagerly watching.

Oh, what fun to climb hay bales!

We have to get Anthony in there:

And one last picture of their new "playground."