The Rest of June

This is what happens when you mix up your mulberry muffin batter a little too much.

Ice cream!

Some friends of ours who moved away a year or so ago came back to the area for a visit at the end of June.  We hosted a small gathering at our house for lunch one day and we were very happy to get to see them.

My friend and one of her baby boys.

Catherine with the other baby boy!

The three amigos (with photo bombers in the back).

Joseph, especially, had been missing his buddy.

Our first cucumber harvest of the year.

Peaches from one of the trees near the garden.

Ending June with more ice cream!

The Second Week of June

One morning in the second week of June, we went to the Great Plains Nature Center in Wichita, where Catherine, Dominic, and Anne took a class on Orienteering.  They liked the class, learning to use maps and compasses.  Part of the class was inside and part was outside, where they got to do a scavenger hunt using what they had learned.  While they were in class, Anthony, Joseph, and I went for a long hike on the trails.

Turkey statues.

Off we go!

The boys loved going over the bridges.

A side trail off into the woods.

Taking a short rest.

Rock climbing was a must.

Also that second week of June, the girls had four afternoon sessions of a volleyball clinic at the YMCA.  They had a great time working on their skills and meeting some new girls.  The boys, meanwhile, got their turn going to the outside pool.

Catherine prepared...

...to spike it!

There goes Anne!

Over a couple of days, the very large field of wheat across the road from the side of our property was harvested.  One afternoon they were working very close and the kids all went to watch.

The harvester was dumping its load into the big truck.

Another combine got in line to empty its load of wheat.

The First Week of June

This year we got our biggest crop of cherries yet:

Most of the crop filled up my biggest silver bowl.

After a long pitting session, the girls and I made...

...cherry jam!

And a cherry pie.

It was good!

We have a bunch of wild mulberry trees near the pond and off into our woodsy area.  I told the kids that if they picked enough mulberries, I would make them some mulberry jam.

And here it is.

We also made some mulberry muffins, which did not last long.

From Monday through Thursday, Dominic and Joseph attended a basketball clinic at the YMCA for 2 hours every afternoon.  They liked having a chance to work on their skills.  While they were at the clinic, I took the rest of the kids to the outside pool each day.

Joseph 

Dominic went for the shot.

At the end of the week, Dan began making batches of homemade silly putty/goop for the kids.  They had a lot of fun with it.

Catherine was able to blow a giant bubble with hers.

They all came to see.

Pop! There it goes!

We began to get a lot of snow peas:

Bucket is full!

That weekend was warm, so the kids played in the sprinkler one afternoon:

Anthony, Joseph, and Anne cooled off.

Head in!

Big Fire

At the very end of May, we got a fire permit from our local fire department and Dan burned our giant brush pile.

Starting it on fire.

There it goes!

It's burning down.

Down to the last bit.

Crazy kids.

This is how you roast marshmallows!

The next night, Dan revived the embers.

Kids were ready for...

...more marshmallows!

Miscellaneous May

One day, while Catherine and I were walking laps on our property, we found this little guy making his way down to the pond:

A tiny turtle!

After admiring it, Catherine carried it to the pond, where it quickly slid into the water.

After the end of studying The King of the Golden City, Catherine made this lovely cake:

She decorated it herself.

Luscious strawberries began to appear:

Their new location near the house helped greatly.

Oh, that looks yummy!

At the end of a semester of art class, we celebrated with doughnuts:

They were enjoying this immensely.

Anne and Catherine showed off their final art project.

We saw some cool storm clouds while driving one day:

We stopped on the side of the country road to take the picture.

All of the kids got to do Lego Club:

Anthony, Catherine, Joseph, and Dominic showed off their creations.

Anne

This was Anthony's first time participating and he was so proud to put his creation in the display case at the library!

We met friends at the playground one day:

It was a game of chase!

Full-speed ahead.

Dominic took a break with a friend.

We go to the playground and what do the boys do?  Climb trees!

Girl hug!

We had two little cousins over for a couple days:

They checked out the chickens.

They climbed the hay bales.

They went for a ride in the big, yellow wagon.

Courtesy of Anne and Anthony.

Balthaser and Anthony had a sword fight.

They did each other in.

One day, we used another set of Braum's Book Buddies rewards:

Ice cream is good, very, very good.