Grant, 16
Cousins John & Dana
Left-over traces of snow! Brrr!
John and Grant
They pretty much had the whole hike to themselves..
Ashley & Amanda
John, Grant, Dana, Mandy, Grandma and Ashley
Cousins!
Friday, April 6, 2018
Shellburg Falls hike with Grandma Barb
Grandma invited us to take a hike with cousins John & Dana. Ryan had to work and the little girls and I had other plans but Mandy, Ash & Grant had a great time! Although the day started out very cold and rainy, weather improved and the hike proved to be perfect for this gorgeous short hike!
Helping out & Family Day at the Museum
Its been so nice to have the opportunity to help Nana and Ben with their new place. Despite the rain, my guys started on the project of scraping and gravelling their backyard. We ladies took to the museum where they were having a free family day with demonstrations and reenactors.
A lovely scene from yesteryear. Let's bring back the cook stove! It is actually nicer to cook on than our electric one, imo! ;-) I loved using the one on the island when I was younger. Although getting up extremely early and building a fire *before* coffee? Not-so-much! :-)
We loved this little iron which would have to be set onto the top of the woodstove to heat up before using on clothing. Most families had 2 or 3 so those could be heating while the other was used.
The girls had fun pretending to be Mary and Laura Ingalls.
Teacher Ashley!
This woman was spinning wool from her own sheep.
I was imagining adding that to my list of chores! Whew!
She had a little photo of the sheep who had graciously donated it's wool!
Mandy was a sport and volunteered to be a living mannequin for a demonstration which illustrated how many layers a woman of the 1800's would wear! First the corset..
Then slips and hoops and crinolines... she was telling us that at one point the steel hoops were literally cages that you had to open the door to and step into! They were heavy and very cumbersome! That was one reason that the doorways of the era had to be so wide. Unlike the later bone hoops which could bend. Steel cannot. The women would perch on a special stool which allowed them to rest her arms on the top of her cage. I cannot imagine that!! I'm sure the introduction of the bone hoops caused for much rejoicing for those women!
14 layers later, Mandy was properly dressed!
This lady does reenacting and was thrilled to find young people who were interested in history. She tried very hard to recruit them for their reenacting group. :-)
The girls found some sweet bonnets as we were leaving the museum. So cute!
Meanwhile back at the ranch.. the guys worked hard all day putting in the yard. They rented this handy thingy.. yard mover.. which helped with the scraping and moving the gravel.
It has been a blessing to be able to help my mom. Ashley and Amanda have also been able to help on some interior things-unpacking etc. More to do as the weather warms up!
Mama's 47th Birthday
Ashley made me a birthday breakfast omelet!
That night we went to the Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner. It was delicious! We wanted to get a photo of the three of us but we kept cracking up! I think Grace took 15 photos of us before we got a more serious one! :-)
Ashley, 26 & Gracie, 10
Mandy 23, Laura Jean, 7
My honey and I
We had such a wonderful evening as a family! With the boys working so much we had been having fewer and fewer times at the dinner table together. Thankfully the week after this, Ryan was able to shift to Grady's schedule so he is now able to join us just about every night for our dinner meal. The boys are missing in these pics but they were there! Such fun! Crab raviolis were the dish of choice that night. Thank you dear family for making my birthday so special.
Baby Shower
The girls enjoyed going to a baby shower for the adorable Elias!
Cutie!
Awww!
Ashley, it appears.. is quite the baby hog! No, not really! :-)
This church has always been so kind to us. Even though we are not members they invite our young people to the youth events, volleyball games and special events. Even though we do not carry some of the same convictions they always treat us so kindly and with acceptance.
Congratulations M&M!!!
School & Work- What the Youngest 4 are up to!
More and more are we realizing this in our family. We are so enjoying this season of our lives so much. I know we are a bit partial but I'm pretty sure we have the *best* children ever! We are enjoying these precious days with them so much!
Gracie scored at St Vinnie's when she found the Boxcar Children Cookbook!
Here she is making us a delicious meal of mashed potatoes and coleslaw for lunch from the recipes found in her new cookbook. She is having so much fun and has become quite the cook!
Enjoying a delicious chocolate cake with whipped cream!
Taking a nature walk with mama
We took this cute video of the little girls performing a very short play that we were working through in school. This play was the introductory lesson for our new unit in our Language Arts curriculum which focuses on plays-both short and complex. We will end the unit with a play by Shakespeare. We are loving Charlotte Mason Style of learning!
The guys researching some serious stuff!
(I think hunting in New Zealand or something else fun & exciting!)
Grant has been working in the fields tending to a couple hundred acres of hazelnuts. He is currently working about 30 hours a week as well as finishing school. What a wonderful young man! He is always fun and adventurous.. and always willing to lend a hand. We are so proud of his work ethic and dedication to his family and whatever task is in front of him. I really saw him grow in those areas while we were in Belize. He was amazing and so helpful to me there, especially while Grady and Ryan were gone.
He got his permit and is hurriedly getting his 100 hours of driving in so that he will have his license for harvest time. This year he has been offered a few additional responsibilities for harvest and having his license will aid in that extra work!
Ryan is working as an apprentice in a shop that repairs and services heavy machinery and semi trucks. He started about 6 months ago and is really enjoying the work. Because it is a full time position he will be unable to work the harvest this year. However this week he found out that a farmer wants him to do some harrowing for a few weeks alongside his full time job before harvest. Busy fellow!
Ryan has really thrown his heart into this job. The plant manager told Grady just today that he wishes all young men would turn out as disciplined, hard-working and accountable as Ryan is. What a blessing to hear. We are so proud of our boys!
Here is Ryan's current project. He picked up this wrecked Cadillac for $750 and intends to fix it up to sell. It will be fun to see the progress!
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