Happy Birthday

What wonderful weather this year for my birthday!!!

I received a lovely gift of two propane fired lamp lights for my courtyard! This photo didn't work too well at night, but the flash ruined it!

I refused to pay any money this year on gardening stuffs, so I scrounged and recycled some old items to make a little water garden. I think that I will have to pay for some goldfish, though!

Zabi thought it was hilarious that we were singing to me - not her! Sorry that I didn't dress up for you guys, too. Sorry to say that we celebrated after I had worked outside ALL day. Might I remind you that it was over 90 degrees, too!?! No putting on my face, either :-(

Sorry - all the greenery was just planted, so it isn't very full yet!

IBoy's new toy - a welder! Oh, the plans I have for this new skill!

Camping Over the 4th

Pre-camping gardening at Grandma's. Zabi had found a ladybug and they were examining it before encouraging it to fly home.

MissE and this year's youngest cousin camper.

Chillin'

Taking advantage of the play tent.

Camping in July. Yup - I got that durned thing stuck! (kind of forgot to lock the hubs!)

How can so much cuteness fit into one little girl?????

Pony rides for all the littles was, of course, in order!

Children cousins,

Adult cousins.

Since Zabi is so very cautious around animals, I didn't think she would even try a horse - but guess what? She couldn't wait for her turn!

Ready to go to the barn for more animals. Yup - hick style - a lawn chair in the bed of the pick'm'up!

Not so sure about feeding a bottle to an animal that is bigger than me!

Yes, I even took the chicklettes out in the boat!

All of us girlies sported matching bandanas for the 4th!

IBoy came home from Bible Camp just in time for fireworks!

Chicka couldn't get enough of the sparklers!

Zabi wasn't wild about fireworks. It took quite a bit of coaxing to get her this far, and half of the time, she would panic and throw the sparkler down. The big booms and bright lights on the "big boy" fireworks were overwhelming for her. As long as she was cuddled firmly and my hands covered her ears, she pretended to enjoy the show. She sure has been talking about them each day, though! Maybe next year she will be a little more enthusiastic! Of course, the "shotgun" wasn't about to be put down for anything!

Even the goats, Boo and Frankie, were able to join us camping!

Saturday walk in an amazing 74.5 degrees - oh, yeah!

Just the girlettes at home today with me.

We decided to do an experiment. We planted some leek and bok choy seeds in hydrated, non-toxic silica gel, enhanced with a little fertilizer. Should be fun to see if it works, and to be able to see the roots take shape.

After naps (the girls, not me!), we decided to take a little walk down to the mailbox and back.

Yes, we always appreciate seeing the lovely tongue. NOT!

My allergies started pitching a fit, so it was a short walk.

Nonetheless, I was able to snap a few quick pix before retreating to the relatively "clean" air of the house!

The really, really long driveway UP hill!

Always admiring herself.

What a darn shame- best weather we have had for a long time, and I can't go out in it now!

You can just make out the tippity top of our roofline from the driveway at this point.

I did manage to do a summer clean in the trailer, so it is now ready to stock with food and clothes and take off for a great adventure. Ha - we'll be lucky if we sleep in it while it sits in the barn!

NO SCHOOL!!!!

Yeah! I thought the day might never come this year! With MissE now having her driver's license, it lightened my road time considerably for the last few weeks. But now, with school officially over for all of the kiddos for the summer, we can finally focus on home time.

IBoy has daily visits from the neighbor boys - much younger, but they tromp the forest and build and have adventures in the wild just the same. I don't think any of them care about the age spread!

MissE is now frantically applying to any and all scholarships that are still floating around - madly writing essays day and night. If you know of any, please don't hesitate to bring them to our attention!

Ready to go - NOT! With a 50/50 chance, don't you think that one could get the individual articles on the right way half the time? Somehow I don't think she should play the odds. Her average isn't great!

The littles are having a blast running around outside all day - swinging, catching frogs, wading in the creek, playing outdoor house and all the little girl activities that summer brings forth. We decided to do a trial tent run last night to make sure that Zabi is comfortable with sleeping outdoors. She was snoring the first one asleep! And where was Dad, do you guess? Yup - snoring contentedly - in BED!!!! I couldn't even talk MissE into sleeping with us!

If you know of anyone who might be interested in the addition of an adorable kitten (or two!), speak quickly - they are going fast, you know!

Wildlife, Music and Toilet Training

On our way home, a mother deer and her newborn baby fawn ran across the road in front of us. MissE hopped out to take a closer look, and the baby fawn just hunkered down and sat. The little critter didn't object when scooped carefully up and the little girls were able to get an up-close and personal look at the sweetie!

Makin' music - and let me tell you - it wasn't pretty!

Looks innocent enough, right? Well, what Zabi is doing is encouraging her baby to p**p! This is how young children in China are potty trained (usually at a very young age). The little one is held exactly like Zabi is holding her baby (well, not quite tipped as far back as that - more in a sitting position, but the legs held just like that!) on a toilet or over the ground. A grunting noise is made by the adult. A healthy combination of watching for the tot's physical cues that they have to take care of business and the adult's grunting noise combine for success. Zabi still makes the grunt noise when she is in process. It kind of struck me that she hasn't seen toilet training methods used here in USA yet! In her mind, that is the way that everyone does it.

This ferocious guy sits outside my bedroom window every night serenading me! It is hard to believe that such a little bugger can make such a loud croak! MissE brought him in for a quick visit tonight. Gee, thanks!

What is that strange thing in the sky??????

WHAT?????

The SUN???????? Could it possibly be????????

Well, yes we had some sun yesterday. What is it doing today? RAINING. Again.

Grandma made the littles a new outfit. Now if it would just get warm enough to wear them outside! No doubt, however, once it does warm up, you'll be hearing me complain of the heat. I guess I can't win!

AND . . . . . . . Leon had babies last night! 2 orange and white, 1 black with white stockings and 1 dark calico'ish'. I haven't had a chance to look at them closely enough to see if they are boys or girls yet. I think that Soni would get closer to examine them if I let her!

Ice Pops!!!!

I just came across this blog and a fantastic giveaway - please check it out!!!!

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And just in case you don't know any awesome Popsicle recipes, she's throwing in THIS book, too!

This entire package is worth over $60! To enter, go HERE.