Where did 12 yrs go?

Ready to play T-ball.... age 5

Pitching His Last Game... age 12

Isn't he handsome?...

At Bat...

Nolan played his very last Little League game tonight. He pitched his last game, had his last at bat, and played his last defensive position. It really took me by surprise at how emotional I felt about this evening. I remember the tiny little guy who excitedly began Tball and the joy he has found in baseball every season since. As a baseball mom, I have enjoyed watching every game played,and watching his love for the game grow. How can seven years go by so quickly?... I am loving the young man he is changing into, but I so miss my little boy. I can hardly believe that he is 12 and that in a few short months I will have a teenager. ...oh, if we could only slow time at least for a little while.

The Art of Exploring!

Lots of kids(17 to be exact), 4 moms, lots of space to roam, lots of places to search, good camaraderie, a picnic lunch and very hot temperatures make for a very full day of adventure and exploration. We had such a great time with all of our homeschool friends. It was such a treat to get to share fun experiences with friends who have similar interest. The apprentice explorers are an amazing group of young people, and I cannot brag on them enough. We got to witness friendship at its finest! These explorers were kind, considerate, compassionate, very courteous, and helpful to everyone around them. They looked out for one another and took care of all the little ones without having to be asked. I am so proud of all of them. Way to go guys!

Every good explorer needs water to drink, a "soft and cushy" ride, and a momma to take care of every necessity

The Amazing Exploration Team....I think these are "swallows"... we loved observing the design and architecture of these nest, and it was fun to see the birds entering and exiting their homes. How far can you skip rocks?...

...then, there were the cave explorers...

The creek... we didn't see any creatures in this part of the creek...

...unless you count these two as creatures... oh, wait! They are part of the exploration team...

A very beautiful, hot and sweaty explorer... More rocks to skip across the creek...

What do they see down there near the water?... nothing but more rocks

Mandy and friend... they are in dance class together

Exploring at the "conservation station"... they grow different types of grasses on the roof of this building.... (Love the big brother giving his baby sister a ride!)

More creek to explore... they were having so much fun skipping rocks that they sometimes forgot to look for creatures.

Making the trek up a cliff.......and then back down again... (the older kiddos were so thoughtful and sweet...each helping the littles up and down the cliff)

Can she climb it?...yes, she can!A beavers dam... looks like they had just begun construction...

Beauty is very important in the world of exploration...these girls pass with flying colors.

The place of our outing today was a fantastic place to explore nature. We were unable to explore it all in one outing. We will have to make several more exploration trips. To all our firends out there... we have another fun place to take you to see...So, ya'll come for a visit.(** Ms.Jill, we missed you guys today. We promise to plan another outing of further exploration when you all can come too.)

Zoo Trip

After a rocky start to our weather... we had a few thunderstorms roll through...a friend and I took our kiddos to the zoo yesterday. We had a great time and the kids always enjoy a day out with friends. We brought a picnic lunch and spent several hours there. Most of the animals were out and fairly active which makes for a better day at the zoo.


The Gangs all there... can you see the big boys trying to hide?

Our picnic lunch at the park near the zoo. Just "monkeying" around...the older boys were full of mischief and humor... we had lots of laughter and silliness all around

A group photo op. ...

Isn't he pretty momma?

The Elephants were one of our favorites...this big girl was performing for us(really she was just enjoying playtime in the mud, and it must have felt great in the heat). She was blowing lots of bubbles in the water...

...and then slinging water onto her back and body...Watch OUT...or she will spray you too!

Mia and Levi liked the petting zoo. This little goat followed Mia all around, and she petted and loved on it. She decided that we need a goat at our house...umm, I don't think so

Family Day

A Picnic Lunch on Saturday... Playing in the river... Can you say, COLD? Brrr! Brrr!...

What's with the faces??....... I think they were shivering

They really do love each other.... well most of the time

Spy Kids...Three

Skipping Rocks... I think Nolan won the game...

Mom won this one( testing the boundaries).... she wasn't very happy with me...

Checking out the fish hatchery... Rainbow Trout anyone?

Kids in a tree... we have a family portrait from 6 years ago in this same tree, Nolan was 6, Garrett was 4, and Nate was almost 2... our family sure has grown since then.
In spite of many chores needing to be accomplished on the homestead, we chose to take a family outing on Saturday. It was so nice to get away and just enjoy our time together. We drove to a nearby State Park and spent the day playing in and around the river. We feasted on sub-sandwiches,chips,fruits and cookies. Brad bought a watermelon for us to share, but much to the kids disappointment it turned out to be a "dud". We will have to try again later on that one! The boys played football until they started hitting everyone around..."not everyone wants to play boys". We thought it time to find our next adventure and took the kids to a wide shallow swimming area in the river. Brad braved the water with the little ones and found the water to be a bit cold. None of the kids seemed to mind at all, and they stayed in for an hour or so just splashing,wading, and exploring. As that adventure concluded, we went exploring the fish hatchery located close to the river. We saw lots of fish in various stages of growth and wondered how many would be caught at this time next year. The big boys were wanting to take a hike up very steep,mountainous terrain. We had made this hike/climb a few years before, and it wasn't terribly difficult; however, we felt it might be a bit harded for the little ones. We were also running out of time. I guess that will be something for us to do on another family adventure. To conclude our fun day, we stopped at a Dairy Queen along the route home and had supper and ice cream treats. We made it home in time for baths and bed. We look forward to another family day real soon.

Birthday Celebration

Leftover wings for Saturday's breakfast...

Happy Birthday dear daddy... his favorite a chocolate pie! We had 2 scheduled ball games for Friday night, and our plan was to celebrate Brad's birthday on Saturday. The rain had other plans for our ball games, and so, we moved the celebration to Friday night(really he got to celebrate most of the weekend). Brad wanted to eat at a chicken wing place he had heard great things about. We took all of the kids and found this place that looked like a "hole in the wall" but was very clean. It turned out to be extremely good food. The owner/cook makes his own sauces and rubs for the wings. He recommended some different kid friendly flavors and most of the kids ate more than their share. We ordered way to many wings...yeah leftovers! Those leftovers would become a breakfast treat on Saturday morning. Back at home, we had a chocolate pie to celebrate... Brad is not a big cake fan. The kids had great fun teasing and razzing their dad on this birthday;however, I promised to be nice because Brad was very kind to me when I turned 40. Happy Birthday, Honey!

Look who's???

Guess who turned 40 on Friday??

Fun Photo Friday

Some fun photos from our week... A Picnic at the park... Mandy ran into some friends from church. The boys met a new friend who joined them in a "sandlot" baseball game. Lunch...Our Garden is growing....tomatoes,peppers,cabbage,carrots,okra, and green beans.

Mandy's cherry tomato plant...

Some fun block creations...

My Animal Wildlife Team...

See what was in the box??....

... and then they found this sweet thing in our yard...he is "teeny-tiny" and think he may have gotten seperated from his momma...we hope that the momma finds him

A nesting dove....on our front porch...