Ramblings of May and June....

There were a few "little" things that I wanted to document from the past two months.

Yes, that is what you think it is....a rainbow loom leash for the poor little lizards on our lanai.  Kind of cute...and kind of creepy.

We went back to the Sunflower Maze again this year.  It is just a spectacular scene, with fun little "old time" games for the kids to play.

 We found another dead end.  Lost again.  Oh No!

Nicole completed her second piano recital.  She has learned so much in one year of piano.  We love her teacher, Mrs. Amanda!

Nicole also made her first batch of brownies completely by herself.  She even took the completed dish out of the oven (after testing to see if it was done)

We went blueberry picking for the first time.  They were delicious

The girls had their leveling up ceremony for AHG.  Hannah is no longer a pathfrinder...she is now a Tenderheart, and working on earning badges already.

 Our two little American Heritage Girls!

At the last minute, I found out that the hurricane hunter aircraft was going to be on display for a few hours.  Since we were learning about hurricanes, and hurricane preparedness, I decided to take the kids.

 We got to talk to the pilots and ask them all sorts of questions about flying into these crazy storms (Nate kept asking about the buttons).

 In the strategy room on a mobile fire services vehicle.  It was neat to see and hear how they use these vehicles for emergency situations.

We pick up on lots of daily schooling in the summer.  This "makes up" for the missed time in the winter when it is beautiful and we just want to be outside.  It is hot and nasty, and unless we are in a pool, we are inside.  Might as well bust out our math now :)

Nathan got his first black eye...and boy was he proud of it!  He was outside playing with a group of 4 year olds and fell down.  It sounds like he fell into another kid's shoe.  I wasn't there, I was at a training, and he was in a little nursery class that took a break outside.  He was fine...and felt pretty tough :)

I got to spend the night with my mamma in Orlando and attend her annual hair show.  Of course, I jumped on the hotel bed for my kiddos :)

 No she's not my sister, yes she is my lovely mamma!

Nicole wanted a picture with me.  I couldn't say no to that!

 We spent a day at Clearwater Marine Aquarium with my aunt and uncle who were visiting.  Nicole was asked to

 Poor little Winter

 They put his tail on for a little physical therapy

 Now everyone else got a chance to hold the tail.

 Watching part of Dolphin Tail with Aunt Julie in the movie display area.

 We had six caterpillars form chrysallis this month.  It was fun to watch the change

 Nicole climbing her tree.

 We spent a nice afternoon painting.  The kids all came up with their own ideas.

 "Bored" by Michele, "Adventurer" by Nicole, "On the Savannah" by Hannah, "Barn" by Hannah, "Elephant" by Nathan, and "Stars" by Nathan.

The other day on our way home from church, Hannah asked over, and over, and over again if we could go to the pool.  Jeremy finally said, "Hannah, if you ask one more time then you won't get to go all week!".  When we got home, she promptly put this shirt on...but she didn't ask again.  Smart Girl!

 We finally painted the school room, and installed this awesome 16 foot white board.  It's two pieces of "shower board" from The Home Depot and cost just $26.

 I have asked Nicole to give Hannah piano lessons this summer.  This was their first lesson.

 Nicole her neighbor friend learned how to start a fire using a magnifying glass.

 Jeremy started the summer off right with a baseball field mowed into the backyard

The View from There

One final blog post about our impromptu trip up north last month.  We already had a trip to Tennessee planned, but thought it wasn't smart to make it a now second trip, so we stopped by Tennessee on  our way home from Ohio.

But before getting to Tennessee, we stopped for the evening in Louisville to visit, no other than, John Michael and Amanda.  We always try to catch dinner and some hang out time with JM when we are in town, and now that he is married to the lovely Amanda, we get to visit her as well.  They are such a sweet couple.  I am thankful he and Jeremy have remained friends from high school.

Amanda, Hannah, JM, Nate, Nicole

Boys working on cars

We got to visit Greg and Valerie's new home, on top of a "mountain" outside of Nashville.  It's not really a mountain, like the Rocky Mountains....but it's not a hill either.  I'm not sure what they call it ;)  Either way, it was a beautiful home with a spectacular view.

This is what you see when you walk in their front door

The view from the back porch

The kids had a blast exploring all of the nooks and crannies, and I enjoyed sitting on the back deck, over looking the world while reading a book.

Even Nate found a place to take a nap outside ;)

Jeremy spent most of his days riding the four wheeler and clearing trails in the woods.

Nicole LOVED riding with her daddy.

So did Chris, hehehehe

The kids got to spend a lot of time with their cousins, which is always fun.  I love to watch them play together.

Minus two kids here.  Not sure where Nathan is, and George was probably sleeping.

Nicole hung out in the dirt most of the day and "made an avalanche" of the rocks and sand on the side of the house.

Dirt girl

We really didn't do anything at all, expect hang out, read, four wheel, and explore.  It was a nice change in pace.