So, as per usual, life is chugging along at an alarming speed and I find myself holding on for dear life! Ok, that's too dramatic, but our life is full - just about the right amount for us - and we've been enjoying the ride. Here's the update from our corner of the section:
Noah learned to drive the skid steer. He helps Ben by pushing up feed for the cattle in the afternoons. I try not to watch because it makes me feel nervous.
Ben and I went with friends to see Zac Brown Band out in Wichita a while back. They put on another great show. We've seen them several times, and each time they impress us with their ability to make music.
Corn planting happened...
At some point, corn seed went from pink to green and purple.
The baby chicks we got grew wings and then took over the part of the chicken barn that was supposed to be "clean". You'll have to click on the photo to enlarge it to fully appreciate the disaster and pure chaos there were causing. Eventually, we made them join the old ladies, so the mess is once again more manageable.
The Kansas Mennonite Relief Sale happened in April. We volunteered to help at the Feeding of the Multitude for the early shift on Friday, then when our shift was over we hopped in line with friends and got to eat all the delicious food we'd been watching others eat!
The big slide was a huge hit, once again!
Look at those boys! Our boys and the Janzen boys always have so much fun together. :-)
And, we got a porch swing! Ben hung it up and I've been able to use it a few times this spring and it's just lovely! Bonus is that a man from our church made it - it's a nice little connection to have.
Baseball - it's baseball season outside at our house. The boys often want to be pitched to and sometimes I actually have to pitch. It's my LEAST favorite thing to do. I'm scared they're going to whack me with the ball... Oh, and check out that shiny metal ring to the left of Noah. It's the start of the grain bin the farmers worked on for weeks. More on that later...
Did I mention this was a marathon blog post? It is...sorry. Not sorry.
The young chickens have been slowly spreading their wings to explore further and further away from the barn.
Fresh haircuts!! So. Stinkin. Cute.
And mud. These two. Ry wasn't dressed for playing in the mud. So I told them to stay out of the mud and this is how they returned.
Hahahaha, we hosed them off and then sent them inside for showers. 15 minutes later and you never would have known anything happened. :-)
My lettuce, spinach and green onions have been a joy to have on my deck this year. Having them closer to the house and in pots has worked well for me - I just wish I would have planted more.
Sometimes the light in the evening is so amazing, it can make weeds look beautiful!
Check out those school pics! We never order them. I think Noah kinda looks like he could have been on "Save By the Bell."
Flowers have been planted, the garden veggies have been planted, shrubs and perennials have been planted and now we watch and hope they all grow and thrive.
Mama cat Olivia had three kittens (dark barns are hard to take pictures in!). They're currently half wild running around the old red barn, but sometimes on our farm having wild kittens is better - they stay safe from our vehicles that way.
Twinsies. :-)
We enjoyed the art fair at the elementary school again this year. Levi was proud as punch to show me his artwork.
They brought home their art portfolios and we had show-and-tell on Saturday morning.
I love Noah's pumpkin,
and Levi's grumpy cat.
I spent time with the boys out exploring along the creek in the pasture after one of the recent rains we got.
The old pasture has greened up so nicely, it was a lovely way to spend a sunny afternoon.
It seems that as long as an adult is with them, the boys are eager to be adventurous. If they would do it without me, they'd hear a lot fewer warnings about poison ivy and other potential dangers mother's spend too much time worrying about.
Springtime not only brings flowers, it also brings the boys' piano recital! They are never excited about piano. I wish they were, but they keep at it. Sometimes, they truly enjoy the songs they play, sometimes they don't.
Both of them did a fine job. Levi is struggling to understand that he actually needs to practice and use the correct hands/fingers to play the notes so things go smoothly. He pulled it together really well for the recital!
Noah has always done well with piano and while he usually complains about practicing, he actually does everything he's asked to do and it showed at the recital.
Look at all those kids that take piano lessons from Cynthia! She truly seems to love sharing the gift of music with the kids and does everything she can to make it fun for them.
I've had some amazing salads lately thanks to the lettuce and spinach growing outside my door. Fresh greens and homemade dressing make such a difference in how a salad tastes!
We dipped our toes into Geocaching this spring. We've only done a few, just out near our house, but they were a lot of fun to find.
The boys seemed to enjoy the adventure of the hunt and we're looking forward to more adventures this summer.
One warm afternoon after playing Wipe Out! on the Wii the boys went out to the creek to create their own version of Wipe Out! I was impressed with their sense of adventure and hope they've started some kind of adventurous trend.
Our strawberries are starting and they are so sweet! I even made one recipe of jam from them already. Fresh fruit is such a treat.
I went along for Levi's class field trip to Tanganyika Wildlife Park outside of Wichita. We got to pet kangaroos, feed goats, giraffes and more.
Levi bought two snakes at the gift shop with his own money. I got to hold them while he played on the playground.
His wild and crazy class had a good day. There were actually more grown-ups along than children!
Someone is very proud of their new "pets" - that green one currently lives in a cage in Levi's room.
After the field trip was my mom's retirement party at the school! She's taught there for 39 years!
Erica and Rylee came, and Miki sent beautiful flowers. The school staff put together some nice gifts for mom to celebrate her teaching career and to show their appreciation for the good work she's done there.
Mom and I topped the busy day off with going to Bethel for Jazz on the Green. It was a lovely evening to sit outside and watch the sky grow dark while listening to jazz.
Oh yes, back to the grain bin. The farmers decided months ago to purchase a new grain bin. Preparations have been taking place for months, getting the ground ready, pouring a concrete pad, getting the myriad of boxes that held all the parts and pieces of the bin, getting the jacks, etc.
And now, after hours and hours of work and thousands and thousands of nuts and bolts, the thing is up. All the way up and anchored down to the concrete.
Levi thinks climbing up and down the ladders and stairs is fun but I have trouble breathing when he does it.
And if you've made it all this way, congratulations!!
