Memorial Day

Memorial Day was a simple family day for us. I needed to spend time cleaning and doing laundry, but I took a break in the day for a picnic at my favorite park - Cottonmill. We grabbed a pizza and enjoyed a quiet picnic.

 Caramel loved the freedom of running around.

 We discovered the Nature Barn was open; we had so much fun. Brandon took Caramel for a walk while the girls and I enjoyed the animals. The favorite for three of us were these kids, the baby goats. They were SO CUTE! Analise still doesn't like goats, so she never got too close.

 On the other side of the fence were some wild turkeys.

 Maisie got right down with the kids. She loved them, and they loved nibbling on her. At one point Maisie was petting a goat, and the donkey walked right over her. Maisie gave the donkey a look that could kill, and I am the one who died laughing.

 On the way home Sadie stuck out her belly and said, "I feel like I'm having a baby."

I am thankful we got this time together and that I took time to enjoy the day. The cleaning and laundry were still there when we got back home.

Memorial Day Weekend

 Memorial Day weekend made for some great memories. We went down to the lake for one day; it was too windy for us to get on the boat, but the girls loved playing in the little pool. Here they are laying out and warming up.

 One the way home, we saw the most amazing sunset. One of those sunsets where it's beautiful, changes in time and is beautiful in another way. I took lots of pictures and chose a sampling. I just wish a picture could do it justice.

The sun setting behind a center pivot. I learned what a center pivot was when I moved here.

 A blurry picture that turned out neat.

 I love this picture because the power poles looks like a cross.

 Another fun day was spent with family and friends. We have some church friends that are brothers and their wives. Since the Luke family and their family have that in common, along with kids that are friends, we thought it would be fun to get together.

Their families farm, and they have a sand pit on their property. The girls call  it the "peach pit."

It was a super fun day.

Sadie playing on the dock.

 Analise jumping off the dock. The kids didn't mind the cold water.

 The girls loved having friends and cousins at the same place.

 Analise and her dear friend Ally from church and school.

 We all took rides on the jet ski. Even I trusted Brandon enough to ride with him. :) The girls all loved it, but Sadie is the one telling him to go faster.

 After a yummy dinner, the adults and kids played some more. Brandon and Analise enjoyed this go cart.

 They also enjoyed the trampoline.

It was a fabulous day all around. Many laughs, fun on the water, in the water, and so many more other things. Something I always want to remember as we thanked our friends before leaving. They both said, "It's much more fun when you can share." Thanks for sharing with us!

School is Finished

 School finished about a month ago already. The school year flew right by, and I am so thankful that God lead us into changing schools this past year. 

Maisie had a great year; she grew so much. I still can't believe how much she learned, and I love the fact that she is reading, enjoying it and comprehending! Maisie has lots of friends, and I don't think she ever got in trouble all year. So different than at home...

Here she is with her teacher, whom she loved. Maisie will miss her.

Analise had a great year, too. And she truly could not have had a better teacher. Analise embraced the change of new school and friends, but she did well. One of her best friends was her friend at school all year, and she developed more friendships. She did super well with the Accelerated Reading program. I was sad to see this year come to an end, but I knew it was time. And once it warmed up and felt like summer, I was ready.

Brandon went with me to pick them up on their last day; boy were they surprised! I had a fun "summer" song in the van for them to listen to, and at home I had special celebration drinks - sparkling lemonade.

The first day at home went well, and I am glad. The next few days were days of adjustment. And I knew this would happen. One daughter in particular thrives on schedule and routine, so she had a few rough days. However, after she adjusted to the new normal, it has gone MUCH better.

Preschool Graduation

 The above picture is Sadie with her dear Aunt Sarah. It was always such a treat when Aunt Sarah would pick her up from school and take her home for lunch. When Aunt Sarah picked her up the last day of school, she had a balloon for her. So sweet!

Sadie's graduation was bittersweet for me. I couldn't believe it was the last one we would have go through such a wonderful preschool. I had to "disengage" my mind a bit so I didn't become a puddle in the seat.

Sadie had a lot of fun singing, and she provided us with lots of funny facial expressions and the typical "pulling up her pants." :)

 We are so proud of you Sadie! I  loved seeing her grow in her learning, she developed some independence away from me, and I loved seeing her develop friendships.

 Thanks for coming, Grandma!

 Sadie with her dear friend, Kinley

We were so blessed with this Christ focused school that loved on all my girls and taught them so much. I didn't like seeing this phase of life coming to a close. But we leave with thankful hearts.

Da Bunnies

 Da bunny, da bunny, oh we love da bunny. 

That song is from Veggie Tales, and it was fitting for our family.

One afternoon Sadie and I were watching Caramel in the back yard enjoying something in the grass. And then we realized she was playing with a baby bunny. It wasn't so funny anymore. We went out to help the bunny, and Caramel snatched it in her mouth and took off. I had to bait her with hotdog to get the bunny. Caramel then led us to two more bunnies tucked in between the garden and fence. Sadie and I scooped them up and put them in a bucket. Three itty bitty bunnies in a nice orange bucket. We took them to school to show the girls and their teachers. We were a big hit. :)

And I should have known - the girls were instantly attached. Especially Analise.

 These smiles just couldn't get any bigger.

 The girls quickly named these bunnies, and I was wondering what I was going to do with them. I couldn't let them go in the wild; they were too little. Their nest was destroyed by Caramel, and I couldn't put them back there hoping the mama bunny would come back. So I made a few phone calls and found a lady who would take them in and take care of them until they were ready to go out on their own. Yes!

She came by that evening to pick them up. Girls were sad, and I was glad.

That lasted 10 minutes. Brandon was mowing the yard and found not one but two more bunnies. I called the lady, and she came back to get them. Brandon didn't know I had done this, so later that night, he let Caramel out and she went straight to the grill...and what was underneath? Another bunny which he knew was probably there. I put bunny #6 in another small container with some dryer lint to keep her warm.

 Needless to say the girls were thrilled when they woke up. I called our "bunny friend" to embarrassingly tell her that we had another bunny. She wasn't able to come until evening, so the girls enjoyed another afternoon with this one named Skittles. Analise and I were at a school party all evening, so I let put the bunny on the porch in the small container. Bunny lady stopped by while we were gone, and guess what...the bunny wasn't in the container! So she left without it. Brandon then let Caramel out to find the bunny, and she quickly did. She grabbed the bunny and gave it to Brandon. (We are so thankful that she has a soft bite!) By the time we let the bunny lady know we'd rescued the bunny again, it was too late for her to come by that night. And by this time I was so embarrassed...we have a bunny, lose the bunny, have the bunny. Craziness!

So this little bunny ended up being with us until Sunday evening.

And she was Analise's little pet. Skittles watched a movie with Analise.

 Played the Wii with her, read with and even rode around in Analise's bike basket.

 By Saturday evening I knew this bunny needed to eat. The girls were even getting concerned it would die. I put the girls to bed and attempted to feed it. Praise the Lord it ate grass I fed her by hand, and it drank some water from a medicine dropper. I admit I really enjoyed caring for this bunny. There is no doubt where Analise gets her love/care for animals.

When a different lady came by Sunday evening, the girls were sad to see the bunny go, but they knew it was time. It was much easier releasing Skittles to a kind lady then just leaving it in the park.

And as much as I enjoyed this little bunny, I was SO ready for it to go.