Bees, Birds and Blooms (+ a Lot of Slipping)

Michael and Adellelyn spent the week with us while their parents were chaperoning a youth camp last month. They are now 11 and 8 years old (HARD to believe), and are busy, busy, busy. Ron was on call the week they were here, but fortunately didn't get called out much at all and was able to spend the evenings and Saturday with us.  I picked them up on Sunday afternoon and they were excited for the adventure!

On the way home, we played car games, made a grocery list and discussed what they wanted to do while at our house. The top things on their list were:
        *Slip & Sliding in the backyard
        *Picking Blueberries
        *Going to Sewing Camp
        *Going to the Duck Pond
        * Going to a bee Farm (added after hearing about buying honey at the Farmer's Market)

Since Callie's boys don't go to school on Mondays, we used that day to play outdoors with Toddler D.

They climbed the fig tree and picked figs. . .

Looked for lizards & bugs, played in the sandbox and on the swingset . . .

And had tons of fun on the Slip & Slide!!! Toddler D even got brave enough to try it out!

And that was just the morning!!! In the afternoon, they began the Kids Sew Camp at Fabric Boutique. Before signing them up, I made sure that both wanted to attend (they did) and that there would be boy-friendly projects to make (there were).

Tuesday morning, I made a call to a local honey business and when I didn't get a response, we decided to drive over to check it out. Hummer & Sons is small establishment and though they don't normally offer tours, the owner came out and offered to show us around.  It was great! We learned the process of getting the honey, getting the water out of it, packaging it and even got to taste honey from the comb.

We drove out to the Sunflower Trail near Gilliam one day and the kids had a great time running down the dirt road and selecting flowers to bring home with us.

We even found a nest tucked in the stems.

With two eggs inside!!  Soon there will be 2 tiny red-winged blackbirds babies begging for food!

We kept busy around the house on Thursday morning, creating Father's Day gifts for Papaw and their Daddy.

We also tie-dyed some shirts in patriotic colors to wear on the Fourth of July.

It was the last day of Sewing Camp, so they had a small ceremony to receive their certificates and show off what they had made.

That evening, Michael and Adellelyn joined us for one of the Summer Fun Runs.  Michael ran the 3.1 miles with Papaw and I joined Adellelyn for the kids' 1.5 mile run. It was quite hot and humid!

On Friday, we went berry picking with Callie and the little boys.  It was hot, but fun!

Miles enjoyed the berries as much as anyone, picking them right off the vine or out of the bucket and popping them into his mouth.

Adellelyn helped me make some cobbler that afternoon and we enjoyed dinner on the deck that evening.

There was more Slip & Sliding in the afternoon, and Luke and Adellelyn spent some time talking to the fairies. (She is so sweet and patient with the little cousins)

Ron was off on Saturday, so we were able to work at the food pantry in the morning and explore Norton Gallery and the Refuge in the afternoon.

I've said it before, but anytime these kids are outdoors, they are happy!!!

We had such a good week together. I was pretty exhausted when it was finished, but Michael and Adellelyn seemed to have lots of fun and I enjoyed being with them.

32/52 Green

My computer was in the shop for a little while, so I didn't get this one posted to the M4H Project 52 site, but I still took the photo.  

32/52 - Green

This is the "green trail" out at the Wildlife Refuge.  It is marked with a small green diamond and eventually runs into other trails that take you all the way around the lake.  I love all the different shades of green created by the variety of foliage and the sun and shadows.  (near the trailhead, you can see some of the benches we made and donated after our wedding)

34/52 Intense

Long time, no see.   Here I am, in full catch-up mode now.  But here is a photo I took last night.

34/52 Intense - I talked Ron into going with me last night so that I could practice my night photography. As you know, I'm a beginning photographer and I wanted to figure out how to capture the full moon, so we headed out to the National Wildlife Refuge near our home where there are fewer lights. The mosquitos were eating us up as I adjusted settings and attempted to get things in focus. As Ron went to get the truck to pick me up, I looked back towards the visitor's center and noticed the moon slowly rising over the trees and behind the flag. Our flags are at half-mast right now. Another law enforcement officer lost his life this week in a senseless shooting that has left us all shaken. That makes three in the last three weeks for our state. The photo is not technically great--I still have a lot to learn--but the moment was INTENSE.

Snow Day #4

While I would have loved to have known ahead of time that the schools would have be closed, this morning, I got up, showered, ate breakfast and just happened to have time to check Facebook before I left.  Good thing!  The TV station we'd been listening to had not reported that our schools were closed, but my FB friends sure did!

With one more snow day under our belt today, it only seemed fitting to post the last of my snow pictures from February.  When Ron got home from work on the first snow day, we drove down to the duck pond to see what things looked like down there.  It was still sleeting at that point, and I loved watching it bounce off the hood of the truck.

There were kids enjoying our Louisiana version of sledding, on cardboard boxes and boogie boards.

The poor ducks seemed a bit confused by it all.

I'm quite sure this is not what they'd bargained for when they flew south for the winter.

On the last snow day, we went out to the Wildlife Refuge.

Most of the snow had melted by the time we arrived and my warm boots (fake Uggs) were no match for the cold, soggy mess.

Of course, there were birds everywhere, particularly cardinals.

Everything looked so pretty with the dusting of snow that remained in the underbrush and along the sides of the trails.

Yet, even in the very cold temperatures, and the fading gray of a snow day, there seemed to be the promise of spring.

That experience prompted me to order a new pair of snow boots when I got home.  I only need them a few days a year, at most, but they should last a very long time for me.   In fact, I had them on this morning, ready for a day at school.

I guess I can kick these off now and pull on some slippers instead.