Aw Shucks

Last week we went to a local corn maze/farm with our homeschool group. It was a fabulous time and the weather was perfect! They had expanded a lot of the areas which made it much more fun for the kids this year. The boys were disappointed to leave and we could have easily stayed a few more hours (after being there for 3 already!).

on the hayride

waiting to go!

checking out the turkeys and the chickens

watching the horse from afar

heading through the maze

children in the corn!

Parker would stop and pick the corn every few steps and everytime I tried to snap a picture, he would walk away. After a few times, it became a little game, but I finally got him!

group shot on the bridge overlooking the maze

playing on the hay mountain

scoping out were to go

my three needles in the haystack



The boys and I had so much fun that this will definitely become an annual tradition!

Blake's Self Portraits

Blake has been very interested in photography lately and is constantly asking to take pictures with the camera. I think he may be ready for one of his own very soon! I am more than happy to encourage his new found interest and am always pleased to see the world through his eyes. On this particular day, he happened to snap a few pictures when I wasn't looking. I thought they said a lot about him!

Family Hike

Early Last month, we decided to venture on a family hike. We hiked a trail in our favorite preserve that was new to Daddy, but familiar to us. It was perfect weather and we had a great time finding all sorts of treasures along the way.

This is MaKenna's first ride in the kelty. She cried at first, very unassure as to what this contraption was, but settled after Daddy got moving.
She found a comfy spot for her to nuzzle in and fall asleep. She slept the entire hike like this.

Who put this tree here?

Look at this awesome shell Blake found. He spotted it from the shore and it was imediately claimed as a prized treasure.

Next to the water was this tree with all of these little fruits...yellow plums maybe?

This was near the end of the hike and Jakey was a little less cooperative with picture taking.

The thinking rock

Work

After our morning walk one day, Parker and Jacob decided to stay outside and dig in the old sunflower bed while Blake and I moved onto his main lesson time. This occupied their time until lunch, which made for a nice peaceful school morning! It always amazes me at how the simple things like mud can lead to hours of entertainment.

The digging continued the next day in which all three boys decided to do "work". They proceeded to dig as much dirt as they could which left two giant holes in the bed. Then they each took turns sitting in it.

It was hard to get a picture that really shows how deep the holes are, but this one was probably the best. And yes, Parker is wearing his pajamas. You have to be comfy when doing work afterall.

Some faves

She almost always is a happy girl when I go in to get her. She loves being able to peek over the bumper now and see what is going on! The minute she spots me (or a brother), her face lights up and she gets a huge grin on her face!
5 years and he still wears Bubba on his head.

I love Parker's face in this picture...sheer joy at holding his baby sister.

I got my hair cut just for this carry! She almost always falls asleep and it is so comfy.

This one goes out to Carrie

MaKenna Bear

3 months!

My baby girl is 3 months. Where has this summer gone??? She no longer looks like this fragile little newborn anymore. I was nursing her the other day and looked down and suddenly realized how big she has gotten! Her little personality is coming out more and more each day. She loves to watch her brothers and entertain them with her coos. She has also started to roll over! We are so blessed to have this little person in our lives.

Garden Bounty

We don't have much space to plant a decent sized garden, but the boys really, really wanted to plant something so we picked watermelons. The vines did really well, but we only managed to salvage one watermelon....the boys would either pick them before they were ripe or they cracked before we could get to them. Despite this, I think we will definitely do it again next year!

The kiddos

nothing like brotherly love
hanging out during tummy time

my failed attempt at a shot with the four of them

big bro and lil sis

it looks like she is giving him a kiss but she was about to wail

love Jakey's look on his face

Jacob loves to have me take pictures of him and Kenna. He is such a sweet big brother!

trying to get her to laugh. He used to do the same thing with Parker...put his head on their tummy and move it back and forth. She wasn't amused by the way!

Snuggles

MaKenna and Daddy have been enjoying lots of snuggle time over the last 2 months!

This is one of my favorites- she was in the middle of a dream and I happened to snap right at the right moment. I love her little smile :-)

2 Months!

Today, MaKenna is 2 months old already. I was thinking back to when we first had Blake and how those early months seemed to go by so slow. Fast forward 7 1/2 years and I look at my baby girl and think "where has the time gone"? It seems that these past two months have gone by all too fast and I desperately wish I could slow them down at least just a bit. Life is definitely hectic with 4 kids and I try to soak in all the quiet moments (far and few between!) as much as I can. She has changed so much in these past months and I cannot even imagine how much more change is to come.

We have had a couple of big milestones over the last weeks. I think I can confidently say we are through the evening fussies. She has mastered nursing for comfort or at least her and my breasts have finally got it down ;-) So most nights we spend a good portion on the couch with her nursing for several hours before she is down for the night. Yes, that's right, she is sleeping the night! And I mean the whole night...8-9 hours! How did I get so lucky, I don't know, but she has always slept great during the night. I remember thinking she would be my worst sleeper because she was so active in the womb, but it turns out she is the best! She is also "talking" a lot more now. It turns out she likes to voice her opinion as well. Her brothers are still enjoying her as much as they did when she was first born. I love to see how gentle and sweet they are with her...they can be pretty rough with each other and I was a little worried they would carry that over with her. They are always asking to hold her when they can which comes in handy when she likes to be in arms but momma can't hold her. I feel very blessed to have such a beautiful family!

Blueberry Pickin'

kuplink! kuplank! kuplunk! The boys and I went blueberry picking with our friends last month and had such a wonderful time! We went in the evening when it wasn't too hot and stayed until the sun set. Jacob and Parker seemed to enjoy picking the blueberries the most although not many of them made it into the bucket :-) After they were done picking, they spent the rest of the time running through the fields. We were able to pick a gallon (and we went back a few weeks later with Daddy and picked another gallon) and I froze most of them. This was our first time going to this farm and I think it will become a yearly tradition so long as they have blueberries!