Here are the girls, looking less and less like little kids! 

Lola’s soccer picture for this season:

And Xiola’s school picture:

Where did my babies go?! 

Peace!

I swear I was going to be good and keep up with everything here, but the Summer flew by!  School has started and the girls were both very excited.  Xiola was also nervous, but ready.  I can’t believe my babies are both in school now.  They have both come home excited to tell me about their days and what new things they are doing.  Xiola is making new friends and loves her teacher.  I am relieved and also a bit melancholy to see them grow up so fast.  Both are in public school, and while we’d love to have them in a Waldorf setting, we simply cannot afford it.  Fortunately the school here is amazing and does alot of alternative type lessons with their curriculum, so we are happy.

The weather here has been brutal!  100+ degrees for almost 60 days straight.  The veggie bed is toast, we can’t even be outside alot of the time because it’s just too hot.  I am keeping the front gardens going, but will most likely lose a few things.  We do water the oaks and elm on our property though as we do NOT want to lose trees.  No rain whatsoever for weeks now.  Even the chickens have gone on strike.  I hope it ends soon.  Everything is withered and the lake is super low.  Scary….

I have several reviews to catch up on, including some exciting books I was sent so look for these in the next couple weeks.  I am also going to open my Etsy store finally.  Working on getting things made to stock it with.  I will have surprises, giveaways and a specials running so please stay tuned and don’t count me out yet!!  

Hope your summer is coming to a happy close and the next phase of the year brings nothing but joy!  Peace!

I apologize for neglecting all!  It’s been a busy beginning to summer.  The children I take care of who were in school all year are back full time, so adjusting to new routines and 6 children at once is taking a bit of time.  All is well though!  I have exchange gifts to finish and send that are already a week behind…eek!  Plus projects to do around here to get ready for a big gathering we are having on July 17th here at the house.  Not to mention the children!  LOL  We are having fun trying to find out groove though….I will be back this week with new pictures of projects, kids and gardens.  I promise!!

Until then…Peace!

The girls are spending the week with Grandma and Papa who were so wonderfully kind to get them swim lessons!  It’s become an annual event for Lola and this year Xi got to go too.  So good for them to spread their wings, try new things and realize that it’s okay to be away from Mommy and Daddy sometimes.  Haha!  My mother-in-law sent these pictures of today’s first lessons.  Being in the pool is perfect for them right now, it’s hot here!

What are you doing to keep cool?  Peace!

Hope you are having a relaxing Memorial Day!  Peace!

Xi was being creative yesterday with her sister’s guitar.   This is a song she wrote for her baby cousins, twins Riley and Dylan.  Enjoy!

Peace!

We have been busy around here for sure!  Our nephew is visiting while his parents are in Cannes….yes, Cannes.  They are at the film festival no less!  My brother in law is a film editor and his movie, The Big Fix, is to be specially screened tonight.  It is about the Gulf oil spill and the lies the media and government told us.   (Josh Tickell, the director,  is also the man behind the movie, Fuel which documents the need for bio-fuel use in our country as well as globally.)  It is an exciting time for them to be sure! 

My sister is having a fabulous time and we are having a great time as well with her son.  He and Xi are the same age and he’s such a wonderful, full of energy and light little boy!  The kids are all getting along great.  I am so excited we have this time with him and so proud of my brother in law for his hard work and my sister for being so supportive of him when he was gone for days at a time working.  Go Keenans!

 The garden is coming along as well.  Everything is growing and changing and blossoming.  I am in-love with it all!  We had our first tomato from the garden yesterday…yum!  Many more to come from looking at the plants!  Cucumbers are starting to get ready and we are picking beans like mad everyday.  I actually want to plant more.  We have had some raccoon trouble again though.  Not only did they destroy one of the raised beds, but we are down to 7 chickens..:(  They are coming before dark now, so if the chickens coop isn’t closed up by about 7PM, it’s curtains for one of them.  I need to restock the flock for sure!  We have plans to gate off another huge section for the goats and chickens to roam in, which will make cooping them easier as well as super reinforce the raccoon problem.  The creatures won’t go around the goats, and with the goats in the same “yard” as the chickens, I think they will be good watchdogs.  We will still coop the chooks for sure and double reinforce all entrances.  Life on the farm is never dull!!

I also had a wonderful gift sent to me from my dear friend Michelle…a new-to-me camera!  My old digi is about 10 years on now, we got it before Farm Girl arrived!  Michelle gifted herself with a newer model and sent me her old one, that is fantastic!!!!  I’m in heaven and trying to learn all the many features.  I’d love to take a class to be honest, but time constraints kind of prevent that.  Maybe something online?  Hmmmm….  Anyway, I am so happy with the performance and ease of this new toy.  Thank you so much my dear!

Hope everyone is having a great Spring.  Summer is approaching fast and I’m looking forward to having Farm Girl here all day when school is out.  It’s nice having them both around!

See you all soon!  Peace!

Just a few photos of some fun times the last couple weeks!  Peace!

As in green tomatoes!  They are popping up all over my plants now and I can’t be more excited.  I have visions of yummy homemade grilled pizza with fresh basil, tomatoes, goat cheese and pesto…my favorite homegrown tomato treat actually!  My favorite salad of all time right now is a simple tomato (homegrown of course and several varieties), cukes from the garden, red onions, dash of pepper all topped with a drizzle of fresh oil and vinegar.  Yum!  We will eat this with dinner all summer until the tomatoes stop producing.  Can’t wait!  I spied with my little eye baby cukes on the plants too, so won’t be too long. 

What are you most excited about in your garden?  Hope you had a fantastic holiday weekend!  Peace!

Hope everyone is enjoying today and remembering to think about our good Mother Earth.  We are getting ready for a visit from family which we are very excited about as well as a fun filled weekend!

What are you doing to celebrate this weekend?  Peace!

(I was trying to add some pics of our baby tomatoes, but Blogger is not cooperating.  Have a great day anyway!)