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| Leila's our helper in the garden |
This is a "catch up" blog, to fill you in on some of our activities with the kids this summer. Hasn't summer been flying by??? Anyway, this blog is going to be mostly pictures and captions...
Emma finished up summer softball. She did well; the pictures below show a hit she made that got her to base and ended with a run for the team. Sometimes she works as catcher, too.
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| Just before she hit the ball and made it to 1st |
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| Bringing it home for a run |
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| Catcher attire |
Leila had her first play date with a friend from school... a classmate named Jenna. One of Jenna's older sisters, Jacqueline, is friends with Emma, so we had both girls over for a "sisters" play date. The little girls played with toys and picked strawberries while the big girls rode the 3-wheeler around the yard. But all ages joined together and played hide and seek for awhile, and both sets of girls helped with getting the table ready for dinner. The big girls set the table while the little girls made seating place cards with everyone's names on them, carefully spelling out the letters with a little bit of help. Grandma Jane would have approved of all the sweetness :).
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| Leila and Jenna, carrying a basket to the garden |
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| Picking strawberries |
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| They got to eat a few |
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| Emma and Jacqueline with popsicles |
Our summer started out pretty wet, and one thing we're learning here (surrounded by trees) is that sometimes trees with rotten insides fall down when it is very wet... no wind required. We had a few large trees take a tumble during the muddiness. Similarly, my Facebook friends have already heard the story about how a big branch fell onto our vehicles. Two car windows were broken and the bodies of the truck and car were dented. That makes THREE vehicles damaged by trees since we moved here... the first time I actually watched from our living room as a tree fall down onto our red minivan and crushed it. Makes me glad Jon cut down the large trees that were close and leaning down toward our house...
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| The fallen tree |
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| They can break mid-trunk |
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| Tree fall was up the hill by "Emma Road" |
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| Something new to climb on |
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| Kind of rotten |
Moving on to Michael... Michael's 14 now. He'll be starting high school this year. He's taller than me, has a deeper voice, sometimes shaves (!), and is actually pretty strong. He's become our go-to "heavy lifter" when something big needs to be moved from point A to point B. And now (sniff-!) he's said goodbye to his bangs and basic boy's haircut. He had Jon shave his hair short for the summer, and is talking about keeping it that way. It took me awhile to get used to the change, but it kind of fits his personality. Like Jon, he has zero interest in extra grooming steps (such as combing the hair).
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| "Before" |
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| Eep. |
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| "After" |
Michael's been in a summer basketball league that meets in Elk Mound. Jon usually takes him, but Jonathan and Emma have watched him play before, and last weekend we all went-- including Susan, Jay, and David during their recent visit (more on them later!).
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| Running drills before the game |
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| That's my boy... #20 |
Other random summer happenings? John and Jim came for a visit. Leila got her hair cut short. Teddy revealed his true canine freakiness during bath time. And the garden is kicking into full swing.
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| On Father's Day, Jack and Jonathan visited. Jack grabbed a book and jumped on Grandpa's lap :). |
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| Jack and Teddy love playing ball |
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| We have a couple of swings at the end of our clothesline |
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| Iggy is "the friendly cat" |
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| Jack stalking Teddy stalking Iggy |
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| Not so cute |
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| Coloring with Lauren at Grandma Jane's |
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| New pool for Leila and Jack |
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| Uncle Jo Jo visiting after his world travels |
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| Jon tore down the deck that was the front entrance to our house. I eagerly await the reconstruction (grumble grumble). |
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| Picking peas (notice the new haircut) |
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| Kids helping hall away lumber from the old deck |
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| There goes the deck |
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| Leila in our garden a couple of weeks ago |
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| Plants getting bigger |
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| Hair cut is shorter in back |
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Garden more recently. We're getting beans, peas, cucumbers, 1st cherry tomatoes, peppers, and zucchini
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Susan, Jay, and David left two days ago after a week-long Wisconsin visit. They drove up in a two-car convoy with their mom and Logan.
We always love it when they come. They visited with the two Grandmas in Cornell, helped me pick lettuce at the farm, and saw a baby cow being born. A highlight was having a family picture taken with them and spending time at Fanny Hill with Jack and Jonathan (the first time we were all back there since the wedding last year).
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| Is there anyone who didn't hear yet that I helped deliver this baby calf? |
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| This is how Leila travels when David's around |
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| On our way back from the greenhouse, this baby calf was born. Within minutes it was standing up and trying to figure out how to nurse from it's mother. Later the same day it was running and jumping. |
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| Susan and Macy |
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| Macy is turning out to be Leila's horse. She rides her a lot. |
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| Hazel doesn't have her wheels yet, but she gets around pretty good by dragging herself around. Susan made her "overalls" out of an extra pair of Jack's pajama pants. The overalls help protect her from scraping herself, now that she's starting to move around. |
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| David playing croquet |
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| David's our teddy bear |
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| Susan used the hair crimper on Leila, so now they're both rocking the short hair. |
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| Picture day at Fanny Hill |
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| Another informal picture at Fanny Hill |
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| Logan and Jack stayed overnight one night |
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| David |
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| Logan on horseback |
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| Aunt Susan with Jack |
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| This is what happens when you brush Teddy out |
And there you have it! Highlights from our summer so far.
