Dove Huntin'

We went dove hunting in Brawley this past week and had tons of fun. Dixie (the boxer) was very interested in the birds, she even retrieved one for us! Obviously some people are more excited than others to be holding up dead birds :)
=^..^= Jordan

Havin' fun at the beach!

Even though we haven't had many great beach days - this was for sure one of them. The kids were playing around and enjoying the wonderful day and the beautiful sunset! How awesome.

Love this picture

this was taken in the gardens at Mount Vernon. That trip seems like so long ago. I found this picture on my computer and thought it was so beautiful!

Another New Vacuum

I have to admit, I vacuum a lot. But what's the deal with having to replace a vacuum every year or so? Do you think that they (Bissell, Hoover, etc) decide that you can only use their product so many times and then that's it - time to get a new one? I wonder if the vacuum would last longer if I used it less often? Hmmm, something to ponder. I have to admit, when I pulled the lovely royal blue machine from the box and started vacuuming, it was very exciting. Our last vacuum had for sure been falling down on the job and then finally just gave up with a loud sound and a terrible smell! After running the new Bissell around the house I had an entire plastic container of gross stuff - how exciting! I know it's an illness! My kids think it's scary how much I enjoy vacuuming! Better sign off - time to vacuum!

Mites - ugh!

We noticed the chickens were looking a bit picked on, so we "set free" two of our roosters. Well, the girls still looked a bit beat up, so out goes the last rooster. A couple of days ago, the poor girls still looked chewed up, even worse then before, so we started looking closer -- they have little black spots on them and they are itching and shaking their heads. Well, they have mites, yuck! So the big dusting project ensues! Jordan was in charge of herding one or two hens at a time into the hen house where Travis reaches down and grabs them by the legs and flips them over. Once they stop clucking and making a huge ruckus - I start dusting them over with mite dust. What a production. All of the hens were in quite an uproar by the time we were finished, we were afraid that a few of them weren't going to survive by they way they were acting. I hope it clears them up - how disgusting! They did all survive by the way!

Mount Vernon

George Washington's home in Virginia. So pretty!

We're On Our Way

Flying out of Long Beach - heading to Washington DC. Yay!

Happy Anniversary!

Beautiful flowers from my sweet husband!

Graduation Day

Here are a couple of pictures from Alex's graduation!

Share Fair

Here is Jordan with her Explorer Project at the Share Fair! Good job Jordan!

Hurrah!

Alex earned a great scholarship today from BSA. Here is a picture of him receiving it! Yay for Alex!!!

Last Recital

After many years of taking piano lessons, Alex had his last one (hopefully not forever). Here is a picture of him at his instructor's home, performing for a few people. It was a sad day! I will miss hearing him play.

Ft. Rosecrans Cemetery

We went to the cemetery today to remove flags from the graves. What an amazing experience. We could see ships and submarines coming in and out in the bay. We helped pull and bundle up over 5,000 flags.

Potted Kitty

Rufus found a new sleeping spot!
=^..^=
jordan

Santa Margarita

so beautiful!

Almost finished!

Here is a picture of Jordan's room so far. She has worked diligently on it and we are both thrilled with the progress. We've all been cleaning and organizing around here lately. Alex cleaned out the piano bench and we found a music newspaper dated 1903. We also found many items belonging to the former owner. We saved most of them. Jordan took some of the old sheet music and made cards with it - how creative. We're not sure who the first owner was, but the last owner had musical programs, report cards and newspaper clippings from the 1950s. She also had tons of sheet music - some pieces she wrote. Very cool.
We ate a zucchini from the garden yesterday! yay! Lot's growing. Our lettuce didn't seem to make it, so I tried one more batch - I think it's too late, but I wanted to try anyway. I can't wait for the tomatoes! The peacocks seem eager to clean up all of the beans, we're trying to keep them out of the garden so the beans have a chance.
Almost summer!

Let the fun begin

lovely lavender!

Tide pool & beach fun!

What a fun home school day. We heard it was going to be a big negative tide so we called some friends and headed down to the beach. What fun! We had a great time and saw starfish, sea slugs, crabs, etc. It was a beautiful day and a great reminder why we home school, also why we live in southern California!

it all started here...

I came across this picture of Alex when I was looking for pictures for Alex's graduation ceremony - sob! I'm not ready for this. Anyway, it's funny how when your kids are little and they say they want to be a firefighter or a pilot or whatever you think they'll grow out of it. Well, Alex didn't grow out of wanting to be a pilot. He almost has his private pilot's license! We're so happy for him.

the garden is in!

yay! I'm so thrilled and relieved. We planted a bit smaller garden this year, but will for sure have plenty of yummy veggies to eat and share. We also planted a bunch of gourds, so we hope to be able to make them into birdhouses to sell at the local farmers market in the fall. We started the garden last weekend and finished it up on Mother's day. I was so happy. I realized how truly sick I am that I was out in garden on Mother's day, when I should have been in the house relaxing. But I really love the garden. I read a quote the other day -
"The purpose of agriculture is not the production of food, but the perfection of human beings". I loved that.
One of our sweet chickens died yesterday - Patty! She didn't seem well, and we found her this morning. bummer.
We're making headway in Jordan's room - the painting will begin today or tomorrow. We can't wait.
Attached is a picture of my sweet babies! When they were still sweet! :)

What's happening at the homeschool homestead?

Well, I'd like to say that I have my whole garden in, I repainted Jordan's bedroom, reorganized the kitchen cabinets, and have been working out everyday and that is why I haven't been onto the blog in over two months! But that would be a lie. The garden is not even close, I have the seeds, I have a vision - I just don't have the time! I am missing home grown veggies and the thought of spending $2.00 on a gross store bought zucchini drives me nuts, but what can I do? Well, get the garden in for one, I guess! So, the plan to paint Jordan's room hasn't happened yet either. She picked out a lovely shade of lavender, she even started removing the wallpaper the other day - on her own. But we just haven't had the time to really focus on a painting project -- hopefully soon. Maybe before she leaves for college! Working out doesn't seem to be happening either. So what have we been doing? I don't really know.

We have had several family members visit, which has been great fun! Alex is working diligently on scholarships and counting down the days until he goes away to college. He is still taking his flying lessons each week and changed to a different plane recently. He is very close to earning his pilot's license. Travis is playing soccer, planning his Eagle Scout project and he just participated in a fun Civil war reenactment, all that in between fun social activities. Jordan has been very busy with her social calendar too. It seems like she is always going over to visit with friends or they are at our house. I'm thrilled and so is she. She also started babysitting recently for a little 2 year old neighbor. It was a huge milestone and she is a fun and responsible babysitter.
So that's it for now. I have pictures to post and lots to share. So stay tuned! Hopefully I'll be writing again in less than two months!

Playtime at the beach - then home for nap

this is a perfect example of one of those sweet days. exploring the tide pools and building sand castles, clean up, lunch in the car seat -- then off to nap! weren't they cute?

Going back to afternoon naps

I realized today that my life and home was so much calmer, cleaner, quieter and more organized when my kids were toddlers. I know that is the opposite of what most people say or think. But really, most days we were up and out the door to go to different places, but we were ALWAYS home for nap. When the little angels were sleeping, I was quietly working around the house. Cleaning, reorganizing drawers, putting pictures in albums - whatever. Now, no one naps - we hit the ground running and don't stop until dinner, or after. Back then, they would have quiet play time sitting on the floor playing or watching Sesame Street - now they have loud music cranked (not all of them), they are in and out of the house, along with their friends. No wonder our home looks and sounds like a bunch of wild animals are living here. To take this even further, I realized that I was in much better shape back then. When the kids weren't napping, we'd be outside taking walks, playing at the playground, swimming, wherever, Mom had to play too - or at least keep them from falling off the climbing structure. Now, I seem to sit more than anything. I sit in the car, in the orthodontist's office, piano, ballet, soccer - whatever. I've even taken up knitting, so at least I feel like I'm accomplishing something while I'm doing all of that sitting! No more moving around and wearing everyone down in order to ensure a good, long nap. How sad. Even night time routines were easier - before, the exhausted little cuties would have a bath, we would read a book or two (oh, I miss those days) and then it was off to bed, before 8:00. Then I could work on other things, or watch a show with the hubby. Now, we're lucky if everyone is even home in time for dinner, let alone a relaxing bath and book time. I miss the good old days. So, if I get my way - the kids will be going down for nap in just a few short hours and then I will be reorganizing my drawers. The only problem is - I'm the one who really needs the nap these days.

Pink Milk and Heart Shaped Pancakes

What a lovely way to spend Valentine's Day. I got up early and enjoyed some coffee and quiet. I mixed up a batch of pink milk and set the table and put out the little love notes for everyone. Then I made an adorable batch of heart shaped pancakes, however, I heard that the red sprinkles that I used actually got a bit crunchy as they cooked - ooops! After church we had a nice lunch out and then a beautiful ride around Oceanside. It was just gorgeous down there.
When we got home I needed to get to work on some gourd birdhouses that a friend of mine ordered - how exciting, my first real order and sale!
On the garden front - I went to Lowe's today to check out the heirloom seeds that they have - quite a few. It's time to start planning and soon it will be time to plant. I'm waiting for a catalog I ordered from a rare seed bank.
We heard from Donald's Aunt that she saw our little bunny friends today. They were hanging out by the shed where we left them, and she thought they looked like they were growing. I'm glad to hear that they are still around.
We're having a romantic dinner for 5 and then watching the Amazing Race - what a great day!

It's sinking in

This morning I was listening to Alex practice the piano - as he does every morning for 45 + minutes - and usually I'm a bit annoyed by it, close my door and cringe when he hits the wrong key. Well, as I was listening, I was reminded that soon, I won't be hearing that anymore. He'll be leaving for school and that beautiful old piano will be quiet - what a sad thought. I guess it's all part of the letting go process. Here is a picture of a recent recital - not too many more of those to attend either. boo hoo.

more from our weekend

A few more pictures from our fun weekend. When we were out on a bike ride we saw this boat washed up on the beach on the wrong side of the jetty. Apparently they lost power and with the heavy surf and wind, were pushed ashore. Bummer. The seals were enjoying the sunny weather as much as we were.

Relaxing weekend

We decided to go down to the harbor and stay for a couple of nights. This is a view from our balcony. We enjoyed bike riding, playing games and watching the Super Bowl. More pictures to come.

My knit girl

Jordan working on her knitting, while wearing a few of her masterpieces!

Rainy day PE

Having a little home school PE time - via the Wii!

Where does the time go?

We found this picture today - what a cutie! It feels like it was just a year or two ago!

Free at Last

Well, we let our little bunny friends go today at Donald's Aunt and Uncle's house. It was bittersweet. We found a place that we thought was as safe as possible and put food around for them and even left their cardboard box and tried to not worry about it too much. When we drove up this morning we saw many other rabbits around - so we hope they will all meet up and be friends. What an experience.

Sweet Life

I ran across this quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder and had to share it - along with a picture of the awesome apple pie I made for my dear hubby!

"It is the sweet, simple things of life that are the real ones after all."

The Bunny Boys

Here are a couple of recent pictures of the little guys. We hope to release them later this week. They seem to be doing great and very much enjoying the shower area in the master bath. We're missing our spacious shower area. As of today, they are down to having formula once a day. The rest of the time the are eating Timothy grass.

You Belong in the Zoo

Our fun day at the SD zoo.

Now that's commitment!

The kids are part of a HAM radio group through our home school center. Jordan is braving the weather to do her day on the net.

When in Rome

Here is a picture of Jordan trying out the toga - part of our Roman study.

You Have To Feed Them What?

Well, we've had our little bunny boys for more than two weeks and boy has it been a learning experience. We found several good websites to walk us through caring for orphaned cottontail rabbits. Most of them were not very positive about our success, but we did learn a lot. I'm glad I didn't believe them or we would have given up on these little fuzzy guys a long time ago. I won't go into all the details, but the most interesting and disturbing thing that I learned was that rabbits eat their own poop. Not only that - all rabbits poop two different types of poop. A regular poop - like the little pellets that you find in your yard and then a night time poop that is dark, gooey and gross. Well, the dark, gooey, gross one is the one they eat! Who knew? This provides some sort of enzyme that they need in order to properly digest food. My friend called me and said, you have to find this poop - the website says they will die without it. So, I had to call a friend who owns a rabbit and ask to "borrow some poop". I know she thought I was crazy, but she was a good sport. She did crack up about this and swore that she wouldn't tell "many" people about this. So I gathered what I needed and proceeded to feed it to my little friends. How weird and wrong - I've been feeding these little guys 5 or 6 times a day with an eye dropper and now, I'm trying to shove this gross stuff in them. It just felt wrong. But, they did manage to eat some. Apparently this poop is only good when it is fresh, so I did try to harvest some poop another day, but her rabbit must have been busy eating it before I arrived. In any case, my little guys seem to be making their own and I'm off the hook on feeding them that sort of stuff. They are now eating grass and drinking water and I'm only feeding them formula twice a day. We think they are about ready to release back into the wild. Just not around here - I would be devastated to find one of our sweet dogs munching on these little cuties. It has been quite an experience. I have a couple of adorable recent pictures, I'll post them next time I have access to high speed.

Dog Treat and Cat Treat

That's what Alex wants to name them. No names so far. This picture was taken today. The little guys seem to be doing ok. We'll see.

Two more mouths to feed

Well, it's official -- we've lost it. We've adopted two baby cottontail rabbits that need to be bottle fed. Donald came into the garage on Friday holding two little baby rabbits by their ears. They were squirming around and looked a bit like little gophers. Jordan ran out screaming. Donald had been working in the grove and noticed the dogs were extremely interested in this one area. Next thing you know - one of the dogs ran off with a full sized rabbit in her mouth (the mom, we're assuming). A bit later, the dog came back and was digging around some more and pops out with a baby and dashes off. Donald walked over to see what was going on and just then, two little bunnies hopped out of the den. He grabbed them and the rest is history. The Internet is truly amazing though - I called a friend who raises chinchillas and asked if I could bring them over. By the time I got their, she has researched what they needed (kitten meal replacement mixed with heavy cream) and we dashed to Petco. They are now eagerly eating the formula that we mix up every couple of hours and feed to them with an eye dropper (from our home school science kit). I guess this is truly a home school science project now! The picture of the two together in Jordan's hands was just minutes after catching them. The other picture is me trying to feed them. They are actually getting a lot better at taking the formula - in the beginning, they were wearing more than they were eating.

Life in Rome

J and I have been learning about Rome for History. One of the assignments was to make a mosaic out of crushed egg shells. The directions actually said to color the eggs, but we chose to leave the natural colors - which we think are so beautiful. Attached is the finished product. It's a brown starfish on the white sand with the blue/green water in the background. Frameworthy!

Killing the Gingerbread Houses

Here are a couple of pictures of the massacre. Alex used a shot gun - I think a 12 gauge. Mason used a 20 gauge and Travis used a firecracker. The excitement in the air was palpable! Funny how boys just love to kill stuff. They got everything all set and the fun began. Well, Mason missed, and loud pop scared the heck out of the dogs. So we gathered all of them up and locked them in the garage. Alex and Mason each blew up the houses. Then it was Travis' turn. The first firecracker was just a smoke bomb - it looked a bit like the gingerbread house was on fire. The next one, blew it to smithereens! What a fun and loving tradition!

Creating Gingerbread Houses

Every year we make Gingerbread houses and this year it was a bit more difficult to convince a one of the little darlings of the value of participating. After "convincing" him to do it and I told him that the reward would be that he could shoot it or blow it up after Christmas. Here are a few pictures of the wonderful and creative houses. Alex has a bulls eye on the roof!

Hiking around the Homestead

Yesterday was a beautiful winter day - I think it was 75*! Winter? What winter? I decided to hike around the homestead and see what was growing. We planted a winter garden, but we planted it a bit late. I was a bit dismayed to see that the weeds were growing great. The nasturtium are going like gang busters which will be nice, but they may turn into a real problem. We also have a lot of sunflowers coming up all over the garden and around the chicken coop, we tried to feed the sunflower heads to the chickens - they didn't go for it. However, most of the veggies we planted are not doing as well. It looks like a few onions, also some squash - ones we planted and then volunteers from before. The beans and peas - nope - the kale, cucumbers, peppers, etc. are non existent. Bummer. I need to keep this in mind when we plant next winter. We have a few potatoes that are coming up from before. I know the peacocks have been brutal lately - need to work on thinning the herd a bit. (what do you call a group of peacocks?) Speaking of birds, our chickens are really slacking too - we only got two eggs yesterday. We put a light in the coop and have it set on a timer for a few hours, trying to trick them into thinking that there are more hours in the day -- so far, not working! Jordan is working on a project for history - doing a mosaic. They suggested saving egg shells and then coloring them. We decided that the colors were so beautiful on their own, that we were going to leave them the natural white, brown and blue. I think it's going to be beautiful. We'll post a picture when it is finished. Well, what is going on around here - Alex is practicing the piano, Travis is doing math and Jordan is studying her lines for a play. It's calm and quiet. I guess I need to get out of my robe and get on with the day.

Correcting by Candlelight

I took this picture this morning - you can see the beautiful sunrise through the windows. Isn't there a saying about the red sky in the morning? I love to get up before everyone else and I always light a few candles - it makes the room seem cozy. I was working on correcting and enjoying the beautiful morning.

a couple more from Williams