Last Day of School!

 We finished another year of school!!!!  Yippee!!!!!  Ashlyn and Austin did a great job at finishing well and we are excited for summer time!  I'm gonna try my best to keep the kids reading and practicing some math facts but we are ready for late nights and sleep in mornings!

They couldn't wait to clean out their lockers and say goodbye to school for now!

Mrs. Shick was such a sweet teacher for Austin's third grade!  Austin finished well and I just smiled as I heard so many kids wave goodbye to their friends at pick up time!

Good job, Dude!

Thank you teachers, all the teachers, for another year of much learning and fun!  

Welcome summer time!

Garden and blooms!

 I took a walk around the hose and gardena and I'm always amazed at how the good Lord blesses us with garden foods and blooms!  I planted this dusty miller two years ago and I loved the white, silver color and decided to not pull it out and let it die in the frost in fall.  Well, it never died!  I didn't know it would last but it came back again and again and it's still pretty!

Right now we have lettuce and celery in this garden bed.  My sister gave me a pack of cut and grow again lettuce and every time I plant this, it's nice but just not a favorite.  I would much rather have buttercrunch.  My lettuce wasn't the best ever this year but still tasty.  I think the few hot days in May made the lettuce grow tall and not tender.  I hope to plant again in the fall and have tender, sweet buttercrunch lettuce!!!!

The front porch planters are thriving!

Roses and poppies are filling the air!

Also, cabbage and broccoli!  The peas are being picked and eaten right in the garden!

The herb box always gets full and overflowing!  Honeysuckle is on the back side of the shed.  Magnolia blooms are on the front tree!

I still dream of big, juicy strawberries growing in my garden but we still enjoy the small berries and eat them often for breakfast!

We are so blessed!

Memorial Day Weekend!

 This years Memorial Day Weekend looked a lot different than what we have done in the past twenty years!  Normally, we get together with some of our best friend families at a cabin or beach house but we decided to not gather this year.  The kids are growing up and some are now in sports events over the weekend and it was just decided to not reserve a big place and get together.  We missed our friends but still had a really good time at my parents cabin!

The cabin is a place of rest, many ATV rides, hunting, campfires and s'mores, games and good food!  Brother bought a bunch of water balloons for the boys to fill and throw around!

Brother also made delicious brisket on the smoker!  Watermelon is always a Memorial Day food and we love it with fresh mint, cucumbers and lime juice!  It's delicious!

We went to the cabin for years.  My parents took us as kids and we used to have a cabin with no running water and an outhouse for a bathroom.  Going this river to "wash up" is something we did as kids.  Now, our older kids have kaiaks and fish and float down the river.  There's a big world of woods around us and it was a beautiful day on the water!

I love that Pennsylvania has dirt roads that wind around nature and mountains and we get to ride on them at the cabin!  Zoe's family also has a cabin nearby and her and Ashlyn got to spend some time together!

My dad is doing well in his health!  His chest and muscles and tendons are getting stronger after his open heart surgery four months ago.  He asked Mike to help him cut down this tree and he did a good job!  We left the cabin after that and dad stayed and shot a turkey!  Cabin life is the best!

And we never want to forget why we celebrate this weekend!  Thank you to all who have given so much for our freedom!

Happy Memorial Day!!!!

Peony Farms!

 I have a wishlist to go visit some flower fields this summer and this peony farm at Styers Peony Farm was one on my list!  I ordered tickets for my mom and sisters and when it came down to actually going, some backed out because of the business of May.  I totally understand but boy did they miss out!!!!  Those of us that went had a blessed time roaming the fields of peony's.  We would stop and smell some, measure some with our hands because they were so large and just awed at the beauty!!!!  It really was so pretty!!!!!

Here's the crew!  We loved it!!!!!

Fields of flowers!!!!!

My mom!!!!!

And if you are at near Terrain, you must stop for lunch, right???  We had a wonderful lunch before heading home and even visited the cutest roadside stand where we grabbed some fresh veggies and juice!

Lena wanted to plan something special for us to do to celebrate my birthday and she mentioned this place after I already had tickets to go to Styers.  We chose another peony garden and truly it was just as lovely!!!!

A PEONY GARDEN!!!!

When we pulled into the driveway of this farm, our mouths dropped open!!!!!  Peak season was on this day and it was GORGEOUS!!!!  Heavenly!  Just outstanding!

This was a smaller farm but the blooms were at peak giving it a beautiful, full view of gorgeous peony's!!!!!

These are the ladies in my life that I do life side by side.  They mean the world to me and I love them so much!!!  Thank you Lena for planning this outing with my girls and choosing such a beautiful place to visit!!!!!  Loved it!!!!

Sisters! 

Then we ate pretty, delicious food and then did some shopping!!!!  The entire afternoon and evening was lovely and so much fun!

I know not everyone can visit flower gardens.  I realize not everyone has family to celebrate birthdays with.  I know not everyone is as blessed as I am to go on special events like this .... that's exactly why I am so grateful for the women and people in my life that speak life, care about me and have friendships that last!  I'm incredibly blessed!