Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Finishing up school and moving into summer mode!


It's May and it's still chilly!!!  The wind doesn't seem to let up around here and we are trying to stay calm as each day just seems to blow by.  We did have a warmer day last week and the kids took their chance in getting wet!  Soapy warm water on the back porch helped with their fun play time and watermelon is now on the grocery list for the summer!!!  This is the first watermelon I bought this season and it was delicious!






 Watermelon is one of her favorite foods!


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We finished our last week of school!!!!!  We are very excited to be finished with school at home and finishing strong!!!!  Ashlyn took her stack of finished papers and workbooks to her classroom and said good bye to her teacher!  Miss Blain has been so terrific in getting organized worksheets and YouTube videos for her to watch and learn!  ZOOM was used usually twice a week with her classmates to ask any questions and read together!  Matthew wrapped up his freshman year and is ready to work and earn some money this summer!  The shop offers him a job that he absolutely loves and then he still mows the carwash yard each week.  Hadassah is also finished with school and is looking forward to her senior graduation!!!!  So many things had to change up in the last quarter of school but we are forever grateful that the seniors did get to go on their senior trip to Africa!!!!  Praise the Lord for the great trip and safe travels!  We are finished with the school work but still have a few events that school has planned yet this week and next!  We are now ready to move into summer vacation mode!!!!!








After we left school we needed to pick up Matthew at the shop and drop him off at the golf course.  We then swung by Costco but realized that the kids didn't have any shoes on their feet.  I told them it's ok and that they would just have to ride in the cart.  Well, the Costco employee said no to bare feet so we had to leave without shopping.  The kids took off their masks and we went back to the Yukon.  As we hopped into the Yukon to leave, I said, "Hey guys, I bet Strasburg Market Place will let us in their store without shoes and without our masks!!!!"  We drove straight there and sure enough, we got inside to grab us some quick groceries that included honeydew and watermelon!  I told Ashlyn she can get ice cream as a celebration for finishing school!!!!!  This was a special treat for the kids and it was wonderful to shop without our masks!!!!



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Ashlyn and Austin have this thing with lemonade stands.  They beg often to have one of their own and so the other day we whipped up one gallon of fresh squeezed lemons and added sugar and they went outside to sell it!  It was so cute to see them get their little table and sign and everything!  Ashlyn grabbed her doll dresser for the money box!  They sold all but one cup of their drink and made $8.50!  One man gave them a $5 bill and said to keep the change.  How sweet to help spread some cheer during this crazy time in our world!


They always ask to take one crazy photo!



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The garden is doing so well!!!!  The lettuce is enjoying the cooler weather that we've been having!  Austin really wanted to plant radish seeds because of his love for Peter Rabbit and the things that grow in that garden.  However, radishes are a vegetable that we do not eat much of but Coca is enjoying them very much!!!!!  He loves the leaves the best!!!!

I pick the first head of butter crunch lettuce too!!!!  It's crisp and really the best tasting lettuce!!!


In the background, we have cucumber seeds sprouting through the ground and I hope they will grow up the trellis Matthew made for me!

Next, we planted cabbage and it looks great!  For some reason this is one of my favorite things to see and grow in the garden!  I just love how neat the plants and huge leaves look!  I planted our first fennel plants and we can't wait for it to ripen!

In the herb box, the chives are blooming and look so pretty!  These are Austin's favorite and he eats them right after he pulls one off.  His breath doesn't smell so great after eating these!  I grabbed a baby rose herb plant but not sure how to use it???  All the other herbs are thriving!!!  I did plant some basil seeds that I am still waiting for it to peek up through the dirt.  I may have to grab a plant at the greenhouse if the seeds don't come up!?!

In the front raised bed, we have onions, carrots and tomatoes!


The small box in the back, we have a pumpkin plant growing!


These herbs I picked from the box and snipped them overtop of vegetables that I roasted for supper!


I tried making the Watermelon Mint Lemonade found in my new Magnolia Magazine and we loved it!!!!  Tastes just like summer!




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We have baby kittens.  Again.  One cat had four and another had three.  The other day one of the momma cats went missing and now all the kittens are with one momma and doing well.

These make for free entertainment for the little ones and Ashlyn just loves them!



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This May is a whole lot different than other May months.  Covid-19 has affected our whole world and our state is one that is still under red zone.  It's been months now and it's really time to get the stores up and running!  We are dreaming of eating out and eating inside a restaurant.  And go shopping in stores!  And enjoy the parks and pools!

This year we finished school without year end field trips.  Without track-n-field days.  Without Community Clean Up Day and the Spring Banquet.  Our school needs these funds and now we need to support even more!  BUT WE STILL FINISHED SCHOOL!!!!!  We finished strong!  I'm happy to have that behind us and now move onto summer!!!!

Stay healthy!  Stay safe and have a great week!