Sometimes I feel incredibly guilty at how my blog is not the priority it once was. I am not giving it up; I love documenting milestones and funny stories for later recollection, and of course for keeping friends and family updated on our busy life here in Kentucky. It crosses my mind every few days, and then the washer beeps, or the kids need picked up or taken somewhere, or outside work calls. Just life!
Here we are, just a few days from Asher's 8th birthday. I'm feeling a bit nostalgic already! I look at him some days and am literally in awe of how grown up he is. How much he has changed. As we flip through his scrapbooks of when he was a baby and toddler, I can still picture him that way. He is an amazing boy: a huge helper around the house inside and outside on the farm, a loving brother, and a caring friend. He's still really into building and creating with Legos. And he loves making forts & obstacle courses. He is looking forward to helping design and build a new playset, since you may remember ours was destroyed a couple of months ago in a storm. He loves fishing, and is finally big enough to head to the pond on his own to fish - meaning he can catch a fish and release it without help. Digging, planting, running, creating - that is him outside!
Second Grade is winding down, last day is June 3, and when I think about the Fall and Third Grade - which means Intermediate School and a completely different campus - I feel so incredibly proud of him, of his hard work and determination in both behavior and studying/testing, and I know he is ready for the next chapter of his school life. We plan to enjoy every minute of Summer Break, as the first day of Third Grade starts on August 11.
Allie finished her first year of Preschool on May 19. She missed the beginning of her last week due to pneumonia, but was able to be there the last two days. I am so glad she didn't miss it, as they had lots of fun activities going on! Her final day was a big carnival party. She is still talking about it! She will start back for her second year of Preschool on August 22. Yesterday when we dropped Asher off for school, I wasn't sure what to expect out of her with him going and her not. But she seems to understand that Preschool is closed for the Summer, and it helps that she enjoys going to the YMCA and running errands with me. Since she does like to keep busy and active, she was a little disappointed this morning when she found out we were staying home today. Somehow laundry and chores isn't as exciting as getting out and about!
Life out on the farm is BUSY as usual in the Spring. Our ten steers are grazing and growing right along, and our little orphaned calf Mooey is also getting bigger each day. He graduated to the field a few weeks ago, and loves the freedom of the field. However, he is NOT enjoying the process of getting off the bottle. I tease that I weaned my children easier than him! He has made giant strides in the last week though, eating his calf grain with enthusiasm and grazing like a big boy. He is down to one diluted bottle a day, and the plan is for him to have his final bottle on Memorial Day.
John has worked hard in "The Fortress". The fruit trees are coming along nicely. Several of the more mature trees have loads of fruit on them. The raspberries and blackberries are also doing nicely, although with the amount of rain we have had I wouldn't be surprised if we lose some raspberry plants. They do not like so much rain. The blueberries look the best they ever have! Last year was a terrible year for them, with no fruit. This year they have shot up like crazy, and are full of blueberries. We can't wait to taste them! John worked hard with soil testing and fertilizing to get things just right.
John was finally able to get the vegetable garden planted a couple of weeks ago. We have tomatoes, okra, sweet potatoes, I think green beans, bell peppers and corn. I may be forgetting something. He scaled back the tomatoes this year though. We do not plan to can this year. However, we are looking at a vacuum sealer for freezer storage of the produce.
The Brittanys are all doing well. I love the kennel area and can barely remember what the old one looked like. Seems like it has been this way forever instead of not even a year. We have it divided into three runs, with doors on the inside panels to open it up more. Currently we have one run closed off and the other two open to each other. So the four are all together, complete with a "swimming pool" to cool off in. Piper and Jill both love swimming, Penny will when she gets hot enough, but Jett could be on fire and not get in the water. The pups have matured considerably with manners and commands. I know John is looking forward to the Fall hunting season and getting their feet on the ground!
Guess what? The dryer just buzzed! :)
