Farm Friends

The farm that we went to for strawberry picking also has many farm animals to visit with. There was a pig, turkeys, peacocks, goats, alpacas, a donkey, and many, many, chickens. The children enjoyed getting to know each animal. 

This was also Liam's first experience seeing so many of them in one place and his reactions were priceless. He made good friends with this chicken that had gotten over the fence and so badly wanted to get back in. Liam would follow it, then it would follow Liam. Big sister had to intervene to keep Liam from getting too close.

George enjoyed getting to know the goats best. When we got there, they were resting by the fence but once George got their attention, they were jumping on the fence and walking around trying to say hello. I really beginning to like goats. They always look as if they are smiling!

The farm also had two alpacas! They were enjoying the shade during our visit. North Carolina is a lot warmer than their native areas of the Andes mountains. Bridget and George both loved the alpacas because we learned about their close cousins, the llama, in science this year. Unfortunately, the alpacas were not active enough to get Liam's attention.

One highlight for me was seeing this huge turkey. It had its feathers puffed out the entire time and looked just like the turkeys they show in children's books about Thanksgiving. He was trying his very best to impress his lady friend, who was only trying to get away from him.

We made a second visit to say goodbye to this lonesome pig. He was trying to chew at something outside of his pen. Liam was very unsure about him, though he seemed friendly enough. As we were leaving, he began rolling around in the mud.

We will have to make a return trip to visit with the animals again before the season is over.

Strawberries!

Strawberry picking season is the official start of warm weather season around here. We recently enjoyed a 'family day' at the strawberry patch. We were able to go on a weekday and had almost the entire field to ourselves. The weather was beautiful and the kids had a grand time. 

We let the children do most of the picking. They're old enough now to recognize which strawberries are ripe and ready to be picked. I was able to step back and enjoy the moment, and take pictures of them all having a great time. 

Bridget was off to a great start, finding many nice red strawberries to fill her basket. She is so sweet and is never able to hide the excitement from her face. 

George does things differently than his sister. He is a hard worker and would not stop and look at the camera for me. He did, however, have a lot to say on the process of picking strawberries. Here he is talking about the strawberry he just picked.

I did manage to get this picture of him with his last basket full of strawberries. 

Liam, being only a year old, enjoyed his first real experience picking strawberries. He caught on very quickly and I was impressed at how well he was filling his basket. I did pick a few of them and helped him when his basket started getting too full.

After their baskets were full, they unloaded them into the larger basket that Daddy was holding, then went back to pick more.

Look at all those rows of strawberries!!! I love living in a place where we can pick fresh fruits and vegetables each year, and having the children discover where their food comes from. I imagine that we will be making another trip to the strawberry field before the season is over!

Little Flippers

The kids had their very last gymnastics class together this week. Bridget has been in the Little Flippers class for two years and George just started in March. It's fun to be able to sit in the gym and watch the kids do their routines. Bridget's confidence has grown so much in the past two years. She started off being very scared of the equipment. Now, she knows what she's doing but still approaches with caution.

 

 

 

 

 

This was George's first time performing a routine. I could tell that he was nervous. Normally, he does the routines with a big smile and shows off his silly side. This time, with all of the parents watching, we got to see his shy side.

 

He was so proud of himself after each routine. I could tell he wanted to let out a big grin and laugh. He held it in well. It was precious to watch.

 

He wasn't as graceful as his big sister, but he did great with following the routines without being prompted too much. It's not easy for any three year old to follow instructions, but George did great. I wish there was a way to get him to do this at home!

We have been fortunate to have two awesome coaches. They've been with Bridget for two years and she trusts them both completely. They have made the class so much fun for the kids.

We'll have one week off from gymnastics and will be starting back up in June. Bridget will be moving up to a new level and will have new coaches, and because Bridget's new class will be meeting in the afternoon, I moved George to a class on the same day and time as well. Bridget is unsure and doesn't know what to expect from her new class. George. I think, will be a little confused when Bridget goes off to her own class and he has to stay in his. He's gotten used to following her lead. It won't be too long before I'll have another one in gymnastics. I wish they didn't grow up so fast.

Welcome, Warm Weather!

Spring is here and the sun is shining!

 

It has been a long winter for us here in eastern North Carolina. Mild compared to other places in the U.S., but we're not used to that sort of thing down here. I lost count of how many inches of snow we've received. But we are so thrilled for it to be warm enough to enjoy playing outside.

The kids live for the outdoors. They both enjoy it in their own way.

 

Bridget wants everyone to look at her and what she's doing, over and over and over again. She's a bit needy, but she's cute.

 

George on the other hand is very independent. He plays with a pinecone or a stick for a few minutes, then moves onto something else in the yard, like the garden. I think he's going to be our little gardener this year. We'll need to get that started soon.

 

On this particular day, I realized something about George. The kids had been outside playing for well over an hour, but he hadn't yet broken a sweat. The temperature was 86 degrees, so it was plenty warm, but he was still dry. His hair was dry, skin was dry, and his cheeks were just a little bit pink. This is significant for us because of all that he had been through last year. He used to sweat a lot because his heart was enlarged and not working properly. This year is different. It's great. We are so fortunate to have two healthy children.

This entire week has been beautiful. We might be in for a rainy weekend but the temperatures don't seem to be getting lower than the 60s. We've waited a long time for this. We hope everyone else is enjoying this lovely weather, too!

Family Photo Bloopers 2014

We did it!! We survived family photos. With the crazy year we had last year (with George's heart surgery), family photos kept getting put off. Then we found out we were having another baby and my tummy began growing. I needed to get photos of just our family of 4 before I got too big. I didn't want George to look back and think, "oh, they forgot about me" when it came to family pictures (our last family picture was with just our family of 3). So we finally got it done today!! Some of them turned out really great, and of course there are the "bloopers".

 

 

This little boy is just adorable, and I love that little tongue sticking out. But it didn't make the cut to send to our family. But it does show his silly personality!

 

Oh she is so sweet. And super shy. It totally shows in this photo. In fact, it shows it in a lot of photos with her looking down yet still trying to look at the camera. I hope she gets over her shyness one day because she really does know how to make a great picture.



I think hubby and I look fine (I do have some hair out of place) but of course the kids are looking just a little bit off.

My husband's family apparently carries a gene (or a curse?) where they automatically shut their eyes when the camera goes "click". Bridget may have been able to avoid that gene but poor George inherited it!

My sweet little Bridget again. This would have been a perfect photo, but I don't know what in the world she was doing holding up her fingers!

 

This photo captures George's thoughts (and actions) during each little setup of photos. "Okay mom, I'm done now!"

 

That's why I say we survived family photos. Bridget was great (other than her shyness) but George was all over the place, grabbing extra props and using them as building blocks and wanting them all in his pictures. Then of course he wouldn't sit for more than 2 seconds. So I am amazed by some of the really good shots they did get of him.

 

It feels good to finally have this over and done with, and to have some updated pictures of our family to put on the wall. I've been a bit of a slacker. Now I just need to buy more frames (or save money for frames and buy them in 2015? Ha!).

Our 2012 Garden

"The prophet said to plant a garden, so that’s what we’ll do.
For God has given rich brown soil, the rain and sunshine too.
And if we plant the seeds just right and tend them carefully,
Before we know, good things will grow to feed our family."

My husband was the one who got started on the garden this year. I didn't think we'd even have one because of how busy I was with George and with him graduating soon, I figured the only thing I'd be able to grow was weeds. But he finds it very relaxing to go out there and play in the dirt so we went to Lowe's and I picked out some veggie plants I wanted (because he doesn't eat the veggies... just likes to grow them). I ended up with two types of tomatoes, bell peppers, and onions. Those are my three basic veggies that I do the most cooking with, so hopefully they'll turn out.

Bridget also enjoys playing in the garden. You'll have to excuse her dress... she's so tall for her age so many of the dresses she has that are 2T barely cover her bottom so we just keep those as play dresses around the house. She also loves her rubber boots that her grandparents in Hawaii gave her. This is the second pair she's gone through. She grabs them every time she wants to go outside.

Tending the garden once the plants started growing:

The sweet George that I get to hang out with while Bridget and Aaron are outside: