A Kid's Summer

 We started dance class this summer. We are trying it out with a five session pass. So far, Evie loves it!

We've been eating out for lunch. Here, Evie sips her Pho with a straw!

Dress up is a must. Princess, ballerina, cowgirl, mouse, magician?

We've been painting, gluing, reviewing the alphabet.

F is for feathers...

and fireworks...

 We even went ice skating! We didn't fall but came close a couple times! Notice her painted macaroni necklace!

Texoma

Eight of us from our small group had a chance to get away (without kids) for the weekend at the Texoma lake house. We hung out Friday night, grilled kabobs, and had a good bible study of First John. It was a great time to leave all distractions at home and have sincere fellowship and study. Saturday we had a lazy morning and ate a big breakfast of monkey bread, sausage casserole, and scrambled eggs. That afternoon we headed out to the "land" where we played with four wheelers and shot guns. Guns?! Yes, it is Texas. I was a big chicken as far as four wheeling goes. I wore a huge dorky helmet and rode with Judd. I wouldn't even drive the thing! We rode through a muddy ditch, got lost in the woods, and ended up coming out without that many scratches! Abbey and Dane, on the other hand, got stuck in the muddy ditch. With some strength and creative thinking, they were able to get out. Judd and Jon brought some guns to shoot on a target or clays. It was my first time shooting a shot gun. All the girls took a turn. We spent most of the time watching the guys, mostly Judd and Jon, from the flatbed of a pickup truck! After eating a late 4pm lunch, we all packed up and headed back to Dallas. After all, we pretty much all had something at the church to do the next morning whether teach Sunday school or play in the worship service.

 the view from the balcony

 the fish we found in our closet.

since we were the last to arrive, we got the kids room, bunk beds and even a kitchen set.

 the "land" with a luxury air conditioned fully furnished trailer.

 the barn with all the land toys

Judd shooting clays

Dane (rustic filter)

me! (vibrant filter)

Abbey

The Dairy Farm in Krum

My friend, Robin, called me last minute to go to a very small dairy farm in Krum. The farmer sells milk, eggs, and meat right off her front porch. Robin, Stella, Evie, and I loaded up the CRV and made the trek up 35E in rush hour traffic. That wasn't planned well! The girls had fun playing in the backseat. Robin and I had good conversation, so it wasn't too bad! The second we parked at the farm, Evie really didn't want to have anything to do with the animals. It was too much for her! Chickens were running around the property unpinned to eat the grasshoppers and other bugs that come out in the evening. Most of the time I carried Evie. There were a few minutes where she would walk around, but not more than a foot away from me!

Robin visits this farm monthly to purchase whole milk from grass-fed cows that have not been treated with antibiotics or hormones. The grass has not been treated with pesticides, so it's some of the very best fresh milk one can get. Customers have to sign up for the milk, so I didn't buy any. But anyone can buy the eggs! Stella and Evie picked some eggs right out of the chicken coup. They watched the farmer rinse the eggs with water and sort them into egg cartons to be sold. They even helped fill the egg cartons. For all their hard work, they each got a half dozen carton to take home. The eggs are just as fresh as the milk. The chickens are grass fed and roam the land of the farm eating grubs and insects (a chicken's natural diet), which makes beautiful eggs. The yolk is reddish orange, not yellow like the ones from the store. How I wish I could eat off a farm more often! The quality is so much healthier and pure.

The bottom egg is from the farm. The top one is Costco's organic free range grain fed.

I never realized there was such a huge difference in the color of the yolk. 

It's a good reminder that farm fresh free range grass-fed is always better!

Flowers, Fish, Fun!

I always love visiting Grapevine's Botanical Gardens. It's just the right size for Evie to explore, and there is a play ground next to it! Judd stayed home and removed all of the poison ivy behind our house. He thought he was resistant to it, but a few days later we learned that he was wrong!

Judd and Dad went fishing. The next day they caught a catfish.

Evie has had just plain fun...

Painting with food coloring added to condensed milk. It dries shiny and sticky.

Dressing up...

Swimming with friends...

Eating good food...

Dancing to the fairy movie, "Meet the Fairies"

Summer Garden

We are finally starting to see a decent harvest from our garden! After a hail storm and a fungus, I wasn't sure how it was going to make it. My friend told me to pour worm wine all over everything, and it worked! Any time my plants look sick, I will pour the magic worm concoction all over them! Right now we have LOTS of eggplants, two peppers, and cherry tomatoes. Plenty of herbs (basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and parsley) are growing strong. I just put in okra seeds that have sprouted into seedlings. The carrots and onions are growing, but are not looking like they will produce much. The radish leaves are huge, but they did not end up developing a radish bulb under the soil.

Evie has a lot of fun checking the plants with me and watching the flowers bloom. She helps pick the cherry tomatoes and loves counting how many purple eggplants we have. She's quite a helper. 

Fairy Tale Eggplant

 It's ready to harvest. Full size is about 4 to 5 inches.

 She loves them because they are purple.

I wish she loved eating them!

So far we have made parmesan breaded eggplant. Yum!

 cherry tomatoes- She likes counting these too. Not eating them though.

I had to take a pretty shot before chopping these up for dinner!

eggplant, basil, and oregano!

What We've Been Up to Lately

I have not blogged in a while, so here is a post of all things from the past six weeks or so!

 We had tennis ball size hail during a terrible thunder storm. My neighbor collected these from the yard. I was at school during the storm. It was the first time in my six years of teaching in Texas that I actually ducked and covered with my students during a tornado drill! Nothing every really hit our school except for rain. Evie was at daycare. They had all the children in the cafeteria! When I arrived home about 1 1/2 hours after the storm, our yard was littered with marble size hail that was melting. Our backyard patio table's glass shattered all over the place! For the next month after, our neighborhood was swarmed by roofers knocking on doors every evening. We should be getting our new roof soon!

 We supported our friend dear friend, Brandon, in his fight against a brain tumor.We walked in the second annual "Head for the Cure" 5K in Plano. Brandon's team had about 100 participants! Brandon ran the 5K! AWESOME. One of my students was there too, supporting her mom's fiance.

School ended! We held our annual Talent Show. Teachers always show off their talent at the finale. This year, we were synchronized swimmers performing a routine to "California Girls."

 Evie drew a Mother's Day picture for me. She said it was a picture of worms and ants.

My parents, Grammy and Papa, sold their house of almost 30 years and moved to Texas!

We said good bye to Clare as she and her husband were loading their moving van getting ready to leave for Ohio. Clare was a such a huge help to me when Evie was an infant. We will be forever thankful for all Clare did for us! She will be missed!