Monday, June 27, 2016

Good Books and Storms

What kind of summer reading have you been doing? My boys and I visit the library once a week. I have been reading a lot lately. Always caught up in a good book makes me happy. 

This is my current reading. "Plain Truth" by Jodi Picoult. It is interesting so far. 


I love reading Amish books. They give simplicity. I also read "me before you" last week it was a wonderful read. 


My hydrangeas are a wonderful book mark. My son picked this one for me as he was playing. I love to read on our back porch while the baby naps and the boys play. 

We are expecting a storm soon. West Virginia was hit hard with flooding last week. Thankfully everyone here is ok but we have prayed for those who lost their children and homes. We rarely watch the news or TV but we turned it on to see the damage. Just breaks your heart! 

Please continue to pray for those in WV with flood damage. 

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Kase is 8 months

Kase you turned 8 months old today. You are growing so fast. 


You:
-Love eating. You want three meals a day plus snacks and your bottles at normal times also. 
-You are still sleeping awesome from 7:30 - 7:00am.
-You got 3 top teeth in the past 2 weeks. That was rough on you!
-You love to be with us. You will tag along anywhere and don't care a bit. You enjoy camping. You are always smiling at everyone and going right along. 
-You sometimes get upset going to sleep other than your bed and the car. When we camp its hard to get you to take your naps. But you do! 
-You are close to crawling but still not there yet. Maybe this month!!! 

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Camping with a Baby

We are still learning about this whole camping thing! We just began the journey this season and so far our family loves it. 

Our older two boys have so much fun out  riding their bikes, fishing, and meeting new friends at the campground. 

Our baby who is 8 months old now is learning that camping is fun too :)


He has went right along with camping. However, the hardest part have been the naps. He is a baby that likes to be put down in his bed and fall asleep. I have been taking his pack and play along and I find a big shade tree near our campsite and he takes his naps there. Sometimes he goes right down, and other times its not as easy. 

Here are 5 suggestions for you if you are camping with a baby. 

1. Take a pack n play. It will save your life! Most campgrounds are rocky, or hard concrete and baby will have a safe place to play and then sleep if needed. 


2. Take your stroller. Take a lot of long slow walks! Take time to slow down and enjoy your baby and other children. 

3. Use that stroller as a high chair when eating outside. When we pack, it fills like we are packing up the whole house so I am trying to limit things. Instead of taking the high chair, I use the stroller with the tray as we are outside and feed the baby there. 

4. Get baby used to a sink bath. If you normally use the big tub with the little bath tub then do some practice runs in the kitchen sink first. We have a pop up camper so we have a little sink. That is where we bath the baby. This is how he knows he's supposed to be ready for bed for the night. A nice warm bath in the sink. 

5. Find a large sun hat and lots of sunscreen! This is something so important to do each morning before going on any walks or bike rides with baby. You don't realize how hot that morning sun can be until your baby has very red cheeks. Use that sunscreen a lot during the day and keep on that big sun hat. 

Hope you and your family are having an amazing time camping this summer. It is such a relaxing and memorable hobby. My older boys have cried each time we have left the campground. I am telling on them, but it just shows me how much they love it and don't want the fun to end. 








Calla Lilies

I put these in a few years ago into our flower beds. This is the first year they are doing and growing so well. 

I had to pick them and make a bouquet in the house. 

Friday, June 10, 2016

Summer days


We have been taking a lot of walks together. We are all loving summertime. 

Kase enjoys the baby carrier and the boys love riding their bikes. 


Summer is my favorite time of the year! 

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Peeks from our home

We've had a lot of rain this spring here in West Virginia. Our grass is green and the garden is growing great. 

I thought I would show you some peeks from around our homestead. 

Look at the beautiful sky. 

Our front porch. My favorite place to be.

My calla lilies have bloomed beautiful this year. They came in full and stocky. 


The day lilies also came in strong. They bring such good color to our landscaping. I enjoy them every year. 


One of my new favorite things about our homestead is my clothesline. Kevin kept asking me what I would like for my birthday and I said I've really always wanted a clothesline. 
It is very therapeutic. I love going out to hang. The clothes smell wonderful and they are so straight. No ironing needed after the wind and sun dry them. I fold them as I'm taking them down and put them into a little bag and bring them in to separate. It's been such a fun adventure!

For Mothers Day the boys asked what I would like and of course I said nothing. They kept asking and after much convincing I said I would like a bird feeder. They got me the cutest one at Tractor Supply. It looks like a little white church. 

The funny part is, is that these two cardinals sit there together like an old married couple. They are our favorite customers to the "bird restaurant" :) 


We have enjoyed watching them from the front porch.

The hen you see has realized there is bird seed on the ground below. Such smart creatures!! 

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Our Baseball Season

Both of our older boys played baseball this year. They've had a lot of fun and learned more about the game. 

The one thing I hope for most is good sportsmanship. I don't need them to be the best. I just want them to be a good sport with the game and towards their teammates and others. 

Kipton is 5 and played tball for the Pirates. Kipton is a go getter! He never complains. He is such a good sport! He encourages others. 



Karson is 7 and played in minor league. He is learning about how to show others compassion, and being dedicated to the game. He started out playing in the outfield but has since moved to 2nd base. He is doing amazing at 2nd! 




The thing I love best about baseball is just the at home playing. I love to play a game of family baseball. We all have such a good time together. 

This is the last week and the season is over. I do enjoy when it is over too :)

5 Tips for Camping with Boys

This past winter we decided to start looking for an affordable way to vacation.

We all know that hotels and vacation spots are becoming more and more expensive. We saved up and decided to buy a little pop up camper to start with. It is an older model but has been taken care of by an elderly couple. We worked on it most of the winter months, and this past Memorial Day weekend we took it on our very first camping trip.


We have three boys. They are 7, 5, and 7 months.

After taking our little pop up camping for two nights/three days I thought I would share 5 tips when you are camping with kids.

1. Use a Large Tub and put all of the kids outdoor toys in it. We brought items like bad mitten, sand buckets and shovels, Frisbee, baseball bat and ball, bike helmets, and basketballs. This will eliminate all of the kids toys thrown all over your camper and camp site.

2. Find cheap bicycles for the WHOLE family. This makes camping so much fun. When we first got to the campsite we rode with our boys to give boundaries as to where and how far they could ride the remainder of the trip. Trust me: your kids will be on their bikes about 80% of the trip. 


3. Bring extra clothes for each child and create their own spot in the camper/tent for their clothes. This makes it easier on you when they need to change. Our two older boys can read so before we go on the trip I make them to do lists for packing. They pack their own clothes.

4. Don't expect things to go perfect and smooth the first go around. Chances are many things will go wrong. Establish your rules for your children. Tell them if they are old enough to help set up camp, then they cannot play until the camp site is all set up.

5. Plan their meals. Create a snack area. You want to plan out all meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for each day you are camping. It is also nice to have a basket or tub of kid snack. If they get hungry in between meals then you can tell them to visit the snack basket without your help. Make sure to have a fridge or a large cooler of ice at all times.

I hope this was some what helpful. I feel that going camping especially for boys is so memorable. These are the great bonding experiences they will remember forever.

Enjoy your summer!