Sunday, June 26, 2016

lately...

we are really revving up summer around here!
lots of outdoor play, farm chores, and a little bit of homeschool :)
enjoy!

tangle of little boy legs as we say our nightly prayers


i can think of worse places for the car to act up than our own church's playground on a sunny day :)


roasted tomato and runny egg breakfast sandwich


all my handsome boys, one Sunday  morning


water play ;)


our fav date night place was closed for dinner on our planned date night :(
so my amazing husband picked up a special take-out from said place, dropped off the boys at my parents' house, and we had date night in!


poetry tea time with homemade lemon buttermilk ice cream!


a bit of school!


X stamping!

our big boy met his first summer reading goal!
and got five crisp dollars from his gma and poppy!

and his second reading goal surprise!
nanny and paw paw met mama and mv for an ice cream date at the general store downtown!




on my nightstand...The Core, an excellent book on classical education; my husband's draft of his official white paper for his new business!; DeSa baby #4; Bible; doterra essential oil for pregnancy insomnia; and a fresh gardenia from our garden!

#pregnant.

picking wild blackberries!

baby + baby zucchini

delicata squash from our garden! we roasted three for dinner with red onions! delicious!

harvesting holy basil for herbal tea!

the first (and very tangy!) plums from the orchard

this rainbow chard loves us.
it keeps coming back.
from last summer.
win!

pepperoncini peppers for canning!

first summer tomatoes!
i love golden ones.

a complete, homesteading meal.
braised wild pork, swiss chard with onions, farm fresh egg, and a slice of that golden tomato :)

that day, we began homeschool with some life lessons.
how. to. clean.
or, read while your brother is cleaning :)

almost done with all his textile letters!

poetry tea time!
red grape foccacia and a childhood fav book of poems.

there has been a plastic bag, blown up by the wind, stuck in this tree, for weeks.
he finally got it down for me that day :)

our boy hit 30 books that week!
he got to choose his prize for 30 so he chose mrs. rhonda's swimming pool with watermelon!
mv and jack demonstrated their superb swimming skills (thanks isr!) and they even went down the slide a few times! so brave!

Sunday, June 19, 2016

pineapple banana preserves

Happy Father's Day!

The boys and I made these delicious preserves on one rainy day this past week for our cooking lesson for homeschool that day!
And they are delicious!
Super jammy and super sweet, they are excellent over ice cream (the way my dad prefers) or in a peanut butter sandwich (the way Mike prefers)!
We will give them as gifts tomorrow (shhh!) when we celebrate Father's Day with our two, as we are traveling home from a week in Michigan today! 
Enjoy the day!

Pineapple Banana Preserves
Makes 2 pint jars.
5 ripe bananas, sliced
20 ounces crushed pineapple, with juice
2 1/2 cups sugar (we used raw cane sugar)
1/4 cup shredded coconut
3 tablespoons lemon juice

Mix all in a large pot and set to simmer for about 30-45 minutes, until thick and jam-like. Pour into jars and seal. These should seal from the hot jam but since this is not traditional canning, keep the jam in the fridge for up to three weeks. Enjoy!

don't we all cook without clothes on?!

very excited to use real knives.




"mommy! it's bubbling!"

after about 20 minutes...halfway there!


and let your kids decorate the labels for sure ;)

our craft for our daddy! :)

Sunday, June 12, 2016

summer crafts...part one!

every summer, we do our "summer fun".
this is a giant list (and it keeps getting bigger!) of all the fun crafts that i've been saving and storing up to do with the boys in the mornings instead of school.
don't get me wrong, we do plenty of crafts in school too but these tend to be more summer-geared.
all my boys just love doing these fun activities and mama does too!
enjoy!

elmer's glue + food coloring + cookie cutters = sun catchers for your window!






blueberries for sal storytime + finger painting + blueberries in tin pails snack!

painting on foil for a rainy day

the shiny and crinkly foil makes for an unusual canvas that the boys love!
tip: tape the canvas to a shower wall or, as we did, a deep freezer for easy clean up! wipes right off!

foil + paint = easy peasy.

handprint dinosaurs + a special viewing of The Good Dinosaur = fun and entertaining enough for mama to get a few things done around the house!

bottle of shaving cream + food coloring = hours of fun!



and then afterwards, you hose them off with the water hose!


white bread + milk + food coloring = rainbow toast



just stick straight into the toaster after the masterpieces are complete and voila! a beautiful breakfast!


halved lemons + paint + straws = lemonade stamping!
plus, we made freshly squeezed lemonade to go along with dinner that night!

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