With Eldest graduating this year, I am thinking ahead to a spring open house.  Hubby and I were talking about how most of his pictures are actual pictures and not on digital.  I am going to start going through so of them, but I wanted to see how well they scan.  I found this picture from our upper pennisula vacation in 2003.  Youngest was 2.  Oh, how much they have grown!

We have spent the last 8 years on vacation at the St. Mary's River in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The St. Mary's starts at the end of Whitefish bay and runs the length into Lake Huron. We rent two cabins with friends and basically spend a lot of time fishing and sitting in front of the campfire watching the freighter traffic go by. The freighters (some of them 1000+ feet long) always amaze me because they are so big, and so quiet, well most of them. They navigate through a very small section called the "rock cuts" and travel down right in front of our cabins.  We really enjoyed our vacation again this year, but it is always good to be home! Eldest Fishing Spider right next to me at Whitefish Point EEK!! Whitefish Point Sand bars at Tahquamenon Falls park   Hubby and Eldest with some of the fish we caught! Every year Hubby puts together a "pirate scavenger hunt adventure" Capt' sleepy Wha...

Here are some of the things I have going in my basket right now. These are crocheted socks I am trying to get finished!  This is a crocheted 100% hand spun angora bridal shawl I am working on. This is the soap the girls and I created a couple of weeks ago.  Lemon poppy seed and Almond biscoti YUMMM!

Every year I say I am going to do better with my blog post.  Every year I do, but there are always those down times.  We have been busy here, coming off of the 4-H fair and moving into our vacation and then school starting.  I can't believe I have been homeschooling for 9 years.  If you would have told me that 15 years ago I would have laughed at you (hysterically)  Now, I wouldn't trade it for anything.  It has been one of the greatest journeys of my life and I realize how much I am blessed to get to know my own children so well.  I have realized this has become one of those "lost arts" today.  We are taking a different view on our year, our oldest has technically graduated and will spend the year C.L.E.P. ing out of everything he can and researching scholarships.  After getting one through with flying colors, I have a new outlook on our homeschooling journey and realize everyday is a new lesson (if you are looking!)  Coming out of the ...

Hubby is up working a week of third and fourth grade at Rock Lake Christian Assembly.  He must of gotten in "trouble" for something because this was the picture I recieved this afternoon.  He had to do chubby bunny's, which is basically shoving marshmallows in your mouth until you can't coherently say "chubby bunny" anymore.  He got 20 in.  That is a new camp record.  Should I be concerned? :))

I can't believe it is August already!  We had 4-H fair last week and today 5 of us leave for a week of camp!  Hubby and the three older ones are faculty and our youngest is a camper.  That leaves Bek and I here to run the farm!  We have one week home together and then we will be leaving for our vacation in the Upper Pennisula.  I can not believe how fast this summer has gone.  I go into it with the mind set to slow down and the next thing I know school is starting again. Fair was great.  We didn't have as many entries as in the past, but the kids brought home 2 rosettes, 2 honor awards, 9 blue, and 1 red ribbon.  Our youngest did a cast and mold out of eurethane (dad is a chemist) and won a rosette for his entry!  We were so excited.  There were no animals up there this year for us.  Bek's fair rabbit died shortly after fair last year, and with the crazy spring we had and her broken arm she just didn't get one ready.  Ma...

Isn't this cute?  My amazing and talented daughter created this for me to use for yarn labels and stickers.  I am so blessed to have such talented kids who are using their God-given gifts.  If anyone is interested in having something like this done for yourself and have an idea, get with me and K. can see if she can create something for you too!  She did this from "back-end" pictures we took of our animals this morning.  The animals weren't too happy to stand still but we got the pictures we needed!