Joys of June

On our return from Boston, we had a couple more weeks of school left to do. We had a few lessons to finish up and a week of exams. Lesson learned: get school done BEFORE going on vacation. It is SO hard to pick it back up even if you have very little left to do! 

Our summer began the week of Memorial day. We kicked if off with a visit to Indiana and our good friends the Shearers. We miss and think of them often and it was really good to spend a few days in their company.

Our neighbor kids and Chloe and Autumn have had some fun times together. This is a fort they built beside our deck. It was quite the shade sensation until the leaves dried up and fell off :) 

Earlier in the spring, we caught some tadpoles.  This was our original home for them and Autumn drawing one in her nature journal.

I started looking on Craig's List for an aquarium because four or five times this school year we have "needed" something to house a critter. Tupperware works, but it doesn't provide the best viewing angles and it's not incredibly secure and breathable simultaneously :) I was thrilled to come across this aquarium and stand!

These tadpoles turned into the TEENIEST frogs! They could sit on a dime or a fingernail! Adorable too :) We didn't keep for long because I wasn't sure about how to feed them. It was a great nature study though.

Our next summer activity was VBS with Adam's family in Millersville. Chloe and Autumn had a lot of fun learning about the life of Moses.

Chloe and Autumn love the water. We have been swimming several times. This is a pool at the Y we frequent. Often it is like our own personal pool because not many others are there. 

We made a short trip to Granna and Big Papa's house in Bowling Green. Deconstructed a sandbox and inflated a pool. Volleyball over a pool of water is quite a delight :) 

I was ecstatic to get a message from an old college friend that she and her family would be in town! Such fun to catch up with her and meet her little girl! 

Next on our agenda, was a visit to Ninny and Two Daddy. It's simple to put together a mud kitchen at Ninny's house and she has the coolest flowery decorations for mud pies! Makes our mud pies at home with clover and pansies seem quite plain :) 

Hot tubs also make good cooling off pools. A gust of wind blew in a storm and blew over the umbrella!

Two Daddy has a VR device and Chloe was enamored! It was quite entertaining to watch her "ride" a rollercoaster. I discovered it is not good for someone who has a touch of motion sickness. I do NOT understand how it can feel so REAL to your brain!

Ninny likes to hike and I like to think we do too ;) So we often visit a trail near Ninny's house. This time we went to a place called Moss Rock. It was obvious why it was called that! Boulders as big as cars and moss everywhere. We saw dragonflies of blue, green, and purple. 

I am experimenting with a square foot garden this year. It seems to be working! I didn't know if this area of our yard would get enough sun. I think it does! Our tomatoes are doing quite well. I can't eat them all :) Radishes were a success and the carrot tops are lovely. I was a bit late getting the squash and cucumber planted so it has a ways to go.

It's been a good break from brain work and books! Hope all of you are having a good summer too!