Dog Days of Summer

The boys holding the Americana chickens.

(Apparently Nolan's chicken found something

cool to look at on the ground.)

It's nice when everyone looks in the same direction for

a picture... even the chickens cooperated.

The chicken whisperer.

I had to take pictures of our much loved Rosie.

At 12 1/2 years old, we know her days are numbered.

She actually laid still (mostly) so I could take some pictures.

What you don't get with these pictures is the constant thumping of her tail.

This is the "come and pet me pose".

She's not spoiled in the least.

Play Ball

We tried something new this year.

In the past, the boys have played t-ball and baseball in the city league.

We no longer enjoyed it so we haven't played in several years.

This year Nolan played with a homeschool baseball team.

I can honestly say we enjoyed it.  We have never had so much

fun with organized baseball as we did this year.

The team is called Addison Faithful.  It's a group of homeschool boys ages 8 to 15.

They divide the boys into two squads and they play each other every week.

It was such a family atmosphere.

Everyone cheered everyone else, no matter what 'side' they were on.

They had a bible verse, 2 Peter 3.18 they were expected to memorize.

Before each game they had warm up time and a devotional taught by the coach.

Nolan has enjoyed playing and improved his game this year.

Nolan in the outfield ... and paying attention.

The coach places the younger players here...  let's face it,

a safer place to be when you have 15 year olds who crush the ball.

First Day of School

Well, it's that time of year again.  Time for school

It felt like we spent more time on these pictures than anything else.

We did finish school by noon.

I got smart this year and had the kids hold signs.

The signs are hard to read at this scale.

Nolan is in 5th grade.

Connor is in 2nd grade.

Strawberry Pie

I just had to post a picture of this pie.  It's so good.

It's made completely from scratch and it wasn't difficult.

Only one piece has survived to the 13 hour mark.

I'm wondering, how are we going to

split one piece of pie four ways?

Nina & Pinta

We took the kids to see full-size replicas of

the Nina & Pinta, two of Columbus' ships.

The size of these ships are actually quite small,

especially when you stop to think

that they sailed across the Atlantic Ocean.

This is a tiny canon on the upper deck of the Pinta.

The boys thought this was a cool weapon.

The sign, however, said it was used to signal other ships...

not for destroying mini-enemies.

The boys on the Nina.

If I remember the sign right, there were about

25 men aboard the Nina, along with animals.

Not much room to spare.

We were fascinated by the information on this sign.

It says a 14 year old apprentice built the ships boat.

The boat that's used to get from the ship to shore.

Picture of the ships boat.

The kid did an awesome job.

Rudder.

Sorry for the lighting....  I couldn't move the sun or the ship. :)

This amazed us.  The captain's quarters on the Nina.

This is the only way in.  Also the only ventilation.

I imagine it could be very stuffy in there.

You just don't realize the danger the early explorers

went through until you stand on such a small ship!

Lake Michigan

We decided to walk to the lighthouse after seeing the Nina and Pinta.

Of course you can't be that close to water and NOT get in.

Why we didn't bring swimsuits is still baffling me.

Of course the boys had to get rocks and shells.

Of course they got wetter than they were supposed to.

The waves got them... at least that's what they told us.

Thankfully it was a long and drying walk back to the van.

Apparently there were going to be some speed boat races.

A speed boat with a caveman and Geico logo on the sides.

The speed boat that we watched as it was backed into the water.

The speed boat's truck had a few problems...

something about a winch still attached....

let's just say the once vertical front tires were no

longer vertical and leave it at that...

and leave we did.