At home this week...

Wow I didn't mean to stay gone so long! My computer is finally up and running again (which is good) but I have to admit....I sort of liked my computer vacation. I think a little laptop vacation is good for a body every now and then. We had a great week on my little vacation and now I'm back to tell you all about it!

Our week started out with these two little munchkins! My nieces Lily and Iris got to spend the night and that meant that I ("Aunt Panta") got to get as many kisses as I wanted for two days! And I got to be a part of those sweet just-woke-up moments that aunts don't get a lot of...it was so heavenly! I woke up super early and went back to sleep on the couch so that I would be the first to hear them get up. When I heard Iris stirring I ran in to find this....How stinkin cute is that?

They woke up excited about feeding the animals! The first thing they did was look out the window to see them all lined up at the gate waiting for breakfast. What's so funny is they have a freak-out if an animal even touches them, but if there is a gate between them, they are as cool as they can be.

We did a little parade through the house waking everybody up. Ya know, somehow nobody grumbles when Lily and Iris are the ones saying "wate-up"....hmmm....

Then Saturday was our official "family work day" around the farm. While Ben was loading the stuff onto the tractor I took this picture of my sweet Molly. They aren't allowed to go into the gate with the animals unless they have on shoes, and she didn't have hers on since we were headed to the garden to pull weeds, so she just sat down next to them and talked to them through the fence. She loves those animals like a little mama...so sweet.

Oh boy, it was a hard day to be working outside! It was so HOT! But we all pitched in and got it done. Maddie's not too bad at pulling weeds for one her age.

I called her my "bucket girl" because for most of the time we stuck together and if I needed the bucket closer she moved it to me. That baby sacked out about an hour after we got back up to the house! She worked hard!

While we pulled weeds we made up silly stories about how we wished we didn't have weeds or how we wished it wasn't so hot. There were so many good ones! Molly wished that it would snow to cool us off, Maddie wished that all of the weeds would die, Tim wished that he was inside (my practical boy), Ben wished for Spring time weather year around, and I wished that I could send the weeds an eviction notice and they would just leave of their own free will.

Ben told us all about how these very same buckets were used by his grandfather, Papa Clevenger, for the same purpose. Then we talked about how in the old days this is how everyone lived and worked together. Ben told them "You know back then everybody had to have a garden to feed their family, and everyone had to work if they wanted to eat. They couldn't just run out to the grocery store." Molly said "I love our garden, but I'm glad we have grocery stores!"

This coming week we are headed to the beach with some friends who own a condo. They say that the beach and water are just covered in oil. Ben and I talked about staying home since we won't be able to swim, but we finally decided that it would be good for the kids (and us) to see the mess first hand. Sometimes experiences like that can change the way we think forever. My little hippie heart just hurts when I think of what this is doing to all of our sea life, and the families that depend on it to survive....I don't know if I will be able to post while I'm there, but check in with us on Facebook. I'll post pictures and updates as much as I can with my phone. Hopefully before I come home I will have found a way to help out. Do any of you want to join in?

I'll be back soon friends! xo, Sam