Mow Mow!!!

We have almost completed the mowing season and while most guys are thankful for the break, Kellen is going to be quite upset. There wasn't a day that went by this summer where he didn't want to go outside and use his mower.

I am glad that he likes to mow and I look forward to turning this task over to him sometime in the next 10 years.

Chicken Coop

This summer we were able to go to Branson and spend the weekend with Josh, Sarah, and Bryson. We loved getting to see them and just spend some time relaxing away from home.

While we were there Josh was able to share his new project/hobby with us -- a chicken coop. The coop itself was very elaborate with more bells and whistles than the chickens probably desearve, but we were very impressed with Josh's attention to detail and craftsmanship.   

We took some time to really inspect it as we have high hopes of one day living in an area where we could have a coop of our own. Right now we don't think our neighbors would appreciate it quite as much as we would and so we will just have to be patient and study up on http://www.backyardchickens.com/.

Still Playing Catch Up



Still playing catch up with our blog posts, here are some pictures that capture the fun we had at the Springdale Aquatic Center this summer.  I guess you can tell that Kellen loves the water!

Cousins

Kellen does not get to see his cousins as much as we would like for him to, but when they are together they certainly enjoy each others company. With four boys, four years old or younger, everyone is kept on high alert when we all get together but it generally works out with only a minor accident or two. The boys play hard and keep busy running around and getting the maximum out of their time together, but then sometimes they will surprise you as they will sit down and and enjoy a book with grandma before bedtime. The calm moments don't happen that often so we relish them and use the time as an opportunity to catch our breath as we know that with all of the cousins together it is probably just the calm before the storm.
       

Thursday Fun Day

Thursdays are my full day off with Kellen so I want to document some of the fun activities we do on those days.  This was one from a couple of weeks ago, we started off the day with reading and dancing.

Next, was a little watercolor painting. He started painting on the paper

then he moved on to his hands!

We worked on our colors and sorting,

and then made some bread -- I have new love for breadmakers

Then I thought we would try to make macaroni necklaces, however I think that he is a little young for that craft, but he enjoyed running through it dragging the string!

It was certainly a busy day but we love every minute of our Thursdays together.  

Wordless Wednesday-Wagon Style

Bike Rides

Bike rides have been one of our favorite summer/fall activities.  A few Saturday's ago we had a wonderful time when Papa and Grammie were visiting and joined us on the bikes!  We started at our house and rode about 6 miles to the first park. We have to stop at every park along the way as Kellen gets very excited when he sees all of the slides and swings.  Kellen had fun running around for a while, then it was off again.  We made another quick park stop and then stopped at the Fayetteville Farmers Market.  We had a great little sandwich and strawberry muffin at a local bakery and enjoyed the wonderful weather and time together.  Grammie was getting a little concerned at this point because we were about 15 miles from home but after a little pep talk we were on our way back.  On our way back home we made a lunch stop at Mellow Mushroom and one more park stop.  It was an unforgettable day and we hope to have many more great rides!