our story: July 2013

School Lunch Ideas

It's back-to-school time, and what I find helpful is the kids' opinion on what they will actually eat in their cold lunches. They help me make the list of approved food for their lunch and help me pack it the night before. Here is what we came up with for this year. I know that ideas are always helpful, so I thought I would share!

Rex, Lola, and Ticky Poo

The time had come for us to get kittens. If it were up to me, we would have as many kittens that would fit on a 7-acre plot. We would go outside and frolic amongst the fluffy fields of kittens while laughing and singing jubilantly, tossing kittens to each other as if they were puffs of cotton. But being as it may, puffs of kittens is just not possible. Although we can't have fields of kittens, we do, however, have fields of poison ivy. It seems like after we had received a couple of outbreaks, we directed our attention on finding the source. When we actually looked for it, we found it EVERYWHERE. "Hey kids...go pick those yummy mulberries (that are right above that ginormous patch of poison ivy)!" Oops. The kids mainly got reactions from the plant oil being transferred from the cats to them, so a lot of their reactions ended up in their armpits or by their necks. Chad's reactions were contained to his arms because he always wears pants outside. And I somehow ended up with it on my bottom. (???)

Leaves of three, let it be.

I have recognized it by the long stem in the middle. Sort of reminds me of the middle finger. Seems fitting.

Growing Out of a Stump

The whole fence line was engulfed with this stuff!

Each of the kids got their own kitten, so here they are:

Brock's Kitten, Rex (named after Rex Burkhead)

The apricot tree is their favorite hideout.

Ella's Kitten, Lola

(Lola Jr., actually)

This is as close as we can get to Lola. We can sometimes pet her when she is eating, but most of the time, she runs off or bites you. Needless to say, we are trying to find another kitten for Ella to hold and cuddle with.

Note the poison ivy to the right of the picture. *sigh*

Sophie's Kitten, Ticky Poo (aka Loveable / aka Kitty Poo)

Since Ella's kitten isn't very tame, she gets her fix from the other kittens.

Ticky Poo likes to do this on my leg. Ouch!

These cats climb up and down the trees so fast; it's unlike anything I have ever seen a cat do. They spend the majority of their time in the tree tops napping, at your feet begging for food, or catching mice.

On a side note, nothing says summertime more than a trip to Snowflakes!

Happenings Around the House

Garden Progress

Before:

After:

There is still plenty of room for additional plantings and landscaping, but we stuck with the basics this year in hopes that it was a good location for a garden.

Chad took his last vacation of the year with intentions of us getting the basement cleaned out and water issues taken care of (done and done!). Uncle Loyd was ever-so-generous to let us borrow his skid-loader for two weeks to do some much needed demo to the yard. We have become quite creative in our plans for future tree plantings and landscaping, and it is exciting to see the progress.

Clearing Out the Orchard