Tuesday, June 6, 2017

Uno Burrito


It doesn't take us any time at all to dive right into summer vacation and enjoy it to its max.

Smoothie Challenge -- Brock had to make a video of it.













Baseball is Life
With Brock, Ella, and Sophie being on all different teams this year, we have three different game and practice schedules, which has been very interesting this year.  Since Chad is coaching Brock's team, he has been to all of Brock's games.  We decided that this year, if we weren't able to make it to all of the games, the girls will just have to miss one of their games and make that sacrifice for the other to ensure that there is a parent at the field during game time.  It's been a lot of running around with minimal nights free, but watching these kiddos play ball is one of our favorite things to do!

June Calendar






3rd Place in the Dwight Tournament


After the first week of summer with basketball and softball camps and ball games/practices, this is what you get...


Making Mud Pies










Kolache Attempt #3 -- Fail.
We'll keep trying!

Heusinkvelts vs Poison Ivy
After another year of Brock falling subject to a massive poison ivy attack (same thing happened last year!), Chad and I went on a poison ivy hunt to kill all things poisonous.  I then took the kids out for a refresher course on poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac identification.


It took 2 backpacks full of spray to kill all of it. 

Careful not to kill the pretties!

Poison ivy lurking in the shadows...



We have also been working diligently on completing the playhouse for this girls.  We got the slide attached and mud table/sand box created and ready to be filled.  We are now ready to seal the windows, order the siding, and drywall/finish!






After ripping out the wall to expose the chimney in the kitchen/dining room, we decided that we didn't necessarily like it exposed in the dining room, so I have been working to patch it. 

Life on the farm requires individuals to have the most interesting tan lines.

Everything is better with "Minnesota" slippers.  

The Goatie Girls took an immediate liking to the mud pie table.


Happy girl!

Bailey is always trying to jab Hershey Squirt in some sort of way.  She rams her when they are eating or when she gets stuck in the fence.  You can definitely tell who is the dominant goat.  Here she is ramming her so that she can be first on the table.

Bailey: 1  
Hershey Squirt: 0

They made sure to leave a little present behind when they left.





Brock has been doing a lot of what he loves to do...FISHING!  This boy spends most of his day researching fishing equipment and techniques.  Whenever we go swimming at the lake or camping, he has his pole in the water from sun up to sun down.  He LOVES fishing and is definitely good at it!



Blake's Sausage Patties
They were so delicious!


We've been doing a lot of grilling.  Venison and rib steaks are the BEST!

Summer = Haircuts


Reading at the Lake

Climbing Trees


The "Beach"

We swim and Brock fishes.



Brock's chicken livers and stink bait (aka hotdogs with garlic, ginger, and some other nasty stuff)























Friday, May 26, 2017

Kolache Challenge

The goal this summer is to master the art of kolaches.  Since I really don't have an expert to learn from, I'm going to see if the girls and I can find the perfect recipe through trial and error.  My hope is to find a keeper recipe and the proper technique to pass down for generations to come. 

For our first trial run, we tried two different kolache recipes and varied the kolache size a bit to find the right dough-to-filling ratio.  We made large ones, and we made small ones.  We also experimented with the bake time a bit.  The first batch was an absolute fail (the poppy seed and cherry), but we seemed to get a little closer with the second batch (strawberry and cherry).  The kolaches were just about the right size, although I would like to see them a tad bit bigger for them to have my envisioned formation (It's in my head!  I have the vision!  Must. Create. Perfect. Kolache).  I know exactly what we will do next time!

All while making these wonderful puffs of pastry, I kept thinking about different fillings and how to make them even more delicious.  I would like to try some sort of cream cheese/cinnamon sugar filling to give it a cinnamon roll taste, and the girls are dying to try ones with lemon filling.  Sophie had the idea of doing a half-and-half kolache with equal parts lemon and strawberry filling.  Kolache Baking Championship, here we come!

Thursday, May 25, 2017

Baby Vamp

Baby Vamp 
I've been meaning to get a picture of Baby Vamp for the longest time, and today I realized that her big teeth were coming in fast, so I needed to get the pic ASAP!

In a world gone crazy, these are some of life's simple pleasures that I look forward to every day...
  • Tennis shoes -- I can't get anything done around the house until I put on my shoes.  They make me fast.  ;)
  • Cozy pants on cold days and yoga pants on nice days
  • Cuddle duds on cold days and tank tops on nice days
  • Messy bun to keep my long locks out of my face

Sweet Tea

Friday, May 12, 2017

Class of 2026

As the days count down until these kiddos are in 4th grade, I can't help but be saddened by the fact that, just as my own, they are growing up.  I spent weeks getting to know you, and it took me minutes to love you, and now you are on to bigger and brighter things.  The end of the school year gets to me every year; it never gets easier to say goodbye to "my kids."  Here's to you, class of 2026!  Thank you for a wonderful year!  :)


Saturday, May 6, 2017

Pioneer Day 2017

Ella's 4th Grade Pioneer Day






Moo-Moo, Youth Medium, and See-Through 
A few prairie dress disasters, but it all worked out!  :)


 Selfies
"There are no selfie sticks on the prairie, Dad."  -Ella



Here they come!




Egg Toss






Chick City


Brock's 6th Grade Choir Program