Nibbles and Her Chicks

I have to admit, I was a bit anxious at first about how Nibbles would react to our chickens... She was notorious for bolting down the street, trying to catch a seagull or raccoon, while ignoring our pleas to "come here!". She's not the most obedient dog, and she has no sense of "personal space" when it comes to other animals...

Well, here she is today! Nibbles has put to rest any worries I had about her and our birds. She occasionally gets them flapping as she bolts across the yard, but Nibbs has never shown any signs that she views them as dinner :) I think she likes to hang out with them because I throw the girls left-overs on occasion, and Nibbs likes to "share". Now, she's just one of the flock!

Rocket Man

Noah decided to set off a rocket today! Noah has a couple friends who are doing a 4H rocketry project, and I think they may have inspired him to set off his own. It was the perfect day for it, too- sunny and in the mid-70's!

Here's my Rocket Man, getting ready for lift-off! Noah put this rocket together himself, which included setting up the launch pad, packing the parachute inside the rocket, and installing the engine and wiring it to the ignition switch. He did a great job, with very little help from me!

Unfortunately, I did not get a picture of the take-off! Noah had a few glitches before it finally took flight, and I was unprepared for the speed in which it finally lifted off :) Here's the rocket after the chute deployed. It actually worked!

Today was a bit breezy and the rocket was blown into our creek! At least it didn't end up in the top branches of a tree. :) Elena fished it out quickly so that Noah can set it off again in the future. Good job, Rocket Man Noah!


Have a great weekend, everyone!

Floods and Feathers

It has been raining and raining and raining... for the past few days, we have seen nothing but rain! Today, the rain stopped (for good, I hope) and we were able to get out and inspect the creek. Wow! It has overflowed its banks and looks like a small river! Gabe and I just had to play a game of Pooh Sticks, since the creek is flowing so nicely :) If you don't know the game, all you need is a bridge over a swift-moving creek and a couple of sticks... first stick to the other side wins!

Before the rain started on Sunday, the kids helped me get our fall garden built! Since the soil is not very fertile here, we have decided to make a raised bed... as you can see, the chickens helped scratch up the old grass :)

Noah generously offered to clean the grass out of the garden area :) He is all about playing in the dirt with shovels! As you can see from the next picture, the soil we uncovered is not ideal for a garden- it is mostly sand with a little clay thrown in. Hmmmm... I need some manure.

This is as far as we got! I dug down a little after Noah was done skimming off the grass, and we overlapped strips of weed barrier on the bottom. When the sun comes back out, I will fill up my garden plot with nice dark soil and start transplanting our seedlings! So far, we have broccoli, lentil, corn, and wheat. :)

Gabe found a little feathery friend on the porch this morning! For those of you who don't know already, we call Gabe the "chicken whisperer" because of his magical way of handling even our most nervous of chickens. He also has an amazing, almost hypnotic effect on the local wildlife! Not a day goes by that he doesn't show up at the front door with some new critter in his dirty little hands :)

I'll let you know if we identify this cute little guy :) Leave a comment if you happen to know!

Yearbook info

For everyone who would like a peek into the homeschooling world, here's the link to our yearbook! You can download a free PDF copy at:

http://www.lulu.com/product/ebook/gulfcoast-homeschool-association-2010-2011/17801498

As you can see, Noah is on the front cover! He is playing tug-of-war at our Fall Fest last year ;)
Flip through the yearbook and see all the other great activities we participated in last year... I bet you can pick out the kids if you look close enough!

Enjoy!
Melissa

Our Week

Last week, Noah participated in his first academic fair. He did a report on our 22nd and 24th President, Grover Cleveland. Noah made a poster board presentation and wrote a paper on Cleveland's life and accomplishments as President- he did a very good job and looks forward to the International Fair in November where he will be presenting Estonia!

Elena and her friend, Elisabeth, discovered something new on our property this week- BEES! I have been wanting to get a hive, so I'm taking this as a sign to get one now! I need to contact a local beekeeper and find out what the next step is to capture my swarm... it should be a very educational experience for all of us :)

My little ones are best friends. Whether they admit to it or not, they always have a good time together! Here they are in Andy's recliner playing an Xbox game together... It is always heart-warming to see them sharing and laughing together :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

All Outdoors

It was a beautiful day in the mid-80's. It looks like fall is finally here!! Bring on the sun!!
Our seasons are a bit backwards here... in the summer, it rains nearly every day in the afternoon (this year more than most), and the winter is lovely, sunny and warm.



Andy purchased a 48" John Deere lawnmower for tackling the large yard, but has never had the time to show Noah how to use it. Today, he took the time to show Noah the controls! I am so excited, and I think Noah enjoyed mowing :) He got nearly all the mow-able parts of the yard this afternoon/evening, and he did a pretty good job for a novice...

Elena and the little ones decided to start their own garden this year. Our fall growing season starts around August/September, so they planted some seeds to see how they would do... I think every single seed sprouted!! Here's Gabe with his broccoli plants- he loves his broccoli. We really need to transplant them to different pots, but for now they are thriving in this one!

Annalee planted fenugreek seeds. I don't know what to do with them- hahahaha! I know the seeds are used in herbal remedies, but for now the plants are pretty small. I'll figure it out sooner or later :)

Elena got a couple white cucumber plants from our good friend, Ms. Taffy. While our friend's plants didn't do so well, Elena's have taken off and are now climbing up our pool cage!! I think Elena's green thumb had something to do with it. She can make anything grow :)

I hope this weather holds up! What a great time of year to be outside :)

Annalee turns 8!

My little girl has turned 8! I can't believe little Annalee is getting so big. She is bright, lovable and a little trouble-maker :) My mom says she's a lot like me! Lord, help me..

Annalee decided to have a little get-together with a few of her friends here at the house. The kids swam, ate lots of cake and ice cream, and got their hands on our chickens! Really, I think the highlight of the day was when the girls wandered out to the chicken coop and loved on our Brahmas :) They were so sweet!

Here's Annalee with her birthday cake. Elena helped me make a chocolate cake with Oreo icing, and boy was it yummy! Topped with a big "8", it was Annalee's wish come true :)



Here's Annalee enjoying her last bites of Oreo ice cream. Yes, it was a cookies and cream birthday- very rich and sugary!

Annalee opened her gifts after having swam with her buddies...

Annalee was so happy that her friends were here to celebrate with her!

Happy Birthday, Annalee! She's a cutie, and so full of life :) We are truly blessed to have her in our family.