Birds...& cats!

This is a new one for us! Nancy (aka Sharon, Salvan, Mama kitty) is quite a hunter!

Bret counted 40 birds flying out of here one morning! I would say there were probably 42 to begin with! We're not sure how she got up here! We felt sorry for her after a while and moved the garbage can to make it easier for her to get down! Now she's up and down all the time!
Wade can always spot the unusual! He snapped the hawk on Wednesday, something I would have been totally oblivious to if it weren't for my watchful husband!

Road Under Construction

We're getting a new road! Wade says he'll now be able to take the Jeep out of 4-wheel drive when he drives down our road!
Today I could leave, but tomorrow the road will be closed from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. We'll do our school work at Grandma's until our writing class begins!
A sneak peak at the roses!

Callie

Shhhh! She's taking a nap!

Finally, a family picture

My parents took this picture of us this weekend. Our missionary friend is sharing the camera, but I thought I'd post it anyway so you could get a good look at us together! For more info. on our friend you may stop by my folk's blog

This week our Crew is learning to write using the Student Intensive Writing Course.

I am facilitating Level A. We have 15 students this year! Bret is privileged to be one of my students (ha, ha!) Thankfully, the Lord has blessed me with many helpful parents! I'm enjoying this time. It's so much fun interacting with the children. Rachel is challenging herself with Level C. This is probably high school level. She's sensing that, but still giving it her all!

We're also battling sore throats here. Both boys now have sore throats and headaches! Please pray for them!

May God bless the rest of your week.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame...

This afternoon we had a school softball game and picnic! Home school students look forward to days like this! It was a great afternoon and after the picnic the students were challenged to a game by their parents. I kept my seat, but enjoyed watching, as my husband power hit those balls! Time to warm up!
Lilly played at the park!
Mr. J - a great pitcher!
Rachel runs to base!
Good hit Bret!
Go, Garret, Go!
Lilly gets her turn!
Way to go!!

Apples to Apples

Today we have two field trips planned. We just arrived home from the first. I was anxious to dump pictures off the camera, so ...why not blog as well? We were invited to our friends' apple ranch to learn about apples! Yum!
Mr. B. taught us what apples need to grow, how to grow them, and what to look for when picking. He demonstrated how he takes the pressure of the apple to check the texture (I think? I might not have been listening close enough!)
Every apple is supposed to have 10 seeds, although he says he rarely finds that to be true! Have you ever cut an apple like this? If you take out the seeds you have a beautiful star pattern. Perfect for dipping in paint and making beautiful designs. Of course, I would only do this if I had an abudance of apples (we don't like to waste food!)
Here, Garret is checking to see the sugar content of the apple. Mr. B. said it was 16, Garret felt it was closer to 17 (of course!)
Bret checks out the sugar content as well!

Picking time!

We took home four grocery bags full! I brought a bag for each kid to pick a few. Mr. and Mrs. B. made sure they were all full. So, yes - Amy we'll save some for you!

Worth the Wait...

We've enjoyed fresh fruit of one kind or another almost since we moved in. First we feasted on cherries, the nectarines were yummy lunch treats, next purple plums, grapes to share, and finally the peaches are ripe! They're delicious! And huge! Seriously, most of them are softball size! One of Wade's former occupation's happened to be peach sorter. So when this man declares these peaches as some of the biggest he ever saw, we know it's no joke!
I picked so many today I thought I better do something with them! I made this cobbler after dinner. On Saturday, I'll make some jam. By the way, thanks for planting a freestone - Jim and Mary! I don't have to feel guilty about not canning them!

Hiking/Camping

This is the long awaited backpacking trip. Rachel asked her dad at least 3 years ago to go backpacking. The date was finally set, then we realized that we didn't own any backpacking equipment. So this was a modified trip - they established a base camp and went for a day long hike. - Melissa

On Friday Dad, Bret and Rachel went camping near Herring Creek and Watershed Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California!

This almost-tame doe walked right up to within 5 feet of us! She was beautiful, with big, brown eyes.

The hike from the truck to the edge of the "wilderness" was like a garden.

Starting on our hike into the wilderness.

What a magnificent wilderness it is. You could see where a glacier had scooped out practically every inch of soil and ground the granite smooth.

Just starting out into the barren wilderness.

This was about 11:00 am and just about at the bottom.

We sat here and ate our lunch. What a view.

Our first glimpse of Watershed Lake. Truly an oasis.

There was a Geocache around here somewhere...but where!

Rachel relaxing overlooking the lake.

Was the Geocache near "Oven-Mitt Rock"? Nope.

Eventually we gave up on the Cache and headed back. Down off of "Oven-Mitt Rock, across the wilderness and...yes...BACK UP the "face".

This was the local wildlife and entertainment all in one. This little guy (about a foot and a half long) was just doing a little sun bathing until we showed up. Then, quick as a flash, he dashed off into the nearest puddle and buried himself in the mud at the bottom. Best of both worlds, I guess.

Beginning the treck back. At this point Dad was ready to be back at camp eating Pringles and Salami...but we were only 1/2 way there!

Yup...we have to climb up that. Really, at this point, we're half way up after our 5th rest. Notice Rachel's smile? She was the only one smiling...Bret and Dad were concentrating on not passing out!

Bret celebrates the end of our 6 mile hike. He was saving that last gulp of water until we reached the truck.


I think there were 20 cows and this was probably the only one that did NOT have a cow bell. We got to listen to the clinking of the bells periodically through the night.


Dad sleeps on the picnic table after the gruelling hike. Dad must have some royal blood in his veins...see how many mattresses it took for him to finally sleep?

Warming our bacon (breakfast).

Another great hike on Saturday.

We had a great time! The forest was beautiful! I'm sure this rock has a name...we'll call it Fortress Rock.

It was a great camping/hiking trip. We've already started a list of items to bring next year. Trust me, a porta-potti is on that list!

-Wade and Rachel