Rodeo

We thought we would end our Texas Armadillo rodeo study with a "yee-haw". So we went to a real local rodeo!!

Say "bulls"

Drakeford said very loudly as a man passed us "here comes a cowboy!" Just ignore us, we're the newbies!

We really enjoyed seeing the younger catagories like sheep riding with kids as young as Drakeford! And some cow girls too! Lots of kids playing in dirt. We even got to go in the ring (to get candy)! 

It was very family friendly (minus the second hand smoke and half dressed people in the crowd) but hey! Clean language from the commentator, animals to pet, and all around good sportsmanship :) 

Thanks Grammy and Grandpa! 

French toast in the crock pot

I tried a French toast bake for breakfast. It turned out ok but mainly it was a bad choice of hodge podge junk bread since I was too cheap to use an entire loaf of earth fare artisan loaf for one meal! We have not eaten junk bread since the road trip and it is amazing the difference in flavor. I can taste the chemicles!! 

I also think a hardier bread would make a better texture, ours was a little too spongy and eggy in the middle. Maybe I will try again another day. It would help if we had maple syrup too!

It looks nice huh?

Toddler time

Drawing

Stacking

Pattern making

Sorting

School time while mommy sorts mail!

Then Drakeford made a spiral 

Then he got a little carried away with adding on. What else can I line up??

He was very proud and asked me to take a picture! 

Spring water fun!

Marlow frolicked in the sprinkler

Drakeford and Aowyn really enjoyed the water table

Next time I will put sun screen on the white baby!! Shoulder burn!

Time to dry off and soak up the sun shine. Even aowyn sat on he towel!

The toddlers then pretended they were at the beach. The trees were the waves and the bees were fish swimming by. They played and played and played. Love the mind of a child!

We then found chalk and bubbles to entertain us. So fun spending the morning in the spring air. It wasn't that hot, just really sunny!! 

The gardens are doing marvelous and I'm hoping our garden fabric mulch will help the strawberries produce this year! The blueberries are already budding!!

Could it be? Okra sprouts??

Little Champion!

Grammy took Drakeford to his first of six champions work out classes for little guys. He was so excited!! He worked hard and got a very good work out. I was so proud of his diligence. Marlow and Aowyn watched and cheered him on for the 45 min session. It was intense - for him and Grammy! 

At the end of the class the coach had them do an exercise that the kids didn't quite grasp, so after three attemps Drakeford, from exhaustion and frustration, sat it out. We was very discouraged. He told me later that he still didn't understand what the teacher was telling him. I wish it would have ended on a better note for him but we made a plan to help it go better next time. For one mommy won't take them on lots of tiring errands before his class. For two we will eat a lunch with more protein so he won't be as tired running on low! 

I hope he gives it another try, it was so good for him and I know he liked running around just like his Uncle Austin. 

And thanks to grandmommy, we have a super cool champions outfit and sneakers to wear!! These make him do much better of course :)

Before workout smiles

Lining up on the turf

Work those knee grabs!

Crock pot and cleaning

Today was full of pro-duc-tivity!!

Thanks to my cook, I was able to nest nest nest. Diapers - organized, wool - lanolized, Velcro - replaced, laundry - done. 

After all that I was exhausted and just sat down and felt my legs as heavy as lead. Kevin came in and said "do I need to spend $5 on some dinner?" (Not sure where he was thinking of). Wise man, but tonight momma was prepared! The cook was given instructions. All he had to do was scoop and serve! (Thanks babe!)

Tonight we had Chili and corn bread...yummy!!

http://intentionalbygrace.com/2011/06/09/recipe-marks-homemade-chili/

The corn bread recipe was off the back of the bobs red mill package and was so easy and quick! I will make again since I like cornbread so much anyway! It did call for flour which I wasn't excited about since aowyn is off of gluten (and dairy) right now, but maybe I will get online and look up a good gluten free alternative. Right now I'm using sprouted spelt, which is significantly lower on gluten, but not free. So no bread for aowyn. She liked the chili though!

I tried putting dairy back in her diet after 2 1/2 weeks of being off of it and I saw a big difference, not in a good way. Lots of messy diapers and tugging on the ears after only 3 days. So back on the goats milk for a bit! I also buy her one gluten free bread item just for her. We have tried bagel thins and cinnamon rolls. We need some more baby snack ideas though, not enough teeth for nuts and carrots. 

Happy Resurrection Day!

He is Risen!

Easter

Easter fun with friends!

Closet refangle (again)

So what has daddy been up to while momma is cooking in the kitchen trying out her new crock pot recipes?

Putting in new shelves for the kids!

And...adding a second bar in the kids closet!!

As you can see, the hamper has been over flowing for lack of space in the closet to hang things up. The baskets on the floor of closet is the "dresser". Hopefully I can catch up on clothes before another round of wash comes up! And now to more Aowyn's clothes in there...hmm...

Thank you daddy! It is a huge help!

Easter Breakfast

Could it be???

Cinnamon rolls for Easter??

Yay!

And a little steel cut oats in the crock pot on the side :)

Blueberry Crock Pot Bread

This recipe said "cake" but it's more of a bread to my taste buds :) very yum though and made in the crock pot!!

Dinner rolls

More crock pot baking! Dinner rolls

Nice and brown on the bottom 

And east clean up!

The benefit of baking in the crock pot is more oven space if using, or the option of not needing to turn on the hot oven on a summers day just to get your fresh baked bread fix!

Earth Fare meet up

We had a fun time meeting up with our friends and sharing some chocolate!

Ooo Aowyn loves chocolate!

Behind the Scenes

Behind the scenes...

A special surprise is coming your way soon!

Meanwhile....

Marlow photo

Marlow snapping a photo of Uncle Austin and Drakeford playing magformers, one of the best toys ever! Even Kevin asked for more for his birthday!!

Toddler maxi skirt

Upcycle toddler maxi skirt!

I couldn't salvage enough fabric to make a long roll down waistband so I just made a casing and put elastic in. She said three times that day "mom, I really like this skirt to made me!" Some things I make she wears for me but really doesn't care for. This one is a favorite! Partly because it looks very similar to mine!

Before

After

Gardening

Garden planted!!

Some more school resources

Having been to two homeschool conferences last month, I was very eager to get home and play out some new ideas! Really old ones that I am just more excited about doing! 

Here are some school resources we are using. 

Found these two at goodwill!

So far this one has done a great job of explaining those hard to explain concepts found in proverbs, like discernment. 

Armadillo Rodeo

While waiting a jury duty last earlier this month, I found a great unit study that grabbed my attention. It is based on the book "Armadillo Rodeo" by Jan Brett, a rootin tootin chilli pepper red Texas hollerin story. And seeing as we just came from Texas and have asked many questions about cowboys, rodeos, and armadillos, it was a winner! Here is the link: http://www.homeschoolshare.com/armadillorodeo.php

 Here are some activities we did!

Coloring page. Talking about the difference between three banded and nine banded armadillos

Cutting out cow cards

"Branding" the cows to make a matching game

Playing "sink or float" like an armadillo and recording our findings

(Drakeford in a cowboy hat of course :)

"Sink" on the left, "float" on the right. Now we're just playing!

The state of Texas 

To end with a yeehaw we are going to go to our local rodeo next Sunday and see real cowboys! 

We passed by a stable and saw the ponies near our house so I asked if they wanted to ride on them. Marlow said "yes! When I get much bigger". Drakeford said "No, they might step on my feet when I try to get on and hurt me."

(I may have said this to him ONE time as a safety instruction...now it's a rule, sheesh!)

 So...no real pony rides yet :( maybe next year!