A Relaxing Sunday At Home

"Chilling" out at home on a Sunday.  We have no where to go......and no where we have to be.  Love days like this!!!

 Hannah just being smiley.

 Chey and Jack having a picnic lunch in their fort.

Chef Jack's afternoon project.  Cooking ribs over the fire.

An after dinner  family game of bocce ball.

 And a very pretty sunset.

A very nice ending for the month of July.
Tomorrow we welcome August.
 

Swimming And Fishing

It was beautiful summer night so we packed up the kids, the fishing poles, and headed to Long Lake (in the Kettle Moraine).  Had a good time and enjoyed ourselves completely!

Fishing 101

Hannah got the most worms eaten off of her hook for the night, but no "big catches".

Day # 2 of the little bruisers recovering from his bicycle accident.  His cheek is still a bit swollen.  Says he can "feel it jiggle up and down" and "sort of hurts" when he runs or bends over.  He also says his back teeth still are "kind of sore".

No bites for Cheyenne, but a turtle followed her and her pole wherever she went.

The kids got a kick out of how cool the air gets in the evening and how warm the water stays.

Wipe Out!

Our first bicycle accident of the summer which I think is pretty good considering it is almost August.  Luckily the little guy is tough!

Jack-jack took a header!

The side of his face took the brunt of the fall.

He's pretty skinned up, bruised up, and swollen, but nothing is broken (as far as we can tell).

Creativity In Motion

It has been a very warm past week plus a few days--as it has been all over.  

We have been laying low at the Krell house.  We have no air conditioning, so we have been sitting in front of fans, underneath the shade trees, or playing in the little pool to keep cool.  Needless to say it hasn't been very exciting around here.

Today again it is another warm and sticky day.  It being cooler indoors made the kids put their creativity to work.  Not really sure what they are going to make they use (recycling) cardboard and the hot glue gun.

Their final products....

 

Jack and Hannah made a spaceship.  Cheyenne made a double decker bus for her Barbies.

Operation Determined Cookie

Of course when you don't have an oven (in working order) is the time you totally craaaave something that requires an oven to make.  We've reached a point where the cravings led us to a more creative way of thinking.

Since the sun was shining and the day was about to get warm, we reverted back to our fourth grade science lessons on alternate energy.  We grabbed ourselves a cardboard box, some aluminum foil, and a sheet of glass.  Cheyenne (our little baker) whipped up a batch of cookie dough, dropped spoonfuls on a cast iron griddle, and we tried out our homemade solar powered oven.

As we wait for our cookies to bake we are even more determined than before.  We will have those yummy chocolate chip cookies before the sun goes down!!!

After one hour of progress.  Our oven is definitely working.  Looking like cookies.

After two and a half hours we have ourselves a delicious plate of freshly baked cookies (and another batch in the oven).

Our oven worked!  

It does take more time than using the conventional oven, but no energy other than that provided by the sun was used for baking.

"He that can have Patience, can have what he will”

-Benjamin Franklin-

A Pita Pizza, Please.

For supper tonight, the kids were in charge.  They each made their own pita pizzas just the way they like it.

  

 They sure look yummy kids!

Problem we ran into......we don't have an oven to cook them with.  Yeup!  Our oven spit out some nice little sparks, a short little poof, and we now have one minor little set back--an oven that does not get warm.

Luckily, I got a nice cast iron griddle for Mother's day.  Pizza on the grill!  Never done that before, but always up for trying/learning something new.

Not too bad!

Little Pig, Little Pig.

The excitement for today was picking up our little pigs.  We got six.  Cheyenne got to ride along with Jack to get them.

  
It was warm outside, so the first thing the little pigs did was head for the mud puddle in their new fence.

They're our entertainment for the day.

They are so much fun to watch!

Ice Cold Lemonade

What do you do on Friday afternoon when you are looking for something to do???  Pack up your supplies, head into town (by Great Grandma's), and set yourself up a stand to sell some ice cold lemonade.  The kids sold 10 glasses.  Not too bad for a couple hours of fun.

Little Jack even got an awesome "new" bike out of the whole deal.  Life is great when you are at the right place at the right time and you cross paths with some nice people.

Of course we have to save some nice cold lemonade for Dad.  He had a long (warm) day at work.  And since he has been home he has been working on the final adjustments to the fence for the little pigs we are getting tomorrow.

 

That Dad, he is always working hard!

Jack's Turn!

Tonight he doesn't have to sit and watch the girls play because he has a game of his own.  "Finally!".  Sometimes that once a week doesn't come around fast enough.  Especially when it is something you enjoy.

 Good luck big guy!

First Round of Beets

This year we had a different sort of organic beet seed.  Instead of growing round they grew like carrots???  Never saw that before.  Yesterday, when I was working in the garden, I saw that a couple of beets were starting to seed out--obviously ready for harvest.

Today I went through and started thinning the rows out.  I picked an armful and pickled them.

 

Batch #1 (of about 5 or 6 more this size) complete.

Another Year For The Pool

It has been warm for the past few days.  I guess you could even say it is starting to feel a little more like summer.  Then again.....it is July......it should!

The ol' pool that sits in the back of the garage until the weather warms up was brought out yet again for another summer of abuse. Seems to get smaller and smaller every year.  The kids however still have fun with it.  I can't believe it has lasted as long as it has.

Happy 4th of July!

We already began celebrating this very exciting holiday yesterday.  

We made yummy parfaits of strawberries (red), yogurt (white), and blueberries (blue), sprinkled with granola to be festive, deliver, and enjoy. 

In the later evening we packed up the kids and headed to Mayville to hang out with some friends and enjoy the firework show.  Of course we have to get there early to get a "good" seat on the hill.  It was a beautiful night.  The kids got a long well and entertained themselves great while the adults enjoyed some conversation of their own.

 

Today we dress in our red, white, and blues as we venture out to watch Hartford's annual 4th of July parade.

And tonight.....more fireworks!

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness.  You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.  ~Erma Bombeck

To all of you, a Happy and Safe 4th of July!!!