2nd half of July

We were planning on trying out the Boise and Nampa farmer's markets on Saturday, but we randomly ended up at this beautiful cut flower farm. It was like walking into a fairy land! So gorgeous! The kids had fun seeing the animals and picking which flowers to put into our bouquet. There are so many little farm stands and homesteads around here, you can't drive to far without running into one. We love it!! We have loved chatting with the farmers and sharing our enthusiam with them.

 

We went to actual church for the first time in 5 months! What a crazy world we are living in right now. We were asked to wear masks, only half of the ward goes at a time and only for a 45 minute sacrament meeting. When we pulled up that first day, we were shocked to see Benson without shoes! Whoops! We're obviously out of practice. The younger two especially seem to have no memory of what it is to sit reverently in a pew for ANY amount of time. We have a lot of room to improve with our home church, but being able to have gospel discussions in the shade of our tree with permission to move around, definitely has it's benefits. 

Since we have been out of our self quarantine, we are making up for lost time trying to get some fun things in and getting together with people. Found another free little library. The two that we've found, we hit up very frequently. Can't wait till we can have our own!  We have been to a great river and a splash pad with the Fogles, had the Jared Wheelers over for kickball and then they invited us to their pool to swim, also went swimming with the Kam Wheelers, and had the Gregorys over for kickball and treats. We also snagged a tramp from Uncle Shannon. We noticed he had a tramp frame at his house that wasn't being used, so we asked if we could buy it from him. He just told us to take it. :) Then we bought the mat and pad, and viola! We have a tramp! It's been seeing a LOT of use and I love it. 

The kids have been helping me with work projects, sometimes willingly and sometimes....not. :) We have worked on cleaning out the "out-buildings"so that we can hours chickens and rabbits soon. Believe me, those little barns and dog run hadn't been cleaned out in a long time. It was a rough one. 

Our neighbor via the back of our pasture (Carla) has been very gracious and offered to share her apricot tree and currant bushes. We've picked the fruit and made Jams etc. We've also been to other local farms to pick up corn and green beans to can. Tis the season for late nights of canning! 

Other misc pictures. We haven't pulled play doh out in a while, so it kept the middle three busy for quite a while!  Gwen got a bee sting in the pasture the other day, but she's tough so of course she handled it like a champ.  Also pictured Gwen painting Lindy's nails. Sometimes I build in service to each other in their bingo charts. Works like a charm. :)