Summer, birthdays and more...

Summertime is flying by and it seems like it barely started. It's been a cooler one this year and we had a cold spring, so it feels like we've been short-changed. :) I don't think we've had a day over 90 degrees yet and it's already feeling like fall. We were all in sweatshirts yesterday. Normally, we get four cuttings of hay in every summer, but we haven't yet put in third cutting, so I doubt we'll get that much this year. The kids and I helped FarmDad bring in a few loads of hay from a field on Saturday, but the field was only half cut because the rest of it hadn't grown tall enough yet.

We've had a busy summer, and here are a few of the highlights:

Birthdays!!!

Miss Smiley's birthday was July 14th and Tractor Boy's birthday was July 19th, so we had a fun combo celebration for them both with grandparents and a few cousins.

5 years old!!

I made a butterfly cake for Miss Smiley with lots of candy...

Big boy 4 years old!

Tractor Boy got a hot air balloon cake. It turned out very cute!

Miss Smiley got a butterfly net from Grandma and Grandpa H. and she spends hours in the backyard catching butterflies...

Tractor Boy was given a hoe to help in the garden. He spends hours digging holes and making roads around the beans and corn. Miraculously, the beans have (mostly) survived the construction zone...

Meanwhile, we are all counting down the days until Baby joins our family...

We're all ready for you Baby...you can come anytime!!

Another fun event we had this summer was our family reunion with FarmMom's family. We spent three days camping with everyone. It was a fun-filled time of eating, talking, laughing, swimming, playing games, and sharing memories...

My brother and his girlfriend came up for a day and went caving with us. Tractor Boy wasn't too sure about going into a dark, cold hole in the ground, so the kids and FarmMom picked huckleberries while the others went through the cave.

The Rathole

The Shelf

The dirty cavers!

All together at the campground!

The boys building a fire.

Celebrating cousin's birthday!

Enjoying the hammocks...

We'll need a bigger hammock next year!!

The belly bulge at 8 months and growing!

Besides the arrival of a new baby, FarmMom is also looking forward to starting Kindergarten with Miss Smiley this fall. Homeschooling may be a bit off and on with a new baby, but hopefully it will be a fun experience for all.

That about sums up our summer adventures so far!