Organic Valley photoshoot

I don't know that I've mentioned before, but our dairy is organic and we belong to the Organic Valley co-op. Organic Valley milk is sold nationwide, but if you live in the Pacific Northwest, chances are you've had some of our milk if you buy Organic Valley. OV milk is kept within regional pools to decrease shipping costs and to mantain a shorter farm-to-table time.

Anyway, Organic Valley likes to promote its products with real pictures of its farmers. This past summer they sent a photographer to do a photoshoot of our family. We recently got the pictures back and they turned out great! Here are a few of my favorites...

 All images © 2010 Anna Campbell. Used with permission.

Introducing...

the newest member of our family! I know, I know this post is long overdue, but we've been adjusting to busier days and sleepless nights once again.

Our little Boy Blue was born on September 18th--four days after his duedate. He was 8 lb. 4 oz. and 21 inches long. What fun it's been to have a baby in the house again! I spend all my spare time just holding him and staring at his perfect little face. How could I have forgotten how cute those little baby squeaks and coos are?

It's been fun to watch FarmDad with this little guy. Apparently, the third time's the charm, because although FarmDad loved holding and playing with Miss Smiley and Tractor Boy when they were babies, he is so totally at ease with Boy Blue. As soon as he comes in from work, he swoops him up and starts talking to him. So precious.

Brother and sister absolutely adore baby, of course. Usually, they have to be told that he has gotten enough kisses and hugs for a while.

Bathtime...

One month old...

In other Farm Family news...

Miss Smiley started soccer this year!

She loves it and has improved a lot since starting. At the beginning, she would run and hop randomly around the field kicking the ball whichever direction she was already facing. Now she understands the basics and she has gotten much more aggressive and competitive (thanks to lots of pep talks from Dad the coach!) She has even made a couple of goals in the last few games. Way to go, sweet girl!!

We have also started homeschooling--a little late because of baby's arrival, but better late than never!! Miss Smiley is in kindergarten and Tractor Boy is in preschool, but so far I've just been teaching them together. Today we had fun working on writing the letters of the alphabet in chocolate pudding...

The taste test...

The letter C...

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!