Where Did August Go?

Has it really been a whole month since my last post?!  August has flown by with lots of excitement here!  Let's see...  Lots of time with friends and family!  Always a favorite!

Back to the beginning of August.  Rylie had 2 chicken projects and a cake decorating project at the county fair.  She received Best of Show at the county fair for her cake decorating and had the honor of representing the county at the state fair.  Rylie was awarded Outstanding of the Day at the state fair which means she was in the top 20% of her class.  We were so proud of her.

It was our first year with chickens.  Rylie wanted egg laying chickens but Matt and I insisted she do meat chickens also so she would be able to sell her meat pen and make a profit to put into the bank for college.  Unfortunately, she lost all her meat chickens the day before the county fair.  So, no $$$.  But it was definitely a learning experience on many levels.  Thankfully, she still had her egg layers to take to the fair.  No money and they got to come home with us after the fair.  (I am not a chicken/bird person! But we now have 6 chickens for pets.)  We really didn't expect much out of the chickens...this was a learning year.  But, those chickens won Reserve Champion Brown Egg Laying Pullets and Rylie, never having shown before and really was never taught how to show chickens, won 1st place in the junior division of Poultry Showmanship!  Definitely helped make up for the disappointment of losing her meat birds!

Washing the Girls for the Show

 It's Show Time!

 And the Trophy Goes To...

 Isaac and Avery during the show...

Isaac's masterpiece...

created with his cowboy boot in the sand/gravel

Rylie with her 2012 county and state fair awards

 Isaac was not old enough to be in 4H this year but participated

in Clover Buds.  This was him sharing his first aid kit at

Clover Bud Recognition Day.

State Fair Fun

This was Avery watching the other 2 milk the cow...

"Holy Cow! What in the world are they doing?!"

After the fair, we headed to Amish Country with Mom, Dad, Reed, LeAnn and Eli for a weekend camping trip.  The weather wasn't super cooperative but it could have been much worse!  The campground was 5 star and coming from me, that means a lot!  My standards for bathrooms at campgrounds are pretty high!  We had delicious meals over the campfire!  Yum-O!  And a trip to Lehman's and The Farm was enjoyed by all.  There was an indoor swimming pool at the campground that we were also able to take advantage of.

Avery waiting for the wagon to take us on the safari at The Farm

You might think Avery was reaching for one of the unusual animals.
Nope.  She couldn't keep her hands off of the Amish guy driving the
wagon.  She has a thing for facial hair!

Our next big event was the God's Great Outdoors Fossil Hunt.  We love searching for fossils that give us tangible evidence of the worldwide flood of Noah's day!  Finding a trilobite has always been our goal.  Guess who found the prized fossil??!!  Yep, me!

Isaac is searching under rocks for hidden fossils.

 Avery enjoyed looking for fossils, too!

 Rylie hunted fossils for a while. I mean, you don't have to look

hard.  You look down and there they are.  But, according to Rylie,

fossil hunting just isn't as fun without Mrs. Hewitt, so she found a 

spot on the blanket with Avery & Mamma.  The Hewitts are our friends 

who are serving their first year as missionaries in India. I have to admit, 

Mrs. Hewitt does make everything more fun!

 

Random Photo:

This is Avery after being caught with the register out of the floor.

Thankfully, she didn't get an arm or leg stuck in there and she

didn't put any toys down the duct either.  She was too interested

in playing with the new found toy!

Our newest and biggest adventure began mid-August...homeschooling!  Never thought that would be us.  If you had asked me four years ago I would have said, "NO WAY!"  But, God, little by little, orchestrated the details of our lives and changed our hearts and minds to make this possible.  We have taken a huge leap of faith!  But definitely feel we are walking the path that God has set before us at this time in our lives. We are excited, anxious, thrilled, overwhelmed, joyful, content.....  Taking it year by year and excited to see how God uses this in our lives as a family and as individuals.  An adventure to say the least!!!

Our first field trip

The Fair at New Boston

Isaac, Rylie and Eli on the lookout of an "1812 fort"

 Can I get one of these to use at home, please?!

(No, he really is a good boy!)

The gang in front of a cannon

 Isaac performing servant work...

getting a taste of how hard it was to even get a bucket of water in 1812.