Hunting for a diamond....

Sam and Ben went to the Crater of Diamonds State Park because Ben was determined that he was going to find a diamond-they were doing geology in school last year.   It was unbelievably hot when they went, but it didn't deter them!!!

This is the field they were working in-glad I didn't go with them!!  Needless to say, they didn't find any diamonds, but Ben still ruled it a successful day.

Maggie went fishing with Milly and Rich. I had a wonderful day relaxing on my own. Everyone had a great time.....

Back to school!!!!

It's that time already.  The kids are going back to school tomorrow.  They are all ready to go.  We did the "Meet the Teacher" on Thursday and Ben got to meet his new teacher, she is new to the school this year. She charmed him completely.  She is extremely nice and hopefully Ben will have a good year with her.  Maggie has a teacher that we have had in the past, she was Daniel's first grade teacher.  She is also very nice and should keep Maggie in line quite successfully!!!

Little Rock report

Summer is coming to a close (at least the "school's out" part of it) and the kids have been at home for the last two weeks. We went to Little Rock for a few days to see family and for Ben to fulfil his desire to find a diamond (separate post!!). We had a great time there, every year the kids seem to enjoy it more and are getting easier to keep entertained for a few days. We found plenty for them to do on this trip, but still got in plenty of family time

One of the biggest hits is the neighbourhood pool that the kids never seem to get tired of, they were in there every single day, sometimes more than once. They usually have the pool to themselves and there are no lifeguards to yell at them for one crime or another

Ben had Sam doing swimming and handstand competitions!!!

We went to see the Travelers game at the new stadium. It was the first time they had been in town when we have been there for a very long time!!! They played the Springfield Cardinals, so it was hard to decide who we wanted to win!!!

The circus was in town, so we went to see that too. It was a big production, completely different to Circus Flora. The kids absolutely loved it.    So, despite the heat (which was brutal at times), it was a highly successful trip.

It just keeps getting bigger.....

Yeah, the garden is becoming like a jungle. Unfortunately, it's got a lot of vegetation and very little fruit/veg harvest. We have huge tomato plants and not many tomatoes and no gigantic zucchini after the first two. We have had several batches of okra that I have fried successfully, Sam & I ate it as an appetizer the other day!!!!

The watermelon did not make it, it split while we were away. Ben was very unhappy, but I had warned him that they were very difficult to grow unless you're prepared to water them every day....

Fabulous clouds

Aren't these the weirdest clouds you've ever seen. I have never seen them quite that shape before. After thinking how cool they were, I couldn't help thinking that whatever pattern that made them that shape couldn't be good. We decided to go back into the building.  As Maggie said, "we'd better get back inside before we get wet, or die"!!!!!

The power of a paper ticket.....

Well, Ben and Maggie are now into their last two weeks on Summer and since Adventure Club is over, they are officially on vacation. I have been giving them the option of what they want to do every day and of course that means that Ben comes up with the ideas and Maggie just goes along with it. On Sunday, we went roller skating-which means, Ben roller skated, Maggie played the game machines and I read my book!!!!

They love to play the machines because when they win, it spits out tickets that they can cash in to get prizes. We did more of the same on Monday, because the choice was Chuck-e-Cheese, a place that we hadn't been to for 5 years (luckily). It has few redeeming qualities for a parent but lots of noise, junk food and stimulation for the kids, including more of those wonderful paper tickets that can be cashed in for a minimal prize!!!

Good job they are not on vacation that often!!!!

Garden produce

The school garden is doing really well. We have had two enormous zucchinis and I have been making zucchini bread like it's going out of style!!!!  Good job that it freezes well

Ben is very excited about the water melons, but I suspect that they won't really come to much.  I think you have to water them constantly to get them to be a good size, but it's still fun to watch them grow

We have had some good tomatoes & I even made fried okra for the first time on Sunday. I guess you could say the garden has been a success!!!!