Treasure at the end of the rainbow....

...but we already knew our house was full of treasure. :)

After the rain cleared up the kids all headed out for some fun in the mud puddles.  They had so much fun that even Miss F came in covered in little muddy droplets from all of the splashing.

Homeschool Conference!

We love getting to go to Homeschool conferences.  It's usually a great time of learning from speakers and also learning by getting our hands on books and curricula we've been wanting to check out.  The kids always love getting to come too, when we are able to bring them.  We were super thankful to find out that our local one allows children to come.

Before we could get on the road we needed to pick up two big kids that had a late night baby sitting job (and so had just spent the night).

The rest of the kids waiting patiently while Daddy went in to get the others. :) 

We really wanted our older kids to enjoy the speakers and hear from some men that we had learned so much from in the past.  We were so glad they had that opportunity.  Since Daddy was actually helping out a bit at the conference that left me hanging out with the littles quite a bit.

We also met up with several friends making it extra fun for all of us.

I think we may have had a bit too much fun in the vendor hall.  Our kids sure love books and we are always happy to supply good quality reading materials.  I enjoyed seeing their excitement over picking out new biographies to read together this year, or the excitement over seeing that a favorite author had a new series out.  Some kids had made requests before going and so had been assigned the job of looking for those items; they took those jobs very seriously. 

Evening walks and pony rides

We've been enjoying some beautiful evenings with walks on the horse trails behind our house.  We're usually with our neighbors for these walks.  The kids have such a great time together, running, exploring, and picking wildflowers.  Older kids often take their bikes along.

This last time our neighbor brought her pony for the kids to ride.  Miss C had been asking to ride for quite a while.  All of the kids had a great time taking turns.

Miss F does very well on our walks and seems to like them.

Sometimes little legs are just not able to make it all the way home.  We're thankful to have daddy along to help us out!

Horse camp!

Miss J spent her mornings this past week at horse camp!  Specifically....Christian Cowgirl Camp.  She had such a great time.  Not only did she learn to ride and care for horses, but she learned verses and did some crafts too.  On Friday evening the girls put on a show for their families so that we could see what they had learned.  We all had a great time seeing what she had learned and sharing dinner with the other families.

We're so thankful for the young ladies and their families that made this camp happen.  What a blessing it is to be a part of such a wonderful sweet community.

3 months!

Well, Miss F has slowed down just a bit in the weight gain department, but not much.  At 3 months she's weighing in at 12 pounds 9 ounces.  That's a pound this past month.  She's moving much more, so burning more calories. :)

Miss F gives us so many sweet smiles and likes to talk to us.

She's still loved and adored by all.

I put her down on her play mat (like I do every morning) a couple of weeks ago.  Her siblings cheered her on as she repeatedly scooted off of it.  She was quite proud of herself!

Her shirt says "Happy Every Day" and that's about right for her.  She is a sweet and cheerful little girl.  Her sleep habits likely contribute to that.  A "poor" night of sleep for her is sleeping 7 hours before waking to eat and go back to sleep for 2-3 more hours.  Her good nights that are becoming her norm are 10-11 hours.  

Zoo!

The kids have been talking about getting to the zoo since we moved here 2 years ago.  Many of them remembered this zoo from the last time we were stationed here.  For various reasons (moving, snow, moving, morning sickness, snow, blizzards...) we hadn't made it yet.  This year Great Gram paid for a family membership as a group birthday gift.  What a great gift!  We were all especially excited to see how Miss A would like it.

The Giraffes were first.  They were so excited to be fed, and our kids had so much fun feeding them.

Everyone liked the Meerkats.

Elephants!

Feeding the birds!

There's a tiger in there!

Daddy is so good!

Funny faces from Miss A...

Miss F got out of the stroller to eat a couple of times.  We thought she may like to stay out and get a better look.  She wasn't interested....mostly because of the big sun hat mommy made her wear.

Thanks for the zoo trip Great Gram!  We're looking forward to more this year!

Happy Birthday Mr M!

Mr. M turned 13 this year, giving us 3 teens in the house!  Along with the other two he brings so much joy and fun into our lives.  We're enjoying these years of getting to know him and share more with him.  Mr. M's birthday was a relaxing day around the house.  He got to pull out the riding lawn mower, hike out to a geocash in the area and eat his favorite foods.

He's a pretty awesome big brother too.  He sure can get our little ones laughing!