Country Living: Armadillos

Something we've learned this year about living in the country is how to share the space with God's creatures. This Armadillo was kind enough to "aerate" the yard for us! But he got too carried away tearing it up so Papa drove him to a better place in the wild (miles away). Good thing we didn't trap a skunk!!

Midwest Catholic Family Conference

Our family trip this year was to Witchita, Kansas for the Midwest Catholic Family Conference. It was our 1st trip as a family of 6!

We stopped in Ardmore, OK for dinner at Whataburger:

Then we stayed overnight at the Holiday Inn Express in Oklahoma City. As one friend describes this sort of sleeping arrangement: It was time for family bonding!

This is one of MANY continental breakfasts....ugh....

When we got to Witchita, it was too early for the conference to start, so we took a "field trip" to the Science Museum. The kids had a blast.

My little Highnesses:

We just couldn't tear her away from these puzzles:

Part of the exhibit was dedicated to the history of air travel. Jamie is manning an early model airplane here:

John Paul harvests grain:

As we were leaving, it was hard not to notice the 100+ degree temps that we somehow didn't escape by traveling 7 hours north! We immediately craved our favorite Frozen Yogurt joint back home. Thanks to Smart Phones, we tracked down a nearly identical place called the Orange Leaf about 10 minutes away:

After a short opening to the conference, we got to our hotel and crashed:

The next day the conference was in full swing. John Paul and Gianna shared the Preschool class together. They had a blast! The brothers and sisters ran all of the programs and it was filled with great activities all day long. (Mom and Dad got to enjoy the speakers and vendors without distraction...so nice!)

Each of the kids made a thank you card to give to one of the many priests and religious at the conference. This is Jamie talking to her chosen recipient:

Here's the token souvenir photo:

Yum! We ate at this Souper Salad twice. A great way to feed starving kids a variety of foods and get more bang for your buck!

For being so good, we surprised them with some shirts we couldn't resist buying at the conference.

Another breakfast:

Here's a glance at Jamie's class...lots of kids!

The kids show off some of their crafts and say good-bye to the conference.

We were planning on staying one more night in OKC on the way back, but we instead decided to truck it all the way home. It was a great weekend (even though it was no escape from the heat and our van's battery died and had to be replaced). We are already looking forward to going again in the future, probably when Josie is old enough to attend the children's activities. Maybe some of you will join us!

The New Garden: The Harvest

We've had good crops this year. A few zucchini, until they burned up. A couple of acorn squash (until they figured out it wasn't fall or winter). Some strawberries, jalapenos, and a few okra (that will soon be in the hundreds). But the BIGGEST crop of all has been the tomatoes!

The New Class Pets

We have 2 new class pets (*sigh*). Meet Liz (from Magic School Bus):

...and Pascal (from Tangled).

He goes nicely next to the new lavender Beta named Rapunzel.

Meet Josephine

Josephine Elizabeth

Born June 6, 2011, 2:04pm

7 lbs. 15 oz., 20 in.

Marian ATC Results

Jamie loved making her Marian Artist Trading Cards....but she's getting a lesson in detachments, since she'd like to keep them...

1. Our Lady of Schoenstatt

2. Our Lady of Guadalupe

3. Our Lady of Lourdes

4. Our Lady of Fatima

5. Our Lady of the Angels

We'll post the 5 cards we get in return later.

The New Garden: The Crop!

Crop - Free Slideshow Maker

Maternity Pics

Maternity - Free Slideshow Maker

Character Day?

Jamie created her own "Character Day". She has been dressing up like her favorite literary character lately: "Lucy Rose". It is a cute series of books. I think Jamie likes the character because she can identify with her. For those of you with boys, they would probably enjoy the "Melonhead" series by the same author: Katy Kelly. Both are cute stories about kids growing up in Washington D.C. Each book has some sort of educational theme running through them (inventors for example), and they also describe multiple landmarks around D.C. as well. Makes us want to go visit soon!

Country Living: "Cow Patties!"

Stray....cows....

How would you like to find this 4 feet from your back porch?

GROSS!!!!!!