the farmers all around us were cutting wheat on wednesday.
everywhere we drove there were fields full of combines and trucks….so awesomely kansasy beautiful.
i was driving sean to a friends house wednesday evening and a storm blew in.
it was a BIG storm.
so big that i turned around and knocked on a friends door and said "can i come in till the storm blows past?!"
it was freaky.
trees were falling down!
we made it home safely and a few hours later my sister and nieces came for a visit.
poor thing had to drive in the rain the whole time.
the storm knocked out the power so the morning was lovely and quiet.
no tv just LOTS of art. :)
my sister saw a turtle just outside our door!
it entertained us for awhile…. a sweet little box turtle.
he went in the glitter from the art work…. ha!
talby wiped the glitter off.
turtles are cool.
we put him back in the yard and went to the neighbor's pond to look for frogs.
talby caught this one right away…. it was HUGE!
Yay for the new target butterfly net!
no one would pick it up…..
so i had to lead by example.
"Come on girls….nothing to be afraid of!"
it wasn't nearly as slimey as i thought.
the nicest dog (when he isn't stealing our potato chips)
we found this GIANT striped feather.
it's so pretty.
we don't know what bird it's from….but we will google it.
they caught five teeny frogs and almost caught several more big frogs.
lauren was exploring with us…she was REALLY good at catching frogs when she was little…it was her favorite.
she almost caught this SNAKE!!!!!!!!!
after the snake left we saw all these frog eggs?!! awesome!
there are like….1000 eggs? so cool.
also there were tadpoles all over the pond.
we were all so happy and having a great time….
until we weren't.
HA.
annie lost her balance and SPLASH!
it wasn't deep and no snakes were nearby…. i pulled her out real quick.
it was more surprising than anything.
after annie got a bath…. we went over to the arboretum.
and out for ice cream.
talby had a softball game at 6:00 and she did great! she was first base several innings. i loved seeing that!
we came home and set up the tent and made a fire!
we are so outdoorsy.
🙂
sean was the only "MAN" to help us because scott and craig were gone.
he was essential in the fire building.
how awesome is the fire pit at the farm?
we roasted weenies for dinner….in our jammies.
hot dogs, carrots, cucumbers with ranch, chips and s'mores…..YUM.
we set up the movie and the girls watched RIO from the tent up on the barn.
and they fell asleep!!!
and slept out there all night…we were shocked.
fabulous awesome day.
and now we are being treated to "restaurant" from the little girls.
🙂
Cori - I am coming to join your family. What an amazing day!
Tina I - Note to self, rent a house in the country in a small Midwestern town. You will have the most amazing adventures!
Jenn - Just down right awesome! Good memories being made.
jeannett - just a few things:
1) my kids think frogs come from the pet store.
2) it’s not slime. it’s mucus. (that’s a line from the movie princess and the frog.)
3) but the real question is: did you put the turtle back?
Mary Ward - Have a collection of the same feathers…..we have nesting barred owls. Yup, thats what they are!!!
Kelly - Sounds like a GREAT day! looks like it was a little cool with all the hoodies everyone had on. Nice!
Fun to see Lauren. I love teeny tiny frogs so that picture was great to me. Kelly
Valerie @ Chateau A La Mode - I love roasting weinnies. So fun and summery. Your summer is already really fun. Love that Lauren was exploring with you guys. I know those times are fewer and farther between. Why do our kids have to grow up?! Happy summertime Meg!
Jenna@CallHerHappy - looks like a turkey feather! good thing it isn’t november 🙂 also, i love that turtle. he is so fancy with his glitter. fancy fancy turtle!
Jenna
callherhappy.com
TAB - Awesome day for sure!!! I love kansas! I’ve been following your amazing blog for a while but have never commented, I’m commenting shy. I really enjoy your enthusiasm and how much you enjoy your kids. 🙂
Tiffany - YaY!! to Sean getting to be the man of the house and working it out for you damsels in distress.
Lorel - I love this! and I love you all very very much! Thanks for treating us to a wonderful restorative visit. I am just so happy right now. 🙂
Christy K - Looks like it was, most definitely, an AWESOME day! (Other than Annie falling in the pond, poor girl!) You are a much braver Mama than I, getting friendly with that frog… yikes! Hope you and the fam have a great weekend! 🙂
Kathryn Goertzen - cracks me up that you snapped a picture of Annie after she fell in! It’s like when a little kid unrolls ALL of the toilet paper and you just have to get a pic of it before you scold . . .
stephany - You are a brave mom.
I have a feeling I am going to have to suck it up one of these days and pick up frogs and snakes for my kids.
That’s a wild turkey feather.
How do I know? My dad and husband hunt…and have hunted turkey in Kansas…and Colorado…and New Mexico…and New York…and Oregon.
I’ve seen my share of turkey feathers.
You must have wild turkey around the farm!
Laura Phelps - seeing Lauren makes me happy 🙂
seeing the snake makes me not happy 🙁
and when I see you again, I will be SUPER happy :-)!!!
sara @ it's good to be queen - i love kansas harvest! we were going to try to make it up in time so that my boys could ride in the combines but i think we’re gonna miss it. boo. p.s. i love your farm house.
Ashley - Well, now I want to live off in the country farther than I already do. Looks like you girls (and guy) had a ball. Those storms were rough here, too. But the weather has been mild ever since. Totally worth it.
And the frog– I bet the girls will pick him up next time. You’re pretty cool to grab that critter up.
happygirl - You make Kansas look so cool. I love gigging for frogs and finding turtles. We used to catch turtles, draw a giant circle on the driveway and have turtle races. 🙂
Jess Mead - We do cucumbers and ranch when we do weenie roasts too! Looks like a fabulous day!
April R - oh. my. sweet. life.
this post is a cup over-flowin’ w pure goodness.
absolutely inspiring! I might just go flip the switch on the electric box and tell the kids,
“I don’t know why the power’s out but let’s do some fun stuff while we wait for it to come back…”
thanks for sharing 🙂
Katy @ Live Laugh Love Craft - It’s been stormy all week here in Florida.. I am sick of it! It is supposed to go through the weekend. All I want to do is go to beach, but that won’t be happening.. Boo! 🙁
Your campfire looks so fun!
Jenna - Could the feather be from a barred rock chicken nearby (our feathers look like that)?
A little bit of turtle info…always put them back in the same direction they are pointing when you find them, they have a mission.
Thanks for sharing. The farm seems very fun for the kids (and you)!
amy jupin - yay for family time!
we just got the new watercolor set at target too–although i’m trying to hide it from anna so it stays pretty.
i’m sad, i know.
Jacci - Yup. You *had* to pick up the frog! I’ve had to do the same thing! Your girls will brave up next time, now. Bonus is that YOU are even cooler than before 🙂
Aimee - I love those new Kid Made Modern art supplies at Target! I just bought some for my 5 year old artist for his preschool graduation gift yesterday. He was so excited he started using them right away. I was crazy tempted to buy the water colors for him but he has a ton of watercolors right now and I think it would break my heart to see the colors get all mixed together on the pallet (because you know that’s how 5 year olds do it). I might have to go buy them for me even though I prefer watercolors in tubes. They are just too pretty to not buy.
Iris Brown - I always thought I was a city slicker, but now you have me intrigued by the quiet farm life. I love visiting your blog and its part of my daily/weekly routine. I thought I’d lost interest since the posts doesn’t have your gorgeous “craft” home in the background but I realized its you and how you capture the quiet & “ordinary” moments with your family. You help me realize the little things of every day really are not little. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Heather F. - What a great day. I wish I lived by all those turtle and frogs and wildlife. Your kids are going to have great stories to tell their kids.
Terrie G - What a fun day!!
I want a fire pit…
Weren’t those storms crazy??!!!
Can’t wait to help with harvest & get pics this weekend!!
Have a great weekend!
Alice H - My daughter has those chevron pants (from Target). And I would have cried too if I fell in that yucky water with snakes and frog eggs!! Poor Annie! Looks like you guys had a great time!
Is Annie her real name or nickname? I love names. Seriously, I am a name freak. My favorite name is what I gave my daughter…Emilee Tayte! I like saying it even when she isn’t in trouble. LOL!
Linda - You really have the most awesome fabulous life!
Melissa Irvin - Thank you for sharing this day of adventure! Looks like such a peaceful, wonderful time together!
michaela - it’s a turkey feather. 🙂
what an awesome day you had with you sister and her family. making some great childhood memories.
Dana @ Bungalow'56 - I just kept thinking… But what about all the mosquitoes? Don’t you have mosquitoes in Kansas? Everyone looked so happy…. you must not have mosquitoes : )
Dana
Erica Hang - Well, it’s official. I want to live there too! 🙂 I love when the kids can explore!!