A Practice Run

Sunday evening at church I started having contractions about 15 minutes apart.  They weren't very painful, but kinda crampy and definitely coming in waves.  The Farmer and I talked about it and decided to go to bed and see what happened.

My night was very restless and uncomfortable.  About 2 a.m. the Farmer asked how things were going and when we timed the contractions they were 7 minutes apart.  Progress! I tried to go back to sleep.

When I woke up, I didn't really notice any contractions so I got up and figured they had stopped, but as I moved around they became stronger and I began having to sway or move to be 'comfortable'.  It was then that we decided to call Bethany.  (Heidi was out of town...actually out of country as they had gone to see their family in Canada.  This was all planned ahead of time and we knew we had Bethany.)  Well, since we were still only 36 weeks and Heidi was gone, we decided to try to stop the contractions and wait  it out.

All day we worked at stopping them.  We even went and got some wine to try to relax me and get them to stop.  They did stall at around 3 minutes, but they just didn't stop. At about 7 p.m. we decided that just in case this was the big event, we'd better get closer to Bethany so we started getting the jeep packed up, and things settled around the house and headed south.

We were so very blessed to have Bethany offer us a room near her so that we didn't have to do the hotel thing and could remain close to where she was.  We arrived in Partridge around 12:30 a.m. and the contractions had settled down a bit with the vibrations of the drive.  I still couldn't settle into a good sleep so I was up and down, pacing, moving, walking most of the night.

When the Farmer woke up in the morning he said, "So, inquiring minds want to know."  I told him I wasn't sure but I was uncomfortable and they seemed to be coming very close together.  When we timed them, I was feeling peeks about every 2 minutes apart.  The Farmer couldn't believe that but that was what I was feeling.

As we got up and started moving around, I began having to sway again and the Farmer got me the ball so bounce on.  When Bethany came to check on us, we talked about how this wasn't really our plan but we'd see how far I was.  Unfortunately, when Bethany checked me I was barely 1 cm.  NO PROGRESS!

Ugh.  I was so frustrated.  We talked about how I should probably just ignore these lighter ones and wait until they get stronger.  I was pretty uncomfortable on the ride home but there was nothing more I could really do.  By Thursday the contractions were pretty slow and life was back to 'normal'.

The Farmer was great...very supportive...though he did tease me a little.  At least we got in a good practice run!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Chapter 13 - Section 4

Praising the Divine that it didn't actually take him that long to find her, he just stood and watched her sleeping, letting the thankfulness in his heart take over the panic and frustration that had previously resided in him.  Even though he did have to back track once, he had eventually found her asleep under the old oak tree that he often climbed as a child.

After several moments, he finally bent over to gently arouse her. “CherRené, Rayna? Wake up.”

 After a bit of coaxing, she did so with a start and realizing it was Austin, gripped him around the neck for dear life until her heart returned to normal paces. “Austin, you scared me.”

“No, CherRené, you scared me!”

“CherRené? What happened to Sister?” Rayna asked with hurt in her tone.

Taking a seat beside her, he answered sincerely, “You will always be my sister. No one can take that knowledge away from us again. But you have to remember, you are still the CherRené, heir to the throne of Travane and I am still your guardian. You cannot be running off on your own and getting lost. Your father...the RioArd...would have my head!”

Rayna nodded. "I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I'm just...so...confused!"

They both sat there silently for several moments before Rayna continued, "I don't know where I belong, who will accept me, what I am to do. I thought simply knowing the truth would be enough, but I'm more lost now than I was before! And the Divine is being of no help.”

“Have you asked Him?”

Rayna looked at Austin in wonder, “Have I asked Him what?”

“You said the Divine is being of no help, but have you actually taken the time to ask Him your questions, seeking Him for answers, or have you been expecting Him to come boldly declaring unasked answers to you?”

Rayna sat there silently, digesting her prideful attitude and trying to swallow her stubbornness. Finally, she wrapped her arms around Austin, leaning into his side and declared, “I’ve missed you. We haven't had a good talk for days! I am so blessed. The Divine has given me a such wise and discerning brother to care for me.”

"I don't know about wise and discerning, but I do know that I was panicked." Rayna looked up at him in wonder, so he explained, "My fear of losing you again clouded my thinking. I so afraid I'll fail you again."

"You did not fail me, Austin.  It was the Divine's will that I be found and raised by the RioArd.  If I hadn't, how could I be here now to fulfill the prophecy and save the payson from Sage's greed."

Feeling a release within his soul, he declared, "You are not the only one blessed. The Divine has given me a gracious sister." Holding her tight for several moments, he finally decided to broach the other subject his brotherly side wanted to know, “So, Bryant told you he loved you?”

Rayna’s head shot up. The look of intense interest on Austin’s face told her he was not apart of any plot or ploy, so she decided to open up to him. “Yes, he did. And I must confess, the more I thought about it, horrid things came to mind.  Seriously, I thought the worst of his declaration."

“The worst?”

Nodding, she explained, “Thoughts that he was just trying to use me to further his chances of succeeding in his own mission - me being a CherRené and all. Those thoughts mixed with further contemplation of a ploy between Serveté..I mean our father...and him warred in my head until I was dizzy and faint. That is why I laid down under the tree. I couldn't wrap my mind around the idea that Bryant could seriously love me. After all, we barely know each other.”

Austin gently set her upright and stood to pace in front of her for several moments as he continued to listened to her confessions. Unable to take it any longer, he reached down and grabbed her arm, forcing her to her feet. “For the love of the Divine! What has gotten in to all of you!"

Shocked, Rayna just stared at him as he pulled her down the path toward the horse he had tied up there, "Schemes, plots, ploys! I'm sick of it all. We are going to get this all out in the open right now.”

As they rode back to the cottage, Austin prayed and planned out what he was going to say. The rest of the family may be addled enough to get sidetracked by all the what ifs and emotions, but Austin had had enough. He’d keep them all up the entire night seeking the Divine if he had too, but come tomorrow, they would be a family who moved forward together with one mission in mind - the Divine’s will.

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Abi-girl's Return from the Hospital

This year for Abigail's birthday, she requested to have her My Twinn doll sent in to the Hospital to have her adjusted to look more like Abigail does now. 

When Abi-girl made her first appearance with our family, she had short dark (almost black) hair and did look alot like Abigail.  But over the years, Abi has changed.  Her hair is longer and lighter, she has glasses, and she really wanted her birth mark to match. 

So, off to the Hospital Abi-girl went and we just got her back home.  And how did it turn out:

Abi and Abi-girl!

You can't see the birth mark, but they did a remarkable job of actually locating it in the almost exact location on the forehead!  The glasses aren't the same, but I think they match pretty well considering the limited options we had.  Overall, Abigail is pleased and that is all that matters.

Last night I stopped in to say good night and found Abi and Abi-girl both posed reading books together.  And, this morning she asked, "Since I'm changing my hair style today, can I change Abi-girl's too?"  I told her of course, I'm just so glad she is excited about her birthday present and the changes we made.

(Now she wants to have matching outfits! - maybe for Christmas)

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

An Ethan Mess

Why is it I never remember to take pictures of blog worthy messes....oh, maybe because in the moment I'm trying to clean up the mess!

Well, we had a doozy of a mess today. Ethan decided to get into the finger nail polish that was in the bathroom above the toilet. Not only did he try to paint his own nails but he managed to dump the entire bottle of my favorite color all over the toilet!

Yes indeed! I surely should have taken a picture to share with you all, but it didn't happen.

As Elizabeth attempted to clean him up, I attempted the toilet. How do you clean finger nail polish out of the water in the toilet...it doesn't dilute or flush. I ended up flushing and then before the water got high enough I was able to wipe up most of it. I had to use quite a bit of my polish remover to get it off the seat and surrounding walls. But, even though it was a dark maroon, I think I got it all so the next time you visit, hopefully you won't notice the pink undertones :0)

I did get a few pictures of Ethan after we got him cleaned up as much as we could.

2012 Fair Results - Nathan

Nathan did extremely well at the fair this year.  His Pullet (a chicken that hasn't yet started laying eggs) got First Place and Best of Show.

Proudly standing by his pullet.

Nathan's biggest project at the fair was the bucket calf he named Lightning Chocolate Chip.  Here is a recap video taken by Abi for your enjoyment:

The judge only gave out participation ribbons for his class, but as you heard in the video, he was impressed with Nathan's knowledge about his calf.

One of the Open class Signs with Nathan's name.

Nathan with his calf in front of the picture thing.

The Farmer was proud of how well Nathan did with his first bucket calf.  He took his job very seriously and did great taking care of of the calf, learning about it, and even picking up after it!

Nathan's final activity in the fair was the Pedal Pull.  This was Nathan's second year of participating as you might remember last year's postings: county and state. This year he again won first place in his division and qualified for State.  (Unfortunately, one state experience was enough for our family, so we doubt he'll actually go to state, but it is still fun for him to qualify!)


Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

2012 Fair Results - Abigail

Well, the 2012 Smith County Fair is coming to a close.  Abigail has now received all her ribbons/rewards and below is a listing of what she got:

Top two photos received 1st place ribbons.
The rest received a participation award!

Abi's banana bread recipe received a First and Best of Show.

Abi's no bake cookie granola bars got Second Place!

Abi's Morning Glory Muffins got 3rd Place.

Can you see her pot holder?
It got a 2nd place!

Here are a few pictures of Abi at the kitty showing.  She did a great job keeping her kitty calm and on the table.

Talking to the judge.

She got 1st and Best of Show!

From a quick calculation, I would say that Abi will receive somewhere in the neighborhood of $14 from her first fair participation!  It was a lot of fun and I think they learned alot!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

2012 Fair - Misc Pictures

Here are a few miscellaneous pictures that were taken at the fair and an update on how my entries did:

Nathan taking his calf for a drink.

the kids with the calf

We let Nathan take the calf over to the 'winners' board to take a picture.

Abi wanted a turn holding the calf.

the kitties napping while waiting for the results of the cat show.

 Now, several have asked for an update on the items that I took to the fair, so here it is:

Winner's board - I circled my pictures but because
you have indicated you wanted to SEE the pictures...I'll add them below:

1st Place
People, color

1st Place
Building, B&W

2nd Place
People, B&W

2nd Place
Computer Manipulation

3rd Place
Animals, B&W

The rest of the pictures received a participation award: 

  

Animal, color

Building, color

Landscape, color

Landscape, B&W

Still Life, color

The only other thing that I entered was my baby booties that I made for Sarah.  They got a second place with a note on the back to adjust my tension and I would have gotten a first.  I'm still happy with how they turned out!

For our first year of 'really' participating in the fair, I think we had a great time and really enjoyed it.  We will have to wait and see what next year brings!!!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

2012 Fair Results - Jonathan & Ethan

Okay...so I'm going to put Ethan and Jonny together in the same post because well...I'm just gonna ;0).

I have one more fair post of just miscellaneous pictures that I'll get to shortly but here is what Jonny and Ethan were up to at the fair:

Jonny

Big brother showing him how it's done!

helping keep the hay in its place

Jonny had one entry in the fair - Cuddles Lightning Schlatter - the kitty!

Waiting to show his kitty

We have NO idea what he is actually telling her....
It might be a very LARGE tale!

our charming Jonny!

Obviously the judge was smitten with our charmer, because Jonny got Second place with his kitten!  We can't imaging that it was because he was the most informed and capable showman there!  If we heard him right, at one time he told the judge that he never brushed his kitty, only fed it once a day, and when she asked about a litter box he responded "no, they just poop in their cage".

Nevertheless, the kitten must have earned some credits of its own.  It was a very nice looking kitty!

Ethan

Ethan did not have any entries at the fair, but he was enamored with going with the Farmer and Nathan to tend to the bucket calf.

Walking through the beef barn.

keeping track of the calf while Nathan went to find something!
(the Farmer was 'right' there to step in)

The funniest thing that happened while at the fair was when Ethan decided he wanted to take the calf for a drink.  He got the lead chain that the Farmer uses to help Nathan, and went up to the calf to untie it from the rail.  Then he tried and tried and tried to figure out how to get the calf loose.

Here is is getting ready to hook up the calf.

Look at that expression!
He was trying VERY hard.

I managed to get a little video clip before he gave up:

Can you hear the Farmer..."Are you getting this?"  He asked me that like six times before I actually videoed E's efforts.  And yes...the calf next door was RIGHT there to give Ethan a kiss when he gave up!  A most adorable video clip!




Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Chapter 13 - Section 3

“You what?!” Austin bellowed from the dining room table as he abruptly stood almost knocking the whole thing over.

“I told Rayna I loved her, and she took off running.” Bryant’s crimson face indicated how foolish he felt in making that confession to everyone in the room.

“And you let her go? How long ago? Which way did she go?" Austin began making his way around the table to the door when a hand stopped him.

“Let her go. She probably needs some time to process all that has happened?” His father’s hand tighten on his arm indicating he wasn't about to let go.

Nonetheless, Austin flexed his arm in anger and the grip was easily broken, as he shouted, “Have you forgotten that she is THE CHERRENÉ?" Taking several more steps toward the door, he continued "Despite the fact that we have just discovered Rayna is my sister - your daughter - and payson born, she is still my responsibility. One I will not take for granted again! A charge given me not only by the Divine as a brother, but by the RioArd himself, who considers her his heir. Do you know how many people there are who would love to get their hands on Travane’s heir for their own purposes?" He glanced around at everyone staring blankly at him before he continuted a bit more calmly, "Not to mention she is not familiar with our area and it is getting dark! She could be lost in the woods, faint from the pain in her hand, and hurting all night if I don't find her soon.”

Turning to leave, Austin came face to face with Bryant blocking the door way. “I’m going with you.”

Anger flared in Austin’s glare, “No, I think you have done enough for today." Pushing past him, he said over his shoulder,"Besides, if what father says is true, she’ll need her brother, not a lover!”

Cayden met him outside with a horse and told him she had taken the path about an hour ago. Austin shook his head in wonder as he mounted at why no one had tried to stop her or at least came to get him sooner. As he took to the path slowly, he prayed the Divine would calm his spirit and once again guide him in tracking down his sister. This time though he was even more determined that she would not be lost to him for years more or in the worst case, forever!



Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Smith County Fair 2012

Today starts the beginning of the Smith County Fair Activities!

As some of you may know, this is our first year of really being active in the fair as far as exhibits go.  I think the first year I was here in Smith County we might have entered a couple of pictures and some wheat.  Then we started having kids and fair exhibits just didn't seem to be all that important, but now the kids are growing up and the Farmer was very enthusiastic about fair projects this year.


Here is the break down of what the rest of our week will look like.

Wednesday:  

Take Abi's sewing project in - we only got the pot holder done; 

(Mommy might take her second pair of booties as an exhibit...I haven't decided yet); 

get the kittens their last vaccination with certificate

Thursday:  

check in photography and baked goods with Abi in the morning; 

take pullet in for blood testing in afternoon with Nathan

Friday:  

check in calf with Nathan in the morning; 

bucket calf showing with Nathan in the evening

Saturday:  

Kitten show with Abi and Jonny in the early afternoon; 

pedal pull in the evening

Sunday:  

a day of REST!

Monday:

pick up all exhibits and animals!

At the end of the week, I'll try to post a few pictures/videos from the week if I can and I'll definitely let you know what if any ribbons the kids earned.


Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Look Who is EIGHT!

 Sure enough...can you believe it?  My oldest is EIGHT YEARS OLD!  Wow...where has the time gone!

This year, she picked a cake from a Disney Princess Cake Book she received for Christmas.  We made it a bit different, but basically she wanted a round layer cake with a tiara on top.  She chose to have a Strawberry cake with Strawberry filling.

The original cake had coconut pressed into the sides, but Abi didn't want coconut and I wanted to 'fancy' it up a bit, so I tried to do a strawberry drizzle.  Unfortunately, it didn't turn out exactly like I'd like it, but she has a Strawberry layer cake with a pretty tiara on top!

We had our second 'private' family birthday party...and it was nice!  (If you remember, at Ethan's birthday we were all sick so we had just a private family party.)  Here is a video of singing Happy Birthday to our girl!

Along with the tiara, she got earrings, necklace, and ring.  Here is a picture of her all decked out:

She ended up getting several phone calls to wish her a Happy Birthday and at the end of her day I asked her if she had a good day and she said, "Yep. Sure Did."

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Nathan's Latest...

This week, Nathan decided that he wanted to ride his bike to Grandma and Grandpa Schlatter's house!

Coming down the hill into G&G Schlatter's place.

This occurred after he and Daddy talked about the 5K run that took place in Downs at the town celebration last week.  So, one morning, he and Daddy headed off on the 5 mile trek.  The Farmer was not at all confident that they would actually go that far, but it wasn't long before he realized they just might make it and called for a ride back home!  The Farmer was very proud of his eldest son's accomplishment!

:o)

Nathan's other big accomplishment this week was the loss of another tooth!

I don't know what it is about this boy and his loose teeth, but he has lost 3 of his 4 now while eating.  There we were last night eating supper when he announces, "Mom...my tooth...it's on my plate!"  I guess the really good thing about this is that there is no screaming or crying over pulled teeth...they just fall out...with little blood loss or pain! (Crazy thing was...I didn't even know he had a loose tooth!)

Chapter 13 - Section 2

Thoughts warred in Rayna’s head as she ran down the path, not knowing where she was going. She had just found truth, just found the purpose for her mission - her family. And now this. She could not allow anything to come between herself and renewal with her true family. And she could not let Bryant’s feelings unnerve her, though in honesty the revelation of them shook her to her core.

Every word he had spoken repeated itself in her mind, and the feeling of his touch sent shivers up her spine. Though she tried to argue against it, convincing herself she had misunderstood, the truth kept ringing within her heart. Bryant loved her. But how? How did this happen? She wasn't looking for a husband, she was looking for her family - the one she had lost in a fire 13 years ago.

Suddenly Rayna stopped in the middle of the path frozen by the awful thoughts that ran through her mind. Was this the reason for the tension between Austin and Bryant? Had Serveté and Bryant come to an agreement about her? She was after all of age to marry and Serveté was her rightful father. But she really did not know either of them. Could they be planning to force Rayna into a marriage with Bryant in an attempt to further their mission and get Bryant into a place of higher authority within the Corté? She was after all still a CherRené.

Rayna abruptly sat where she was as yet another shocking thought hit her: would she mind if they were?

Her hand throbbed from the pain of the burn and her head throbbed from the many thoughts overtaken her. Here she was, a CherRené from the world’s perspective, heir to the country’s throne, yet payson by birth. Torn by two ways of life. She yearned to be free from the protocols and procedures, but wanted desperately to help her people.

Bryant wanted to help her people (or as he would say ’his’ people) too, would it be so wrong to join in a ploy to get him into a place to fight Sage’s ill decisions? But, then, would they be free to be payson, or would they have to remain in the Corté? Would she still be free to reestablish her family ties or be forced to protocol? And could she really trust Bryant to be honorable? He seems genuine and trustworthy, but then what was Austin’s objection to their plan?

The thoughts kept coming, and Rayna’s head hurt worse with every moment. Seeing a nice shade tree not far off, she mustered enough energy to crawl over behind it and lay her head down. She just wanted to rest for a moment.


Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Update on Baby Sarah

As some of you may know, we had an exciting weekend. I started having contractions on Wednesday, but totally thought they were just the Braxton Hicks like I had been having.

By the time we were headed home from the Eakin's late on the 4th, I was beginning to realize they were different. My first clue was the pain in my back and the second was the timing of them.

However, after going to bed, they stopped, so I didn't say anything. On Thursday I just didn't feel well but didn't notice any real contractions like the night before - just the Braxton Hicks kind. By the time Friday rolled around, I started talking to Marion and eventually my midwife, Heidi, because they were back in my back again.

I took a shower, drank tons of water, and rested, but by Saturday morning I was still having the wrap around contractions mixed with the non-wrap around ones so Heidi thought it best to see me. So, off we went to Partridge as my sister made her way here to help with the kids!

By the time we got to Heidi I was very uncomfortable and had had three breathing contractions in the last hour. When Heidi first checked me, I was thinning and dilated a fingertip. Because I was showing even these small signs of progression, she felt it necessary to get me on some stuff to relax the uterus and stop any progression since we are only 33 weeks along.

We were so very blessed by Heidi and her husband as they opened their home to us so that I could rest and wait to see if the supplements would work. If they didn't, we would have to go into the hospital at Wichita.

After about four hours, Heidi checked me again and I had had no progression but she was still uncomfortable with the amount of tightening I was having and the fact that my nights are my worst time for contractions. Therefore, we decided to stay down there to see if I could make it through a night without progression as well (up to this time, I had been taking medicine every half hour and she wanted to know that if I quit that to sleep they would not start up again).

Again, Heidi and Vincent overwhelmed us with their hospitality and we stayed right there so if I needed Heidi in the night we had easy access. In the morning I was checked again and there was little progress so she allowed us to come home with the medicine and orders to rest. I am not on bed rest but just orders to rest more than be on my feet and to take my medicine as well as progesterone and magnesium.

So, here we are. I haven't had any wrap around contractions since Saturday when I first started the medicine and I have been taking it real easy since we got home. Even though I am not on bed rest Marion has indicated his desire for me to stay more home bound for the next few weeks. So we are all the more grateful to have Elizabeth back with us!

And just for the record, Sarah's heart rate was excellent. My blood pressure was good. And I am measuring a few weeks big. But all our regular check up stuff was great and we got a good report!

Thanks to everyone who was praying. We know they made a big difference. When we got home we found out about another lady (someone we know of) who was due the same time as we are and they are now in Hastings in the NICU because she went into preterm labor and had her baby early! Very strange that we were both going through the same thing around the same time!!!

We will keep you posted as we go on.

Chapter 13 - Section 1

Once at the well, Bryant began examining Rayna’s hand tenderly. The already raw skin was deeply burned and Bryant’s heart ached in anticipation of how badly it must hurt. He longed to take away all the pain - not only of this accident, but of the injustices done to her, to restore her to her family and true life. If he could, he would bear every burden she ever had on himself. But he knew that was not possible, so he tried as gently as he could to care for her, using the salve Raygan had brought out for them.

But in his distracted state, he must have let more of his feelings show than he intended, for it was in those moments - the soft touches, the gentle caress - when Rayna became aware and saw the first signs of his true affection. Not by Divine revelation as he had hoped but through the bleeding of his heart for her pain.

He recognized his error when she gently pulling her hands away from his tender care and began taking charge of soaking the injured hand in the cool well water herself. All the while intentionally diverting her gaze from him leaving him to only sit and watch her.

What was she thinking? How would she respond? Should he press the matter now that she knew?

For several moments, they sat silently as she treated her hand with salve and water as Raygan had instructed. When finally the time came that she needed his help to wrap it, he ventured into opening a door to his feelings with her.

“Are you in much pain?” She shook her head as she fought back tears, indicating the truth more clearly than her words or actions could. Securing the wrap at her wrist, he held her hand, “Rayna, I care deeply for you. If I could take away this pain I would.” Taking her good hand, he placed it on his chest, “My heart aches for the pain you are enduring, not only from this burn, but all that has happened. I want to take care of you, protect you, love you...”

He was interrupted by Rayna’s sudden standing. Wide eyed, she wrenching her hand from his as if he was the fire that burnt her. And before he could say anything more, she turned and ran down the path leading behind the cottage.



Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

3-4-3 A 4th Fruit Salad

Okay...so the whole meal wasn't red, white and blue, but I did manage to make a beautiful fruit salad for the food sharing at the Eakin's 4th of July party!

We didn't actually have 'supper' because I knew that the kids would want to eat the snackies and fun food at the party...so we gave them a hot dog or two before we left and then let them eat pretty much all they wanted at the picnic.  (I think Jonny had at least three plates of goodies with some ice cream on top of that...so they definitely did not starve!)

Anyway, I'm really sad to report that I didn't get any pictures of my fruit salad.  We were cutting it down to the wire as I finished it up so I took the camera with me but forgot to snap a quick photo before everyone dug into it.  Before I knew it, the salad was basically gone and I had no photo!

However, here is the linked photo of where I go the recipe:

Recipe Page

Mine was a bit more 'pink' as the strawberries were thawed and juicy.  But it was still pretty.

It was also very funny because as we were sitting at the party eating, the Farmer asks, "Did Abigail help with the prepping of the Strawberries for this salad?"

"No." I replied, "She just cut up the apples and mixed them in the lemon juice. Why?"

"I was just wondering, there seems to be bits of the strawberry leaves left in it, so I thought maybe she missed some."

I shake my head.  "Those aren't strawberry leaves, they are fresh mint from our garden and they are supposed to be in there silly! Like I would bring a fruit salad with strawberries leaves for people to eat."  Still shaking my head.

The reply, "Mint.  Really?  We have mint in our garden? Well, that changes my perspective.  It's good."

I just HAD to laugh...then shortly later we were back inside and he asked one of our friends, "Would you guess that this green stuff is 'supposed' to be in here...ya...it is...it's mint!" 

I just walked away laughing!

Copyright © 2012 All Rights Reserved MMFarmlife - Melanie Schlatter

Alternate Firework Activities

Okay, so we have a fire ban on right now.  

Even the firework sellers have closed down and moved to other areas that are allowing the sale of fireworks, because you can't even sell them in Smith Center. 

Needless to say, we didn't have any fireworks for the kids this 4th of July (on a side note though, we could buy them in Osborne County and light them in the city limits of Osborne, so we did stop off and get a few for the kids to enjoy at the Eakin's party).

So was trying to come up with alternative ideas to help the kids still feel like it was a day of celebration.  One idea I had came from Pinterest and Aunt K.  Baking Soda and Vinegar:

We had red and blue with white baking soda.
The kids took droppers and made designs or just a mess...either way...it was fun!

Abi and Nate did it first as they were the first up from naps.

Loading up!

Trying to make purple...
it was all an experiment.

After this, I sent them outside to play with the exploding fizzy poppers we got from VBS Sky this year.  We again had to do some experimenting as the we were out of the actual fizzy tablets so we used the fizzy drink mix I had previously purchased.  It takes almost a whole packet to get the pop and it isn't as spectacular as the fizzy tablets...so I think I'll be trying to find some more fizzy tablets!

Loading up the first go...water and a tablet.

Abi taking her turn on the launch pad.

 

See the orange bottle in the tree about half way up...

The kids LOVE the fizzy poppers and they are 'fire safe'.  A very good alternative to fireworks on a HOT, HOT 4th of July!

NOTE:  Jonny did get a chance to do the Baking Soda/Vinegar thing and made quite the volcano with it. But by that time I was busy making party food and didn't get the camera out.

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