Fun on a Budget

Recently a neighbor had another tree cut down.
For us, that means FREE wood chips.
We use it to mulch around flower beds, etc.
And it also serves an unintended purpose.



As the kids were digging out chips for me to add to my flower beds, they got the idea of
making a den of sorts in the huge pile.



Beaver Den 
Materials -$0
Hours to build -1 hr to 100 hours (endless play)
Instructions - none needed

Boy Fun

This is what's fun for a boy. Racing your remote control mud-slinger. . .

and swimming with snakes.

What?! Did you say SNAKES? Well, one snake did get in the pool with us today. It was a little one. I think it was more afraid of us, than we were of it. He was focused on getting out of the water.

After rescuing him from the pool, we identified him as a brown snake, which is very common and nonvenomous.

Isn't he cute? Yes, I think the boy is cute. The boy thinks the snake is cute. Eventually, the snake will have to go back to his natural habitat and the boy will have to go back to his math and reading. Enough science for one day.

What a Racket!

Hannah's ready

 On a beautiful sunny afternoon, we woke tennis rackets from their sleep, introduced them to some fresh out of the can yellow globes, them put them into the hands of some eager young apprentices. Armed with only a sweat band and solar-ray blocking opticals, we head to the green and begin to toss those fuzzy things in the air . . .

Coach TR (The Dad)

 and try to beat the fuzz off of 'em. We toss 'em high. We toss 'em low. Where they land nobody knows.

"Where is that ball?"

 But when that ball and racket meet, you could hear the cheers down the street!

"I see it!"

Keep your eye on the ball and watch my style,

I think if you do, it will make you smile.

Josiah's lovin' it!



Contact!

"I got this one, too."

Editor's note: I am so glad I took those tennis rackets out of hibernation. Theron and I have two rackets each plus another that Ed left us. So we have enough for everyone with one to spare. The kids did great for a first time. We did some practice with them, throwing the ball to them and letting them try to hit it. Hannah did some practice serving. Then, we tried a game of volley over the net. Theron and I got to get in some play/practice, too. And the kid are great ball chasers!

Swordplay on Sunday

Maybe I'll be safe up here.

It looks like the fighting has begun.

It's appears that the playing field is a bit uneven.

Kinda reminds me of David and Goliath.

Who is that over there?

Will she be willing to fight for "the kingdom"?

She looks ready.



Will they defeat "the giant"?

Oh no! Things are not looking good!

Is she down or just daydreaming?

Let's try that again.

Another one's down.

We can't give up!

I should have seen that coming.

Does that mean it's over?



The End

Just for Fun

Josiah- "I'm not impressed."

"Wow, I'm impressed!"

"Now, look what I can do."

"First you have to sort and count the pieces."

"Follow the directions, step by step."

"Get your mom to do the hard parts and

. . .

Voila!"
"You have a roller coaster."

"I think Hannah's impressed now."

A Hot "Sun"day at the Park

Our church had a picnic after the service today. In spite of the heat, it was nice under the pavilion. Of course the kids are not going to stay under the pavilion, are they? And I have to go out in it to get a picture, right? Josiah looks totally unaffected by the elements.

Can you SEE the heat in this picture? The playground equipment was too hot to play on.

So, we headed down to the river where we found some relief. We did not get in. It was just cooler there.

There we found a trail and a place to sit. Josiah still unaffected, Hannah wilting a bit.

And we found animal tracks. Probably raccoon, or possum.

There was poison ivy everywhere! So we stuck to the wide trail. Some friends were walking with us and all the kids enjoyed throwing sticks and stones into the water and watching it's effect.

Hope you had a pleasant restful Sunday and remained cool. We went home and got in our pool.

FCFE Field Day

Josiah, my little sunshine boy

A turtle rescued by Kimberly from certain death on a busy road

saying bye to the turtle in a nice wooded spot

Once again, my sunshine boy

my swingin' boy

bright and bloomin' children

enjoying the games

Hannah doing her part

the other side

water balloon toss

In spite of the heat and humidity (of course some stray water balloons helped), everyone had a great time with no serious injuries. The kids enjoyed a variety of game challenges, and balloon and bubble fun. The moms and some dads, too, appreciated the fellowship with other homeschool families.