this week...

+ Last Friday we planted 12 apple trees out in the far corner of our field. Rory posted a lot of pictures and all the work that was done that day here. It was a full day and my mom showed up at just the perfect moment to watch the kids so that we could plant some trees. I was so grateful for her timing!

+ We finished all of the planting this week. Ivar put the corn kernels in each hole that Rory dug with the end of a pvc pipe. Rory planted the strawberries, pumpkins, squash, melons and lettuce. Have you seen Rory's logbook of what he is planting each day? And we put a bunch of sunflowers in front of the barn. I'm really excited about the sunflowers.

+ Rory and I hung my christmas present this week in a tree that overlooks our field and apple trees. This is just another victory in my goal to have a swing of some sort hanging from every tree on our property.

+ The kittens and cats continue to show off their mousing skills. Rory and I decided we would not want to die by the hand of a kitten. They really drag it out. I think the picture above was a chip monk. And perhaps most impressively was the day Velma, the mom, carried a bat into the garage with the wings flapped around her face. Gives me the shivers.

+ I've always been against double wide running strollers for their obnoxious size. Annika gave me hers a year ago and I thought we'd just store it for a while. Well. I am eating my words this week. We pulled it out and it is my favorite. The wheels are so big I can push it through the alfalfa out to the little orchard. It is awesome. It is so easy to maneuver. There are a whole lot of words to eat once you have kids of your own reaching each milestone. Lots and lots of words to eat.

+ Other than that, we've been holding our own sort of Honey Bee School each night after the kids go to bed. We've watched lots of youtube videos, read articles and watched a few movies. More on all that next week. I have so much to excitedly pass along.