Life on our Little Homestead

It has been wonderful for us to have the opportunity to go from .24 acres to 3 acres.  It will take some time (and money) to make all of our plans happen.  It is exciting to think about the possibilities!

One of the first things I did was make a place for a compost pile.  There were some pallets left in the horse area that I used.  My plan is create three spaces with the pallets for compost.  Not very pretty to look at but hopefully, we'll have some good compost...especially with our chickens (and soon to be rabbits)

We planted 24 berry bushes.  They are in different degrees of growth...some have lots of leaves and are a couple of feet high and others look like small sticks!  We love berries at this house so I'm not sure we will have enough to preserve but we will sure enjoy eating them fresh off the vine!

We are enjoying watching our chicks and ducklings grow.  It has been a great little adventure for us.  We got 12 chicks thinking that not all of them would make it...but they are all doing great.  The kids love playing with them.

Ryan has been working hard to make some garden beds...we hope to make more garden space and a greenhouse next year...and we do not have the cedar timbers secured around the outside...but for now we have a great start.  I have enjoyed getting my hands a little dirty and have been doing most of the watering during the week while Ryan is at work.  I haven't taken a very active part in our gardening until now...maybe that's why our garden beds haven't done very well most years!  Ryan doesn't have much time during the week to play outside and I have felt so swamped with babies in the past that I haven't done very much to help!  Now that the kids are getting a little older it is easier for me to get out and help.  I'm hoping for a lot of fresh and yummy produce this summer!

We had to buy a new lawnmower.  We had one...but after not using it for over 6 years we couldn't get it to start.  I'm hoping we have 4 lawnmower pushers in this house (Ryan, me, Kessiah, Jenessa)...so hopefully the job won't be too big!  Ryan mowed the lawn this weekend while I was at 4H sewing club with Kessiah and Jenessa...he said it took him about 1 1/2 hours to mow our lawn.

End of the School Year Review

Honestly, this year had a big bump in the road!  It was a good bump, but still a bump!

Kessiah kept on track with Williamsburg Intermediate...she had some hiccups with math during the last part of the year but she did get her grade where it needed to be by the end!  She is getting really good at the piano, it is fun to listen to her practice.  She found a song from Frozen on the computer and now plays it so well that all her siblings sing along (I do mean all...even Corbin sings it!).  Because of our spending freeze she did have to drop violin...hopefully we can add that back in at some point.  She has continued to participate in 4H and has chosen to focus on small stock and sewing.


Jenessa is very good at staying on schedule with K12.  She continues to improve at the piano...sometimes I'm not sure if it is Kessiah or Jenessa playing.  Unfortunately, because of the move she was unable to participate in basketball or volleyball this year.  She is looking forward to soccer in the fall.  I'm excited to see her learning to sew in 4H.

We did get back on track with Sienna's schedule after the move.  She has been really good about getting her assignments done early in the day so that she has a lot of free time.  She is taking piano lessons as well.  She did not participate in basketball or springs sports either...but we did keep doing gymnastics at the Y.

Logan is where we (I) got way off track!  We just couldn't seem to get it together after the move!  My fault, I know!  Thankfully, he did learn a few things from our homeschool groups and Sienna read him some science books as part of her assignments.  They especially liked the Let's Read and Find Out Series.There are so many titles I can always fine one that they are interested in reading.

I'm looking forward to starting our summer schedule so I can start fresh with doing some academic things with him.  Logan was bumped up a gymnastics class so this year he has been in an all boys class.














Mason and Corbin...no schooling needs here.  They have both been enjoying gymnastics.  Mason moved up a class so he is no longer with Corbin.  They have really enjoyed the new space we have to explore at our new house.  These 2 little guys are some of the reasons I'm so glad we made the move.  I had been thinking of sending Mason to kindergarten and Corbin to preschool.  In our other house, the floor plan was so open that Kessiah and Jenessa didn't have a quiet corner they could go to when they needed to focus on school.  These 2 little guys had a really hard time being quiet!  That situation has been changed here...so these guys get to stay home. I am pretty excited about that!

I have to admit is was nice not to have winter and spring sports schedules.  We really needed the time to get things done around here, but it was also nice not to have to do so much running around!  Our chickens have kept the kids quite occupied...maybe I'll count them as our spring sport!  Kessiah and Jenessa have especially taken over the care of them...I have really appreciated how responsible they have been!  Kessiah refers to our chickens as our comedy show...they are pretty funny to watch.

What We Read in April 2014

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WOW!  A powerful and inspiring book, truly a must read.

I've also read a few ebooks that I got in the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle...there are plenty more to read but for starters I read and   (I'm trying to decide if I should do something more with my blog and these books gave me some things to think about)

Kessiah for school has read
 , , and .

Jenessa' favorite from last month was The Enchantress Returns
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She said it made her laugh and cry...I think this was the 3rd in the series.

Sienna has continued to read some American Girl books and has enjoyed the longer Magic School Bus books.

We are still working our way through Journey to the Center of the Earth as a read-a-loud

...it has been a tough read for us...we will be glad to finish this one!

April 2014

1.  General Conference.  Since we don't have DISH anymore we had to think about how to watch conference this time.  We ended up in our office watching it on the computer.  Strangely enough I thought it was one of the least chaotic conferences we have ever had!  I know my kids are getting older but I still have 3 boys that are 6 and under!  We were also in a smaller room so there was no room for toys for the boys to play with...they could only color!  I was grateful for the opportunity to listen more and I even took notes!  We enjoyed our traditional cinnamon rolls and orange rolls for breakfast and our ice cream sundaes during the 2nd Sunday session.

2.  AIMS testing.  Jenessa and Kessiah both had AIMS...on different weeks.  My parents were here the week of Kessiah's testing which helped me make sure that I got her where she needed to be when she needed to be there.  My parents also helped me get some things organized around here that I just hadn't had the time or muscle (thanks Dad!) to get to!

3.  Chickens and Ducks.  It has been fun watching the baby chicks and ducklings get bigger.  They aren't the cute little balls of fluff that they were when we brought them home.  They get held a lot...they are sure to be very friendly pets!  The ducks get a bath/swim in the bathtub a couple of times a week...they love it!  We moved them from the house to the garage.  And we have started giving them some outside time in the chicken coop during the day.

4.  We (mostly Ryan) have continued to work on our garden beds.  There was an area with some small raised beds already here...but we wanted some more spaces to plant things.  We planted some tomatoes during the middle of the month...we have never planted anything that early...and it was a mistake! We got some nights that were too cold and we got some snow flurries at the very end of the month (not very common!)...the general guideline is don't plant until Mother's Day...we should have waited!  We did get 6 rows of corn and 2 rows of peas planted.

5.  I had the opportunity to talk to the youth in our ward about my mission.  They had a mission prep night with 4 previous missionaries talking about their missions.  I made some dulce de leche to take...and made extra for my family.  Kessiah and Jenessa thought it was great on ice cream!

6.  BYU-Idaho Sound Alliance and Vocal Union.  We had a fun time watching a big band/singing program put on by BYU-Idaho.  I'm getting braver...we took everybody!  I've been in the habit of sending Ryan with the girls for events like this!  Corbin actually sat on my lap about 15 minutes into the concert and fell asleep...not sure how he did it because it got pretty loud at times!  By the end Mason and Logan were asleep as well...I guess it was a little late for them and it didn't hold their interest.

Happy Birthday Corbin!

Wow!  Our baby is 3!  He is such a wonderful finale to our family!  As much as we adore him...he is starting to show that 3 year old personality!  He is loveable and feisty all rolled into one!

Easter 2014

We had a great sharing time in Primary today.  The room was set up like a mock court room with with  a baliff in uniform and a judge in a real judge's cloak.  There were witnesses who had seen Jesus resurrected...Mary, Peter, Thomas, a Nephite, and  Joseph Smith.  It was a great Easter activity.


 

The kids had fun filling all of the Easter eggs they could find in the garage!  There were a lot!  Ryan and I hid them...with our new big yard there were lots of options!  After the kids were done they hid eggs for Ryan and I to find!

Books We Are Reading

I am currently finishing up a trilogy by Jessica Day George.  I'm reading the last book, Dragon Spear.  The first 2 books were Dragon Slippers and Dragon Flight.  It has been a fun read...I was in the mood for some easy reading fun nonfiction so I raided Jenessa's stash of books!

Kessiah just finished reading The Hiding Place, which she really enjoyed and has encouraged me to read it next (so I will!)  She has just started a new book for school called Rifles for Wattie.  For fun she just read 13 Treasures trilogy...13 Treasures, 13 Secrets, 13 Curses

Jenessa reads a variety of books...she has been working on the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boy mysteries lately...but she has a stack of books 2 feet tall by the side of her bed.

Sienna has discovered the American Girl books.  She has finished the Kit books and is working her way through the Josephina series.

For our Mommy Reading Time we are working on The Journey to the Center of the Earth.