Some kids have lemonade stands.....

Our kids sell beets. I feel a Dwight Schrute joke coming on.

It's official. The cousins are back!

And the entrepreneurial spirit is running rampant around here.

If you come out to farm at any point this summer, you might leave with something a tad on the interesting side.

The "Cousin Store" is open for business!


Oh, but you don't eat beets, you say???

Well how about a peach and frog. Delish.

Last summer it was rocks and cow bones for sale in their cute little storefront. This summer they have real live vegetables and critters. I tried to get Kaylyn to make rose flower arrangements to sell to no avail- we have lots of roses.

Kaylyn has requested to sell all sorts of odd things so I sound like a broken record repeating,"Honey, let's stick to selling things that people buy on a farm."

Summer Lovin'....some favs

I love summer. Let it be known that I don't love 110+ degree heat though.

So far, our summer has kicked off pretty awesomely.

I shot these photos of the girls playing with their new wagon a few days ago. They were sitting in the middle of the yard eating strawberries by the carton when the sprinklers came on.

This turned into instant fun and much laughter. I stopped what I was doing and grabbed the camera to capture it all. Such a fun unexpected moment. One minute you are sitting in a wagon in the blazing heat eating strawberries. The next minute you are drenched from head to toe leaping over sprinkler heads- clothes and all.









Summer lovin'.

Speaking of summer lovin'. Here are some things I'm majorly loving these days (in no particular order):

- Doing 5 LOADS of laundry and not folding ONE pair of socks. I'm loving our laundry in general- pool towels and bathing suits.

- Jason's sister and her sweet crew are here for the whole summer- really loving that! There are 7 children on this farm so needless to say they are all plumb exhausted at the end of the day. They are leaving to be missionaries in Haiti beginning in August. The Lord has totally moved in this situation and has done amazing (Would you expect any less??) things during their journey. Follow their story by clicking on the link above to go to their blog. You will be blessed!

- I'm also really loving Chlorophyll....a.k.a. Liquid Sunshine, as my friend Mandi referred to it as. It's the truth. I think it deserves its own post so that is in the works. I've seen amazing results in just 2 weeks of adding this to my diet.

- Earth Balls. You must make these. They are so addicting and really good for you. The recipe is really flexible. The possibilities are endless! This is a good treat or snack to take with you or have on hand. They are pretty rich so you can eat two at a time and feel like you just had a real treat. They also go well with a glass of raw milk!

(loosely adapted from the Whole Foods cookbook)

1 cup organic peanut butter
1/3 cup honey or maple syrup (I've used both of these)
2 teaspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder
1/2 cup raisins
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup hemp hearts (you can substitute sunflower seeds or chia seeds)

Mix the peanut butter, maple syrup or honey, and cocoa powder together. I use my Kitchen Aid mixer. Stir in raisins and 1/2 of the coconut . Put this batter in the fridge for about an hour until chilled. In a separate bowl mix the coconut and hemp seeds together. Get the batter out of the fridge. Roll the batter into small balls. Then roll the balls into the coconut and hemp seeds. Keep chilled until you serve it.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Swimming!

That's what we do most days around here. And most days its twice a day.

Yonder Way Farm has a saltwater pool and man is it great! There is nothing like a dip in the pool after a hard days work in the Texas heat!

Just this summer, Kaylyn has practically turned into a fish. Before the summer began (and the pool was here) she was afraid to go under the water.

By the end of summer, Kaylyn is swimming completely across the pool unassisted.

I beat myself up because I was a loser mom this summer and didn't sign her up for swim lessons. I thought she might be ready for them. But, then I instantly cut myself some slack when I realized I had a baby on May 22nd- the first day of summer!

And she was indeed ready to branch out into the world of swimming this summer. I'm so proud of her!

Sisters

Speaking of Kaylyn....we've had a good bit of laughs over her obsession with goggles this summer. She will not swim without them. We've went through a few pair this summer because she has worn the straps out.

We decided early on this summer that Kaylyn looked like the old man in the Six Flags commercial that dances like a crazy loon. I happen to love that old man....who I've been told is in fact either a famous celebrity man or a regular young woman who happens to have mad dancing skills.

Before you think I'm scarring her for life, we've discussed this with her and she actually laughs with us about it. Especially after I showed her who this character was. Kaylyn has a brilliant sense of humor. I love that about her:).

You be the judge.

Beautiful Kaylyn

Old Guy

Beautiful Kaylyn again:)

Laney Rae is just as fun in the pool as she is out of it! We pretty much duck tape a life jacket or arm floaties on her and let her go at it.

Do legs get any cuter than this????

Ruthie isn't much into swimming yet. She loves laying outside by the pool on a towel and listen to her sisters play and splash in the water.



Oh, and we love us some Blue Bell by the pool. Hey, it's LOCAL right?????


Here are some more pics of my girls swimming.