September 2015

It's wild grape season!

Even little Evania was getting in on the helping.

You can hardly see Owen in his camouflage.

Baby girl's got her arms full. ;)

This year just three of the kids and I (Andrea) went to the State Fair. Owen's favorite is still sitting on all of the equipment.

This was a big deal year for Owen because he purchased his own lawnmower! Smart boy had picked out the one he wanted after much research, and had also looked around to know what a good price was. The State Fair deal was the best he'd seen by about $10-$15, and came with free delivery and set up.

But that didn't stop him from sitting on more.

Good thing there were three of them along! I'm curious what that sheep is looking at!

And this was lunch. A big bucket of cookies. ;)

We visited the baby animals, and both girls loved the little goats.

The giant slide was on my list, but they wouldn't let me go on to help Rin because I was pregnant! (Not even that far along, either, but since it was #6, it probably looked like more than I was!)

Thankfully Leah was ready to step up to the challenge, and so I got to take pictures of the three of them coming down.

Because I had all "big" kids along, we got to look at pretty things in the arts and crafts building. Rinnah thought these were very pretty.

Owen doesn't have a monopoly on the vehicle-sitting.

Back to the John Deere spread!

Rinnah's up giving it a try herself.

Big brother, little sister.

First day of school for our littler boys!

And there's Reuben through the window, excited to be sitting next to his friend from last year.

Krassi gets to go up on the lift and sit in the back. ;)

Hey, cutie!

We love this chair that Krassi can use for sitting during the day. He's looking so strong and tall.

He's thinking, "How can I get up to my Bible?" (It's being glued and is drying on top of the glass granola jar.)

Smart boy problem solving, but the stool isn't *quite* tall enough!

Always some work to be done. This weekend we're working on finishing the little entry deck at Matt's office. Reuben's got himself the perfect spot to prop his iPad.

Krassi's hanging out in his wagon.

And here comes Rinnah down the slide!

Both girls together on the slide (and Owen running in the background.)

This is my cousin's daughter. They stopped through on their way to (or from?) the airport, and we got to visit a bit!

Later I saw Rinnah doing this, and asking me, "Mommy, is this how Bobby was holding baby Joy?" She's paying close attention!

It's SO much fun to be able to bike with everyone again!

This is Krassi's sweet ride. He looks a little bit unsure here!

Hey, squirt! Someone's liking playing on the new deck.

An art project with found objects.

This is the kind of game I loved playing when I was a girl - they're cooking with random things they've found around the yard. (That's Leah and the girls' friend, Hope. Rinnah's around somewhere, too.)

A fun moment with all three working together.

Love her sense of style.

Owen's very much enjoying soccer again this year. Hard to catch an action shot, so this one will have to do.

And here come my three girls running across the field. I love how this captures so much of each of them - Leah in the long floral cozy dress, Rinnah in the pink leopard print, and little 'Vania marching along with Reuben's monkey.

Evania is a skilled limestone wall builder! (Or maybe it's Daddy who is, since he can do it one-handed.)

She had a blast playing outside with me and Matt.

Way up on tippy-toes!

See - she's learned from Daddy and is building herself now. All she really was doing was putting little chinks into and out of the cracks in the wall, but she was working so diligently!

Reading on the couch.

Five of the six at the playground before Leah's soccer game. (That's Owen's foot.)

Leah's soccer team.

Someone else thinks she needs to be able to reach up a little higher!

On one of our last days at Barb's old house, Evania climbed herself onto this old tricycle. She looks like she means business!

We went to visit my cousin and his family, and took a picture of all the kids (minus Owen, who stayed home to play with friends), sitting on their front porch swing!

Reuben testing the tensile strength of a worm.

Leah displaying the first few potatoes out of the garden.

Owen had his own rows of potatoes this year and this is his first "red".  Digging potatoes is a lot of fun!

We spent a lot of time watching soccer games this summer.

Owen's soccer team.  He played in the 5th to 8th grade league as a 5th grader this year. It was a challenge, but he stepped up and was a solid player on the team. Lots of fun to watch.

Owen and Leah playing with dominoes.

Owen and Leah playing with dominoes.

Owen practicing for his guitar lessons that he has once  week, taught by one of the men from our church for home schooler students who are interested.

Leah and Vania hanging out on the large rock outside Daddy's office window.