Playing with Electricity

Ryan really loves this electrical kit Granpa gave him for Christmas. He plays with it all on his own now, and we even bought him some extra switches and LEDs and things to "enhance" his fun!

Berry Picking Again

We headed back to Kruger Farm Market yesterday to pick more berries, this time blueberries and raspberries. The strawberries are pretty much gone, but there are plenty more varieties of berries left for the summer. Blueberries are among Ryan's favorite fruits, and he was so excited about going to pick them. Mommy was excited because they are by FAR the easiest berries to pick, wash and eat. They are sturdy and last quite a while in the fridge, and if you pick too many, they freeze beautifully!


When we left the house the thermometer in the van said it was 60 degrees, and by the time we got to the farm and actually started picking I'm guessing it was about 65 degrees. The sun was shining and it was just perfect...or so I thought. I had to laugh when Ryan sat down under the berry bush to get into the shade because he was too hot! He's a true Northwesterner, that's for sure.


It is still early in the blueberry season so there weren't huge quantities of ripe berries to harvest, but we managed to pick a quart or so fairly quickly and then headed to the raspberry patch which was a long walk from the blueberries! The raspberries were pretty well picked over that day, but we got a pint and half before taking the long walk back to the car (and the bathroom).

Free at Last

We finally released our butterflies! After watching the butterflies eat for a few days, Ryan was ready to set them free. Abby wanted to keep them "forever," but once the butterflies started flying wildly around the habitat we decided they were ready to explore the wide open world where they could really stretch their wings.


Watching and waiting.
When Daddy got home from work yesterday we took the habitat outside, opened the flap and watched them escape one by one. The last one couldn't seem to figure out how to get out, so Daddy gave him a helpful lift and off he went! We saw them fly in and out of yard a couple of times that evening, but since we have no flowers or plants of any kind in our yard yet, they haven't returned. It was a very fun three weeks, and I think we will do it again in a few years.

Picture For Anna

At the beginning of the year we began visiting a local nursing home twice a month. At first the volunteer director had us visiting a bunch of people for just a couple minutes each, but I finally asked if she could just give us few names of people who don't get many visitors so we could get to know them a little and spend a little more time with each one. She gave me a list of about six names, and we are now regularly visiting with about three of those people every other Tuesday at 11:00. We make small pictures or notes or fun things to bring sometimes, and sometimes we just visit with them. I wasn't sure how it would go with the kids, but they seem to really enjoy going.


Miss Anna is one lady who has been at this facility since before we started coming, and she never gets a visit from her family who live about 40 minutes away. She is always glad to see us. We only stay for about 15 minutes each time, but we try to show her the love of Jesus during that time. This morning Ryan drew a picture for her, and I thought it was really cute. He put in details such as her bed table, her television (which is ALWAYS on and blaring very loudly), her closet and her door. He made each stick person the color of what we were wearing today and each one is carrying something. He is carrying the picture and his new Dinoco Lightning McQueen to show to Anna, Abby is holding her doll which she planned to bring to show, and I'm carrying my camera. This cracked me up because I guess I do take a lot of pictures, though I've never taken any at the home. I feel uncomfortable snapping pictures of these people who are not feeling well and might not appreciate it.

Father's Day

The last week or so the kids and I have been trying to think up some things to bless Daddy on Father's Day. I decided to finish up the front part of the yard, so on Thursday we worked all day in the yard doing that, then Saturday we made him cards using their fingerprints to make the artwork, and then we baked some brownies.


Sunday we took Daddy to Vernonia Lake and we fished, had a picnic lunch, fed the ducks and the kids played on the playground. Neither of the kids caught a fish, but Dadddy caught several!

Amazing Metamorphosis

Ryan's not much of an animal lover or nature lover really, but even he has been pretty excited about our caterpillar/butterfly observation. This week the butterflies came out of their chrysalides, and though we didn't get to see them hatching, it is pretty exciting to watch them pump their wings to push the blood into them as they dry and gain strength.


After a day or two they also began to eat the fresh orange slices and sugar water we gave them. Ryan got a kick out of watching them curl and unfurl their tongue-like proboscis as they ate.

Making Strawberry Topping and Jam

Yep, that's two loads of unfolded laundry sitting there in the background, but I'm trying to keep my priorities
in order, remember? :D
It's been at least five years, maybe more, since I've done any canning, but with a flat of highly perishable strawberries sitting on my counter this afternoon, we made a batch of strawberry topping for ice cream or other desserts and a batch of strawberry jam. Ryan was very excited about making the jam and could hardly wait until I had the jars sterilized, the water bath heating, and the berries washed and prepared.


Crushing berries...fun, fun, fun!
Finally, I was ready and we crushed berries, added sugar (wow, I forgot how much sugar it takes...need to find a low sugar recipe next time!), squeezed lemons and added the juice. The topping doesn't require pectin and is very easy to make, but the jam needs pectin and cooks longer, thus requiring skimming foam and working very quickly getting it into the hot jars. I let Ryan ladle a couple of jars before I finished it off. He was very eager to sample what we made and was disappointed to learn he had to wait till the next day!


To quote Ryan, "Yummo!"
We had a small amount of the topping that wouldn't make a full half pint, so we sample some of that over ice cream that evening, and it was pretty yummy. The next morning, we had our strawberry jam on biscuits as part of our breakfast! It tastes good, though it wouldn't win any prizes at a fair. The fruit pieces ended up a bit small and they all floated to the top...guess I'm out of practice! It was fun nonetheless, and we are looking forward to possibly making another batch next week.

Berry Picking

Ryan doesn't have many foods that he loves, but strawberries and blueberries are among the chosen few. The strawberry season here in Oregon is all too brief, but we managed to get out to the strawberry fields this week to pick a flat of strawberries. Hood Strawberries are the kind most people grow here locally, and they have wonderful flavor and are very sweet. However, the texture is rather unpleasant to me, pretty mushy (the locals call the California strawberries "crunchy!"). They also are highly perishable and have to be eaten pretty much the day you pick them, or no later than the next day.


We drove out to Sauvie Island to pick at Kruger's Farm, which is a neat family farm. Ryan turned out to be quite a good picker once he figured out which strawberries were ready to be picked. He was good and only ate the two or three I allowed them each to sample, unlike the woman and her two kids picking nearby who were eating more than they were putting in their box.


After picking we walked among the U-cut flower beds that were almost spent for the year, and then the kids played on a couple of tractors for a while. We had a great time and are planning to go back next week as well...rumor has it the blueberries might be ready then!

Chalk Art

One of Ryan's latest chalk creations out on the back patio. It's a picture of our house, new grass, and play structure.

Witnessing a Miracle

I bought a Butterfly Garden last fall and have been waiting all winter and spring for the weather to warm up enough to send away for our caterpillars. It has finally warmed up enough, so I mailed off the certificate. In just a few days our butterfly larvae arrived! Ryan was very excited, and we all watched the caterpillars crawl around inside their sterile plastic container for quite some time.


We checked on them every day, and then one day about five days later I was blown away by how big they had grown! It seemed like they tripled in size overnight. Within another day they began to crawl to the top and hang upside down in preparation to become chrysalids.


I have never actually seen this process happen, so I was very excited when I saw the first caterpillar begin to transform. I called the children over and we watched him transform before our eyes from a caterpillar into a chrysalis in about two minutes! It happened so fast I couldn't tell what was happening, so I looked it up on the internet and learned they shed their skin. Then next one began his process about 30 minutes later, and this time we saw him lose his skin.


We had one little caterpillar who lagged behind the others by about 36 hours, but eventually he made his chrysalis as well. Every once in a while they shake and squirm a bit, a defensive move to ward off predators. They were doing a lot of this when the last caterpillar was crawling around trying to eat and make up his mind where to hang and start his chyrsalis.


Once they were all in chyrsalids, we were able to open the container and move them into the butterfly garden.


It's been about five days, and we're now keeping a close eye on them for the next several days. The information sheet said it takes about seven to 10 days before they emerge. So any day now we hope to see the birth of our butterflies! Stay tuned...

Splashing

It's been fairly warm, so I brought the mini pool out of the garage. The kids played for hours washing all their outside toys and splashing and playing. It's so nice in our backyard now, and we all can't wait till we can run around on the grass!

Planting Seeds

Ryan got a couple of seed kits in his Easter basket this year, and today I decided to plant them. He sowed tomato and basil seeds, and he is very excited to see his tomato plant grow. Hopefully in a few days we'll see some sprouts!


We had a fun lesson on seeds and how man can make a lot of things but only God can make a seed. Just another science lesson in our homeschool!