Great post, Nicole! Beautiful photos and lovely words. Merry Christmas! See you soon.
Love,
Ali

Merry Christmas, Ali!  Hope you have a great day.  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Love your post, super great pic’s and such heartfelt warm words. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, God Bless.

Thank you , Joan, and Christmas blessings to you and your family.  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Merry Christmas!!

Thank you!  Merry Christmas to you, too!  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

What fun day Nicole! It’s such a charge to learn new skills isn’t it? Your table runner turned out great and the pillow is adorable! I’ve been painting mason jars, and I made a Christmas tree out of chicken wire to display vintage postcards on for my booth downtown. As for gifts, this year we are giving gifts that keep the creativity going all year long. A new photo printer for my hubby and I, a digital keyboard for our daughter, and a beat-maker keyboard for our son. We’ll be ready for a year of making music and beautiful photographs together! Love your posts!
Merry Christmas Nicole!
Hugs from the shorelines!
Deb

Hi Deb! Thanks!  Isn’t it fun to make something new?  I am now on my fourth or fifth runner and each one gets a little better.
I bet that chicken wire Christmas tree is adorable!  I need to mosey on over to your blog and check it out!  I will catch up on my reading in my next sewing break.;)
Have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Farmgirl hugs,
Nicole

What creativity emanates from your home! I’m also going to try the guacamole and hummus combo. I like both separately but together sounds yummy. Thanks for the ideas!

Hi Adrienne, Those two dips are absolutely divine together!  Enjoy!  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

What a fun day. I am glad you are hooked and ready to find our next project. What a great group of women. Thank you once again for having us in your home.

Barb, I want to add that you have unleashed a sewing monster! I am hooked for sure. I just finished my fourth runner tonight and am starting a fifth one.  Thanks so much for such a fun day and inspiration to try something I have wanted to do forever.  Love you! – Nicole

Wish I could have attended this. I can only imagine what a great teacher and inspiration Barb would be to people wanting to learn the basics and more of quilting!

Hi Heather, Barb was an awesome, creative teacher, for sure!  If you are local and would like to join our group, just let me know.  You can reach me through the blog (mark the message as a whisper) or it sounds as if you know Barb, and she has my contact info.  We are always doing something fun!  Thanks for commenting! Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Barb is da bomb!

I agree! – Nicole

I am not a quilter but I have wanted to try to make a table runner for some time now. The directions here make it sound so easy I am going to pick up some material and batting tomorrow. This article was very inspiring. Thank you, Barb and Nicole.

Thank you Anne!  Happy Sewing!  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

The quilting is beautiful. What fun to learn this wonderful skill. I do not quilt myself but admire these beautiful creations. My mom and grandma quilted and so I have quilts in my closets from their creative efforts. You are lucky to have wonderful friends to share this with you. Happy Holidays.

Thank you!  What wonderful treasures you have!  Happiest of Holidays to you! Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

What a great story to start my day! When I was a child I was gifted  several lovely banty (bantam?) chickens. I used to raise chicks and sell them to my neighbors. These chickens were kind of a novelty, so I always sold out! Nothing sweeter than a little clucking hen. My favorite was Flicka! My best brooding hen was Topknot. She had a little bouffant tuft on her head. She would peck the heck out of you if you got near her nest! Such great memories…

Your Mama Hen story warms my heart!
Good luck with your clan!

Hi Jan!  Glad you enjoyed the blog and that I brought back some happy memories for you. I’ll keep everyone posted on my progress. Have a Happy Thanksgiving! -Nicole

Well I’m glad you fulfilled your life long dream of chickens… Too bad none of us knew this before now. We would have saved a lot of money during Christmas.. I guess now we will have to resort to gift cards to the local feed store. Enjoy your chickens.

Ha Ha, big brother!  -Nicole

OH YEA!!!! for you and your family – chickens one of my favorite farm creatures – All Creatures Great and Small. Super names! No, as a child I did not get to name the chickens, we would get 1,000 at a time and they were strictly raised for meat – sad but that is how it went. Although I did get to play with them and some times some would get so they would follow me around the pen – it was great fun. Will be waiting to see the pic’s as they grow. Thanks for sharing. Happy Thanksgiving. God Bless.

Hi Joan.  Yes, my father was a bit horrified that we named them.  His parents raised chickens and they were strictly for eggs and meat.  In my defense, we did have chicken casserole the same night we got the chicks, ha ha!  Like you, I have happy memories of playing with chickens as a child.  I remember being very small but playing with my aunt’s chickens when we would visit her little farm.  I will keep y’all posted on my progress.  Asking Santa for a nice chicken coop!  Happy Thanksgiving, Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Congratulations.I know you will enjoy having them.I can remember being a little girl and going to visit the hen house with my Grandfather.One time I went alone and got in trouble.Years later my Dad told me that they had seen a snake by the house earlier that day.

True, chickens are prey to lots of critters.  Snakes, foxes, and hawks all love chickens!  Hopefully we won’t have too many issues with predators.  Thanks for reading and commenting! Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Congratulations Nicole! We are so happy for you! They are the sweetest little things when they are baby chicks and I love the little peeps they make. A Thanksgiving blessing for sure!
Look forward to future posts about your backyard flock!
Hugs from the Beach!
sister Deb

Hi Deb!  Thanks!  They are growing fast and are just the sweetest, for sure!  Hope you and your family had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

How terrific you have a fox nearby and it posed for photos! That means you have a healthy environment where all creatures great and small can survive and thrive. Next year when you have chickens, I hope the fox admires them from a distance and will find other prey for nourishment. Congratulations!

Hi Adrienne!  I just got baby chicks to incubate inside until Spring.  I hope that Mr. Fox doesn’t think they are for him!  He sure was beautiful, though!  I felt like it was a real privilege to see him.  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Oh how great that you got to experience the FOX!! This reminds me of when we moved into our new home in ’06, we had fox that lived in our back yard and it isn’t an acreage, but the housing area is on the plains. So one day my 2 grandchildren were here, up for breakfast and what did we see 3 fox, 2 were frolicking and one was sniffing around. They did not feel threatened because we were the only ones there that didn’t have a dog, so here they stayed for about a year, we watched the kits grow and then they were gone. Never found out why but the wild animal people think it was because lack of food in the area, we did not feed them in any way but it was a year of great fun and learning. Like yours, they didn’t seem to care that we had our faces pressed against the bay window, they performed beautifully. Again thanks for the reminder. God Bless

Hi Joan!  What a great story!  Thanks for sharing.  I am sure your grandkids will never forget their fox sighting.  Sounds like great memories were made.  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

They are great at a distance but I have chickens and in the spring when they have young the male fox hunts closer to home and we have lost a couple of chickens to them. They can clean your coop out fast because they will kill hide and kill again then go back to retrieve from where they hide them. So as excited as we were to see the fox family the first year they made their home at the back of our 10 acres, we now have to watch for them closely in the spring. When they start showing up in the yard we cannot let the hens free range which makes them very loud and angry with us. I hope that it goes well with your future chickens. They are so much fun to have around!

Brenda, Oh goodness…thank you for the info.  We will definitely need to keep a watchful eye on our flock!  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Hurrah for the FOX! 😀

Have a wonderful day!
Mimi Foxmorton

Find us on Facebook at Sisterhood of the Goat

Hi there, Miss Foxmorton…checked out your Facebook page…love the goats in shirts!  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Great write-up Nicole–a manual of sorts for the process of beekeeping. I’m sure your post will inspire someone to go for it!!!!! With the honey bee in a beleaguered place these days, we can’t spotlight them enough. Great post. Thanks for creating more honeybee enthusiasts this morning!!!!!

Thank you, MaryJane!  I am so glad to share this with everyone. I really am looking forward to beekeeping this spring, and am so grateful to John and his family for showing me the ropes.  There’s just so many good things bees bring! Much love, Nicole

I love honey and it’s one of the reasons I’m not vegan. When I found out honey in Egyptian tombs was usable after thousands of years, I was hooked. Not only is it wonderful in tea and sweetening oatmeal, cream of wheat or rice, it was an antiseptic to help heal the radiation burns. Another use: scrub your face, dry it and apply honey liberally in a mask. Relax with some warm teabags over your eyes and you’ll have a salon-quality facial. Here’s a virtual toast to the beekeepers, especially the ones in San Francisco who create honey from their own neighborhoods for sale to everyone here locally. Salud!

Adrienne, what a great idea.  I think I will try the honey mask this weekend.  And isn’t that amazing that honey was found and still good in the Egyptian tombs? It’s definitely one of nature’s gifts. Thank you for commenting! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Beekeeping is an exciting and wonderful hobby! My husband gave me a beekeeping set up for Christmas three years ago and we set up our box and hive the following April. We have been very successful and have given away many greatly appreciated jars of honey to our friends and family. We have gotten much enjoyment out of our bees and their honey and in the process have learned a great deal. We did join a local beekeeping association and I would highly recommend that. It is a good way to learn quickly and to meet new friends.

Hi Catherine!  Thanks for all the great info!  Congratulations on your success in beekeeping…keep up the good work.  There is a beekeeping association in my area, too.  I will look into that this spring, as well.  Thanks again! Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Wow! Thank you for the wonderful recipes..Great job!

This was the year of the pumpkin in our back yard. My husband worked out of town a bit this summer, so I just kept watering his ‘babies’ (pumpkins) A LOT. It seems that the largest was about 150# (also grown in the compost bin)! I had the idea to put them on craigslist and I couldn’t believe the response. It seems that there is quite a market for LARGE pumpkins! Of course I actually wanted them to go to ‘good homes’…One fellow was going to feed his to his neighbor’s goats when he was done with it. Woo Hoo!
What’s not to love about pumpkins?????

Thank you, Jan, so glad you enjoyed today’s post!  Those are some HUGE pumpkins you grew!  I did worry that mine might grow to be some hundred pound monster pumpkin, but the variety of seed I used doesn’t yield that large of pumpkin. 🙂 How smart to put them on CraigsList!  There is a local diner in town that every year puts a gigantic, enormous, super big pumpkin in the middle of the median as Fall decoration.  I don’t know where they always find them, but it must take a truck and a fork lift to set down.  Good job with your pumpkins!  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Those are wonderful huge pumpkins and your recipes should create some tasty treats (no tricks on this Halloween)! I like making pumpkin tarts and sharing them with friends. They are just enough to satisfy the appetite and can actually be frozen. Since I’m vegetarian, my main Thanksgiving dish is another member of the squash family–butternut squash–stuffed with quinoa, chopped green onions, sage and a little veggie broth. It creates its own bowl too.

Hi Adrienne!  I bet those pumpkin tarts are wonderful!  Funny you should mention butternut squash…I bought an organic one yesterday at my local grocery store and am trying to figure out how I want to serve it for dinner tonight!  Happy Fall! -Nicole

Oh my gosh! My friend just sent me the link to your post because she is fully aware of my Pumpkin Love. What fabulous pictures and delicious-looking recipes! I’ve pinned it to Pinterest so I can find it later!
My husband & I have some friends who have a giant pumpkin patch. Every October, they invite everyone from every town nearby (not really, but close enough) to come harvest. We took our nieces and nephews this year and told them if they could get it to the car, they could have it. My scrawny 11-yr-old niece found a way to haul an 80-pounder home. She may have inherited the love of pumpkins. 🙂
I use the leftover Jack-o-lanterns to make curried pumpkin soup. Well, provided the deer and squirrels leave me anything.
Thank you so much for this wonderful autumnal post! It made me very happy.

Hi Erica!  Thank you so much!  I hope you will come back and "visit" my blog again.  Nice to hear from someone who understands my pumpkin craze!   What a great story about your niece, too.  Thank you for sharing. There is one pumpkin decoration I leave out all year long. It’s a hand-blown glass pumpkin that sits in my curio in the kitchen.  But come late September, it’s pumpkin decor and pumpkin recipes through December!  Enjoy, and thanks again for visiting.  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Congratulations on the successful pumpkins harvest. Thanks for the decorating ideas with the white pumpkins! I never knew there were white pumpkins until I read your blog today.

I love to eat all things pumpkin also. My favorites are pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate chip pumpkin cookies.

Hi Rose, Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies???  You’ve got to send me/post that recipe!  I will think I have died and gone to Heaven, for sure! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

I love the picture of your daughter with the pumpkin so big only her fingertips will touch. I understand, though, because I also love pumpkins. There’s a local homeowner in my town who carves (with the help of the community) over 3,000 pumpkins every October and decorates his old victorian house and his yard. He adds lights and music to his decorations and people come from miles around to see them. A local charity uses the "innards" to made pumpkin bread and other pumpkin goodies.

Hi Rebecca!  Isn’t that a cute photo of my daughter? She’s now eleven, but still loves to pick out pumpkins, happy squeals at the first sighting of pumpkins. We also put a little one on her nightstand every year, too.  3,000 pumpkins??? Wow!  I bet that is an amazing sight!  Great story, thanks for sharing! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Happiest people on earth? I’m moving! Thanks for the journey and warm fuzzy feelings this morning.

Good Morning, MaryJane!  Glad you enjoyed the "tour"…I have to admit, Danes are some of the warmest, friendliest people I have ever met.  Much love, Nicole

Sold! You have me contemplating a trip to Denmark. My husband came to the US (at the age of two and by ship!) from Germany. We have not traveled there yet…
I will simply have to make your meatballs! Sounds so yummy and the curry surprised me..I also have an aebleskiver pan that I need to put to use.
Thank you for the lovely tour,
Jan

Hi Jan!  Denmark is such a great place to visit, I know you’d love it.  "Boller i Karri" is one of my husband’s favorite dishes that his mom made when he was growing up.  It’s one of our favorite dinners, hope you enjoy!  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Part of my father’s family originally came from Denmark and moved to Sweden (and changed their last name from Andersen to Anderson). I have an aebleskiver pan and have baked them but used a mix purchased from the Prepared Pantry online. They are yummy topped with whatever seasonal fruit I have. Also, if you want to lower the sugar content, stevia comes in bulk powdered form to be used by the teaspoon or sprinkled food. Ufda!

Hi Adrienne! Thanks for the tip! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Thanks Nicole for the lovely trip to Denmark, yes your love of the Country sure shows and I appreciate your tour guiding, I can’t travel any more so this is a grand time for me. The yarns must be special and the museums spectacular, even though I would be half n half in viewing them, a quick look see then be in the out of doors. Love the recipes, somewhat like my Polish family recipes, will give them a try. Thanks again for sharing and God Bless.

Hi Joan!  I’m so glad you liked today’s blog.  Enjoy the recipes, and thanks so much for commenting!  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

You captured my family’s home country perfectly. 🙂

Darn it, now I’m hungry LOL!

Hi April!  Tak!  🙂  Nicole

I’d never heard of Clearwater. What a very cool place to visit! I enjoyed your story and pics of Winter and sunny Florida.

Thank you, MaryJane!  We hadn’t heard of Clearwater before, either, until we saw the movie about Winter.  We really enjoyed the day and would love to visit again.  Much love to you! -Nicole

I live in Pensacola , Florida. You just gave me a wonderful reason to take an in-state vacation to Clear water. Thanks for the inspiration, once again. BTW- I have not started scrap booking yet. I’m still going through my baking phase and sewing phase. Still waiting for that scrap booking bug to bite me and take that class, lol.

Hi Tina! Wow is Florida a beautiful state.  It’s been twenty years since I was there last, but always have loved going.  It was my first visit to Clearwater. If you go visit Clearwater and Winter, let me know.  I know you will enjoy it!  The baking bug is biting at me recently, too.  This week is Pumpkin Spice Bread.  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

All the photos were really interesting and I really was particularly interested in the marine aquarium. I live right near the Pacific Ocean, so I’m really interested in those things. I’m glad you could spend some time with your relatives. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂

Hi Heather!  Thank you. We saw and did a lot while in Florida, but the Marine Aquarium was our favorite.  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

I also love county fairs. My daughter, who is in 4th grade, has been sewing for 2 years. This past spring, she entered a shirt she sewed in our county fair. She won a blue ribbon for it! Now, she is really into sewing and wants to make more items. I am so proud of her. We entered a dress she made this summer into our Arizona state fair for next month. The only down side of our fair was that I found it very expensive. It was $15 just for 3 of us to ride the ferris wheel. The prices won’t stop me from going, though! 🙂

Hi Mindy!  Congratulations to your daughter for her blue ribbon!  Tell her the Suburban Farmgirl says "Awesome job!"  That’s a great accomplishment for anyone, but in fourth grade?  That’s really something.  You must be so proud!  As for the prices of the fair, I understand.  Some fairs in our area are more expensive than others. Seems to me the smaller ones cost more than the large ones!  The Dutchess County Fair surprised me.  I found it to be pretty reasonable.  I still think it’s worth to go to the fair, too.  Thanks for sharing with me! Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Oh thanks Nicole for the trip to the Fair, I didn’t get to go this year so you made it for me. My recall is bringing up all the great smells – yes I like the animal smells too. God Bless

Hi Joan!  I love the animal smells, too. It’s all part of the fun.  Farmgirl hugs to you! – Nicole

Hi Nicole!
Ya know how you said to me the more we talk the more you feel like we have in common? Well gee,
I got that EXACT feeling as I read this blog post! Every year my daughter and I go to the Long Island Fair, at Old Bethpage Village Restoration. We have been going for years! In fact when my daughter was in 4th grade she went as a field trip from school. Of course, I, not wanting to miss out on the fun, tagged along as a chaperone. Well, my daughter entered the " guess how many beans are in the jar" contest and WON! It was really quite amazing considering there were THOUSANDS of entries, and SHE guessed the closest! She was thrilled and brought the letter she received in the mail along with a copy of her $25.00 prize check in to school to show her teacher.
This year she is entering several of her photographs that she has taken into the junior hobby category. She is a budding photographer, and we are trying to encourage her to pursue her love of taking pictures , so we thought this was a great opportunity to do just that. We are really looking forward to it. She has to enter above her age class (she has just turned 13 years old) and the photography category doesn’t technically start until age 14, so she will be going up against 14-17 year olds, but it will be a good learning experience for her.
We look forward to our local fair every year, and this year will be a new experience for us because we will be actual "participants" !
Thank you as always for your wonderful posts, and one of these days girlfriend we are definitely going to get together for some farmgirl fun!
Hugs,
Laurie

Hi Sweet Laurie,  I am chuckling as I read this, because of how you mention chaperoning field trips.  I have volunteered for every field trip I could that my daughter has had.  I think I got more excited over some of them than she did!  So proud to hear that your daughter is entering her photos.  Good luck to her!  Can’t wait to meet you both!  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Your stay-cation sounds wonderful and from the pictures, it looks as though your summer has been full of fun AND learning. I believe it’s essential for kids to have downtime. It’s the way imaginations are born. It makes me sad when I see how disconnected some of us have become due to all the technology and "stuff" around us. We’re forgetting how to communicate. You and your daughter, on the other hand, are able to see all the beauty around you and ENJOY IT.

Rebecca, thank you.  I’m glad you liked the pictures.  They were all so fun to take.  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

I love it. The photos are great. I think you have spent quality time with your daughter. And, in a less stressful manner. My daughter and I enjoy going to a local park and it’s a mini vacation. We are already in our second week of band camp, but last night had to be outside taking photos of the full moon. Sunday we had a picnic with another neighbor and her daughter and enjoyed playing "Clue" and "Life" out on the porch until it was too dark to see.

Mary, We were taking pics of the moon last night, too!  Wasn’t it HUGE?  It was so beautiful. It really looked like a face, reminded me of the old forties cartoons with the animated moon.  Sounds like you had a great night…I forgot about the game "Clue".  We don’t have that one, but I’ll have to get it.  I played it as a child, too.  Nothing like the real board games.  Computer games are not the same, at all. How much fun it sounded like you had last evening.  Enjoy.  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole

Thank YOU!!! for all of the above. Never can a parent be more than you are to your daughter and to the country in general. I think the more we have like you the more the next generation will be loving, caring people and will help stop the wrong doing. Again thank YOU and your husband. God Bless

Joan, thank you for your comment.  It’s not easy going against the "norm".  It’s not easy to do, and there are sacrifices. My husband is a blessing, and I thank God he’s on the same page with me with raising our dd.  Farmgirl hugs, and blessings back to you, Nicole

Nicole, I am laughing I spent the day at the beach yesterday and stopped for Lucas at the farm on the way home. Spent my time at Moss Labyrinth and then taking many photos of bees on flowers and dragonflies.

I love the terrariums and now I am inspired to try it on my own since I missed the group event.

I loved stay vacations, this summer has been pretty much one big stay vacation for me. I wouldn’t trade it.

Your garden looks great, wish I could say the same for mine. Live and Learn, I will try again net year.

Barb, We all missed you so much at our farmgirl get-together.  Audrey missed Emily, too!  Sounds like you all had a nice summer.  Hope to see you all soon.  Much love, Nicole

I’m so glad you’re having a lovely summer-into-fall staycation and yes, my brother, sister and I had plenty of downtime when we grew up. There were chores and homework, but after everything necessary was done, we were on our own until dark. If we were away from the house and yard, someone knew where we were. We were free to do what we wished with whomever in the neighborhood. Sure, there was Little League, soccer, Pop Warner and other scheduled events but we never felt stressed to cram more into the day.

I miss the Lorikeets! There was an exhibit at the San Francisco Zoo and we loved to feed them inside the open air compound. I had to remember not to wear button earrings or the beautiful little critters would try to eat them. I’m glad they’re in your area of the country to enjoy.

Hi Adrienne!  Aren’t the Lorikeets the neatest? We really enjoyed that exhibit.  It was really a treat.  I admit, I hadn’t ever heard of that type of bird before.  They are so beautiful and colorful. Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Hi Nicole! You really touched on some good food for thought today my dear! As a homeschool mom I am always thrilled when I hear that a family makes time to be together in unscheduled classes or activities. It gives us room to grow together and learn about each other and the world at the same time. Your summer sounds like the perfect summer! I agree, New England is a lovely place to be in the summer…So much to see and do if you choose, and plenty to do on a less hurried scale as well. I see you have the same butterflies we did this summer. I have zinnias galore but no painted ladies yet..I think the weather has affected the migration of certain butterflies this year. I’ve only spotted a few Swallowtails in my butterfly garden this year but the ones that did visit were very large and so beautiful. I actually saved ones life! I went out to look at my flowers and I found one stuck inside a daylilly blossom that had melted to the butterflies wings so it couldn’t get out. I thought it would be neat to look at it upclose and assumed it had perished by the way it was crammed inside the flower but when I peeled the flower petals away the wings began to move. With a little tug I released the butterfly from the center of the flower and it took off… a little wobbly at first and on damaged wing but I like to think I saved it even if just for the rest of the summer! As for family things… we have spent a lot of time talking and laughing with our teens at home and at the beach. As well as playing taxi to various outings they wanted to get in over the summer with friends.

Don’t let people frighten you about the teen years. Yes they are turbulent, for some kids more than others, but if you can drop anchor as a parent and let the storms swirl around you and not get caught up in it along with your child when the winds quiet down, ( and they go back to being human) you will fall in love with them all over again and they you!
Loved your post today! It hit home in the best of ways!
Enjoy!
Love, your BEACH BLOGGIN sis Deb

Hi Deb!  Love the story of the butterfly.  We are missing the Monarchs this year.  I heard there were fewer due to the storms, and we have only seen one or two all summer.  Lots of hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, and alot of butterflies, especially spotted skippers, and tiger swallowtails, though. 

I love that you homeschool your teens and I love the way you seem so close to your daughter, even in the "teen" years.  I think if you set a good foundation from the start, like you’ve done, you stay close and it is less turbulent than it could be. 

Farmgirl hugs,
Nicole

Thanks for sharing the photos and your post and all the neat things you’ve been doing! Wonderful!

I do believe that kids need down time! They need play time and, hopefully, time where they are encouraged to create, read, or whatever they really want to do at the moment. Yes, they need structure and their share of responsibilities as is appropriate for their age. But I’m a believer in encouraging creativity and exploration. Kids need to be given opportunity to think, reason and make decisions for themselves as well.

A nap can be a good thing, too!
Enjoy the rest of your summer!!!
HUGS TO YOU BOTH!
CJ

Hi CJ!  I agree whole-heartedly!  We have given Audrey chores which she must do, as well, like make her own bed, feed her pets, and put away her own laundry.  She also has to practice her violin. She is active in Girl Scouts and 4H. But she knows kids who never get any free playtime, never get to decide what they would like to do.  They are shuffled from one lesson, one sport, one activity to another to another.  They are exhausted.  Their parents are exhausted. 

And yes, a nap can be a good thing!  Big hugs to you, my friend.  Been thinking about you!  Farmgirl hugs, Nicole

Nicole, the pictures are beautiful and of course I agree with you on free time from hectic schedules and technology for children.
I never had heard of a lorikeet and they are beautiful! What fun you and Audrey had this summer and nice aquarium.
Audrey looks so sweet lying down with Mittens and the kitty’s eyes are something else! Good blog and you really have some nice comments from others.

Love you,
Mother

Thanks Mom!  And thanks for being a great mom and inspiration to me.  My happiest memories as a child are of being outside playing until dusk, and being home with you.  Love you, Nicole

Nicole, I so agree with your post. I am a mother of five – 4 boys and 1 girl. We homeschooled for 10 years before I had to go to work. We live in Michigan and when we bought our home we had to make a choice. Do we have more property and no basement or get a basement and have no property. My husband and I both love the outdoors and so it really became a no brainier. More property! So with that my kids were always outside. We gave them one area of the yard to dig and dig they did. We had trees for climbing, swing to play on, gardens, raspberry bushes, basketball, and in the winter an ice rink. Some people thought we were crazy to not have a basement but we knew how we wanted our kids to grow up. Outside :). We limited their tv and didn’t have any game systems until they were much older. For their birthdays I would rent a game system for 24 hours and let them play until their hearts content, then I would return it. My children are now ages 15 to 23 and its always fun to listen to them talk about the things they used to do. You’ve made a great choice to spend this time with your daughter. The time really does go fast.

Melena, thank you for sharing!  I love your idea of renting a game system and then returning it.  We do allow Audrey to play video games at times, but she is very, very limited on the time.  And with email and cell games, I am like "Big Brother"…always watching.  I wouldn’t have let her have a cell at all yet, but after last year, I changed my mind after a school bus fender bender where no one know why our bus was an hour late, and then of course December 14th.  I trust my daughter, but am also Mama Bear!  Thank you for sharing.  Farmgirl Hugs, Nicole