Tag Archives: summer

Resources and Ideas for a Family Unit Study on Archaeology

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Well, the school year is starting to wrap up. Now that our Spring Break road trip is behind us, I’m focused on pulling together some unit study materials for the summer. Our family topics this year are marine biology and archaeology, and this year we’re really focusing on professions in those fields. We want the kids to start seeing and understanding what following your passion really looks like, day-to-day. What jobs do people do if they love history or ocean animals? Archaeology started out as a bit of a stretch for … Continue Reading…

Finding Unexpected Goodness on the Farm

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Life gets away from us all sometimes. You get caught in the hustle and bustle and you miss the things that are right in front of you. You’re so focused on the future, the next thing on the list, the next event coming up…you start to miss the moments right under your nose. Our kiddos have been off adventuring with family a lot this summer and all the chores, housework, and farm work has rolled back on the momma. That could be an ugly thing. But I find that my phone … Continue Reading…

Easy DIY Luggage Tags

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As I wrote last week with our Summer Camp Packing lists (did you download your FREE copy?) our kiddos have been adventuring away from home a lot this summer. They visited my sister, my mother-in-law, and now church camp. This is Speedracer’s first year at church camp and we’ve developed several little rites of passage for the first year. One is that they get their first toiletry bag (or shaving kit bag for the boys) and one is that they get their personalized luggage tags. This is an easy and … Continue Reading…

How to Pack for Overnight Summer Camp (with FREE Checklists!)

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Well, it’s summer camp time again! The time when I buy new socks and boxes of Ziploc bags and start the sorting and organizing for the kiddos to head out to church camp for a week. Do your munchkins go to overnight camp? Our kiddos head off for a week each summer with their church group. Sometimes the different age groups go at different times, but this year all 3 of our farm kids are heading off together–that’s a new stage for us! {smile} Our first year I did a … Continue Reading…

How to Make a Great Outdoor Space for Summer Family Time

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I’ve written before about how hard it can be to leave the farm for a vacation in the summer time. So we staycation a lot. And honestly, that’s probably more liberal than it deserves. We “staycation” a lot in the summer. On Friday and Saturday evenings. On our own back porch. After working all day. {smile} We’re blessed that the farm provides everything one could need to get a little rest and relaxation without having to go anywhere at all! It can truly feel like a “family vacation” with very little … Continue Reading…

Dogs, Bugs, and Muddy Ponds…the Daily Farm Adventures {91}

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How do farm kids and farm dogs spend the hot, dirty Virginia summers? Playing outside getting hotter and dirtier! {smile} When I finally got tired of this… And this… And this… We headed out for a walk. I needed a break by then anyway. Cleaning floors in our house is almost more futile than doing laundry or dishes. I don’t even get a one day reprieve. {sigh} So I took a break to get some fresh air with the dogs. Along the way we made sure to get pictures of this… And … Continue Reading…

When the Weather is Gorgeous…the Daily Farm Adventures {90}

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After a steamy week in the 100s, the summer has cooled off again and this past weekend was gorgeous! Beautiful! Sunny, high 80s, Virginia hot but not humid! At least not that we noticed, we have a higher tolerance than some folks. {smile} So naturally we got a lot of outside work done. We weeded and mulched all the flower beds. (And noticed a few spots that need a little more TLC.) We scrubbed and filled water buckets for everyone. (And enjoyed a few minutes just admiring the cows.) We … Continue Reading…

Family Camping Adventures — Food and Water

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Well, I took a little unexpected blogging break last week. My sister was in-town with my niece and nephew and I was hustling back and forth between work and home and farm chores (we got the shearing done–yea!!) and trying to see fireworks and go to the park and enjoy “Ciocia’s famous fried chicken”…and computer time was just waaay down on the list. {smile} It was busy but glorious. (And I managed to throw some pictures up on Facebook through the week!) In the meantime, here’s the post I meant … Continue Reading…

Storm Prep on the Farm

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Well, it’s storm season again. We’ve been battening down the hatches and tying up the loose strings around here. I know it’s serious, but I actually kinda enjoy the preliminary work to stormy days. Our kids have learned enough over the years that when I come home and say “there’s a storm coming, everyone get boots on to help get ready” they really jump up and get helpful. Everyone throws their boots on and gets down to business.  It’s a real team effort.  I like those moments. What does storm … Continue Reading…

More Staycation Destinations!

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Yesterday I shared a bunch of our favorite local things to do in case you’re in our neck of the woods some time soon. And today, I’m excited to be linking up with The Happy Housewife‘s Staycation campaign to bring you even more fun and inexpensive ideas for staying home and enjoying family time this summer! Is your town on the list? We’re down there under Southern-Atlantic if you’re from this area… Mid Atlantic NW (or all), Connecticut :: Parenting Miracles Boston (or all), Massachusetts :: Maven of Savin Central, … Continue Reading…

Staycation — Enjoying Smithfield and Western Tidewater Virginia

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Any times we say we’re from Smithfield, folks immediately ask, “You mean, like the ham?” Yes. Exactly. Smithfield, Virginia is the original home (and still headquarters) of Smithfield Foods. “Hams, History, Hospitality, and HeART” as we like to say around here. Here’s some of our favorite, pretty much free, ways to spend a nice weekend around here… Smithfield Farmer’s Market…it’s growing every year and is quite the local hot spot on Saturday mornings. It includes everything from fresh veggies, to soap, to cut flowers, to bakery treats. Admission is free, … Continue Reading…

May 2013–National Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month

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Well, it’s May. My least favorite time of year. Every year. No matter how hard I try to focus on new flowers and growing lambs and little boy dimples and fresh asparagus frittata..my mind endlessly circles back to those last weeks before that day…  That day, that changed the meaning of all the days that came before. That day, that changed the shape of all the days that will ever come after. That day, that drew a line in the sands of time for our family. That day, that sliced … Continue Reading…

Farm Life in the Spring

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We’re well into spring, here in Virginia. Which means my hay fever has gone crazy and the weather changes just about every 5 minutes or so. 55 and rainy one day, 75 and sunny the next! But one thing that’s not changing is that the days are definitely longer–and it’s all I can do to get the kids to come back inside in the evenings. We finished lambing a few weeks ago, right before I left for the Titus 2:1 conference. It’s a weight off. Now the sheep are starting … Continue Reading…

10 Nature Journaling Notes

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We started nature journals with the kiddos over the summer. While I haven’t been completely faithful with them, they’ve been a great activity and we catch up every couple of weeks. We’re certainly not stopping and they’re not just about nature now. We’re recording gratitude lists, family trips, and just snippets of our everyday life together. Here’s a few tips I’ve picked up over the last couple months… 1. Take lots of pictures. This way you don’t lose things just because you don’t draw well or you forgot in the … Continue Reading…

Backyard Camping

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While we were all home together this weekend, not doing anything special, Mr. Fix-It decided to take the kids camping. Backyard camping. Mr. Fix-It took a couple sticks, tied on a tarp, and cut some more sticks into peg-stakes. The kids were amazed. It took a whole 8 minutes before the Cowboy tripped over a support line and fell on a peg and started howling. But he recovered when Mr. Fix-It mentioned having a campfire. Then Mr. Fix-It sent them off to procure supplies from the surrounding environment. As in, … Continue Reading…