Family and More

 

We had a lot of family get-togethers a couple of weeks ago.  First, we went to my niece's graduation party, then we had a party to remember my uncle.  It was great to see so many family members at both!

Pilot was the only one who didn't make the trip. 

And Lydia has been busy making bracelets lately.  She has been using some beads that will look familiar to many:

And this week, we had our dear friends visit for several days.  They were here for Gyunay's 12th birthday, which made him very happy.  We also enjoyed the fireworks together last night!

June Harvest Totals

 It's still too soon for tomatoes, but I am starting to get produce!  

Bok Choy - 2 c

Chickens - 11; 74.7 lbs

Cucumbers, Edmondson - 4

Cucumbers, green - 1

Eggs - 247

Garlic Bulbs - 39

Lettuce, Red Merlot - 2c

Potatoes, red - 3.6 lbs

Potatoes, yellow - 1.3 lbs

Radishes - 32

Turnips - 11

Plus some handfuls of strawberries, gooseberries, radish pods

Herbs - mint, thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano, parsley

The egg harvest is a bit down, because we had 2 mama hens.  We had 3 chicks, and I was so happy watching them all putter around the yard.

Unfortunately, something (probably a raccoon) killed all of them, mamas and babies.  We are very bummed.  I think we have reinforced the coop, and the rest of the chickens were safe and accounted for this morning, but we have not yet caught the culprit.  

Book Review - Her Part to Play by Jenny Erlingsson

Her Part to Play by Jenny Erlingsson was an enjoyable, albeit understandably predictable, romance.  I enjoyed reading it.  The faith element is well-integrated into the characters' stories, not just a side note, which I enjoyed.  It is a very good first novel!  The pacing was nice.  I appreciate that the romance had time to develop and grow, which made it realistic.  I really enjoyed the side characters, too.  I think the author is well-positioned to make sequels with the cousins as protagonists.  I don't read a lot of contemporary romance, or follow Hollywood, but it was a nice change of pace for me.  It would make a good beach read.

I received a copy from the publisher, Revell, but all opinions are my own.

St. Louis Science Center

 We also visited the Science Center while we were in St. Louis.  There is not only a lot to do in St. Louis, but many things are free, like the zoo and this science center.  

It was three floors, with exhibits on dinosaurs, motion, farming, and more.

Nathaniel did pay two dollars to see the kids in the tornado simulator:

Their main complaint on the tornado was that it was cold!

It also had a fun game section, with both video and physical games, like this tunnel ping-pong:

And back at Autumn's the kids loved on Karma some more:

 

And on Sunday, we went to Mass at the magnificent St. Louis Cathedral

Afterwards, Lydia and I visited St. Joseph's Shrine as well.  We had a great trip to St. Louis, and we hope to visit Autumn more regularly.

Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate!

 While we were in St. Louis, we had a great time touring the Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate Company!  (Also, Bissinger's Chocolate is in the same factory.)

It was a really fun tour.  The tour guide offered to take our pictures.

And you have to love the sign:

Plus, we got a free sample, and then, of course, we bought more chocolate!  They have an oops counter that is a great deal, and we tried several flavors that were absolutely delicious.

St Louis - Union Station and the Zoo

 We had a long weekend trip to visit Nathaniel's sister in St. Louis.  It's been several years since we've been there, and so we were long overdue for a visit.  We took just the youngest three kids and told the oldest three that they should plan a weekend visit themselves, which they plan to do in July.  We fit better in Autumn's house that way, and they were home to watch the dogs!

We went first to Union Station.  The koi pond was a huge hit.

Then we went into the Hall of Mirrors, which is based off of the 1904 World's Fair attraction.

It was fun.  Emry got a bit scared, but overall, he had a good time, and everyone else enjoyed it.

We headed to Autumn's after Union Station and a delicious side venture to a chocolate company.  Gyunay would have been happy to just sit and pet her cat Karma all weekend:

Friday morning had perfect weather for the zoo!  It was in the low 80s and breezy, so not too bad.  We went early to take advantage of the cooler mornings.  We were so glad that St. Louis zoo opens at 8 am, unlike most zoos.  It's cooler and the animals are more active.

They even had jellyfish!

May Harvest Totals

 Carrots -2 (overwintered)

chickens - 10; total 58.4 lbs

eggs - 346

garlic scapes - 37

pea pods- 1 c or so

radishes - 3

scant strawberries

 herbs: mint, thyme, sage, rosemary, oregano

That's only about half of the meat birds.  We will be processing the rest over the next week, so they will be on the June totals.  One of our hens is broody and has been sitting on eggs for a couple of weeks now, so we may have chicks in about a week.  It takes 21-22 days to hatch chicken eggs by a hen.