Adventures in Columbus

 We signed up for a limb difference event near Columbus, Ohio, so we went to the Columbus Zoo the day before.  

You all probably remember that Lydia wants to be a zoologist.  Jack Hanna is one of her favorites, and he was closely associated with the Columbus Zoo, so it has been on her must-see list for quite some time.

The zoo did not disappoint.  We spent 5 hours there!  We saw some animals we had never seen before, including a wombat:

It was so adorable!  And naturally, we need to get out Diary of a Wombat.  What?  Every household does not have a copy of this picture book?  Then you must go to the library and get one.  Seriously, I don't care how old you are, it's a cute book.

We also spent quite a bit of time with the manatees.  I played the VeggieTales song "Barbara Manatee" for the kids on the way there, so it is naturally still stuck in my head. 

Lydia and Emry were especially taken with this guy:  

He's a chuckwalla.  I think Emry mostly loved the name, and I can't blame him.

With the Jack and Suzi Hanna statues:

When we went to go into the Jack Hanna Village area, it was closed off, and we quickly saw why:

It was capybara walkabout time!  No problem, we went and petted sting rays:

Then, we went back to the village, where the capybaras were now back in their enclosures.

Lately

The youngest boys have had lots of excitement lately.  They love Grandpa's new foosball table.

And they got to participate in a local parade!  They walked and gave out candy.

They love our county day, and they had a good time after the parade collecting all of the free swag at the booths.  The weather was perfect, the best I can remember for the parade.

Also, Gyunay has been really happy learning songs on his new keyboard:

He immediately memorized how to play "Mary Had a Little Lamb" (one of his favorite songs).  It took him less than half an hour, which is really impressive when you realize how his brain works.  It normally takes weeks or months for him to memorize the words to songs, even with daily practice, so we were shocked at how fast he took to the keyboard.  He has since memorized "Hot Cross Buns", too.  He mostly plays those two songs, so I don't know if he will work on playing any more songs for a bit, since he is so happy with his accomplishments.

Book Review - Until Our Time Comes by Nicole M. Miller

 I read a lot of historical fiction, and a lot of nonfiction history, too, so I was intrigued by this debut novel Until Our Time Comes, which is set in Poland during WWII.  If you know anything about Poland during WWII, you know that it was a very, very bad place to be.  This novel does not deny that, but it does not dwell in graphic depictions.  As for the characters, it was easy to like Bret, the British agent.  His character was that of the protector and hero, and he tries to live up to that throughout the book.  Adia is a bit more complex.  She does seem to care more about the horses than the people several times, although her care for others is displayed throughout the book, particularly in her concern for children.  The story is well-written, and it is a strong debut novel.  The Polish people and Poland itself take a backseat to the horses in this story, and animal lovers will likely appreciate it.  I appreciated the secondary characters very much, especially Ewan and Werner.  Complicated relationships were common in WWII, and I think the author did a good job portraying some of those.  As for the faith element, it is barely present, but it is a clean book.  I'd recommend this for readers who enjoy historical fiction.  This is a strong debut, and I would read author Nicole M. Miller's future works.

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

Coop Repairs

 We've lost another hen, and despite all efforts, we have not caught the culprit, so Malachi and I went into secure-the-chickens-like-Ft. Knox-mode.

All openings are now covered in 1/2" hardware cloth (which, despite the name, is not cloth at all, but rather rolls of metal).  We also rearranged the perches while we were working on the coop, and the hens and people should be more comfortable now.  I am afraid that we are dealing with a weasel.  Luckily, no losses the last two nights, but we are certainly still on alert.

And here are a couple of pictures of our cute dogs, just because it's been a while:

Pilgrimage, a Dress, and the Kids

 Five of the kids and I were able to take a small part of the National Eucharist Pilgrimage that is going on now.  Four routes carrying Jesus in the Eucharist started from four points in the U.S.  Our route started in Texas, and perpetual pilgrims have journeyed all the way from Texas to Indianapolis for the Eucharistic Congress next week.  We got to take part in a Mass at the Cathedral and then a one-mile portion of the pilgrimage.

Another pilgrim offered to take our picture outside St. Augustine's Church, where the portion of the walk we joined ended.  Elijah and Malachi were very anxious that I would collapse on them, but I held up just fine.  We walked to St. Augustine's with the others, but then we had to walk back to our car by the Cathedral, so it ended up being about 2 miles total.  I was tired, but we made it!  I just went home and rested for the rest of the day.

Also, notice my dress in the picture.  I made this dress over the last couple of weeks.  I'm so happy with how it turned out.  It's knit, so it's comfy and cool, so it was a perfect choice for the walk.  I used a tutorial and pattern from a blog to make it.( https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/the-wrap-top-maxi-dress-sewing-pattern-tutorial.html )  I've never really been able to sew adult clothes that turned out halfway decent, with the exception of the nightgowns I make for myself, so this was a big accomplishment for me!

In other news, the youngest two still love going to the History Center garden.  They eagerly do more work for her in half an hour than they do for me in a month, but at least they are occasionally excited about gardening.  

And my in-laws took the boys to a splash park we've never visited:

They had a good time, although it was cloudy and not in the 90s, so Gyunay was a bit cold.  We'll have to go back one of these super-hot days.

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.