fishing

she was not too impressed with the first fish she caught, her fishing consisted of reeling in the line each time kevin threw it into the water, one time as she reeled she had a fish on the line, her reaction was priceless as she scooted and squirmed away from the offending creature, (almost falling off the other side of the dock in her quest to get away) Kevin is trying to grab the pole that she is intent on tossing as far away from her as possible, he too almost ended up in the water, love how this photo captures her total reaction to fishing.

swimming

the water was green with stuff floating in it.
Yahaira and Grace didn't seem to mind they jumped right in the first day.
It took anthony and rosie another day to warm up to the idea of swimming in the lake.
by the time we left they were all giving the fish a run for their money.

views of the cabin

At the laundromat

Many days in the wilderness means a trip to wash clothes. Since our rustic cabin does not have a washer and dryer we had to search out a laundromat. The first i found was frightening in more ways than i can calculate. We passed and found another. It was like walking into another dimension (yes i am spoiled with a washer and dryer in my home, yes I appreciate it ). I have not been in a laundromat in forever. The kids are fascinated by these new surroundings. Reyna is currently enjoying a ride in a cart used to transfer clothes from washer to dryer. I put a 20 in the coin machine and received 20 dollars in quarters. Yikes that is alot of quarters. After buying soap (no i didnt bring my own.I Know I know but hey the kids thought a vending machine that dispenses soap was pretty funny) and filling washers i'm afraid my pile of quarters is now quite small, a large washer is 6 dollars. Ouch, so glad i am ignorant about these types of expenses. So now we sit and wait for our clothes to finish. Just another adventure in the haycraft's vacation. (A note i am sending this from my phone i expect the typos are plentiful. )
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A maz'n slide

I did just go down this yes i did scream like a girl
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This day is drawing to an end

It appears i survived another day in the wilderness
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One of the bridges

On the property...an endless souce of fun for these little people
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Afternoon fun

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Ahhhhh....

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Watching grandpa

Clean fish ....Rosie isnt too sure about this
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Dinner!

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view from the dock
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Our home away from home
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And perhaps three times is the charm
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The view from here

Grape arbor

my grape plants that for several years did nothing leading me to wonder if they would ever grow let alone produce a grape last year did that very thing, produced two bunches of grapes and grew. This year they exploded soon trailing across the yard and anything that was in their path. It was time to change the trellis system we were using...enter a newly constructed grape arbor that already is half way covered in vines. Larry built it for us, love that he can take my description and create exactly what I pictured in my head.
Now to wait patiently for those grapes to be ready to pick...

Fair days

with the hot days of July drawing to close they ushered in a yearly tradition that is the county fair.
we headed to the fair on Friday night, hoping that with evening it would bring a bit cooler temps.
naturally we checked out the animal barns, every last one. ooohhhed and aahhhhed over the rides...
ate a lot of fair food, what is it about food at the fair that is just so yum?
played a few games of bingo and after a few hours ventured home.
The fair certainly isn't what I remember it being, but still it was fun to see it discovered and explored thru my little one's eyes.

water fun!

On the banks of plum creek

Saturday we traveled to Walnut Grove to visit one of the childhood homes of Laura Ingalls Wilder.
We toured the museum, took in the activities at the park, the girls thought it was pretty cool to make corn husk dolls, visited Oelson's mercantile and a Nellie's Cafe. Allison Ingram the actress who played Nellie in the TV show Little House on the Prairie was there for the weekend and we were able to hear her speak a couple of times throughout the day. We ended our day with the Fragment's of a Dream pageant. A wonderful play that depicts the life of Laura and her family in Walnut Grove. The play begins at dusk (9pm) and was finished a little after 11. We made made it to our door a little after 1. It was a long but memory filled day.

Rosie's 5th Birthday

Candyland was the theme...
we transformed the garage and house into the candyland board game
each stop on the game board was an activity tied into the theme.
The house was filled with 8 5 year old kids, the energy level was off the charts...how could it not be surrounded by all that candy?
later in the afternoon we continued with the party this time with family.
She was so ready to be 5.
As I tucked her into bed that night she said it was the best day ever!

signing

our names time and time again
(6 documents to be exact)
the final piece we have been waiting for
inching oh so much closer to the adoption
soon we will have a day in court
and then we will be able to introduce you to that little wonder who has filled our days and moments with so
much laughter and joy.

5

the long awaited birthday arrived.
she is 5
and that is a very big deal!

July 4th

look

what is ready to be picked....
we love raspberry season!!