:: Road Trippin down Great River Road & Counting Horses :

Yesterday we finally had a break from the rain and since we had no ball games scheduled that evening we headed south towards Hamilton, IL to pick up some beekeeping supplies.

We drove down Great River Road; which if you haven't ever taken that drive, do! It's so beautiful; especially in the Fall. 

Our 1st stop was at the covered bridge outside of Oquawka. It's one of my favorite places to stop every time we go by and the perfect place for a little mini session of the kids. They knew ahead of time this was going to happen so there was no arguing about it!

Along the way we played a game called "counting horses". This was a game my sister and I used to play on our Sunday drives with our Grandma & Grandpa. (Oh what I wouldn't do to be in the back of that big ol car with a half a stick of gum again.) The game goes like this: If there is a horse on your side of the vehicle, you get to count it. The one with the most horses at the end of the drive wins. BUT, if you drive past a cemetery that is on your side you have to bury all your poor horses. We laughed and laughed at how many times we buried those poor things. 

We had a picnic lunch and spent some time in the beautiful Nauvoo, IL.

We all loved the General Store!

Just outside of Nauvoo we saw a sign that said "Rock Arch" so we stopped to check it out too. The kids thought is was SO awesome.

Our destination was next; Dadant Beekeeping Supplies in Hamilton, IL. I had called down to place our order that morning so it was all boxed up and ready to go when we got there. Talk about a friendly place! They were some of the nicest people I have ever dealt with. From answering my "new bee" questions to telling us where to get the best ice-cream. I would highly recommend them!

Speaking of ice-cream, we crossed the river to Keokuk, IA and then into Missouri just so we could say we hit three states in one day! 

We turned around and drove the 2 hours home; again counting horses and taking in the amazing scenery. 

I am so very blessed, I truly am.

:: Rain, Rain Go Away ::

I know, I know, Rain makes corn, corn makes ...

But, it also makes a hellacious mess out of my garden!

The weeds are taking over something fierce and I still have stuff I need to get planted!

On the upside of tonight's storm & downpour we had a beautiful sky to take in! Amos and I went for a walk around the yard after supper to capture it.

It is however helping our fruits and veggies grow like crazy as well! 

The kids were excited to tiny grapes on the vines we planted a year ago this last May.

 The radishes are double their normal size!

 We've got 3 tiny apples on our 2nd year apple trees.

 And a bit of beauty in the flower gardens.

Oh and then there was this strangeness to our evening. During the storm a random duck showed up in the front yard and while the kids tried to catch it a baby fawn ran up as well! I was convinced there was some Noah's Ark action about to happen on our farm!

(The duck has been returned to the neighbors pond and is happily swimming around again.)
Up next I'll be sharing our process of butchering our meat chickens.

These guys got a nice little bath in tonight's rain. Stay dry everyone!

:: Geocaching, A Petting Zoo @ the Library, & Park Hopping ::

Oh the fun you can find in a small town.

We needed to be out of the house for a few hours this morning so we headed to our little town & did some exploring. We had donuts at the park, went to the library's petting zoo, and went geocaching for the first time. Well, it was my first time. The boys have done it at school & it was SO much fun! Spoiler alert :: the below images may contain some hints as to where the caches are located, so view at your own risk. LOL!

It was a good morning!

:: Free Fun Friday | A Bug Hunt ::

One of our many goals this summer is to of course have fun; but to have fun for FREE or for as cheap as possible!
We are trying to take one day a week and do some sort of activity. This weeks activity was basketball camp for the boys, but we also finally had a chance to spend a few hours going on a BUG HUNT!
I had picked up some books at the library a few weeks ago just for this activity.

 We started with a picnic lunch down at our campground.

They're such dorks. LOL!

 Each one got a jar to collect whatever kind of bugs they could get. Well, minus my honey bees! Those were off limits to capturing. This did however provide ample time for us to sit in the clover and watch them buzz around.

 I had figured we'd walk through our timber and go down by the creek, but the kids were just as happy to explore in the clover patch.

Amos LOVES to chase butterflies, fireflies & I'm sure the occasional honey bee.

 I also showed the kids how you can take the purple clover, pull the "petals" off and the ends taste sweet. Chase thought that was cool. Coe stuck the whole flower in his mouth. Ummm, not the same effect there buddy! LOL!

 When we were done we laid in the shade and read through the books. Chase was able to identify the butterfly he found and read about it to us.

 Ella was in need of a nap. Oye!

 We laughed hysterically at the perspective of Coe in this picture...

 So Ella had to try it too.

It was a Bug Hunting Success!

:: The Return of the Fairy Garden & Gnome Home ::

Last year, we had fun creating a Fairy Garden for Ella and a Gnome Home for the boys.
This week, we finally had a chance to pick up some flowers and get them together again.

  Ella's has a few miniature garden tools that she loves to play with and talk to her fairies. She believes they shrink down and fly into the little bird house to sleep at night. Hee! So cute!

Unfortunately, one of her fairies lost a wing over the winter. Poor thing just flies in circles now. ;)

 We stopped at our local Hy-Vee and found the annuals were on sale for $1 so I guess there was an upside to being behind with getting this together.

 The boys have what we call a "Gnome Home". Their little friend's name is Rusty and last year he lived with a frog, had a great stick ladder the boys built and liked to hide amongst the flowers once they grew bigger.

You can see last years Fairy Garden & Gnome Home : HERE & HERE.