June is Jolly

There is a time and season for everything, and June is not the season for my blog, obviously. I feel like I've been really hit-and-miss with it lately. And I haven't felt as inclined to photograph our daily goings-on, as I usually am. I don't know. Maybe I've been satisfied to just be, instead of frantically trying to record everything. There are pluses and minuses to this, because I know in the future, my memory will fail, and I'll wish I'd written down that cute thing someone said, or snapped another picture of Ollie's mischievous grin.

But here is what I do have of our June. We tried to be outside and much as humanly possible and still give Ollie his nap.

We recently discovered Salem Pond. And it could easily be our new summer hangout spot. Forget the crowded splash pad; this place has a playground, shade, water to play in, AND a sandy beach strip. It's like a naturally made sand/water table for my kids, with shade for me. We love it.

Ivan has been working hard and completed Level 1 of All About Reading. He is doing so well, and I think he read well enough now, that he's starting to enjoy doing it. I have really like this program, and will continue on with Level 2.

We have voles in our garden, and they've been knocking out an average of one spinach plant per day. Time to send Aaron to the store for some rodent poison. This seriously chaps my hide. If they get a tomato plant I'll be fuming.

As it turns out, Carrots is a rooster. So he will be finding a new home asap. And in the meantime, we can't only have 5 laying hens when the limit is 6, so we got 2 new chicks. Yes, 2. We couldn't buy just one and have it be lonely until it gets big enough to be with the others. I'd like you to meet Ariel and Merida, both Rhode Island Reds. I forgot how cute they were when they are little fuzz balls.

And here's Ivan kicking my trash at Battleship....

Adelia has become quite the sandbox chief. Her specialty is "Cake Muck Soup".

We are right at the beginning of Tball season. We've played 3 games so far. I am coaching, which is an adventure to say the least. Luckily, my friend at the rec office allowed Ivan to play up a league (by age he should be playing kickball instead of tball) so that we only had to attend 2 games a week instead of 4. I'm forever grateful for that. Our team is the Mets! Anyways, the kids are doing well. Aaron took these pictures, I have enough to do during the games, without getting my camera out. :)

 Lincoln batting while I coach him.

Ivan running in to home, while I try to explain that he needs to touch the base with his foot, not his hand. 

And of course, I can't forget Father's Day. 9 o'clock church kind of puts a damper on the festivities, but we made due. I tried to let Aaron have a Sunday afternoon nap, but instead he took turns playing one on one with each of the kids. (That tells you who is the better parent at this house. All I want on Mother's Day is chocolate and the day off.) I did make him haystacks for dinner at his request. And we had an amazing Peach Kuchen for dessert.

What is Peach Kuchen you ask? Well, it's deliciousness personified. If you have to go with a chocolate free dessert, look no further than this. You'll never want Apple Crisp again, it's not even in the same league.

Peach Kuchen

1 package white cake mix
1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 stick butter
large can of peaches (I use my home canned peaches, yum!)
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup sour cream
1 beaten egg

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Combine cake mix and coconut, cut in butter
3. Lightly press mixture to bottom and 1/4 inch up the sides of a 9x13 pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes.
5. Arrange peaches on hot crust. Combine sugar and cinnamon, sprinkle over peaches.
6. Mix egg and sour cream. Pour over peaches as evenly as possible.
7. Bake again at 350 for 10 minutes or until set.
8. Let cool one hour before serving. (Or eat it hot!)