kalib got a new bike

Can I just say he really needed a new bike! This is a great bike because it is a hand me down traded for veggies from the garden and it fits him perfectly! The bike he was riding he had outgrown badly. When he rode it his knees came up to his chest even when the seat and handle bars were raised all the way up. Jason and I have been looking at bikes for him for sometime and we were out riding bikes with some friends and I noticed one their friends was pretty close to outgrowing her bike (which was a really nice bike), so I ask if when they replaced it could we possibly buy it from them? A week or so ago, Rachel e-mailed me to say they were getting ready to replace Grace's bike AND they would love for Kalib to have it in trade for vegetables and I thought oh! We can definitely do that and now Kalib has a GREAT bike to ride that he loves and our friends are getting to eat yummy vegetables from our garden! What a perfect trade! I wish I saw Rachel more often, so I could make sure they were consistently supplied with them, but she's got some coming to her tomorrow night! THANK YOU SO MUCH RACHEL AND JOE AND GRACE! Kalib really loves the bike and is back to riding up and down the driveway every night which of course makes mama happy!



She did not get a new bike, but I really like this picture of her looking tough on her BMX...

what to with a ramp and rain

In the late afternoon just before it was time for Jason to arrive home for work we had a great downpour of rain. I am not of the opinion that the kids should not play in the rain. I think as long as it is not thundering and lightening and there isn't ice or hail coming down that if they want to run around in the mud and rain, then they certainly should. I also love being in a gentle rain and almost never carry an umbrella. I don't worry too much about getting wet. Rain is so refreshing and something to be thankful for. So, yesterday, my smart kids got out their boogie boards from last summer and got very creative in the rain... and I think it is safe to say they had a great time playing in the rain!

the movie premier

Talk about a fun night! Daisy and Beatrice made 2 movies, one called What's it all mean? And one called What happened Before as part of a contest at the library. A few weeks ago the library had a FREE film making workshop for the teens and at the end of it, they were challenged to make a movie that would be shown at a film festival the library would host. So, the girls came up with a great idea and ask Jason if he would be in it. Of course, he said yes. The Brays and the Cooks came over one night and shot some of the movie here in the woods and in the house and then headed over to the skate park where they shot some of the footage. They shot some of the movie at the Brays house. Then they connected the pieces and made 2 really great movies! They ended up bringing home 5 awards for both movies. I'm so very proud of them! We all got dressed up for the big event and here are the photos from the night. The movies are available for watching on youtube. Be sure to watch What's it all mean first, though there is no sound on it because of copyright laws and the music, but the other movie has sound.

vegetables

care for some jalapenos? We have lots and lots...


Kalib's prize squash! (It's really too big to eat.)

ellijah

Rodney and Tracey invited us up to a place they go in Ellijay to go tubing down the coosawattee river. We had a great time swimming in the river, relaxing, and hanging out. We saw a lot of wildlife too. Tons of turtles as we floated down, some river otter (actually 3 and we saw them a few different times), a few blue heron, a couple of hawks, and a whole lot deer as they passed through the yard on the other side of the river... It was beautiful.

Our view down the river


She's too cool for school (for real)


Loves jumping in the water! There was a great swimming hole in the middle of the river!


Do you see an alligator?


The water was pretty cold!






getting ready to do some tubing

aunt tracey's birthday

Our assignment was to make a cake. Our gift this year to Jason's sister was her birthday cake (which was delicious)! As you all well know, India and my mom took many cake decorating classes together. They are awesome at it, so when Rodney (Tracey's hubby for those who don't know) said he wasn't going to be able to make her a cake since he had to work, we came to the rescue. We were supposed to go to the river, but we decided to put that off and to head over to meme's to make a cake. Meme had the cake itself made when we got there (THANKS MEME), and we all gathered together to work on icing it with India taking the lead and Kalib and I doing what we were told. I think the cake came out just gorgeous and we ate a lot of icing while we were decorating and really I think the icing is the best part.

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