On the Homefront

Welcome to Homestead!

We picked the PERFECT day for strawberry picking- overcast, but not rainy with a slight breeze that kept us all comfortable.  We love Homestead Farm- a small, family owned farm where we gather berries in the spring and apples in the fall and pumpkins for Halloween.  It has enough animals to keep everyone happy and a huge hay pile to climb and play on.  It feels like an authentic farm (because it is) and not overly commercial (because it isn’t).

As you can see we went with two other beautiful families (11 kids and 3 moms total) and spent the morning eating and picking our way through the patch.  After dinner I threw together simple shortcake and we all devoured fresh strawberry decadence.  I am already thinking of going back next week…

Our little dancer

Therese tapped her way across the stage yesterday… unfortunately we are not allowed to take pictures or video of the performance.  (The song they danced to was “Personality” which seemed to fit Therese very well!)

Dancers bun (even with short hair!)

Walking with Daddy

Strike a pose

Ready to go on stage with her friend Gabrielle

One of our favorite places to visit is Brookside Gardens.  We are so lucky that it is within walking distance of our house!  Every year they have this amazing butterfly exhibit where live butterflies fly around one of the greenhouses.  It runs from May until September and we usually go a few times- I am even considering splurging for the family pass this year so we can go TONS of times.   Our first visit of the spring was yesterday.  I think we might do this project so we can do something artistic with the butterfly theme and tie in a little history.  (I am not planning to go in depth on the Holocaust though- I think 6 and under might be a little young).

Brand new

Yes, happy birthday to our “baby” (although he will not hold that tile for much longer).   The fun in this house increased exponentially ever since Brendan’s arrival.  Perhaps that is just life with more children, but there is something special about the first born son.  All the women in this family just adore you, Baby B, and your daddy is relishing every minute of wrestling and basketball.  {I am sorry this post is a day late, but we were too busy celebrating yesterday for me to get to the computer.}  We are sure that St. Joseph smiled when you arrived on this special feast day two years ago.  St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us, and pray for our little man that he may continue to grow closer to our Lord as he grows older.

Child of God

Sweet sleeper

Big night out!

Brendan in the swing

A little older-another swing ride

Chubby baby

Joyful child

Go Eagles!

Laughter in the leaves

Snow bear

Devouring a wooden piece of watermelon

Handsome fella

Perfect puddles for perfect feet

Running... always running!

Myriam

Mary and Therese

Brendan

Therese and Brendan, Mary and Jude

Cathe and Leo

We love Spring at the zoo.  The weather is not too hot and the animals are really active.  The summer crowds have not descended on DC yet and we can pretend the zoo is all ours if we get there early enough.  Hopefully we can fit in a few more trips before DC humidity descends and pregnant mommy cannot handle the sweat and swollen ankles that result from chasing the kids around the zoo and keeping Brendan from climbing in with the animals. (Yes, he does try.)

May we please take him out?

Watching Francis eat

I wondered why Brendan was so quiet during our math lesson the other day (he usually loves stealing our manipulatives and using the abacus as part of his farm set up).  I found him happily watching Francis (yes, Therese named him after the Saint who loved animals so much) devour his lettuce.  It actually had me considering more pets to add to our “classroom.”  Now… how do I convince Tim?

Preparing the soil

Planting seeds

We love the fact that homeschooling science requires more time outdoors playing in the dirt!