Our House in the Middle of Our Street

When we moved to Ft. Langley about 18 months ago, we notified the owners of our rental suite that we were interested in-at some point- getting a mid-sized dog. Thankfully (hallelujah!) they were okay with that, since the previous tenants had a large-breed dog.  Another one of our 16 in 2016 goal list was to get a dog. This has been a looooong time in the making, and our kids are absolutely over the moon with their new pet dog, Copper. When we were ready to get a dog, we had a few stipulations: we wanted to get a dog from a shelter (the pure-breds in this area are outrageously expensive, even for very common breeds), the kids had to show us they were responsible enough to help out with the chores like picking up poop, feeding, running around/exercise, and spending time training. The last thing we were waiting for was to get back from vacation, so we could have a solid 6 weeks of assimilating the dog into our home until we were back 'in the thick' of things with home...

One of my kid-oriented goals this year was to take my kids to a movie. We never go to the actual theater because it's so expensive (this afternoon matinee was $30!), but it's something fun to do over the summer, and when it's very rare, it's a big treat. I had seen the trailer for The Secret Life of Pets last year and thought it looked really cute. The kids loved this movie and laughed quite a bit, though to be honest, I was a little disappointed in this movie. It wasn't nearly as funny as the trailer made it look, and the plot was only so-so. I wished I had watched this at home after it came out on DVD from the library, but the kids enjoyed the movie treat, and that's what I cared about. We enjoyed our time together. I'm here to tell you, however, to skip this one in the theaters and wait for a better Pixar or Disney movie, and watch this one at home on the couch with a bucket full of popcorn made in the microwave.  It tastes just as good. 

Last week was Lukka's second year of attending an annual Miniature Horse camp out in Ferndale, WA. For less than $100 (that we had paid months ago to reserve our spot!), Lu was treated to his pony Ali for a week, learning about the ponies and how to care for them, and practicing obstacle courses and showmanship skills. There are only six spots per class and only two or so weeks of camp per summer, so when I saw the ad for it this year, I jumped at the chance because I knew we'd still be in the states during June. Lukka was so excited to do the camp again, even though the basic outline is the same year to year. The camp focuses on horse care including daily grooming, water and feeding, and mucking, along with learning to show one's horse in 4-H-like competitions. Here is an example of a large  mini-hose jumping course . The final day of the camp is competition. The students get 30 minutes to groom and dress up their ponies with ribbons, flowers, etc. in their tails a...

This picture has nothing to do with book reviews, I just thought I'd let you in on a little secret. People really do take their dogs paddle-boarding here. It's a thing. The dogs even wear vests. That must be a rule. Anyway . Books: I have a lot of reviews do to, and I'm going to follow suit of my friend Kerri and just do a multi-review post. Here are a few of the books I've finished in the past few weeks. * The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova is a large novel based in Eastern Europe and is a piece of historical fiction mixed with thriller tendencies. It's a 'history' of the myth of Dracula, and the two main characters, a historian, and an anthropologist who continue to look for him throughout the ages. One of my best friends had recommended this book for years and finally bought it for me to enjoy at my own pace. I usually have trouble finishing a fictional book within the 2-3 week time period that the library gives, so I was really glad to ...

Portrait of his sister; friends.

Although somewhat drab in color, this photo represents a daily occurrence of our fat squirrels who like to nibble out of the homemade birdhouse.

Source: rottentomatoes.com via Nick on Pinterest Stefan and I recently watched War Horse at home because I practically begged him. I love all horse movies, and assuming they're made for adults (ugh, Flicka), they're usually just enough "American Bootstraps" mixed with sentimentality and one of my favorite animals to give it a good evening rating for me.  The story starts out with a struggling family and a horse auction in a local town's square. The local drunk has just bought, with every last cent, a horse that 'won't amount to much'. The caring son of the man befriends and trains the horse, only to realize the horse is smart, and who is able to completely plow a field, in driving rain, within a day.  Fast forward a bit, and the story takes many unlikely turns. The story follows the horse as he is passed around from master to master, as it's WWI. Money is tight, fast exits are needed, and leisure is looked for in every nook and ...

Join others as we remember a great moment from the week. This is at our local Lincoln Children's Zoo . 

 For the last three years our family has loved going out to PrairieLand Dairy's huge carnival in Firth, Nebraska. It always amazes me how much time, money, and energy go into making this day a success. There are volunteers all over the farm either serving food, helping with the petting zoo, leading tours, or helping people with directions. There are 6 buses that run continuously the entire day, shuttling people from a high school to the farm, and back. Literally every 5 minutes a bus leaves! They must have at least a couple thousand people come out, and it seems bigger every year. The food is great (chips, shredded beef burgers, carrots, and ice cold Chocolate, Strawberry, or 2% milk, and then Ice Cream!), there are tons of things for kids to do, and the farm tour is always interesting.  Here are Ani and Lukka (and dad taking the picture) inside the haybale maze/mountain. Pretty fun!  Here is a smaller green house of theirs, where they have loads of their own ...

photocredit This month there are some amazing customer specials from Usborne Books & More. Every month there is a new selection of 9-10 books that go on discount up to 60%. It's a sweet way to stock up on favorites for a fraction of the price, and this month has some great ones interspersed. The top image, our 365 Things to Make and Do is a big hit with families because there is literally something for everyone in this book . This book is normally $24.99 because it's a big ole' huge hardback, but this month it's on sale for $10. The Usborne "make and do" series are fabulous because they have picture step-by-steps for those children who need instruction but want to do the activity independently, and writing for those able to read concise directions. They also are always projects that use materials that everyone has in their home . Perhaps with the exception of googly-eyes.  If you go to this link , you can even have 2 freebies! photocredit T...

Every year going to a local pumpkin patch has been a staple for our family. Hayrack rides, choosing a pumpkin, and the tiny petting zoo are all favorites of the kids (mine) and fortunately my husband is a good enough sport to come along. We almost always go with Stefan's family, as his sister now has two children, and the oldest one loves to tag along with our two. This year the kids played on a jungle gym, dug in the corn bus, went through a corn maze, down the largest slide ever, and cried because they couldn't jump on the massive jumpers (we just didn't have any time! They were closing!) at Roca Berry Farm. Here is Ani feeding a little goat. The petting area was a little scarce this year and because it was a really hot day for late October, a bit, ahem, smelly. The kids still enjoy it every year and thank goodness for Oma, who was paying attention to the kids and taking their pictures! The top three are from her. Here is a cute little reminder why we love to do things a...

This past week was the last week our local zoo was going to be open until next year. I was really having a hard time fitting it in with our schedule, but the weather was beautiful all last week and I knew we'd really miss it if we didn't get out there. I nixed a bit of the afternoon nap, woke up the sleeping one, strapped on some shoes, packed a snack and we went! It was a good decision, as spontaneous kid-related ones usually are (and might I add, rare around here). Something I almost always have to say "no" is the train, because even though we're members and get free admission, it is NOT cheap to go on the train. This time I said "YES!" to a train ride and the kids loved it, beaming the whole two times around the track. We got to see a few animal favorites, dig in the sand for about an hour, saw some friends, and then waved good-bye to another zoo season. We had a great time and I'm so glad that my philosophy on this particular day was "ye...

This past weekend we were (finally! After 3 years!) able to participate in Prairieland Dairy's Dairy Day. We all had a blast and it was definitely worth the drive. The last couple of years it's been rainy and with very small children, it's just not worth it if someone is near-meltdown. Myself included. Ahem. Prairieland Dairy is a local diary farm that is owned/run by 9 families who have joined together to make a great local company flourish. Their dairy products are ones that I buy because it's local, there are no artificial hormones, and it's a competitive price. I love their cream for our home-made ice cream. While we were on the farm, we got to take a tour of the entire farm, see the cows and what they eat, ride a tractor (Lukka's favorite), pet the farm animals, eat a free lunch, and see how they are milked. The day events run from 10AM-4 but goodness GO EARLY. When we were on our bus shuttle back to our parking area at around 12, there were no less than...