Partying--Down on the Farm

We are lucky enough that the farm my Dad grew up on, starting in the late 1930's, is still in the family--now owned by my cousin.

While it is not a farm anymore, the house and barn are still there.

The original barn is now a very popular gathering spot-especially for summer time get togethers. It is definitely the place to be, and many many parties have taken place here. I remember being so excited when I was little and heard we were going to a "party at the barn!"
Dad, my brother Steve, and cousin Bob.This is a good reminder of the good old days, although this one is inside the barn. You can just see Gracie peeking out of the door at the bottom left of the picture.

Here is myself and 8 of the kids--peeking out the big barn window.

Great photo, Dad!

Mom and Aunt Carol.

This party came to be because Aunt Carol is up visiting from Florida--so of course, a party was necessary!

My cousin Lee's beautifully restored car.

Will the magic of photoshop-I send the boys

back in time.

Kim and Amy

Grandpa

Sean, Stephanie and Steve

Aunt Pat and Uncle Lee

Mark, playing darts in the "bar room" section of the barn.

A lot of out door fun was also enjoyed.

Luke learned the skill of ladderball

from big brother Dan.

These are super rocket launchers--we need to get these!

Daddy tried a little lacrosse even though he doesn't have a smidge of Native American in his blood like the rest of us.

The crowd was a little too large for the cars to be driven full throttle, so mysteriously the batteries disappeared out of them.

But this provided a great way for kids to get rid of extra energy.

Kimberly became an expert at the slot machines.

She played for at least an hour. Luckily she also learned how to use the key to get the tokens out of the machine when she wasn't a big winner.

We were all excited when cousin Ed got out his fiddle-and what a fiddler he is.

The kids danced,

and danced until they were so tired,

they had to stop for an ice pop break.

I was a great day "down on the farm"

Looking at the sky

I was excited when I saw Lisa's latest post. It seems as if every time I download pictures from the camera to the computer, I find pictures of the sky. The ever changing beauty of the sky has always intrigued me. I remember watching storms roll in with my father when I was little.
A severe thunderstorm warning would be issued and we would head outside "to watch".

The sky is a constantly changing subject, which never fails to amaze me.

I will no longer feel strange, when I am at a ball game, or at some other gathering, and I have my camera pointed at the sky. I now realize that I am in wonderful company.

Our backyard sunset

And the clouds aren't the only things of striking beauty to be found as we look heavenward: a red-tail hawk

and a great-blue heron.

Check out the other sky-watchers and their beautiful photos here.

Scenes from a summer's day

"A perfect summer day is when the sun is shining, the breeze is blowing, the birds are singing, and the lawn mower is broken." James Dent

Canister Painting.....

by Laura

Beautiful!!

Why is the ocean getting saltier?

An experiment and explanation by Mark-9

We have been learning about the oceans in science and one of the experiments in out textbook was to try and see if we could figure out why the oceans are getting saltier. Mark did a great job, doing the experiment on his own, and coming up with a great result.
First we needed 1 cup of water

next, totally dissolve 1/4 cup salt into the water.

stir until it is ALL dissolved

It is dissolved

Put the dissolved salt water on the stove and turn it onto high. Bring it to a boil.

keep boiling and boiling until the water is gone---look what is left!!! Salt!!!!

(we couldn't get all the water to evaporate, mom thought it would start to burn and get stinky)

WOW!! The water is GONE, but the salt is BACK.

Measure how much salt is left in the pan. We had more than the 1/4 cup we started with, but mom says that is because all the water was not out of it.

It was a very cool experiment. (Actually it was hot, but I didn't get burned)

What I learned:

The water evaporates from the ocean, leaving the salt and minerals behind. This makes the ocean saltier. Everyday, more water from rivers flows into the ocean and the river picks up salt and minerals from the rocks in the rivers--this makes more salt in the ocean.

Wordless Wednesday-Let Summer Begin

Loveliness of the Seashore

Being a family of 12 we rarely get very far on vacations, but we make the most of this beautiful country God has given us right here at home. I hope you enjoy a trip into some of our "family fun."

A Loveliness of the Seashore fair is being held over at "A Wink and a Smile", on July 30th and even though we are land locked, we do enjoy heading to our local lakeshores and enjoying the beauty.

I do have to admit that the temperatures are not always high enough for swimming in upstate NY, but we always enjoy ourselves in spite of it.
We may be just skipping rocks

or wading with our sweatshirts on. We are certainly having fun if we are at a lakeshore.

Of course, if all else fails, and we are still too chilly, there is always volleyball.

But some days, the temperatures rise and the sun comes out. These are the days we cherish.

Inland lakes still have sand,

and water creatures waiting to be scooped up.

Beautiful sailboats are seen on Oneida Lake,

and the shoreline of Green Lakes is breathtaking.

Big kids play in the sand,

and little ones learn to walk on "sea legs."

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the picture above is of my Mom, two sisters, and brother(I am the baby) at Lake Ontario in 1966. This is a very beautiful picture in my opinion, and one of my favorites.

HAPPY SUMMER!

Make sure to check out all the I Heart Faces-My Story in Photos this week.

Day 10- we have pumpkin and sunflower sprouts!!

10 days ago Kimberly carefully planted her sunflower seeds into the ground. She has been taking very good care of them.
On day 8, we had several sprouts. I love this one still wearing her sunflower seed hat.

Day 10---something has eaten about half of the newly sprouted sunflower seeds, so now, hopefully, we will end up with a "sunflower wall"

Mark's hard work has also paid off!!

He has two hills of absolutely gorgeous tiny pumpkin plants. ( Our goal is to get one pie pumpkin out of our first pumpkin planting experience---keep your finger crossed.)

Stayed tuned for exciting updates as the days roll on into summer.

A Rose, is a rose, is a rose.....

The Amen!! of nature is always a flower.

-Oliver Wendell Holmes