Back to Thursday. A lovely non-rainy morning. We were privileged to have Akihiro & Carrie come out for horse rides for their children, as well as the children of their friends Utaro & Ai and Rachel, Luke, and Lane. We enjoyed all the sweet children and their smiles; and along the way I learned a bit about Japanese culture. For one, children routinely play Rock-Paper-Scissors to determine order of who goes first, second, etc. No arguing necessary!
This time, Shuntaro got to go first.
Taiki was next.
Next was Kenji.
Meanwhile, the non-riders got to collect a few eggs
and visit the Kaiser Zoo.
Tomoki’s turn to ride Diamond, and a good chance for a picture of all the Itos.
Maki was next,
and then a picture of the rest of the Motosugis.
And if you noticed that Diamond couldn’t keep her nose off the ground, well that’s because she hasn’t been out to pasture for a while because the pasture has been a swamp or a lake, depending on what day we’re talking about. That fresh green grass was irresistible!
Getting acquainted with Sweet Pea. Uh-huh. Big Boy and Sweet Pea. Creative, huh?
Last but not least, Luke had a turn on Diamond and then did a very good job, I’m told, of helping Kate unsaddle her and put her away. Thanks Luke!
Naptime for Masato.
The trampoline and sandbox were enjoyed by many of our little visitors,
as were the swings.
After lunch, our visitors requested a few songs; interestingly, none of our Japanese guests were familiar with bluegrass. I guess it’s an American genre??
And then Utaro played a beautiful classical piece for us.
Our guests hadn’t been gone for 20 minutes when the rain started – and it pounded (I’m told that’s a heavier rain than poured) for 20 minutes, giving us an inch in that short time!
So that was Thursday, and the next pictures on the camera are from Saturday’s butchering. Since I was too busy to take more pictures, these two are it. Not much new from year to year anyway: this year’s dead chickens are the same as last year’s dead chickens!
Also on Saturday, Tori turned 19. I can hardly fathom how quickly those years have gone. Seems like only a few years ago that she was the cutest little toddler and then the sweetest little girl. And now at 19, she’s hardly ever home, and when she is, she’s studying diligently for this or that class, or this or that CLEP test. Tori, it’s been such a joy to watch you mature into a beautiful, capable young woman; may God’s continued blessings be yours as you enjoy being 19!
Late Saturday afternoon the garden was finally dry enough to rotor-till; with a big crew and a little time, it’s finally looking good again. That night we enjoyed a yardful of Kaisers to celebrate Father’s Day. Always fun to get together.
Peas are starting to ripen, meaning kids have enjoyed lots of fresh snacks. Pretty fun for them!
Kaisers scattered to beat the storm which rolled in and gave us another .3” of rain. Which I don’t really think we needed, but the Master Weatherman thinks we do so I’ll be thankful regardless!
Well Sunday night I forgot my camera when we celebrated Father’s Day at A. Sarah’s with the Steiners, so I’ll just tell you we had a good time. Supper was delicious, weather was pleasant, and I’m happy to report that I only made two outs in the baseball game. I even scored once, AND, I caught two pop flies which were hit by two different teen-age nephews (which is maybe why they got me out twice after that. No mercy from those kids. And they never again hit a pop fly my way the whole evening!)!
Now today is lotsa laundry day, and with my good helpers helping get stuff done, we even snuck in an hour at Dave’s Pond. Last I checked, temp was 85 with heat index of 99!! With a 75% chance of rain forecast for this evening. Amazing!!!!!
