March | 2013 | For my children

Pruning Time

Wow, it has been very difficult to get in the field this season. Pruning around the weather of high winds, heavy rains, snow, and freezing temperatures have put us behind.

Jackson figured out that driving his trucks up the vines is a lot more fun than collecting the vine cuttings.

There are some things she never leaves home without.

Life Lesson…You can’t expect to work in the field without getting a little dirty!

Brother’s John Deere shirt says it all for Isabela…dirt makes me cuter!

That’s how I feel about these LONG rows!

Abigail likes planting gardens of sticks under the vines.

Snack time. Notice the toys/gear we carry with us!

Before the day is over, everyone’s had a turn in the stroller…except daddy of course!

Finally, earning some money picking up sticks.

Mocking the pruning, however, he says his job one day will be working full time in the vineyard.

Filthy faced thing! They laugh every time they hear me use the word filthy!

So special to me!

This land is your land. Thanks for flashing me a quick smile Isabela!

Because of the lack of cooperation from the weather, this pruning season has mostly been completed by Daddy…on his lunch breaks, before and after work, and LONG weekend days!

Big cutters for little hands. We had the goal of writing to 100 AND finalizing our pruning before Easter. At least we made the goal of the hundreds chart. Hopefully we’ll wrap up our pruning next week. Hopefully this year we won’t lose tender growth to a late spring freeze like last year.

“Best Friends” they both say. I say, my favorite two men that on most days, make my heart sing.

Cold pruning day, notice the trace of snow left on the mountains.

We’ll hopefully report back soon that our pruning is completely finished and ready for new growth!

March 29, 2013
Categories: Jackson's Work, Memories, Photos, Vineyard . . Author: Julie M Hall . Comments: Leave a comment

A Little More March…Waiting on Spring

These COLD spring days are keeping us inside and on most days out of the vineyard. Plenty of time for dress up and pretend play.
A few nights ago while playing in the tub, Abigail asked if she could be a mermaid when she grew up. I naturally said “you can be whatever you want” without giving it much thought. Jackson quickly jumped in the conversation saying “no way Abigail, if you are a mermaid, we will never see you because you will be living far away in the ocean without us!”

Topic: Trains, By Jackson Sawyer

Taking a ride in Jackson’s Tonka dump truck he received on his first birthday, all three have LOVED this toy!
I am so excited about Isabela’s blooming conversation. She is putting words together and speaking in phrases. Jackson and Abigail are noticing it also and cheer her on always with excitement. She came to me with a pouty whine showing me a scratch on her hand and said, “ow, kiss boo boo.” Once I kissed it and put some cream on it she flashed a sweet big smile at me and said, “tink you mom-my!” Those are the new, melt my heart, favorite three words!

In Science we have been studying the concept that dirt is made up of bits of rock, dead plants, and dead animals. For a fun activity we observed the wiggly creatures who live beneath our feet. We filled a jar with thin layers of soil, sand, dead leaves, and then added worms. It was exciting to see our neat layers of soil and sand quickly change from the busy worms.

Abigail sitting under completed pruned vines, with a puppy of course.

Isabela insist on doing EVERYTHING Jackson and Abigail do. I enjoy watching her chase their frisbee, run with it, and then toss it away!

St. Patrick’s Day Pruning

Love this photo, so simple. I have one of all three, this age, standing alone under the long rows facing the empty lake. Photos like these make me wonder what their little minds think as they look at such big open spaces.

Getting a head start on spring seeds…indoors. Isabela enjoying the planting with a mouthful of Goldfish!

This year we are trying a Burpee Self Watering Seed Starting System. The individual cells for holding the tiny seeds are very close together. Very busy hands of my three probably combined many of the seeds. Water, soil, and seeds were everywhere! Should be interesting to see how it grows!

For starters we planted some of our herbs-Cilantro, Sweet Basil, Dill, and Chamomile, as well as the Big Boy Hybrid Tomato. Next month we will start many of our flowering annuals to fill our flower beds.

Isabela happily holding “Ra-toon” up to the front door to watch the spring “sn-o.”

I don’t know who is more excited about this milestone, Jackson, Abigail, or myself! Abigail finally made it to 100 and before the Easter Bunny visits! I love to see her build her confidence by her own hard work! She blooms with pride and excitement, and it feels like magic seeing her learn and actually like it. I equally like her big brother being just as happy and cheering her on…although he quickly let her know he “was way far from 100, he had made it to 1000!”

Although the calendar said the season had changed, for the second day in a row we have snow! Another great opportunity in the study of Science and Weather to prove that we can have winter precipitation even in the spring!

March 25, 2013
Categories: Abigail's Work, Jackson's Art, Jackson's Work, Memories, Observations, Photos, Vineyard . . Author: Julie M Hall . Comments: Leave a comment

March Fun

“I silly, FUN, or I funny” are three of her favorite sayings! She plays the part very well! Her happiness makes us smile!

Lincoln Logs are one of our favorites! Early engineering/construction skills.

We visited the Candy Kitchen in Pigeon Forge with our Homeschool Co-Op Group earlier in the month. We learned how taffy and candy treats were made. The children were given the opportunity to taste different products as well as dip marshmallows in white chocolate and coat with sprinkles.

Later in the morning we were able to take a behind the scenes tour of one of the largest McDonald’s in the US. The children were given the opportunity to take orders from the drive thru as well as the counter, push buttons, and make fruit smoothies (Abigail’s favorite). This is Jackson putting a bun in the warmer with help from our guide.

Isabela’s favorite part of the trip, other than being carried for the entire morning, was taste testing the chicken!

We had a really fun day learning how local businesses operate as well as socializing with other families of children ranging in ages from one to fifteen. Next month hopefully we get to visit a Fire Station! Jackson is super excited!

Abigail had a successful dental cleaning and check up! If you notice, she is not only holding Puppy, but two fairy wands. She brought one for Isabela, who did not see the dentist. I asked her if Donna said she could get an extra for her sister. She said, “no, I just wanted to bring her something special too!” Super sweet and harmless, but we’ll have to discuss when it’s not ok to take extra without permission.

Jackson was very excited about his check up. Three of his four molars are coming in and he has two wiggly teeth! Donna told him the tooth fairy would be visiting him by the summer possibly! Wow, I can’t believe that after all of the INTENSE crying and fussing when he was cutting those new baby teeth, we are now ready to pull them out! Stages of life…

Their dentist doesn’t allow the parents to go back with them. Isabela and I passed the time coloring and writing with her “pen-cl” in the waiting room. I should mention, both Jackson and Abigail were VERY brave, and yes, that does matter! I was very proud of all three.

600-501, Continuing to write backwards from one thousand to one.

Samples of a little more comprehension. He especially has liked doing these series because of the step by step guide for drawing a cool picture!

Abigail continues to work on her coloring skills. We are trying to recognize/read a few of the color words and following a key to complete pictures. We have talked about Eskimos, how they live, and where they are most likely living on the map in Social Studies. When she finished she was very pleased that her different colors had created a seal on a rock!

We made a quick treat to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day using Lucky Charms and marshmallows.

Painting, since we don’t do it that often, is a fun treat. We made our own rainbows for the leprechaun to leave a pot of gold under.

We also made our own little pots using baby food jars and decorating with glue and tissue paper. After reading “The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day” by Natasha Wing, we placed our jars on the front porch hoping to be filled with tiny treasures. Although this book was humorous and had good pictures, Jackson and Abigail were both a little scared of the tiny little red headed man. We read it before bed, afterwards I had to convince them the leprechaun would not be entering our house while we slept…which is why our jars were put outside the front door! They were excited to find chocolate coins, stickers, and loose change the next morning.

Finally, my awesome flying princess fairy!

March 20, 2013
Categories: Abigail's Work, Excursions, Jackson's Work, Photos . . Author: Julie M Hall . Comments: Leave a comment

A little more winter, a little more living 3/6/2013

Jackson is really proud of his stack of wood.
The colder weather has given us great opportunity this winter to snuggle by the fireplace.

Winter is still here, despite what the groundhog said.

We continue to wait for snow…

Finally, snow once more!

Another chance for making snowballs

Another chance for Isabela to be intrigued by the sound of snow crunching under her boots and to feel the cold stuff on her nose. Also another opportunity to wear Jackson’s first coat.

A quick snowball fight for the boys

Look closely at the snowball about to hit his daddy!

Who needs a spoon or a bowl for snow cream? What about a shovel and a wheel barrel!
Just kidding but would be fun.

Scooting in the snow excites them every time.

They absolutely love to see the snow fall. They can’t wait to get outside in it.
Love their joy, and appreciate the blessings and memories created on a peaceful winter day!

March 7, 2013
Categories: Memories, Photos . . Author: Julie M Hall . Comments: Leave a comment

Sweet Abigail

Abigail is four years and three months. She no longer goes to bed at night holding her binkey. The binkey fairy came (WAY overdue I know) and left her a surprise. Growth, but not without sad hearts!

So so sweet and LOVES her daddy! I don’t know if she likes it most that he plays dress up, tea party, or the shoulder rides!

She was so excited to find this chip.

A great sister. She is recognizing that Isabela is growing and changing. She tells me daily that she doesn’t want her to get older, she wants her to stay a baby forever…me too Abigail!

Finally, all finished! We have been working hard on our upper and lower case letters. All are from her memory, but I had to show her again three or four of them. Also, we are trying to make it to 100…we have a way to go! She has yet picked up on the pattern of the numbers. I am hopeful!

This picture was taken after her first hair trim. Jackson couldn’t believe that she had never had a pair of scissors touch her curls…ever! Jackson was our photographer for the actual trim and he was so sweet about it. However, after charging the camera, I didn’t install the battery correctly and there weren’t any pictures saved of Kindell trimming her curls or me catching them in a baggie to save!

March 4, 2013
Categories: Abigail's Work, Memories, Photos . . Author: Julie M Hall . Comments: Leave a comment

More Gifts!

Finally we were able to visit with Amy Jo! Everyone was so excited to see her and she even came with gifts! Most importantly, we liked spending the afternoon together-a rare treat for us all!