Jenika's Fieldtrip and Mulching!!

A late night here I know but as I wait up for Dave I figured it might be as good a time to post as any...:) Dave has been out of town the past few days at one of his mentoring club meet ups. This one took place in Florida. He always enjoys these meet ups and he is kept very busy learning the entire time! He will be home around midnight tonight.

Jenika and I so enjoyed her day out yesterday in Hershey! Here is the first graders with there great teacher!...

This is my all time favorite field trip and I never get tired of the fun Chocolate Factory tour and the free samples never taste as good as they do right after we get off of the tour ride!...:)

I drove a load of children and a few mom's as we followed another van with the rest of the crew. Jenika was so excited and had been counting the days and nights all week!

We visited the Hershey Zoo first and we were happy to have a nice sunny day because this meant most of the animals were awake and roaming out where we could see them. I remember another year when it was so cold and kinda rainy and so many of the critters were asleep in the shelters out of sight.

We got to make our very own chocolate bar to! This was a highlight and our chocolates are still here getting nibbled on...:)

This girl sure got her fill of chocolate on this day!!!...

Thanks Rachel Ann for having Javon! He so badly wanted to join us for this day but I told him his turn is coming for this field trip and I will be sure to go with him since he will be my last first grader...:)

I Love You so much Jen!! This day was so much fun and I loved how you just came over to hug me every now and then just because you were so happy that I was here with you!...:)

We were not home from the field trip very long before we headed out again. This time to the Gospel Express sale where we enjoyed some yummy food and listened to the singers as the rain was coming down hard on the tent. We were cold, damp and so tired by the time we got home for showers and story time! It was a great day!

This morning started off with an eight mile run. Jordan was awake when I left so he biked with me for awhile before we split off and he went to a few yard sales that we saw signs for the night before, they were in our neighborhood. He came back with a bad mitten set for a dollar and a few other small things that he was happy with!...:)

We did some house work before heading out to do the mowing. The big boys hauled some mulch while I was riding the mower...:) Justin wanted me to take him shopping this afternoon and he was being a wonderful worker for me as a trade...:) I took him out for a few hours after lunch. We headed to the outlets where he got a few pairs of pants and a few other small things... It was a great few hours with my oldest! He is now a young man and I can hardly believe he is now in 31x30 pant size!! Wow! I do love having such a big guy around and especially when Daddy is out of town! These guys keep me company and I would be so lost without them when Dave is away!

I borrowed sis Marilyn's tractor for the afternoon and I was being what most would call a maniac outside in the flowerbeds!! Justin helped off and on and Jordan was a great sitter to the Little's so I could make the pieces fly!! We got most of our fifteen yards of mulch spread this afternoon and a bunch of wood chips! Justin and I dumped it with the tractor then I spread it. It was work and my back is feeling it but it was fun and I could hardly quit this evening!!

Kath invited the whole family over for supper and the kids were on my case to just go once!! They were all showered and waiting on me as I tried to make myself stop working!! Justin took the tractor back to Sam's and we picked him up there before going to Kath's. I just cleaned up a bit and we went to Kath's for a few hours. Baby Alan had a big poop and I was the lucky one to be holding him as it was coming out through his pants! I was really in need of a shower anyway so it just fit right in!... :} My shower felt amazing tonight after all the kids were tucked in bed!!

Jordan spent a few hours doing his most favorite thing today with Mark! FISHING!! They caught six fish and Smoky had a hot grill at supper time so they got thrown right on the grill and eaten on the spot!... Jordan loses all track of time when he is fishing! His weight stayed the same this week and he is doing great! We just love it that he is getting clothes out of his closet that were put aside as "to small" Now Justin is also jumping to the next size and giving Jordan lots of his "to small" stuff. Before they both wore pretty much the same size.

Leanna now has a pony so Jen was in her glory there tonight! I want to get pictures of her one of these days with the baby goats! She just loves to love on these adorable baby goats!

Dave is HOME!! I'm off to greet him and get my weary self to bed... Have a blessed weekend!

I'm feeling so BLESSED to have my health and energy for a physically hard day like today!