Life in Connecticut: Love the outdoors

I love the outdoors.  My kids also love being outside playing, hanging out, relaxing, taking care of the animals and it makes me so happy.  I am not a big fan of electronics but all in moderation. I would rather my kids play outside and use there imagination, get some exercise and fresh air then stay inside on the TV, internet or playing video games. The older boys found a old tire so they decided to make a tire swing.  They did a great job and everyone loves it.

Sometimes kids just need a stick to entertain them.

The kids decided to make a sledding hill out of the pile of woodchips from the clearing of our land. The next day they got out the sleds and used them.

Can I just say it has been hours of entertainment.. The older boys starting working on a tree house. Yesterday they got Jeff's tools, nails and scrap wood we have and were outside working on it for hours.  Pictures to come when finished.

The animals are getting so big.  I love the goats so much and they are really bonded to us since we have been bottle feeding them. I can't wait till the chickens start laying eggs. And Charlie keeps a watch over all of them.

We still go to Lake Compounce a couple of times a week and it's such a cute, clean, fun park. It's nice to cool off in the hot summer.

We also have the nicest neighbors where we live. One of them has a great pool and lets us swim whenever we want. We feel so lucky!

I wouldn't be my blog if I didn't put in a few projects we are working on.  Jeff is making me a goat pen and he rocks.  He always does such a great job and I can't wait till he is finished.

Lucky goats!!!!

I have been working on the inside of the house one room at a time. I finished painting the living room and I really like it.  My new favorite color is grey in all shades.

The color is really calming.

That's it for now until next time.

Life in Connecticut: Work and Play

Well the last few weeks have been very busy for us.  We started building a deck.  We got a few bids from a few contractors and they were so high we decided to do it ourselves.  We have build one before when we lived in Iowa so I am glad we did it ourselves.  We build it for about 1/10 of the price they wanted.  It was fun because everyone chipped in to help. Even the little ones. When we bought the house there was a few plants in the back that we replanted and the rest was dirt.  Here is some before pictures.

What a mess. We had to put in new french doors and also a new garage door due to wood rot. Getting started.....

So glad they are hard workers.

Giving the little ones a hammer, nail and scrap wood kept them entertained for hours.

Now for the finished deck.........

I love it!!! We watched a outdoor movie Friday night which was so much fun. I filled all my flower pots with bug repellent plants and herbs. It's ready to have friends over for a party....

We didn't just work we also had fun too. Mia and Remi learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels. We took them off one day and by the next they were riding around.

They have been riding them ever since.. 

So what do you do on the side of the house that is blank and boring?

Make a chalk board area.  The kids love it.  I still want to trim around the boards but a great use of empty space.

We finally got to go camping.  We found a fun place to go only 40 minutes from our house.  It is called Lake Compounce which is the oldest running amusement park in the US. It's on a nice lake which has a sandy beach and swimming. It has a kids area, water park and all the pop and water you can drink for free. 

I love this picture of Remi. He had so much fun.

Cooper loved this ride but he was so scared when it went down.  His face was so funny.

 

I didn't get very many pictures of the older kids because they were always off on there own and we were with the little ones.  Cassidy's roommate spent the week with us so she went with us and it was fun having her.

They had a great fireworks show... We got season passes so we can enjoy it all summer.

I will end my blog with cute Charlie.

Until next time.....