Gymnastics Class

Hannah came along with us to McKayla's gymnastics class. But first we ran a few errands in town.

We had to stop at the post office to mail a package as well as some postcards we are trading with others around the world. Hannah and McKayla mailed the postcards while I waited to mail the package at the window.

Our next stop was to the recycling center. Our county (Person County) recently acquired a new recycling system. We are now able to take more types of materials to be recycled and it does not need to be sorted ahead of time! We recycle as much as we can here and the recycling center is a stop I make once or twice a week.

Finally it was time to go to gymnastics.

McKayla, at 5 years old, is in a girls level 1 class and loves it. The play equipment you see in front is for a toddler class. McKayla's class uses the equipment to the rear of the gym like the balance beams, uneven bars, trampoline, dance mats, etc.

After gymnastics we all went to Pizza Hut for dinner. We ordered what we always do; a family order of cheese breadsticks and a cheese lovers with half pepperoni on a hand tossed crust. Yumm

Hannah's first full day.

Our first morning with Hannah started as we begin every Sunday morning... homemade buttermilk biscuits with sausage and gravy and scrambled eggs.  Not the healthiest of breakfasts but we indulge this one day of the week.  Leftover warm biscuits are often eaten with jam or honey.

Warm biscuits right from the oven are so tempting!

After breakfast it is time for chores.  Here Hannah is seen with our goat Mary Jane.  Mary Jane is eating her breakfast on the milking stanchion so I can milk her.  I am currently milking two goats; Mary Jane and her mother Peppermint.

Eggs needed to be collected.  This is a Welsummer hen, one of my favorites.

Our American Chinchilla rabbits needed to be fed.  Pictured here with Hannah is one of three different rabbit litters we currently have. 

Hannah visiting with our Irish Dexter cow Cherry Blossom while she eats her breakfast.  I am not currently milking either of our cows.

After finishing up feeding the rest of the animals (photos to come over the next few days) we headed back to the house to strain the goat's milk.  I got over a liter today but used some to bottle feed the last goat kid (baby) that we haven't sold yet.  Once the milk is strained I put in the freezer for 30 minutes to rapidly cool and then it goes into the refrigerator.

Next thing that needed to get done was wash the eggs we collected this morning and put them in cartons for sale. We sell farm fresh eggs for $2 a dozen right here at the farm.

Here is a picture of one of our eggs cracked open.  The yolks from chickens that free range and eat good things like bugs and fresh grasses are very orange instead of the lighter yellow of commercial raised eggs you get at the grocery store.

The rest of our day was spent doing odds and ends around the farm.  This evening we did some reading and relaxed together while watching TV.  McKayla made this picture of Hannah in a garden with brown leaves falling from the trees.

Flat Hannah arrives!

We were delighted to find that Flat Hannah arrived safely from Texas this afternoon.  She was a bit tired from her days of travel.  We promised her a quiet evening...

As we typically do, Saturday evenings we go over to the kid's grandparents (the Bensens) house in Virginia. Even though they are in another state it is only a 25 minute drive from our farm. We usually take turns with them making dinner for the whole family and tonight I offered to make beef stoganoff to bring over. The beef we used was beef we raised right here on our farm.

After dinner Hannah, Evan and McKayla went out on the deck to read stories with their grandmother. They are currently reading a Star Wars book together.

We always enjoy our visits with the Bensen grandparents but it is nice to come home again.