Maybe you didn’t expect to see this post include pics from our local pool and water park. The title of this post doesn’t really fit, does it?

Except Mia is certain that their swimsuits are not actually tankinis or bikinis because both of those terms sound weird to her. She is sure they are actually zucchinis! Either way, both girls are over the moon that they are officially tall enough for the big slides at our local watering hole this year. Our state-of-the-art Aquatics Center was made possible by a local man who left $7 million dollars in his will “to the youth of Moscow.”

The first time we met Jordan, she was a senior on the girls’ basketball team that my hubby, Lucas, was coaching (they won state that year). Then she nannied for us and traveled to Toronto, Chicago, and Honolulu with us. She also worked in our brick-and-mortar store during her years in college. But she’s officially all grown up now!

Jordan with three of her flower girls on the eve of her wedding day.

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We’re working on Mom’s new bread book. Can’t wait to share more details, but in the meantime, here’s a little behind the scenes …

A professional photo shoot at MaryJanesFarm. Haha! Karina was shooting the girls making biscuits and of course making a mess with the flour. We were shooting under one of our wall-tent canopies, and there was a small hole in the canvas that was making a large sun spot on the girls’ hands. So, using my professional skills, I grabbed a broom and used it to block the sun. And that’s how the pros do it.

We are lucky to have a good selection of little stores in our sweet small town. We also have an amazing, independently-owned building supply store. Moscow Building Supply has a great selection of home goods and plants, as well as hardware, and I’ve always thought that the best thing about MBS is their customer service. There’s always someone there to assist me with any questions I may have, and they’ve even been known to help me with a few brainstorming sessions on how to best tackle a project. That kind of service is one-of-a-kind!

Our small town also has an annual art walk, where the local businesses display local artists’ works and we close down Main Street to traffic and open it up to folks actively working on their art … spray painting, glass blowing, metal working, etc. This year, MBS had their own huge art booth. Their crew had cut about a billion pieces of wood and set up stations with instructors to help kids build and paint their own airplanes.

The kids loved it! There was a long line, with each kid patiently waiting to build their own plane. Did I mention, completely free of charge?!? This kind of service is so far above and beyond, and I can’t express how cool it was that they had put it together for our kids.

The kids worked on their hammering, sanding, screwing, and painting skills. We were probably there for over an hour, with the MBS crew guiding my kids through each step.

So, here’s my huge shout-out to MBS and my own gentle reminder to support my local businesses because they support me. Both girls have their airplanes proudly displayed at our house, and I see them being a permanent part of our décor for years to come. Thanks, MBS!

A busy day at the farm leaves dirt under our nails and unmentionables in the treads of our boots, but also leaves us with content, smiling faces as we crawl into bed after our fun-filled days. We spent the day checking on our gardens we planted.

Our beans are getting bigger.

And the cherries are getting ripe.

Ester Lily is growing fast, too, just like us!

Hmmm, is it more entertainment they need, or is it just too hard to be siblings sharing a house during the summer? Either way, these two were doing this long enough that I had time to leave the room and find my camera. Cracked me up!

Our first summer project required getting out some paint, on a five-gallon scale.

The girls were actually a big help and made a lot of progress for about the first four feet up the walls.

I wore Mia out, and she only got a little paint plastered to the back of her head. That’s what I get for taking a picture!

On a side note, I found it helpful while they painted to stand back and clean up messes and drips, which seemed to occur fairly often. I’m glad I didn’t attempt to paint with them. I saved my painting for the above-the four-foot-line after they were done and plum tuckered out.

We are happy to announce we made it through another school year. We hope you all survived and enjoyed it, too!

The last day of school!

Their teachers finished off the day with some pretty fun adventures, including this huge game of Twister!

We can proudly say we officially have a first grader and second grader. In the meantime, we’re ready to tackle summer.

We hope you’re looking forward to summer as much as we are!

We asked the girls to showcase the new swing we recently finished at the farm. They were happy to accommodate. (Look for instructions for making a barrel-stave swing like ours in the next issue of MaryJanesFarm, out mid-July.)

Uncle Brian gave them some pretty big pushes.

And if only he could have pushed them for hours.

I would say the new swing is going to be the highlight of the summer, since all four cousins can fit on it together.

But there’s always a new pile of gravel being delivered that looks pretty enticing, too.

And somehow, they didn’t even get their white dresses dirty!

Nanny Jane and Grandpa came to school with us!

It was a rainy day so we didn’t have recess, but our teachers had plenty of projects for Nanny Jane and Grandpa to help with. Mia’s class put Nanny Jane to work because she was the only grandma at Mia’s table, so Nanny Jane had four grandkids in Kindergarten that day!

They even sent her home with some of their artwork on her folder, a collage of drawings of the classroom. What a fun day!