The First Zucchini

Katie was so proud when she got to harvest her first zucchini.

We read that we were supposed to cut these off the plant when they were 6-8 inches long!

Cooling Off

After shampooing my carpet, I opened the blinds to let the sun help dry it, and Katie was stuck in the sun. I offered to trade places with her, but she just decided to cover her head instead!

The sun feels so hot when it hits my head!

Yum!

Another day, another bowl of wild blackberries!

I love to pick blackberries right before lunch. They are so yummy when they are warm from the sun!

So Happy

Katie was so happy when she saw that her order had arrived in the mail while she was at her party.

I had ordered this fox with my own money, and I was so happy that it arrived!

Getting Home

On the way home from her party, Katie got motion sickness again, but she recovered quickly after getting out of the car. She was so happy that Kathy and Brandon left her with a Happy Meal. She wasn't able to eat it in the car, but she sure appreciated it once she was home!

I hate that I get motion sickness, but it didn't take away from the fun I had!

The Birthday Party

Katie hasn't been able to go to any in-person birthday parties since the pandemic began, so she was pretty excited to hang out with Kai for a whole day. They went to an outdoor adventure park.

I loved this bungee jumping trampoline station!

We got to go downhill on these tubes. I went with Kai's friend.

I love these water tube rides. I had a lot of fun until the end when I got motion sickness.

After getting sick, I was ready for more.

I liked this maze we went through.

Our lunch was yummy. It was a big piece of pizza with some fruit.

I was a little worried about getting motion sick on one of the rides, so I got to hang out with Kai's mom, Kathy! I really like talking to her!

It was pretty there!

Thank you for having me!

Waiting to Celebrate

Katie was invited to her friend, Kai's, birthday. She was trying to stay calm as she was waiting to be picked up. Her iPod helped.

I had to get my mind on something else for a minute to calm down!

Blackberry Season

Katie was thrilled to find that some of the blackberries were ready for picking!

You've got to watch out for the thorns when you pick blackberries!

They were so delicious!

One Question a Day

Katie has a book called One Question a Day for Kids. Each night, she finds the question of the day and answers it. There is space for this to go on three years. It will be fun to see how her answers change over the years.

I really enjoy filling in my answers every night!

Exciting Times

Katie was so happy to find more vegetables in her garden!

I have a zucchini growing, and...

...a bell pepper! I can't wait to eat them!

The Bird Feeder

After helping my sister with her tomato replanting, Katie helped her make the sugar water for the hummingbird feeder.

I looked up the recipe for the sugar water online.

I had to add one part sugar, and...

...four parts water.

Then I had to stir it up until the sugar was dissolved. Hope the hummingbirds like it!

Helping Aunt Jennifer

My sister was repotting her tomato plants, and Katie was there to help.

I don't really like to touch a lot of the things that might be dirty, but I'm happy to hold the scissors.

I like to hold the plant up straight while Aunt Jennifer adds more soil.

Poor Mr. Limpet

Mr. Limpet and General Washington really are best friends, but as friends, they love to play and wrestle. This weekend, their wrestling had a casualty. Mr. Limpet's ear was accidentally ripped. Katie has been giving him lots of tender loving care.

The cats still love each other.

Mr. Limpet doesn't seem to care about his ripped ear.

Kanoodle

Katie loves to be challenged by her Kanoodle game. Sometimes she takes the challenges that came in her direction guide, but other times, she tries to figure out how to make the different pieces fit into her game board.

This game looks easy enough. You have to fit the different shaped pieces together to either make a pyramid or a rectangle, but it's hard!

Looking for Flowers

As we have posted, we have had no problems with our plants growing in our garden. Now Katie has been watching for flowers. She knows that when she sees flowers, produce isn't far behind.

I think I see something!

It makes me so happy to see my plants growing and changing!

Keeping Katie Entertained

Katie loves to find Mr. Limpet hiding in the blankets.

Peek-a-boo!

The Safe

Last Christmas (or maybe birthday), Katie got a safe to hold her money. She has mostly kept special items in her safe, but she has decided that it is time to put her money in it now.

Once I put the end of my bills in, the safe sucks it in!

Fresh Arugula

My sister and I have both tried our hand at growing vegetables this summer. We use a lot of arugula, so Jennifer is growing that at her house. Katie helped her harvest some of it this weekend.

I got to help Aunt Jenifer by holding onto the leaves while she cut it off the stem.

Then I gathered the arugula as it was cut!

Going on a Hike

Last weekend, we decided to go walk around a local lake. It's so pretty there!

I love to hang out with Aunt Jennifer!

The lake was so pretty the day we went.

Our walk always stays close to the lake, but we get to see lots of wooded areas along the way.

We don't have to climb too high on this walk, but there are some hills along the way.

No matter where we went, it was pretty.

Sometimes I would walk ahead of everyone and then wait for them to catch up!

The Heat Wave

A few weeks ago, we had a 3-day heat wave where temperatures spiked between 108 and 116 degrees. We were lucky enough to spend our time in an air conditioned house, but the plants in our neighborhood weren't quite as lucky.  So many of them got burned up in those three days. Hopefully, most will make a recovery.

I was so sad to see our green plants turning brown.

Some of the plants got a lot more impacted than others.

We're not used to temperatures like we had!

A Trick

Katie challenged me to turn the word "five" into 4 in two steps. I wasn't sure how to solve that, so she had to show me.

First, you need to write "five."

Then you erase the "e."

Next you erase the "f."

Finally, you're left with the Roman numeral for four.

Friends

What's better than having pets?

Mr. Limpet is so patient!

Back to the Public Library

Katie was so happy to go back to our library with my sister when she had the chance. She hasn't been there is such a long time!

I found the section I was looking for.

Is anyone looking at you take pictures?