The Gift keeps on giving

Last night my son was quite delighted to hear about the "gravel" delivery and is looking forward to the first batch of ice cream with the new gravel mix-ins.  After he said that was a really nice surprise, I let him know the REST of the surprise.  Guess what the gravel was packed in? DRY ICE! Yes. A huge big block of DRY ICE.  Let me tell you that a block of dry ice has the capability to entertain my son for hours.  I might add - that I am quite amused by it as well.  We are all big science lovers so one block of dry ice can provide hours of entertainment for us all. I am not sure why the non-frozen dry mix-in gravel ingredients needed to be packed in dry ice - but no one here complained.

As soon as the farm chores were done last night my son eagerly started breaking the block apart.  First up was the dishwashing soap/dry ice bubble factory.  I don't care how many times you have seen it - it is always cool.

After that the experiments progressed.

I am not sure I should write all the amazing ways my son can find to use dry ice but let's just say there were some very loud experiments and a watermelon may or may not have been involved.  Tonight is Part II.  We still have a bit of dry ice left and my son's friend is coming over to "help" with the science experiments.  And how shall we end our evening?  With homemade ice cream of course!  Sweet Corn from our garden, Barbecue Ribs Mr. Yesteryear Acres style, Dry Ice and Homemade Ice cream.  Sounds like a perfect Saturday night to me!

GRAVEL! YUM!

Okay so MAYBE my blog post yesterday was slightly sarcastic.  At least from my point of view - gravel is NOT that interesting or exciting.  Or so I thought! Today my doorbell rang and there was the delivery man holding a package for ME!  YAY!  I LOVE presents!  Presents make my day!  I brought the package inside and opened it right away.  It was from my sister! She sent a thank you package for all the fun things we did at Camp Yesteryear Acres. Guess what was inside?! GRAVEL!  I am not kidding.  Except this kind of "gravel" was actually different kinds of ice cream mix-ins.  She sent gourmet ice cream blends for our homemade ice cream.  AWESOME!  We are always making new flavors and we love making ice cream.  Now I have new "gravel" to mix into my homemade ice cream.  What shall I use first?  Shall I use the "Salty Graham" gravel? It is graham cracker crumbles baked with butter and sea salt. Mmmmmm.  Or perhaps our first batch should be made with "Donut" gravel which is little bits of powdered sugar donuts with sprinkles. No, I think I will have to start with "Chocolate Blackout"....chocolate nuggets that are sweet and salty with rich chocolate flavor. Oh yes - I will definitely have to start with that one.  Everyone loves chocolate!  Mmmmmm.  Ice Cream Happiness!  Evidently....I DO LOVE GRAVEL! Thank you dear sister of mine! Gravel! Yum!

OH BOY! GRAVEL!

Can you imagine the overwhelming anticipation and excitement at Yesteryear Acres today? I mean today is a special day.  An exciting day.  What day is it? GRAVEL DAY! Oh my gosh.  Have you ever heard anything more exciting than that?!!!!  Well you wouldn't think so if you were in my kitchen this afternoon.  Both Mr. Yesteryear Acres and my son were staring out the window with eager anticipation because the GRAVEL TRUCK WAS COMING!  We had to order several truckloads of gravel to replace everything we lost in the storms this summer.  Most of our drive back to the pond and garden needs all new gravel as the driveway was washed away in the flood. Today the parade of gravel trucks started to arrive. OH BOY! GRAVEL!

Both Mr. Yesteryear Acres and my son RAN out the door as soon as they heard the gravel truck

Why walk back to the pond when you can hitch a ride?

Ummmm - never mind.  My son missed the ride!

See how exciting!!!  I bet you are covered in goose bumps right now!

WOW!  GRAVEL!

And just think...MORE gravel is coming! AND guess what happens next? SHOVELING the GRAVEL!  Yes.  So exciting.  I can hardly stand it.  Get out the wheelbarrow boys!  The gravel is HERE!

In Search Of

Horrors!  My son needs.....new boots...again! ACK!  I am sure you are wondering why boot shopping would elicit terror and I can tell you why in one word, "BIGFOOT!"  Okay technically that is two words but my son's feet won't stop growing and it feels like it should be one HUGE WORD! BIGFOOT!  I can't just go to a regular shoe store and find shoes that fit his huge feet.  It is a huge ordeal.  When my son got home from school, I called the shoe store that carries the work boots my son wears to see if they had gigantic boots in stock.  I told them right now he is in a size 14 but he may need size 15.  They checked and said that they DID have those sizes in stock.  So we drove alllllllllllllllllllllllll the way to the store which is NOT near where we live and guess what they didn't have? Size 14 and 15!  They had size 13.  Which they insisted would be large enough for my son so they brought out the size 13 and had my son try them on.  Surprise!  They were too small! Astonishing!  ARGH! So now I am in search of steel toed waterproof work boots for my poor growing boy.  One day........maybe he will stop growing.....one day.  For now - new jeans, new boots and oh yes - and a sandwich for the road. He might starve you know!  Growing boys need to eat!

Hansel and Gretel

Here is the blog post that will bring tears of sadness to my younger daughter......It is time to find Hansel and Gretel a new home. Several weeks ago my daughter rescued 2 orphaned kittens.  Evidently their mom was swept away during the horrible flash flood.  We found the two kittens in our big log pile.  They were just about 2 weeks old and completely helpless.  They weren't old enough to eat or drink and my daughter had to bottle feed them.  She named them Hansel and Gretel and they are without a doubt the sweetest, kindest, most loving kittens on the planet.  They come when they are called.  I mean seriously - no matter where they are, even if they are tucked away somewhere sleeping, if they hear us call them, they come running.  The second you touch them, they are both purring so loudly, you can hear them across the room. Their motors are always on!  They love to snuggle, never miss the cat box, and LOVE LOVE LOVE doggies.  They are perfect kittens and it really breaks my heart to have to rehome them.  We all LOVE them so much BUT I already have a kitty!  I really don't need two more kitties. We have horses and doggies and puppies AND a cat.  Hansel and Gretel need to bring love and happiness to a new family.  If you know anyone looking for a doodle kitty.....just let me know.  They are the sweetest kitties in the whole world and they will be the very best indoor kitty companions ever. They are just adorable!

Gretel likes to keep me company while I work at the computer

Hansel and Gretel are always snuggled together

This is the PLEASE CAN WE KEEP THEM face I get every single day

Hansel does not make it easy for me to give him away.  Look how adorable he is!

They purr even when they are sleeping

They are also very good company when you don't feel well.  They kept my son company while he recovered from his wisdom teeth surgery. Hansel and Gretel don't have to go to the same home but both kitties must go to a home where they will be loved and adored.  It will be so hard to say goodbye to them so please, only email me if you will love them as much as we do.

Smile for the Camera....Perfect!

Belle's Labradoodle puppies grew a lot this week and of course.....are cuter than ever! They look very much like goldendoodle puppies with long wavy beautiful coats.

I think Belle's puppies were all in the mood to show off just how cute they are

It was as if they understood, "Smile for the Camera" because they all did!

I think they were all competing to see who would be featured on today's blog 

Each time I held up the camera, a puppy would stop and smile for me

As soon as I was done taking one puppy picture, the next puppy sat in almost the same spot and looked right at the camera

I doubt it will ever be this easy again - but it was awesome!

Smile for the Camera.....Perfect!

Thank you Belle Puppies!!!  

Eloise's Double Doodle Babies are getting bigger

She has adorable Caramel babies and.....

Adorable Apricot babies

Speaking of babies........We have new doodle babies!

Olive had 5 beautiful Caramel and Chocolate puppies. They are so sweet!

Happy Puppy Picture Monday!

Back So Soon?

This morning bright and early my sister left and headed back home to Vermont......No wait.  This morning bright and early my sister woke up and then......
We had to do one last breakfast.  I mean you can't drive all the way back to Vermont without one last family breakfast!
And then after breakfast........we took one last walk.  I mean you can't drive all the way back to Vermont without one last doodle doggie hike!  My nephew wanted to take another Doodle Doggie on a walk, so today was Taffy's lucky day.  I am pretty sure Taffy was in love with my nephew as much as my nephew was in love with Taffy.  My sister tried to hide Taffy and take her home with her back to Vermont but I was far too clever to let that happen.  It was a close call though!  There really is nothing cuter than a boy and a dog out on a hike together.  It was adorable.
So after breakfast, and then after the walk.......we took one last set of pictures.  I mean you can't drive all the way back to Vermont without one last set of pictures!  Taffy was the star of all the photos so at least they got to bring Taffy home in picture form.  I think Taffy and her son both had big smiles on their faces during all the picture taking.  It was pretty cute!
So after breakfast, and the walk, and the picture taking.......I made my famous Yesteryear Acres popcorn.  I mean you can't drive all the way back to Vermont without popcorn!  It is so delicious!  It keeps you company on long drives!  It is the best!
So after breakfast, the walk, the pictures, the popcorn......we FINALLY loaded up the car. Snacks in the cooler. Check! Popcorn ready. Check! GPS set. Check!  Leaving on time....NOT check - but it IS hard to say goodbye to Yesteryear Acres. So finally we said our goodbyes and off my sister went.
and then......
I went upstairs to strip the bedding off the beds and what did I see? HER SUITCASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I called and called and called and finally she called me back a little over an hour later.  "Ummmmm....Guess who is coming back to Yesteryear Acres?  YOU ARE!  YOU FORGOT YOUR LUGGAGE!"
So yes
After breakfast, the walk, the pictures, the popcorn, the snacks, the car loading, the goodbyes.....
BACK SO SOON?
Okay - for real now.  My sister is on her way (again) back to Vermont.  I mean you can't drive all the way back to Vermont without turning around and coming back again!

Get It All In!

Today is the last day that my sister will be here. Tomorrow morning bright and early she will be heading back to Vermont so today we had to get it all in.  My sister wanted the full Yesteryear Acres experience for the day so we have been on the move since we woke up this morning.

No better way to start the day .....Doodle Hike!

My nephew loved being able to walk a Doodle Doggie all by himself

Quick break....phone call from my daughter at college.  Yay!

After lunch we spent the afternoon at the pond

I taught my sister how to paddle board

It's my favorite thing to do at the Yesteryear Acres pond

My nephew really loved it too

Up next.........Swimming!!!!!!!

Good way to cool off on a hot summer day!

Time to go riding!

My nephew decided he liked being a Yesteryear Acres Cowboy

Riding like a pro!

Now all we have left is ........

Pick the sweet corn

then

have our Campfire dinner 

and S'mores

and then finally

Homemade Cookie Dough Ice Cream later tonight!

Now that is getting it all in!!!

Thank you for the Birthday Wishes!

Oh my gosh!!! Thank you so much for all the wonderful Birthday wishes today!  My facebook wall was full of Happy Birthdays and Puppy Pictures and Doodle Doggie cards.  It was awesome!  Every time I checked my mail or facebook page - I just smiled from ear to ear.  It made my birthday SO special!  I loved each and every birthday wish!  I had a great birthday and spent the day with my sister and my nephew at the zoo. I love the zoo and we had a blast and surprise...NO rain!!!!

We saw the real polar bears too!

Four Baby Tigers!  Best part of the day!!

Who doesn't love baby tigers on their birthday!?

We were there in time for the Manatee feeding

They love salad as much as we do!

AND my sister gave me a birthday Icee!

After the zoo it was dinner with the family.....Perfect Birthday!

Thank you everyone!

SURPRISE! Birthday visit of happiness!

Oh my gosh! Guess who came ALLLLLLLLLLL the way here from Vermont to wish me a happy birthday????? My sister!!!!!!  My sister arrived with my nephew to spend my birthday weekend with me! What an awesome birthday present!!!!  Today we decided to celebrate by going to a State Park to have a big picnic lunch and an awesome hike. My nephew loves the outdoors and I haven't been to the State Park for YEARS and my sister hasn't been there since she was little.  We thought it would be a great way to celebrate my big day by doing something we used to do when we were kids.  As soon as we finished our picnic lunch, I got a text from Mr. Yesteryear Acres saying we were going to get hit by a big storm.  We decided to risk the storm and go on the hike.  Well........we DEFINITELY got hit by the storm!  It was thundering! It was lightning! We got SOAKED.  I mean SOAKED.  But we never stopped laughing and never stopped having fun.  We just had the wettest, most soaking, dripping, drenching hike of all time.  My nephew said he will never forget today - the rain made it even better.

My nephew...the fearless hiker

My sister ...before the downpour

We almost stayed in here for the whole day!  Much drier!

Time to venture out

This space has been claimed by my nephew.  It is now Sean's Cave.

Waterfall

Small break before the big hike back up

Yes....we got our steps in!

RAIN STORM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!