Old Macdonald had a farm

Usually once a week in the summer we go on a little " day cation" as we like to call it as a family , either to pick strawberries or a picnic by the lake . Basically just spend the day together enjoying the outside .
 This past week we decided to go to Shelburne farms . Check it out at  http://www.shelburnefarms.org/
   Its a great family place they have a variety of farm animals , its hands on so the kids can milk a cow, collect eggs from some very friendly chickens , groom sheep, see baby pigs,etc.

 
   My kids especially loved being able to hold and pet the chickens and milk the cow .

The farm is huge , The scenery is really beautiful . My two youngest boys are really into tractors so we took a tractor ride and the kids sang " Old MacDonald had a farm " on the way .

The whole family really enjoyed themselves !

Stepping stones

When I was around the age of nine my parents bought a ranch style house with a great yard for us kids.We created some wonderful memories in that house . The previous owners must have also made some great memories ,On moving day I watched the dad chiselle away at a block of concrete in the sidewalk that led to our new  basement , His daughter had left her footprints in the cement when it was still wet and he couldnt bear to leave them behind . This memory has stuck with me , Recently I was scanning through gardening blogs and pinterest searching for fun inexpensive  projects to do , I came across the idea of making stepping stones out of poured concrete , pressing a large leaf in it before it dries to make an imprint . So I decided to do this same idea but with my childrens handprints .I figured I would put some vegetable oil on thier hands and press thier hands into the cement , making some adorable stepping stones for my garden .

         I had my husband stop at the local hardware store and purchase a container of anchoring cement , It cost me $12.99. I love doing projects but im very impatient and never read directions , Im usually too excited and jump in head first , Sometimes it works out ok and sometimes it doesnt .With a little "help" from the kids , I mixed the cement according to the dirctions , the first batch was way too hard and crumbly  the second was just right , pouring out easily and making a nice round shape when I poured it out onto a piece of plastic . It was really messy but I think they turned out really nice ! Im now waiting for them to dry I'll post more photos after I get them in the garden!