:: Snapshots ::

You never know what you might find in a pivot while swathing! 

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Old swather blade vs the new.

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Poppy's puppies are getting big!  This one is Uriah's favorite, mine too! :)

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I've been having fun making cards with my new flower die set! 

Thanks Grandmommy!! ;)

Kyle turned 2 at the beginning of June so I made this card for him.  He loves airplanes so I thought it was fitting!  I found the idea off Pinterest and did my best to recreate it. :)

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Joanna and Juliana graduated this year!  Congrats girls!

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I saw these Teriyaki Chicken Pineapple Boats on a fellow blogger's site so I thought I'd give it a try.  They turned out alright for my first try, it's hard to cut a pineapple evenly through the top!! lol  I didn't have sesame seeds so I skipped that step.  If you want to try it here's the recipe with instructional pictures

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I hope you enjoyed these random pictures from the past few weeks!

Have a blessed day!

~Kaitlyn

Sun, Smiles, & Sweet Sentiments

A few days ago I turned 19, which is hard for me to believe!!  

Justin was planning to take off for the day and surprise me but somehow I found out a few days before...oops!  He told me he had something planned for the day but I wasn't exactly sure what it was.  The night before he told me we would be going to Parker Canyon Lake and renting a kayak for the day!  We had the kayak for four hours and had a blast paddling around the lake.  It was definitely a wonderful birthday surprise!!

It was a perfect day for kayaking!

 Enjoying some shade from a tree on shore.

Checking to see if I was helping him paddle... I was busy taking pictures! :D

We were relaxing in the shade when we heard a turkey gobble so we paddled over for a closer look.

We also saw a few baby deer!

We ended the day by having dinner with Joylin and Joanna in Sierra Vista.  Afterwards, Justin and I went shopping for a bit before heading home.  Overall, the day was filled with lots of sun, happy smiles, and many fond memories.  Now it's on to my last year as a teen! 

Farmer: "a person who is outstanding in their field"

For the past month Justin has been working long days on the farm.  There's lots to be done after the hay is cut!  I put together a little video to give you a peak into what it's like baling in southern Arizona.  First all the swathing has to be done, then the hay has to dry for a few days before they can rake and bale it.

(Joshua has been going to work with Justin and raking in the mornings.)

After all the hay is baled it's time to pick the bales up out of the field.

Loading the bales on the truck to take back to the shed.

All stacked in the shed, ready to sell.

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I love this picture!  The fluffy white clouds are just perfect!
(this is a stack of oat bales)

Hauling small rye grass bales out of the field.

Yard Sale Find Turned Into Coffee Table Decor

The coffee table Justin built for me was in need of decorations.

I had wanted to buy a white pitcher to fill with a floral arrangement but I didn't want to spend the $15+ that a new one would cost.  With all the thrifting I do, I was sure I could find one for a fraction of the new price.

While I was back in Pennsylvania going to yard sales with my mom, I found a white pitcher for only a dollar!  

I was thrilled with my find, but it had grapes and vines painted all over it...
Not really what I had in mind for coffee table decor!  

But with a can of white spray paint and a few coats, it looks good as new!!


Thanks to Justin for spray painting it for me!!

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I found a few floral bunches I liked at Hobby Lobby and they were 50% off!

The Heavens Declare the Glory of God

I know, I know... 

"Really, Kaitlyn, another sunset post?!  

Honestly guys, I can't resist.  

Whenever there is a beautiful sunset (which is pretty much every night), I just have to take a thousand a few pictures.  Some of those pictures do make it onto the blog, for your viewing enjoyment. 

The smell of rain was in the air as the sun started it's decent behind the mountains...

...pretty soon it looked like the sky was on fire!

Thanks for putting up with my sunset obsession! :)

~Kaitlyn

A Trip to Pennsylvania

This past week I flew back to Pennsylvania to spend some time with my family.  As always, the week went by way too fast!  

Wednesday was spent flying there.

Thursday was a day to spend at home.

 Friday there was yard saling in the morning and the PA Creations end of year picnic in the evening.  Each member memorized and recited as many Bible verses as they were old.  Joshua memorized the story of Gideon, Judges 7:1-25, and David memorized the passage in Ephesians about "The Armor of God."  Mommy found him this solider costume at a yard sale the week before so he wore it for his recitation.  After he was finished, he sat down beside me and when I told him he did a good job, he replied, "That was fun!  I want to do it again!" :D  All the girls and boys did a wonderful job reciting their verses!

It was so good to see Zoe on Friday night :)

Cousins <3

Saturday was yard saling and an evening bike ride.  We saw this ADORABLE miniature pony and her foal on our ride.  The foal was so tiny, probably no more than 18" tall!  I just wanted to take it home with me!! :)

Lillia was mowing the grass Saturday afternoon so I decided I should take a few passes, for old time sake :)

We went on a walk Saturday evening as well... it was a gorgeous spring day!

 Sunday we celebrated Mother's Day in Delaware at Grandmommy and Grandpoppy's house. 

Uncle Mike and Auntie came for the afternoon so a picture of "the cousins" was taken since we were all there.

Monday afternoon was spent at Longwood Gardens

The flowers were just so pretty, I took lots of pictures!

Check out that mowing job!

This Guzmania plant reminded me of candy corn :)

:: tulips ::

Monday evening Lillia, Joshua, Benjamin and I went on a bike ride and on our way home we stopped at the Riehl's house.  It was really nice to get to see them again!  Linda is a few months older than me so we were always really good friends.

Joy found this robin's nest in a bush by the playhouse.

Early Tuesday morning Mommy took me to the airport and I flew back to Arizona.

Juliana picked me up from the airport in Tucson and took me to her dad's work where I had parked my car.  Tim was just getting back from a flight so he asked if I wanted to go for a ride over Tucson.

We flew over this pecan orchard

Then we flew over their new house, it's the long rectangular one in the center with the fifth wheel in the driveway.

We also flew over Brother Billy Paul's house and Brother Branham's house.

This is Sabino Canyon

Pulpit rock is just to the left of where those three trails intersect.

Sorry for the blurry picture, I zoomed in on my phone.

As fun as it is to go back to Pennsylvania and see everyone, there's no place like home!