Kentucky State Fair!

This past weekend we headed up to Louisville, KY for the Kentucky State Fair.  It was our first time ever going and we had a blast!  We saw some shows and looked at the booths and ate some good fair food.  Olivia was especially happy to watch the dog show.  (She LOVES dogs!)  We also saw some fair food that didn't sound so good...fried Kool-Aid? Hamburgers made with Krispy Kreme donuts for buns?  Um, no thanks but if you're that brave, good for you!  : )

A Day at Berheim Forest

Recently we had the opportunity to take a day trip to Berheim Forest in Bardstown, KY.  It took about an hour to get there but it was definitely worth the little drive.  We love getting outdoors and we were pleasantly surprised by how nice this place was!  I had only heard of it in the last couple of months and I don’t know how I had never heard of it before!  It really is beautiful!

Berheim Arboretum and Research Forest was started in 1929 by I.W. Berheim and it covers a whopping 14,000 acres!  (Very impressive to my husband who is a wilderness fanatic)They offer various programs and events, fishing, picnicking, hiking, biking and refreshments.  There’s a really impressive visitors center that we all enjoyed.  They have areas for kids to play and explore hands on.  We had a delicious (and huge!) piece of pie from the little café out on the patio.  

One of the things that I thought was cute and whimsical were the faerie houses.  They are little structures that have been created out of things lying around in nature.  They’ve been placed along a concrete path and we all enjoyed looking at those and imagining little fairies living there. 

 

There are numerous little ponds and the arboretum area is very beautiful.  Everything was so lush and green in the forest and I would imagine that if you were there at the right time you could view plenty of wildlife.   It would also be a gorgeous backdrop for family pictures…which is another thing that we need to do asap!  

One of the most important aspects of education, in my opinion, is getting hands on experience.  If you’re having fun, your mind is open to learning about what you see!  Although I am not homeschooling my daughter this year, I still realize that I am the most influential person in her life right now and her learning experiences begin with me and her daddy.  So, we take every opportunity to take her to exciting places and activities and teach along the way.  We teach her about plants, animals, weather, history or just anything we come across.  Of course, we do it on a child’s level and we don’t push her.  We just have fun and the info will sink in!

Getting outdoors and exploring is one of our favorite activities to do as a family and Berheim Forest was an awesome place to do that!

July at the Russell House

This has been a hot month in Kentucky!  It’s also been a good month for the Russell’s.  We began the month with an exciting company picnic and front row seats to an awesome fireworks display.  Olivia enjoyed the colorful fireworks and wasn’t too afraid of them, which was great.  

Keith won the tickets to the dinner train and so we got a long anticipated weekend away together.  It was so refreshing and I am so thankful that we were able to do that!  Olivia had a wonderful time with her grandparents, building sweet memories. 

Our library offered a free activity for kids called “Bouncing Ballerinas” and Olivia got to watch that presentation.  It was so much fun!  She got to see real ballerinas in their beautiful costumes and was chosen to practice with them in front of everyone.  She did a wonderful job and listened very well to the instructions.  J 

We finally went to the local elementary school and enrolled Olivia in kindergarten.  She is so excited and we met 3 of the 4 kindergarten teachers.  They were all extremely nice so I think any of them would be great teachers for her.  I pray that this school year goes well and that she thrives in that environment.  It’s hard on this mommy’s heart to see my little one growing up so quickly.  It’s really sinking in that she is entering a new phase of life and thus, I’m entering a new phase of parenting.  But, this a really fun age and I am enjoying the teaching that is involved at this stage and seeing her understand things in a new way.

This past weekend, we made the journey up to the Ashland area to spend a couple of nights with family.  My sister in law and her husband were in from Orlando so Olivia got to see her aunt and uncle.  It was a good visit and we were blessed to see many other family members.  I’m thankful that some of my best friends are also my husband’s cousins.  It makes for fun family reunions.  ;)

My little cousin, Will turned 5 this month so we attended his birthday party.  The local firefighters were so kind to visit and let the kids climb on the truck.  That was lots of fun for them!  I love Olivia's face in this pic!  

I am in the process of memorizing Proverbs 31:10-31.  I have started memorizing scriptures and passages that are very important to me.  I was a Bible quizzer when I was a young teen and although I obviously can’t quote everything or locate every verse I memorized, it has truly been a blessing to recall those scriptures when I needed them the most.  The word of God is certainly “quick and powerful” and the Lord is so faithful to speak to our hearts through it.  “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Psalm 119:11

I’m a little apprehensive about beginning August.  My baby starts school and I am going to have some time on my hands!  What to do with the new-found time is the question! 

Photo Walk

Currently, we only have one car.  My husband works minimum 10 hour days Monday through Thursday so there's a lot of hours in the week when Olivia and I are at home.  It is quite a challenge to keep her busy and entertained!  Being an only child, she depends on me to be her playmate.  So, I try to come up with fun activities that are also educational.

Recently I had the idea to go on a "photo walk".  Olivia loves to take pictures, especially of animals, so I thought it would be a nice way to get outside, move around and learn a little while having fun.  I allowed her to hang the camera around her neck and take all the photos on her own.  Very exciting.  :)

She really enjoyed pointing out the pretty flowers and trees.  It gave me lots of teaching opportunities when she would see birds nests, rocks, and other little pieces of nature.  I even warned her of the dangers of smoking when we came across some cigarette butts.  :)
    

What a fun age she is at right now.  So inquisitive and still full of wonder at God's creation.  I love my girl. <3