Pretty Flowers...

Candace has planted some beautiful flowers in our garden recently. Here are a couple of pretty plants.

 Tiny zinnia flower.

Flowering four o'clock plant.

Cycling the Edwardsport Road...

I took a lovely cycle along the Edwardsport Road, just north-west of Washington, recently. This road travels due north for miles and miles and is pretty flat, too. I wanted to get some kilometres under my belt before a serious heat wave moved into the area.

 I love this large, strong tree growing by the side of the road.

 Prairie Creek.

Some fields are still flooded after prolonged heavy rains during the spring months.

Food Truck Tuesdays...

The authorities in Washington have instituted Food Truck Tuesdays at the East Side Park every Tuesday in July and August. It's a great community-building event that allows local food vendors to come and sell delicious food. There is live music, too! :)

Daviess County 4-H Exhibition...

4-H is a non-profit organisation that equips young people with skills and develops character, through allowing youth to engage in various different projects, such as science, engineering, technology, healthy living, and agriculture. The participants can even take part in programmes where they raise livestock, such as pigs, cows, sheep and goats.

We went to the East Side Park to see the Daviess County 4-H Exhibition last week. We enjoyed looking at the vast array of exhibits on display at the 4-H buildings. Riaan especially enjoyed the Lego models! I think he'll be a prime candidate for 4-H in the future! :)

The 4 H's of 4-H stand for "Head, Heart, Hands and Health."

 Photography exhibit.

 Riaan loved the butterfly photo.

 Lego building projects.

 Farm scenes.

 Electronics.

 Sewing and quilting.

 Cake and cupcake decorating.

 Riaan in the animal barn outside.

 Sheep in their pens.

 Cows.

Pigs on display, too.

Weekend Family Fun...

Candace's second-cousin and his family from Oregon, along with family from northern Indiana, were visiting relatives in Indiana last weekend. We had a lovely time reconnecting with these relatives, some of whom we hadn't seen since 2015, on both Saturday and Sunday nights. There was also a birthday party for one of the cousins, too, so it was a very fun, busy weekend!

 Riaan is a fisherman!

 Eliza's turn!

 View over the pretty flower garden towards the braai or cookout.

 Riaan tries out his cousin's proper mountain bike. :)

 Here come the Barrels of Fun!

 Eliza in a barrel.

 Sibling fun by the little slide.

 Jess with Grandma Paulus.

 Grandpa Paulus talks with Jason and Courtney while operating his antique homemade ice-cream machine.

 Children cousins photo.

Fun family time around the fire pit. :)

Duplo Flag...

Lego and Duplo products are great for shaping a child's creativity, and they're lots of fun, too. This Dad especially likes to join Riaan and Eliza in playing Lego and Duplo from time to time, and last week I even made a South African flag out of Duplo blocks! :)

Duplo fun on a rainy day.

Daviess County Museum...

We took the kiddos to see the Daviess County Museum on Main Street in Washington over the weekend. It was a very hot and humid day and this seemed to be the perfect activity. It was very interesting and we enjoyed our visit. There is so much more to Daviess County, Indiana! :)

Cor-cor metal toys were manufactured in Washington, Indiana.

 Riaan in one of the exhibits.

 The school room exhibit.

Happy 4th of July...

We had a pretty low-key Independence Day this year. We went to Vincennes to do some shopping in the afternoon, and we also spent time as a family at home. The kiddos spent the late afternoon playing in their sand pit, and we then enjoyed a pizza picnic on the grass outside. We didn't go to any fireworks display this year, but we did see fireworks from our front window, and both kiddos enjoyed watching the show from there. Happy 4th of July, America!

 Having fun in their sand turtle.

Watching the fireworks at 10pm. :)

White River Flooding...

I drove south of Washington on Highway 257 a week and a half ago to see some major flooding in the area. The whole highway was underwater just past the East Fork of the White River - which marks the border between Daviess County and Pike County. The river takes a short cut across a low-lying valley and flows over the highway. The corn field that was planted here is likely ruined for this year's crop. It's amazing to see the amount of water that has inundated the area here!

 Google maps image. The water flows between the horseshoe bend of the river. North is at the bottom of the screenshot and south is at the top.

 Swollen East Fork of the White River.

 Flooded fields.

Road closed ahead.

Weekend Fun...

After a rather stressful week, Riaan and I went to our favourite Cherry Ghost Coffee House for some quality time spent over ice cream and coffee. Later in the day, as a family we took advantage of a break in the rain to visit the East Side Park. We walked around the lake and the kiddos spent time playing in the playground. It was a lovely overcast afternoon!

 Riaan and I enjoying quality time together.

 Rusty came with us to the Park.

 Ducks on the lake.

Water features at the East Side Park.