5K Color Run

Exercise is something important to our family so we can stay healthy. All of the boys run cross country and track. Last Saturday we all participated in a 5K Color Run, to help raise money to fight cancer! All of the children ran the race, while Jim and I chose to just walk it. Before […]

11 Years and Holding

Did you know that our sun is constantly changing?  It has varying levels of radiation, sunspots, flares, and all of the other solar activities that sooner or later have their effects on Earth’s weather, climate, and even the Northern Lights.  Not only do these levels vary, but they do so in something of a pattern, […]

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Dad’s birthday was a couple of weeks ago, and I’m just now getting around to writing the blog post about it. Whoops! The most notable thing about this birthday was that we all got up at 6:00, so everyone looks extremely tired – and several people are still wearing their pajamas. LOL One of our […]

Local Flavor

I feel sorry for people who regularly eat at chain restaurants. Don’t get me wrong, I understand why people (myself included at times) do; especially when traveling. If I have my history right, chains like Denny’s or Cracker Barrel, or Colter’s favorite, TGI Fridays became popular as our culture become more mobile. As more families […]

Ginger and Jade

Our house cat, Ginger, is a Daddy’s girl. But Jade thinks that Ginger is hers, and will spend hours with her. Ginger has always been good with Jade, despite hours of too much snuggle time. Bonus points if she gets to spend time with Daddy and Jade at the same time! (This picture is from […]

Ask A Jonas – Jim’s Thoughts On Choosing Scents

We get asked lots of questions when we’re doing farm tours, selling soap at craft fairs, or simply running errands.  Since most of those answers are heard only by the person who asked, we decided to share some of the common questions here on the blog.  And of course you can ask a question of your own! Jim, how do […]

Fly Eating Wasp

When you have a herd of milking goats, or any farm animals for that matter, flies are inevitable. We regularly clean the stalls and remove the organic matter, but we still have flies. Because we don’t wish to use any chemical insecticides, something new we are trying this year is Fly Predators* –  small, fly-eating wasps with no […]

Happy Birthday, Jim!

Jim and I met at The University of Virginia, so Thomas Jefferson is very important to us.  Here is an interesting fact – Thomas Jefferson was born on Jim’s birthday (April 13) and died on Jade’s birthday (July 4).  I always post the children’s birthday photos, and they insisted that I post Daddy’s birthday photos as […]

7 Reasons You Should Read “Lemonade Stand Economics”

Yes, you really should read Lemonade Stand Economics by Geof White. I did, but that’s not such a great reason, so I won’t count that one. My daughter, Brett, read it as well.  Of course, she (@BookSquirt on twitter) reads everything under the sun, so that’s not very compelling either. I wrote a bunch of twitter […]

Disney Wild Africa Trek

While we were in Disney World, we decided it was time to do something we’d never done before. The Wild Africa Trek! Indigo and Jade were too young, so while we were doing it, they went off and toured Animal Kingdom with some of Grandma’s friends. I can honestly say that this is one of […]

Another year, another “Big Game”.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been too busy to watch more than one NFL game this year.  Maybe it’s because I’m not part of a fantasy football league anymore.  Maybe it’s because my favorite team since I was a child, the New England Patriots, is done for the season.  Maybe it’s because I’m consciously not calling […]

How To Use Shaving Soap

Many men have only used shaving cream to shave.  In this video, Emery learns how to use our shaving soap to shave Jim.  Please be aware that even though we didn’t show the entire thing, Emery actually did shave Jim for the first time ever. (And yes, he was very nervous! LOL)