Friends, Fun & Photos

Isn't it awesome when friends come to visit?  This month, we had the chance to put our small home (and camper!) to the test.  Over the course of nine days, we had a grand total of 11 people visiting.

Yes, you read that right! ~ Eleven!!

Between the small house, the camper, and even borrowing a couch...we did it! Yay!!

But, oh, we had so much fun!!

We only had one actual thing on our agenda.  The rest of our plans were going to be by the seat-of-our-pants, but we were going to accomplish our one-and-only requirement:

To do updated versions of these two photos.  They were taken at a nearby train trestle that is huge.  As you can see, the photos on the left, were taken approximately a decade ago.

The children seem to have grown up just a little in ten years time!

(Source: Beautifully Chaotic Photography)

(Source: Beautifully Chaotic Photography)

We took in many other local sites during the week, also.  Just a few roads away from our home, is a local artist by the name of John Haywood. He takes the idea of "Reuse & Recycle" to a whole another level. 

John makes artwork out of just about anything! The following three photos show off just a small portion of his creativity! These pieces of artwork are made from old glass insulators, spoons and knives, colored glass bottles, glass ashtrays, and so much more!

Artwork by John Haywood
(Source: Beautifully Chaotic Photography)

Artwork by John Haywood

Artwork by John Haywood

That same day, we drove over to the Sculpture Trails Outdoor Museum (https://www.sculpturetrails.com).  The public can pick up a guide at the beginning, and walk along the trails that house over 100 sculpture installations.  They have done a fantastic job of adding the artwork to the already beautiful countryside. Everything fits together quite well!  Artists come from all over the world to do internships, help host Iron & Aluminum Pours, create artwork,  teach the public about art, and so much more!

(Source: Beautifully Chaotic Photography)

Although Goosepond Fish & Wildlife Area (https://www.in.gov/dnr/fishwild/3094.htm) can sometimes be teeming with all kinds of birds, we were not so lucky on our trek around the wetlands.  In fact, the biggest surprise we had was when we startled a deer hiding in the brush, and he jumped out & ran ahead of us on the path!  LOL

I found this cute little nest not too far off of the ground. No birds nearby, but the nest was still fully intact and looked fairly new.

I tried to explain how there are times that these grounds and water can just be teeming with tons of birds. With our lonely experience that day, they would not believe me. I had to pull up a Google search for Goosepond to show them many pictures taken on these grounds with many, many birds in them! LOL

Bird nest found at GoosePond 

Even though our camper is a smaller one, we knew that it could hold several people. 

However,...we didn't expect them to test that theory!  Here is a good photo of all of the kids checking the capacity of the one bed at the front!  I guess that it passed their seal of approval! LOL

(Source: Beautifully Chaotic Photography)

The mother of this big bunch loves photography, and loves nature!  She took several fantastic shots of our property.  In fact, I had trouble narrowing it down to just a couple to include here. 

I love the different perspectives she finds in her shots!

(Source: Beautifully Chaotic Photography)

(Source: Beautifully Chaotic Photography)

And, just some good clean fun!! This little guy couldn't decide if it was more fun to sit in the leaves, or throw them in the air!  But, he was definitely having a blast!

I had so much trouble getting a good shot of them playing this game of Slapzi. They would stop laughing long enough that I think I could get a good shot, and with the turn of the next card...

they were at it again!  LOL

Last, but not least...I think my hubby loves this photo the most!  Not just because of the fun of "Bumper Mowers". But, because it tells him he's got help coming in the mowing department...keeping this homestead under control!

That's it for another week at the homestead!  Another week of good times, good friends, and good family!  And, to top it off, the older kids even helped us get a few projects done!! 

Hope you had almost as good of a time reading this post, as we had of living it!