BEES!!!

**Things really have been literally buzzing here at the Kanomata farm lately. On Wednesday of last week, we picked up our bees from a place that was 2 hours away. Then, since it was at that point getting to be a little late and the weather wasn't the best to put the bees in their new home, it was Thursday before we hived our bees. And since pictures are worth a thousand words, here are photos to tell you the story... (and I have a feeling that this is going to be the longest picture post I've ever done - but then again, this just may be the most adventuresome escapade that I've ever posted...) :-)

---Part 1: Preparation

Getting the hives all set...

More prep...

The Bees are Finally here, and excitment is building....

Great interest in these amazing little bees...

Getting things juuuust right....

**Elated** - we're all ready!!

--Part 2: Getting ready to hive the bees....

Mommy and the EpiPen - we made sure to keep the EpiPen close at hand, just in case you know...

We had ordered our bee suits, but they had not yet arrived, so we dressed in long sleeves, and made sure that all places that the bees could enter through were shut securely (we even turned up the collars of our shirts and taped them shut! :-o) with medical or duck tape. =)


Getting taped up...

--Part 3: The adventure really takes off...

The adventure really has begun!

Mommy had the very important job of reading to us the step by step instructions out of our "Beekeeping for Dummies"book.

The Great Videographer of the occasion

Some were more cautious than others - Abigail kept her safe distance

Grandma and our cousin Lainey came to watch

Taking off the lid so we can first get out the queen's box, and inspect her.


Our first peek at the bees...

Our royal queen and all her attendants =)

Now for the fun part - Caleb was pouring the bees into the hive!! It was quite incredible

We had a few runs from bees with the first hive, but fortunately, no stings YET......

Daddy, getting the last of the bees out

At last, Safely in their new home...

Hooray! One hive happily completed!

Hive #2

When we opened the 2nd box of bees, we discovered that the queen and all her attendants had died, and Daddy quickly ordered a replacement which was safely introduced to the hive yesterday.

Nicole valiantly poured the second hive... and this is where the excitement REALLY began.........


We were getting chased left and right by bees - Nicole and I were having trouble with bees burrowing themselves in our hair, and that caused quite the fiasco!! (the reason we had trouble with this however, was because we had foolishly neglected to wear a hat.)

And finally, Ouch... I got a honey bee sting... I must say, they are not very pleasant to get, but not as bad as I envisioned it =)

Nicole and Caleb both got a sting in their hair on the back of their heads. After that, Caleb decided to wear a mosquito net

Praise the Lord - the job is successfully completed! (I wish I had a picture of the whole bee crew, but I do not :-( ) Now, no peeking inside the hives for a whole week...


...And stay tune for more updates on the Kanomata Family Escapades Blog! ;-)

Portraits... :-)

Well, this week I had first time experience with portraiture! It was fun, but quite complex.... In class it is required to have "catch lights" in the eyes of the subject. (catch lights are those little bits of white light, per say, in a person's eye that just makes the eyes sparkle!) Those were the hardest things to get, and lighting always a challenge, but Nicole and I had fun :-D I have such a great sister - she went out side with me, and was my patient 'model' for about 1 1/2 hours! I took about 200 pictures of my big sis, and I'm posting just a few of the best ones.... :-)

Well, it looks like I posted about 9 pictures, but I just couldn't pick which ones to post... Let me know what you all think!

Family Pictures...

We have just arrived home from a wonderful visit up to Canada. We visited with Obachan and Ojichan (Japanese for Grandma & Grandpa), Auntie Sally (Daddy's sister) Uncle Marcus, and our two sweet cousins, Nathaniel and Micaela. We had a fabulous time there, and here are a few family pictures that we took while there... ;-)

*Me and my dear big sister!*


...And finally, my favorite one (I always like to save best for last ;-) - the family in the tree :-) What a blessing Family is!!

HAPPY Anniversary to the BEST Mommy & Daddy!!!

On April 5th, Daddy and Mommy celebrated 17 years of happy marriage!! We are so blessed to have you both as our dear parents ~we all love you SO MUCH!!!