summer. NOT a bummer

hows your summer been?

ours has been delightful.

swimming, picnics, markets, parks, bubbles, treats. 

loving it!

 J was attacking the crab

 who doesn't love bubbles

 or strawberry shortcake for that matter

 do you see the tiny green caterpillar?

 we were playing in the pool and having a picnic. 

complete with cheetos and pink lemonade. 

G looked at me and said, 'isn't this paradise?'

 made the fruit pizza from our best  bites. quite tasty

 do your kids eat watermelon like this.

we do.

now B thinks he should eat it like this every time.

 c has learned how to climb. and explore. and get into the medicine cabinet

 I found K reading to these two the other day.

they were so excited!

 do your kids love to lick the spatula? 

 we love to play at the park

 tried this strawberry nutella cake from the pioneer woman.

it was tasty.

here's to 100 more summer days.

pickin

have your kids ever been DYING to do something. 

mine have.

strawberry picking.

so, i caved. we went.

it was a perfect afternoon. bright blue skies, low humidity. aaaahhh.

refreshing.

they picked and picked and picked.

 i finally had to insist. 

NO MORE STRAWBERRIES! 

What does one do with 11 quarts of strawberries 

(incidentally cost 19.25)

10 jars of jam

1 quart given away

2 quarts eaten

and one delicious fruit pizza

they weren't ready to stop picking.

luckily, they had a few blueberries that needed to be picked too.

you'd think my kids won the lottery.

 4 lbs later we were ready to go. ($6.00)

 the final haul

look who's two!

how babies get from so tiny  to crawling, walking, laughing is quite a miracle to me.

this baby girl of mine turned two.

she is the funniest baby.

It was hard to get a shot of her opening presents with so many eager bystanders

 J drew a picture of her own-that is a stuffed animal. it was so cute.

 she got a wagon (which B has now confiscated and uses it to haul trains around in)

 she loved this little bear card that grandma sent. 

when she opened it she kept saying. oooohhhh. 

 this was her favorite present.

she doesn't like it when anyone else sits in it

 testing the frosting

 there are so many things we love about this girl

-She has the best giggle ever.

-She loves to be held. always saying 'old u' Hold you

-She is feisty. she is known to bite (mostly B)

-She has also learned to spit when she's mad and sticks her tongue out at people (older siblings gggrrrrr.)

- She doesn't like tv

-She loves to eat and whenever there is unclaimed food, she is there to stake her claim on it.

-She loves mac and cheese, cheese, fruit, pasta, soup, 

-She doesn't love breads

-She doesn't love to watch tv

-She still is fascinated with the water in toilets. We have lost many a toothbrushes that way

-She is a pretty good talker- and says lots of words

-She makes lots of messes still

-She is so quick to give hugs and kisses when someone is hurt.

She really is a joy to have in our family. Most days we sit and watch her and are completely amused and cant help giggling at her.

happy fathers day

yes, i realize i'm a bit late, 

but that's how we're rolling this summer. and i LOVE it!

we celebrated fathers day with homemade crepes, strawberries and cream and homemade hash browns. 

Dinner was steak, tandoori chicken, curry rice, twice baked potatoes and watermelon. yes, i realize a scattered menu, but i'm trying to please a household.

dessert homemade mini key lime tarts and mini coconut cream pies.

we are so thankful for our dad and husband and the great example he is. for his hard work and love of his family and love of his Savior.

sign: courtesy of G

jockey ridge state park

 a great place in the box is a place called jockey ridge state park.

it's tons of amazingly huge sand dunes.

we have been there before. it was 170 degrees.

the day we revisited was 70 and breezy. so nice!

the kids hid a geo cache. found out we weren't suppose to.

 c didn't like the sand. at all.

 b loved it. a lot.

 baby c exploring around

 loved climbing to the top of this dune

 made it to the top

 g finds a walking stick wherever he goes

 family pic

notice b is not happy.

he was terrified on top of the dune. 

as soon as we got to the top he went down too all fours and started crying.

i have never seen anything like it- 

except maybe myself. on my hands crab walking down a hill in moab.....

 playing in the sand

loved it here!