Adventure...

My parents with all 5 of their grandchildren, so far...we met up with them at Graeter's for ice cream (click on the photo to see the large version, I know you want to, Mom).

We're off on our next adventure (ultimate destination: Yellowstone National Park)...see ya'll in 2 weeks!

Frugal

...or stingy...I like to reuse things, but sometimes I wonder when it's too much. I have a collection of used, clean, but cloudy plastic bags. I don't want to buy anymore. I am a pack-rat, save everything that I can't recycle or compost, because the kids might want to use it in their sandbox or I could use it again.This is the first time I've used squash blossoms...stuffed them with goat cheese (mixed in garlic, rosemary and green onion). Yummy. Most recipes I found are fried, but they are edible raw, so that's how I ate them.
I wish I had used cloth diapers...didn't even try. Olivia was very happy to have a turn holding her little cousin, Isaac...he's getting so big already. That's the card I made for his baptism. A birdbath...it's like a baptismal font, right?
Our girls loved Emma's slip and slide...
We roasted marshmallows over my sister's fire pit...so much fun!

I love colors...

Rob bought an external hard drive, so now I have lots of storage for all the photos I take...the computer was full...and I didn't have any more CDs to burn.

I dyed a shirt of mine and one of Hannah's dresses (it was white, she got blue marker on it...dye was the perfect coverup) with Dylon dyes, available at Joann's right now, on SALE I might add!

Do you like that little flower I crocheted? I am hoping to meet up with my friend Kristina today...I've crocheted some for her!

Yesterday was my little niece Emma's 2nd birthday...isn't she co cute with her pigtails?

Shelling freshly picked peas from our garden...which I mixed with walnuts, raw chopped broccoli, cooked crumbled bacon, red onions and mayonnaise for dinner last night. Yum.

Me...with my nephew, Isaac, who is officially one month old today!

I just read my old friend Christina's blog and was so happy to see they are ready to start building a new church! We have a small church and have been planning for years to build a bigger church to the glory of God, but we have been set back about 2 years...the initial plot of land would need a retaining wall that was outrageous, so we are buying a new piece of land!

Fairy Caravan

I picked up a book written by Beatrix Potter in 1929 called Fairy Caravan, about a guinea-pig whose hair grew amazingly long after trying some new elixir and ran away to join a circus. Such imagination!

It's good to be back home again, but we had a great vacation. Here we are on West Rattlesnake overlooking Squam Lake, NH. The girls took to kayaking immediately...so we're thinking of looking to buy some old ones, maybe on Ebay or Craigslist?

I zoomed into the field to take a photo of this Great Spangled Fritillary butterfly on the Purple Milkweed blossoms.

Aunt Ellen and Uncle Jim invited us...and we also saw my sister, Mary and her husband, Andrey, who came down from Canada for a few days...and my cousin, Zoya and her 3 year old daughter Harriett. I have lots more photos to share...maybe later, my computer doesn't have any extra space, so I have to keep the rest on my memory card for now! Yikes.
Rob and Olivia brave the cold Atlantic waters...

We ate scrumptious lobsters...I was thrilled to see Hannah get into it, as she is usually picking everything apart, not a seafood-lover like the rest of us!

Let's go swimming...

I'm taking Hannah & Olivia to the pool today! For the past 2 weeks Rob has taken the girls to swimming lessons, while I did Art Camp and Cooking Camp. We did it in the Presbyterian church, where the nursery school (where I work) is...children came at 9 am and parents picked them up at 12 noon. Tuition was $115 per child for a week of camp (5 days). I would love to do the same thing at our small church or in my home, even.

Can you see the tiny praying mantis on Juliana's shoe? (click to see larger) Last year, we had quite a few in our backyard. I hope for lots of them again this year!
That's the bean bag toss game that the girls helped to make...I sewed the bags, and they filled them with 1/2 cup of beans, then I cut holes and we painted the cardboard!Happy Hannah wearing the pearl necklace she got from her sister and dress from Grammie and Peepaw! She had a great 8th birthday.

8:12am

Eight years ago today this sweet baby girl joined Rob and me...to make our life even more joyful!
We're having vegan cupcakes here from 2 to 4pm in our backyard to celebrate her birthday. Hannah wants to walk the tightrope (a jumprope fastened on our trampoline), paint face and make clown (poodle) balloons...so it will be like a circus!

Walgreens photo...

Juliana and Isaac...so sweet. I'm getting photos developed at Walgreens right now, buy 25 prints (19 cents per 4x6) and get 25 FREE. That's like paying 10 cents per print!

Rob held Isaac for the first time just yesterday. It was a nice way to spend Father's Day, with those we love the most.

My friend Michelle and her family came to visit Cincinnati. We had a great time together...they even came with us to church after dinner!

Below is a photo of our Art Camp group..almost everyone wore their tie-dye t-shirts on Friday! This week, we're doing Cooking Camp.