After Roman Rapids

Amy was not happy to be wet, Adam was finally having fun.

Haircut

Amy has been asking to get her hair cut for about 2 weeks.  I thought if I messed up, we could go get it fixed, but it turned out alright.  When I blow dry it, it looks pretty cute.  I usually only do that on Sundays though.

Baptism

I wish we took more pictures this day.  Adam was baptized and Riley's mom and Dan drove a long way to be here for it and we just didn't get many pictures of it.  I think I got the back of Kathy's head in one photo.  Other than that, the day went great.  Lots of friends and good food. I think I was the most nervous for Adam.  He was more upset that we had to do it on a Saturday and take up his cartoon morning, but he's a really good kid.  We are proud.

The Birthday Loot

Here we are helping out the Lego stock people.  Even Grandpa knew to get Lego fruit snacks!  He's been building and building for 3 days straight. ( Most of it is from Elise...thanks aunt Elise)

Adam turns 8!

I've kind of been slipping with the whole birthday party thing.  I really did used to have big parties and invite all their friends and have goody bags and games and cute themed invitations, but I haven't been feeling the groove.  It takes a lot of planning and stress.  Maybe next year they'll each get a party.  
Anyways, here's Adam turning 8 and blowing out the candles.
"Hey!  They keep lighting up again!"

"Mom, did you get trick candles!?"  Yes I did, but I didn't realize it until I got home.  It was the only kind the PX had.  Ha Ha.

Fresh Peaches!

After checking out our friend's blog, the Nilsson's, I had to show Riley the peaches they picked.  Riley loves peaches, but I can never pick any that satisfy him from the grocery store.  He was the most excited of all.  The farm is about an hour away and the peaches were so good!
Everyone sampled several peaches, just to make sure they were good.
We probably should've added an extra pound or more to the price.  Riley had at least 7 or 8 by himself before we were done picking.
Coincidentally, we saw our friend, Mar, with her family there too.  She had probably seen the Nilsson's blog too!  So, we asked her to take our picture at the end.  Anyone know how to make sorbet without an ice cream maker?

Canned Peaches

Here's what we did with all of them.  We bottled lots, ate lots, froze some and made a yummy cobbler.  Canning them was fun after I figured it out.  The kitchen was a mess and it took a long time, but look how nice.  Hopefully we did it right.  I love the baskets they came in.  (we did pay a small fee for them, but they look so simple and country like)

Elli and Riley

Riley was Elli's friend for the day.  After the beach, we got pizza and saw the city fireworks by the kids' school.  Everyone was pretty tired.

Amy's Beach Fun

Here's Amy and her day at the beach.  She loves the waves and wore out Elise's arms.  The water was a little chilly at first, but felt good after sitting in the sun for a while.  Sorry Elise, I snuck one in, but it's a small one.

Adam at the beach

Last year we went to see the light house at Cape Lookout.  The beaches were great, so we decided to go again this year.  We took a little ferry across and brought a lunch.  The original plan was to camp over night,  but no one was real excited about that.  It was the 4th of July, but it still wasn't crowded.  Here's Adam doing his thing.

New Bern Park

Last week my sister, Elise, came to visit all the way from Idaho.  We tried to go pick blueberries, but they closed for the day before we got there.  So we went downtown and looked thru some antique stores.  Luckily there was a park in the middle of the block, so we let the kids play a little.  Everyone was camera shy and would keep making grumpy faces or duck, even Elise.  So even though she was here a whole week, there are no approved photos of her to show.  We did have a fun week though.

Blueberry Picking

It's blueberry season all the way thru July and we made our first stop this week.  The kids did a good job just picking the blue ones.  The only bad thing was the ants that live under the bushes.  I got a few irritating bites, but it's definitely worth it.  I felt so nostalgic picking our own and hearing the plink, plunk as they hit the bucket.  We are going back for sure.

Bucket of Berries and Dirty Feet

     Here's the load.  6 lbs for $6.00!  I froze a big bowl for smoothies and we are still eating yummy cold ones from the fridge, plus I made muffins and cheesecake with them.  I laugh at the people buying them at the store.  

      And here's what our feet looked like when we were done.  The dirt is fine and black.  

Clean Kids?!

Not much is new.  Just trying to survive the heat.  I feel like we are always hot, sweaty and dirty.  So I thought it was a rare sight to see 3 squeaky clean kids on Sunday.  The girls got new dresses and Adam has a new shirt that I've been saving since he was like 3.  Pretty cute.

Silly Elli

I was looking thru some pictures and found this top one of Elli when she was about 2.  I said to myself... "That seems just like yesterday!"  Then I remembered it happened again too long ago!  Messy girl.

Day Off

Riley and the kids had Memorial Day off, so we went to the beach.  It was crowded, but we found a spot.  The warmer it gets, the more we want to go.  The water was a little chilly, but it will warm up soon, too. 

Amy and the Ocean

She wanted to spend most of the time in the water.  

She didn't like to be all sandy afterwards though.

Fun Birthday Stuff

Here's what I got for my birthday!  CUTE!  Riley's mom made me the pretty bag, my friends had a surprise lunch for me and gave me the flowers, my sister sent some new baking tools I've been wanting (so I had to make the cheesecake with them), and a little jacket I ordered with some money my mom sent.  I had a really nice birthday!  Riley gave me some good running things I needed and some Creme Brulee ice cream, too.  Thank you everyone!

Birthday Girls

Here's Elli now that she's six!  And here I am now that I'm 20 something.   

Elli's Cake-Pops

Elli didn't have a birthday party this year.  There were about 4 parties right close together and I just wasn't in the party planning mood.  We did go to a movie, dinner and tried to go swimming... all picked out by Elli.  (We were all in our suits and at the pool, but the lifeguards didn't have a key to get in, so after waiting for about 45 minutes, we left and let them jump with the sprinkler.)  Anyways, I saw these on a blog, Bakerella, and thought they were cute.  To be honest, I kind of persuaded Elli into picking these for her cake.  I didn't really persuade her, but I told her I found a good idea and acted super sweet and nice when I showed them to her.  She really did want them too.  They don't look as good as the ones on Bakerella, but let me just say, they were more difficult than I thought.