Stormy Afternoon Creations

Last week when it was raining, I gave the girls some scrap wood, nails, hammers, and string. I taught them how to use a hammer safely and they went to work. They wanted to hammer their nails in circles and came up with their own individual designs. It was like our own little shop class. Yes...I got my fingers smashed a few times, but it was worth it. I love teaching my girls that tools aren't just for boys. When we first started Sadie said, "Are there more nails in Dad's toolbox?" I said, "Dad's toolbox?? Mom uses it just as much as Dad...if not more!" Our next lesson will be how to use a drill & screwdriver :0).

Celebrating the 4th~!

The Fourth

Oh CRASH!

my BASH!

its BANG!

the ZANG!

Fourth WHOOSH!

of BAROOOM!

July Whew!

By Shel Silverstein (I love his poems!)

One Berry Two Berry Pick Me a Blueberry!

Remember the book...Jamberry? We were singing the story on our way to the blackberry fields at the Chesterfield Berry Farm. What a perfect summer day it was. Nothing like picking while dripping in sweat :0). The sky was beautiful though and I loved listening to the humming of bees & the peacefulness of the almost empty farm. The blackberries were HUGE! We picked enough to freeze and used a bunch to make blackberry cobbler. Yum!

A few days later, we picked blueberries! Nanna came long with us. It was another perfect summer day! I love Swift Creek Berry Farm. There's a beautiful old house there, locally grown plants & veggies, and row after row of blueberry bushes. We picked over 7 lbs! There were so many you could just grab a branch by the handful & pull off a nice clump. They were SO delicious & sweet. We froze a lot and used fresh ones to make blueberry bread. The recipe called for orange marmalade & pecans which I thought sounded interesting. It was super yummy.

Happy Birthday B~!

Today is a little sad for us. It's Buxton's birthday & he would have been 12. Danny took Calvin to the vet today & they put him in the room where Buxton passed. I was so glad I wasn' t there. I think I would have had to leave.

We miss you so much B and we think about you every day. If you were here, we'd give you two frosty paws!!

Hugs & lots of wet kisses~

Your Family

Calvin is Growing!!

So please help me on this...Do you remember a cartoon with a little girl who would squeeze a cat super tight & say, "I'm gonna love him & squeeze him & never let him go!" I've tried to look it up to see who that was, but all I found was The Abominable Snow Rabbit from Looney Toons. I remember it being a little girl! Anyway....that is totally my kids with Calvin...especially Sadie! Calvin is adjusting well, but totally rules the roost. Not in the sense of getting away with stuff, but in the sense of what we do when! I feel like I can't go anywhere until Calvin has been played with and has gone to the bathroom. He's definitely a sweetie though and loves to cuddle. When we get home from an outing, he cries until someone sits with him in their lap. Cute, but I'll be happy when we get over that hump. I'll also be happy when he consistently sleeps through the night. I was up 3x last night. I never thought I'd be so comfortable in my backyard wearing my jammies with spotlights on me. Spotlights you ask? Yes...we have floodlights illuminating half the yard so we can see if he's gone to the bathroom. There's nothing like standing outside at 3:00 in the morning in your jammies under the spotlight with giant bugs flying into your face while you say bend over saying, "GO DOWNSTAIRS" (our cue for Calvin to go to the bathroom). At first the words come out in a sleepy gentle manner, but as soon as Calvin decides he'd rather lay under the stars, they turn to a combination of Devil & Darth Vader (my patience is paper thin that early). It's definitely my ugliest side. Then as soon as he goes, I try desperately to squeak out a high pitched Mary Poppins like, "Good Boy!" Ughh...yes, this part of puppy hood can't be over soon enough.

Father's Day~

Danny is an awesome father. The girls just love him to pieces. When I asked them what they love most about their dad they said:

Anabelle-(Grinning) "He's funny!"

Elise- "Well, there are two things. That he hugs & kisses me and that he always plays with us."

Sadie- "Cause he wrestles with me and cause he loves me."

I couldn't ask for a more dedicated, loving, and fun father for my children. He works so hard for us and always puts us first. We are all so blessed to have him in our lives and I'm grateful for the example he's setting for the girls.

Sadie's present to Danny this year was reading Just Me & My Dad to him. It's about a little critter who goes on a camping adventure with his dad...a perfect read. She practiced it for weeks and even read it to her class before Father's Day.

Girl Scout Bridging Ceremony

Here's Anabelle bridging over from Brownies to Girl Scouts. She was so excited to get her green sash & pins! I told her that I had Nan Nan's old pin from when she was a girl scout. I used to wear it on my sash. Now I just have to find it!