Strawberries

We did our annual Strawberry picking back in May.  I just found the pictures that I was apparently too busy to blog at the time.  Guess what?  Now I have time! :)

Here are my four little helpers.  They actually were a lot of help and we got a lot of berries picked.

Merry Grace did a great job, as usual.  She a cute helper too.

Elise made sure to sample a few while she picked because she wanted to make sure they were sweet enough.  I think they were.

To everyone's surprise, Paige was actually a great helper too and I only had to take out a couple of green ones.  Almost everyone she picked was red.  Trust me, we were all amazed.  She had so much fun, I thought we were going to leave her at the berry patch.   Either that or hire her out to the farm for work.

Although Ian liked picking the strawberries (and eating them), he liked running the rows of the berry patch even more.

We picked berries with my sister-in-law, Lois.  We came home with the intent to make strawberry jam.  It turned out that we had to baby-sit on the spur of the moment and it ended up that Lois just made jam.  But it turned out wonderfully, no thanks to my efforts.  But it was lots of fun and we made some good memories. :)

Beautiful Disaster

Last month, I took Merry Grace and Paige up to spend a few days with my Grandma.  She's the dearest, sweetest lady in the world and I just love her to pieces.  She had the pleasure of running into Paige's destruction.

Paige was snacking on goldfish, but where would the fun be in just eating them right out of the bag?  Everyone knows they are better when eaten off the floor. :)  Grandma was surprised by just how messy Paige really is.  But she took it so well.

And, as usual, Paige was quite distraught when she realized the mess she had made. :)  Doesn't that look just scream, "I feel terrible?"  It's either that or "Cheese", its kind of hard to tell...

After I had swept up the floor, she found Grandma's secret hiding place--the drawer where she keeps her plastic bags.  Believe it or not, these bags were FOLDED in the drawer before Paige came on the scene.  Naturally, Paige had something much better to put in the drawer anyway.  Who needs a drawer full of bags when you can just as easily have a drawer full of baby!!!

Oh dear...she missed one!!!  Heaven forbid even one bag remain in the drawer.  Poor Grandma.  I did put the bags back into the drawer, but alas, I more "stuffed" them into the drawer than folded.  Maybe once we left, Grandma was able to restore order to her house.

We loved our few days with Grandma!  We're already ready to plan another trip to visit.  If Grandma's up for more destruction, that is. :)

Destructo

We've come up with a new nickname for Paige.  It's Destructo.  It should be her super hero name, because I feel like her ability to destroy things around the house is, indeed, a super power.   I could easily make a post a day, just detailing the days destructions.  Last night, I was putting dinner on the table.  While I turned my back to get more things off the cabinet, she climbed onto the table and scooped out ground steak into the slaw, tomatoes, and her plate.  I probably wasn't looking for 20 seconds.  It is stunning.  She messed up my lipstick, got into markers, spilled drink everywhere, squirted out toothpaste, and strung out a couple of my kitchen drawers.  Just yesterday.

Last weekend I was going to decorate this cake I made for Cory for Father's Day.  For the ultimate Tarheel fan, could there be a cooler cake?  I had the blue and white icing ready, but in the few seconds while I went to get the piping bag from the closet, she pulled a chair over to the cake and climbed up.  When I came back in the kitchen, perhaps 45 seconds later, the formerly perfect cake now had big hunks pulled out and crumbled everywhere, including the floor.  After I had placed in on the cake stand, I realized the lid would not fit over top of it.  I have no spacial perception at all.  Thanks to Paigie, preserving the cuteness of the cake no longer became an issue and the lid fit just fine.

So, if you're in need of any demolition around your place, I will gladly rent her out for destruction projects.  I daresay you will be pleased with the results.  :)

Kittens

Meet the new additions to our family:  Kit Cat and Striker, our two new kittens.  

I'm not huge fans of cats, or really any animals at this point in my life.  Truthfully, taking care of four kids is enough.  But they do make great fun for the kids and are good at keeping away mice and snakes.

These cats came from a family with children who loved all over them before we got them, so they have been great around our kids, too.  They will even let Paigie hold them, although, as you can see, they can only tolerate her for so long before they try and escape her "love".

Merry Grace is thrilled with the kittens.  This is Kit Cat, although I call them both "kitty".

Here is Striker.  Striker is a little more of a cuddly, snuggly cat.  He/She (I have no idea what they are :)) likes to climb up onto your shoulder and snuggle by your neck.  They both are more cuddly than our past cat experiences.  Lucky for both the cats and the kids. :)

You can see Striker is just relaxing.  He may just be relieved that Paige isn't holding him. :) (or her)

Elise is actually really responsible with the cats.  She takes the lead in making sure they have food and water.  

She is so gentle with the cats and since she feeds them and gives them water, they think she's wonderful.  And we do too.  What a sweet girl she is!!!

Happy Graduation

Last Saturday, we rushed home from camp in time to see my baby brother graduate from high school.  Technically, I guess he's not a baby any more, but he'll always be the baby to me. He graduated early in the morning in a ceremony that had a little bit more of a party feel and a little less tradition, but it was fun.  We survived the heat and humidity and four kids in a confined space, to see Logan graduate with pride.

Here he was marching into the stadium.  I think the was the first time I teared up.  I also teared up at the national anthem, when he received his diploma, when they turned their tassels and when he marched out of the stadium.  It was an emotional day. :)

It's official!!!  He is officially a high school graduate.  In addition he's also completed his eagle scout project and four years of seminary (with perfect attendance).  What a great kid he is!!!

Congrats, Logan, on your many achievements.  The best one of all is just being you.  We love you!

Camp Singletary 2010

If you've read this blog at all, you probably already know how I feel about our annual trip to camp.  Sure, the packing and unpacking are a lot of work, its exhausting looking out for the kids and its really, really hot.  But its also a week where we get to spend an uninterrupted week with family and that is what makes it one of our favorite weeks of the year.  So here are a few lessons we learned from our week at Camp this year:

Lesson #1:  Riding a bike at camp is WAY more fun than riding it at home.

Lesson #2:  The food tastes better when its shared with good friends.

Lesson #3:  You can spend all day in a swim suit and no one will care.

Lesson #4:  Some days you don't even have to put on a swim suit.

Lesson #5:  The drinks are just as good if you eat the ice separately.

Lesson #6:  Some people have the gift of looking just as cute at camp as they do any other day.

Lesson #7:  Floaties are fun to play with, even when you're not in the water.

Lesson #8:  Camp gives us lots of time to spend with the kiddos.

Lesson #9:  To a hungry duck on the beach, our crowd of little snackers  is heaven.

Lesson #10:  There are few things as wonderful as relaxing in the sand.

Lesson #11:  A cannball gone awry will end up in a belly flop.

Lesson #12:  When you're only one, its okay if you swim in your birthday suit.

Lesson #13:  A bowl makes a beautiful hat.

Lesson #14:  You can dig a hole to China and (almost) no one will care.

Lesson #15:  This is one of the many reasons we think this place is like heaven on earth.

Lesson #16:  Camp can really wear you out, so you have to catch a nap wherever you can.

Lesson #17:  Elise was a much better bumper boat driver than her mom. :)

Lesson #18:  A caterpillar is GREAT entertainment.

Lesson #19:  A week around the water will make anyone brave.

Lesson #20:  Uncle Neal makes a pretty awesome water monster.

Lesson #21:  Cory is a superhero.  (Although in all fairness, the wasn't actually a lesson we learned at camp.  We've known that for a while now. :))

Lesson #22:  The Water Park is AWESOME! :)

Lesson #23:  Victoria did not mind getting wet.

Lesson #24: We may have discovered the most relaxing thing in the world.

Lesson #25:  It is impossible for boys to eat ice cream and not make a mess.

Lesson #26: We LOVE our sunglasses.

Lesson #27: You can take the girl (or boy) out of the country, but....you know the rest.  You can even find frog at the water park if you look hard enough.

Lesson #28:  It IS possible to take too many pictures.

Lesson #29:  Its okay to get in the lake in a skirt if you want to.

Lesson #30:  Just because you're at camp, doesn't mean have to put the make-up away. (I'm a firm believer in a little lipstick.)

Lesson #31:  We LOVE craft time, although sometimes they are better in theory, than in execution.

Lesson #32:  Grandma needs to spend the off-season working on her "Woohoo!"

Lesson #33:  Late nights are when it ALL happens.

Lesson #34:  Being together with family and friends is what makes it all worthwhile.

Thanks for an awesome year everyone!!  We're already counting down the days until next year!!!