Greta's world

I love the things that come out of my little ones' mouths.  Today Greta and I were outside hanging up the laundry.  She was looking around the grass and came up to me and very excitedly said, "Mom, look!  An umbrella!!" (actually sounding more like umdruda)  She had a tiny little wild mushroom in her hands.

Her clothes were a little slim pickin' today b/c of it being laundry day.  I had her put on a nicer dress.  She kept asking me to take her outside and take her picture.  Why not??

Red, White and Blue

Through Margaret's Eyes

We are very blessed to have some pretty awesome babysitters.  Margaret is one of the favorites around here.  The other night she grabbed my camera and took some shots of the kids.  She brought along her younger brother, Cameron.  To say Aaron adores him would be a bit of an understatement.

I'm  not exactly sure why Aaron saw fit to put on the black socks while playing baseball.

Good Help

Before we left for the beach, Steve snagged my dad and brother to help him put the finishing touches on our deck.  Ok, not really the finishing touches, more like laying all the decking.  Anyway, it was fun to have everyone hang out here for the day.

Claudia took this shot of Afton.  I thought it was pretty cute.

Aaron absolutely LOVES Drew.  It's so cute.  After playing with him for quite some time, Aaron comes up to me and says, "Mom, someone else needs to pe-tect Drew.  When I tell him not to, he doesn't listen to me."

Avery, the butterfly catcher

Our first supper on the deck.  So fun!!  Thanks, Dad and Chad, for all your help!

Old-fashioned fun

When I was a kid, I desperately wanted my parents to install an in-ground swimming pool.  I never had any luck with that request.  The closest thing we got to swimming at my house was playing in a drywall bucket.  I've sat in many, many buckets.  It was funny to me that yesterday, Morgan and Greta were playing outside and next thing I know, Morgan had Greta sitting in a bucket.

Vindication

Oh, it feels so good when I am FINALLY right.  For years and years, I have remembered and craved this certain pickle that my Grandma Rudy would make.  It was a dill pickle, not tasting any different than another dill pickle.  But it was a sphere, usually no bigger than a golf ball.  I remember going into her canning cellar and opening a jar.  Oh, I loved eating them.  My mom tells me that she remembers no such pickle, that they were probably just big cucumbers cut into rings.  I haven't really asked around the family to see if anyone else remembers eating them, but for years now it has bothered me...was I not remembering right?  Was there ever really a golf-ball-like pickle?
Last night, my sweet neighbor brought some goodies to our door.  She told me she had tried a new variety of cucumber this year, called a lemon cucumber.  I could not believe my eyes when I saw them.  THEY WERE IT!!!  Oh, they are so cute.  I ate one and don't have the heart to eat the other.  I am certain these are exactly what my grandma used to can.  I can finally rest...

Last Day at the Beach

We headed to the water one last time before we went home from DE last week.  The kids all loved the water and just couldn't seem to get enough.

I was a little surprised that Aaron loved the water.  I had my chair down by the water for awhile and he just ran and ran and ran back and forth.  He was having so much fun!