Long Hill & Long Overdue Time With Friends

It is no secret that I am a huge fan of frequenting the local reservations.  The children love it, the dog gets his exercise and Scott and I really enjoy appreciating the landscape with our daughters.  Long Hill is a definite favorite with the girls and who could blame them?  The Children's Garden gives them the opportunity to get their hands dirty and it really does have a whimsical feel to it.  Julia commented that it made her want to read The Secret Garden again.

Afterwards we headed over to Christine and Shawn's where we had a great time catching up with friends.  

Anna helped make a fruit salad and found this special raspberry!  Don't worry guys, she washed her hands.

Happy Birthday to Thomas who just celebrated his 1st birthday!  You would NOT believe the arm on this kid!

Baby Kaelyn is always a huge hit with the girls!  I cannot believe how big all of our children are getting.

"Anna it's someone else's turn..."

"Anna really..."

"Ok, Anna unhand the baby..."

Scott has had a lot of practice!

The girls...

The guys...

(who obviously have the same taste in shorts.)

The kids!

Hooray for Summer Sundays!

Birthday Garden

When Scott asked me what I wanted for my birthday this year I didn't have to think very hard.

When we moved from our first home two years ago there were very few things that were that difficult to leave behind. The shiny new kitchen could be replicated (if we even wanted to, we had new ideas), all of the memories had been documented and they would always be with us. (Besides we would be making new ones!)

Ugh, my garden. I loved my garden. Scott had built it for me shortly after Jane was born and it had become somewhat of a sanctuary for me. There was nothing I loved more than our Sunday ritual of picking fresh tomatoes, basil and peppers and making homemade pizza, the kids covered in olive oil... With so much to do on this old house I knew a garden would not be a priority. I saw an opportunity and I went for it, "What would you like for your birthday Honey?"

And so here she is! The new garden for the new home tucked next to my new favorite spruce tree. The plan is to have 3 beds eventually with clam shell paths but for now she is just perfect!

I didn't even ask for this...

Bonus!

Family, Food, Fireworks and First Fishes

I hope everyone had a great 4th!  For us it begins two months of Saturdays off for Scott which in return brings some much needed family time.  It also gives us a chance to get some work done on the old homestead!  Julia had her first experience with a saws all.

                                                            

Bringing down the old porch.

With the sun finally deciding to pay us a visit we had to try out the new fishing rods.  We realized last weekend at a neighbor's cookout that Julia has the potential to be quite the little fly fisherwoman!  We headed down to the lake where Julia caught her first fish. 

First Fish!

Anna and Jane love their new rods but really prefer to use them in the creek in our backyard.

Tom & Huck

Come on Daddy catch us some dinner!

Fourth of July weekend wouldn't be complete without some good food, races in the backyard and of course some illegal fireworks!

Great recipe from the most recent North Shore Magazine.  Super Easy!

Delicious!

I believe this is a head stand of some sort.

Smores!

Grady even stuck around for "The Grand Finale".

The End

A Blog is Born!

After much deliberation I have decided to start a blog!  Life seems to be moving so fast.  If for nothing else I hope this will encourage me to take the time to reflect and truly appreciate the many wonderful blessings in my life.  I think this will be a really fun way to share our lives with our wonderful family and friends.